Desirable bank check, 8.5 x 3.25, filled out and signed by Marilyn Monroe, payable to Columbia Pictures hair stylist Helen Hunt for $5, November 18, 1950. Endorsed on the reverse by Hunt, who also added her name to the front payee field. In addition to signing her name, Monroe has also added her address, "1309 N. Harper" in Los Angeles, where she lived for less than a year during 1950-51, her phone number, and the name and address of the bank. Another hand has added above in pencil, "beauty salon." In fine condition.
Though Monroe had garnered a contract at Columbia Pictures in 1948, it was not renewed, and she had fallen back on a few bit parts and modeling gigs. In 1950, however, Monroe landed small roles in two musicals and two dramas: Love Happy, A Ticket to Tomahawk, Right Cross, and The Fireball. Co-stars of these productions included Mickey Rooney, the Marx Brothers, June Allyson, and Anne Baxter. Also in 1950, Monroe secured larger—though still small—roles in two critically acclaimed films: as Angela Phinlay in John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle, and as Miss Casswell in Joseph Mankiewicz's drama All About Eve.
Monroe's breakthrough was in part orchestrated by Johnny Hyde, the co-founder and vice president of the William Morris Agency. Hyde took an interest in the starlet, and secured her a seven-year-long contract at 20th Century Fox in December 1950. Among Hyde's recommendations to Monroe were cosmetic surgery and superficial alterations to her appearance. These changes to Monroe's chin, nose, hairline, and hair created the flamboyant 'blonde bombshell' look that we know today. A sought-after check signed less than a month before Monroe's career-making contract with 20th Century Fox.
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