There was something whimsical and historic that happened in downtown Palm Springs this past weekend. To honor what would have been Marilyn Monroe’s 100th birthday, the Greater Palm Springs Pride organization hosted a gathering of Monroe look alikes. Not “just a few”. An unprecedented record breaking one. It was time for the final count and 1,037 people had turned up in the actress’s most famous attire: The Seven Year Itch’s iconic flared white dress, plus platinum blonde wigs, sunglasses, and even martini glasses. That was the official Guinness Record for the largest assemblage of Marilyn Monroe impersonators.
I’ve done many themed events over the years but never quite seen so many people in the same city all dressed up as the same character. At a tribute event you would expect some level of enthusiasm, and this was more than enthusiastic. It was a community that was stepping out, paying a fee to stand in the heat for a couple hours, just to celebrate a woman who had to leave Hollywood too soon. Rather than a costume party, it was a sort of communal act of remembrance.
The previous record was done in Brighton, Australia with 254 Monroe look alikes joining together in 2020. The Palm Spring organizer was expecting about 500 people at the event, which would have been huge enough on its own. However, over a thousand volunteered. In exchange for a registration fee of USD 75, each participant got the white dress, the platinum blond wig, the cat eye sunglasses and a martini glass. Everything was carefully considered so as to make it appear, and feel, as if it was a field of Marilyns, from afar and close up.
The record was set by the group showing up for the event and the method they used to verify the attendance was interesting from an organizational perspective. When participants arrive, they will scan a QR code that verifies that they are in the venue, said event organizer Ron deHarte to The Hollywood Times. “It’s through the use of technology that we are keeping track of participation and verifying attendance,” deHarte continued. It’s not something you’d expect to see at a typical event, and it demonstrates the precision that is required when it comes to Guinness.
The day was captured on video and photo, and these became viral. The sight of hundreds of white dresses, all with their skirts like a balloon in the Palm Springs sun, was surreal. There were those who grinned widely, those who worked to get Monroe’s soft breathing just right, and some who just stood still, holding their martini glasses like props in a living photograph. It didn’t involve competition. There was no judging for the best costume. It was a matter of participation, something fannish we did together as a group and that became a world record.
Marilyn Monroe was born in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles on June 1, 1926. Her childhood was very different from the glamour she represented. She lived in foster homes for most of her childhood, and when she was sixteen, she was married. But that aspect of her history is sometimes forgotten in the shadow of the blonde bombshell image, and is fundamental to her characterization. She navigated through a time of instability, chose to pursue acting with only determination and effort and steadily ascended her way up to one of the most well-known faces in Hollywood history. To this day, decades later, her impact is still strong. Events such as this, if any, only make her cultural presence even more complex.
It’s a positive, and somewhat complicated, thing to think about here. For one, it’s a stunning tribute to see more than a thousand people soaking up the fun in a fun outfit.First, it’s a gorgeous tribute to see over a thousand people dancing in a fun outfit. It demonstrates the power of an artist to live on after death. The event brought awareness to the various pride groups, increased tourism in Palm Springs and provided a photo opportunity and a chance for people to laugh and laugh for a good cause. However, others have noted that the relationship between Monroe and her image was not easy. She was undoubtedly typecast, faced challenges of stardom, and experienced the burden of her own stardom. But a thousand people in exactly the same dress and a thousand people in exactly the same wig… it could be considered celebrating that persona, or it could be seen as fitting a complicated woman into a white dress and a wig.
