Mark Bellinghaus

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Mark Bellinghaus (born July 20, 1963), is a major collector of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia, who contested the authenticity of a prestigious Monroe exhibition, which was subsequently cancelled. Before living in the US, he was a successful TV and theatre actor in Germany.^[1]

[edit] Germany and acting

Mimi von Quast and Mark Bellinghaus in "Traffic Court," in 1988

Bellinghaus was born in Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. His father, Meinhard, died when Bellinghaus was 2 years old. He felt rejected when he was sent, age 6, to an Evangelical boys-only boarding school in Traben-Trarbach, Germany. When he was 9, he saw a cut-out of Marilyn Monroe from How to Marry a Millionaire ("where she’s in front of those three mirrors and looks so magnificent").^[1]

At age 11, Bellinghaus became a serious ice- and roller-skater, but, five years later, gave up this career following a nerve infection in his back. He turned instead to acting, working in productions like the musical Fireworks by Paul Burkhard and the opera Lorelei by Alfredo Catalani at the Theater der Stadt Koblenz.

At 18, he moved to Munich, studying at the Acting Academy for three years. He played the minor part of Jorge's novice in the 1986 film The Name of the Rose.^[2]

Mark Bellinghaus as "Volodja," and Maike Enterich as "Ljalja," in 1990 at the Zimmertheater Heidelberg‎

In 1988 he played Rüdiger Burkhard in an episode of the hit show Verkehrsgericht (Traffic Court).^[3] In 1989, he was the lead in Flaming Armadillo, a made-for-TV movie, produced by SRG.^[4] In 1990, he was the lead in Pal Erdoss' Pokok (Spiders), a German/Hungarian co-production, playing with Camilla Horn and Alice Treff. ^[5] Also in 1990, he starred as Volodja in the play Dear Jelena Sergejevna, directed by Ute Richter, at the Zimmertheater in Heidelberg. During this time, he guest starred in several TV shows.^[6]

In 1991 he played actress Meret Becker's brother Kurti, in the multiple award-winning Fremde, liebe Fremde (Foreigner, Dear Foreigner).^[7][8] In 1993, he played Malte Borrell in the TV show SOKO 5113. ^[9]. He played Knut Sonntag in the hit TV show Immer wieder Sonntag, written by Herbert Lichtenfeld.^[10]

[edit] The US and Monroe

In 1995 Bellinghaus emigrated to the United States to study acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in Los Angeles, a city he chose because it was where Marilyn Monroe used to live (and the college because Monroe had attended the Lee Strasberg in New York). He met the owner of Monroe's estate, Anna Strasberg, but was not impressed with her.^[1]

His interest in Monroe grew to such an extent that he gave up his acting career, in order to concentrate full time on activities concerning her, namely the collection of memorabilia and campaigning against what he saw as abuses of her memory. (His lengthy, scathing reviews of books he considers inaccurate are regularly received, but not displayed, by Amazon.com.)^[1] In 1999 Strasberg auctioned 1000 lots from the Monroe estate at Christie's for $13,000,000 — a move which offended many of Monroe's fans. There was a later 288-lot auction in 2005 at Julien's.^[1] Bellinghaus combined savings and a family inheritance, winning items at both Monroe auctions and acquiring so much material — such as furniture, paintings, light fixtures, Mexican tchotchkes and hangings — from her last Brentwood home that he was able to faithfully reconstruct some of its rooms in his own home in the Cheviot Hills.^[1] One of his most famous items is the white terry-cloth robe, in which Monroe was often photographed and which was discovered next to her bed on the night she died.^[1]

CMG Worldwide is a licensing company that owns the rights to a number of past stars such as James Dean, including (jointly with Anna Strasberg) most Monroe images. One of Bellinghaus's goals is to make her images available to all:

(He owns the domain name ChurchofMarilynMonroe.com.)^[1]

The panel discussion during the press opening for Marilyn Monroe – the exhibit‎

In 2005 CMG backed a show called "Marilyn Monroe: The Exhibit",^[11] consisting of 350 memorabilia items owned by a Chicago collector, Robert W. Otto, although authentication doubts had caused the Hollywood Entertaiment Museum to turn it down.^[1] The new venue was the liner Queen Mary berthed at Long Beach; the ship said they had the items authenticated.^[1] It was promoted as the "biggest and best collection of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia on display, ever." The value of the exhibit was announced as $10 million,^[12] and the show was successfully inaugurated on November 10, 2005, with a panel discussion held by CMG CEO Mark Roesler, Hugh Hefner, Robert Otto, Mary Jane Popp and June DiMaggio (DiMaggio had been the sale source for 30 of the show items).^[1] News coverage was positive, and an extension was announced, prior to a move to Las Vegas and a world tour.^[1]

Bellinghaus attended the launch with a Beverly Hills Courier photographer's press pass.^[12] He was extremely disconcerted to observe not only the exhibition of kitsch, such as Monroe dolls, but also what struck him as fake memorabilia. He owns auction house-certified Monroe hair curlers, fabricated of wire and nylon bristle. The exhibition electrical hair curlers (which were billed as holding strands of Monroe's hair) were made of plastic. They had come originally from DiMaggio's collection.^[1] Bellinghaus's subsequent enquiries revealed that Clairol had not manufactured such curlers until 1974, 12 years after Monroe's death.^[1][13]

Bellinghaus was joined by 68-year-old Ernest W. Cunningham, the author of a fact-finding book, The Ultimate Marilyn, who feels equally strongly about Monroe ("It’s as though they’re talking about your mother or sister"), and says that they were brushed off by the Long Beach Police Department, when they reported their findings. ^[1] Bellinghaus went on to publish his views on Blogcritics, in February 2006, with the title "Marilyn Monroe's Memory Defrauded in Long Beach - The Truth Is Here", stating that over 95% of the memorabilia on display was not authentic, and estimating its real value as $25,000 – $30,000.^[14] Two months later, Bellinghaus published his second blog, this time co-authored with Ernest Cunningham, and titled "Marilyn Monroe Exhibit Exposed As $8.75 Million Lie".^[15]

Subsequently he was interviewed by KCAL TV news about his claims.^[16] The Clairol hair curlers were removed from the exhibition, as well as some other items he had named as "fake".^[17] After this, the show had lost so much credibility that its planned tour was cancelled.^[1]

In May, 2006, a class action lawsuit was filed by Cunningham and 63-year-old Emily Sadjady (an equally fervent Monroe fan), claiming damages for everyone who had bought a (nearly $23) exhibition ticket and alleging that the exhibition curator "knew when he purchased the items he displayed in the Exhibit, that the items were fake and did not personally belong to Marilyn Monroe".^[1][18] This lawsuit is scheduled to take place at Los Angeles Superior Court on May 7, 2007, and is partially funded by Bellinghaus.^[1]

Bellinghaus and Cunningham have also questioned the authenticity of Marilyn, Joe and Me, a book and prospective movie by June DiMaggio and Mary Jane Popp, who deny they were involved in the Queen Mary exhibition.^[19]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Mark Bellinghaus official web site
• The first blog article
• The second blog article
• Mark Bellinghaus at the Internet Movie Database