In another life I’d like to be a Sunset Boulevard style Hollywood movie diva flouncing around her palatial mansion in a world of eccentricity bemoaning her heyday. Who knows if Marilyn Monroe would have ended up like the fictional silent movie star Norma Desmond; sadly, her life was tragic enough. August 5th is the anniversary of her untimely death in 1962 – when she was just 36 years old.  The photo above (part of a collection of memorabilia on sale at vintageseekers.com) was taken by Cecil Beaton at the Ambassador Hotel, New York City in 1956 ; it is signed by Marilyn and said to have been one of her personal favourites.