FILE - In this 1955 publicity photo, actress Marilyn Monroe is shown as the girl upstairs in director Billy Wilder's "The Seven Year Itch." The bombshell actress continues to be a successful celebrity brand even 50 years after she died, with a new digital emphasis to complement the wealth of photos, fashion, films and other cultural touchstones she left behind. (AP Photo, File)
Fifty years after her death Marilyn Monroe’s star continues to shine, as evidence by the dozens of celebrations expected to go on across the country Sunday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of her passing.
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Long Island is also joining in on the celebration of the iconic beauty’s life.
On Friday, at the Maliblue Oyster Bar in Lido Beach, the restaurant’s owner, Butch Yamali, held a candle light vigil along with 10 women in blonde wigs, sporting shiny red lipstick, in honor of the popular model, singer, actress and sex symbol.
Yamali said the idea came to him after the previous owners of the beach club told him that Monroe was one of the more notable celebrities that frequented the once popular nightclub. Other luminaries included Yankees icon Joe DiMaggio, crooner Tony Bennett, and Sammy Davis Jr., Yamali said.
“People still look at her as an…icon,” Yamali said, with paintings of Monroe hanging in the background. “She was popular then, very popular now.”
She’s so famous, “you can still buy her wigs in the store,” he said to laughs.
Yamali and the group of girls lit up candles and said “Goodbye Marilyn” during the vigil.
Monroe died of a drug overdose in 1962.
The shocking death of the blonde bombshell only added to her mystique.
According to The Associated Press, Forbes magazine ranked Monroe third last year in it’s rankings of top deceased celebrity earners. She was behind Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley.
There’s a Facebook page dedicated to her life, which has more than 3.3 million “likes,” and a Twitter profile with more than 50,000 followers.
