Hugh Hefner didn't have a dime in his pocket when he started dreaming of a magazine that would change everything. Honestly, he was just a guy with a card table and a $600 loan. But he had a secret weapon. He had a set of photos of Marilyn Monroe in Playboy magazine that he’d bought for a few hundred bucks.
Marilyn wasn't a superstar when those pictures were taken. She was a broke actress named Norma Jeane Mortenson who couldn't pay her car note.
The year was 1949. Tom Kelley, a photographer with a studio on Sunset Boulevard, convinced her to pose for a calendar. She was hesitant. She was terrified. But the $50 he offered her was the difference between keeping her wheels and walking to auditions. She signed the release as "Mona Monroe" to try and hide. It didn't work.
By the time the first issue of Playboy hit newsstands in December 1953, Marilyn was the biggest name in Hollywood. She had just starred in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. She was a household name. And suddenly, those "Golden Dreams" calendar shots were the center of a national scandal that should have ended her career. Instead, they made her immortal.
The $500 gamble that built an empire
Hefner didn't actually photograph Marilyn for the magazine. That’s a huge misconception. He bought the rights to the "Red Velvet" photos from a local calendar company for about $500. He was basically a curator at that point. He put her on the cover—wrapped in a low-cut dress, waving—and then put the nude centerfold inside.
The magazine didn't even have a date on the cover. Hefner wasn't sure there would ever be a second issue.
Think about the risk here. In 1953, the Hays Code was still strangling Hollywood. Actresses were supposed to be "pure." When the news broke that the girl in the calendar was the girl on the silver screen, her studio, 20th Century Fox, told her to deny it. They wanted her to lie. They told her to say it was someone else who just looked like her.
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Marilyn said no.
She did something radical for the time. She told the truth. In an interview with Aline Mosby, she admitted she was the girl on the red velvet. "I was hungry," she famously said. That honesty transformed her from a distant sex symbol into a sympathetic human being. People didn't judge her; they related to her. The first issue of Playboy sold out almost instantly, moving over 50,000 copies. It was a cultural earthquake.
The technical reality behind the Red Velvet shots
The photos themselves are a masterclass in 1940s lighting. Tom Kelley used a high-key setup, but the red velvet background absorbed just enough light to create that deep, saturated contrast against Marilyn’s skin.
She wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing, but she was wearing a lot of makeup. If you look closely at high-resolution scans of the original transparencies, you can see the heavy pancake makeup used to give her skin that porcelain, airbrushed look long before Photoshop existed.
The pose was calculated. It wasn't just "sexy." It was sculptural. Kelley had her stretch her body to accentuate the lines of her ribs and neck. It was athletic. It was exhausting. Marilyn later mentioned that the velvet was scratchy and the studio was cold. Not exactly the glamorous scene people imagine.
There were actually two main poses from that session: "Golden Dreams" and "A New Glow." Both featured the same crimson backdrop. When Hefner published them, he didn't just sell nudity; he sold a specific kind of American rebellion. He sold the idea that a "nice girl" could also be a "naughty girl" and still be a star.
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Why the industry was terrified
You have to understand how much power the studios held back then. They owned people. Contracts had "morality clauses" that could be triggered by almost anything. A divorce. A drunk driving arrest. Certainly a nude photo.
When those photos of Marilyn Monroe in Playboy magazine started appearing on barbershop walls, the executives at Fox were sweating. They thought their multimillion-dollar investment was down the drain. But the public reaction was a massive "so what?"
This was the beginning of the end for the old-school studio system's control over private lives. Marilyn proved that the audience cared more about the person than the "image" the PR flacks were selling.
- The Price: Marilyn got $50.
- The Profit: Hefner made thousands on the first run and millions on the legacy.
- The Legacy: The "Sweetheart of the Month" (later Playmate of the Month) was born.
Misconceptions about Marilyn's relationship with Hefner
People often assume Marilyn and Hefner were close friends. They weren't. In fact, they never even met in person. It’s a strange, distant connection. Hefner bought the crypt next to hers at Westwood Village Memorial Park for $75,000 in 1992, saying he wanted to be buried next to the woman who started it all.
Some find it poetic. Others find it a bit creepy.
Marilyn never saw a cent from the millions Playboy made off her image over the decades. She had signed away her rights for that initial $50. She didn't harbor a public grudge, but she was acutely aware of how her body was used to build other people's bank accounts. She once remarked that she never even received a thank-you note from the magazine.
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The lasting impact on photography and media
Before these photos, "pin-up" art was mostly illustrations, like the work of Alberto Vargas. Real photography was seen as "dirty" or "underground." The Marilyn issue changed the aesthetic of American eroticism. It made it look like art.
The lighting style—warm, glowing, and slightly overexposed—became the "Playboy look" for the next thirty years. Every photographer who walked into that mansion was trying to recreate the magic Tom Kelley caught on a random afternoon in 1949.
What you should take away from this history
If you’re looking at the history of these photos, don't just see them as a "first issue" curiosity. See them as a pivot point in how we handle celebrity scandals. Marilyn's choice to own her past instead of hiding from it is a blueprint that stars still use today.
Practical steps for collectors and historians:
- Check the Date: If you find an "Issue #1," check the inside. Many are 1960s or 1990s reprints. Original 1953 copies don't have a date on the cover.
- Verify the Condition: Original copies are prone to "spine roll." The paper was cheap. A mint condition #1 is worth six figures; a beat-up one is still worth thousands.
- Research the Photographer: Look into Tom Kelley’s other work. He was a commercial giant, and his technique defined the era.
- Look for the "Mona" Signature: Early prints of the calendar often feature the "Mona Monroe" pseudonym, which are highly prized by collectors.
The story of Marilyn and Playboy isn't a love story. It’s a story about economics, survival, and the birth of a brand that would eventually define the 20th century. Marilyn needed the money; Hefner needed a face. Together, they accidentally rewrote the rules of what was allowed in the American living room.
The velvet was red, the hair was blonde, and the impact was permanent.