Riding in a Ferrari 456 GT with Marilyn Monroe - Automobile
I looked over toward the passenger seat for the 50th time, and still it seemed completely surreal. There she was, Marilyn Monroe herself, riding next to me in the Ferrari 456 GT. I’d had some unusual experiences during my career as an auto scribe, but never one involving a silver-screen legend. Marilyn caught my eye and smiled that klieg-light smile. The editor came up with the notion of pairing exotic cars with movie-idol look-alikes for a splashy feature. Soon I found myself driving a Dodge Viper from L. A. to Vegas for a photo shoot with “Elvis. I guess I was expecting “Vegas Elvis”—sequined jumpsuit, big sunglasses, maybe a forty of malt liquor in his hand—but this guy was “Love Me Tender Elvis” with skinny jeans, big acoustic guitar, tons of attitude. Immediately the throng checking out the Viper went wild—especially when Elvis leapt onto the driver’s seat and started gyrating madly. Next up, back in L. A. , came a Porsche paired with “James Dean. ” To my eye, this guy looked more like the Jimmy Dean of sausage fame, and when he pulled his cowboy hat down and aped that famous bemused grin, he rated about a four on the “looks authentic” scale—good enough if you didn’t open your eyes too much. Then came the day I picked up a new Ferrari 456 GT—at the time considered one of the world’s greatest grand-touring machines—and went to fetch “Marilyn” at her apartment in Beverly Hills. Source: www.automobilemag.com
