Hollywood Dreamgirl. Number 1: The Beautiful Women of Hollywood

New York: Hollywood Dreamgirl, 1955. First Edition. An original issue of ‘Hollywood Dreamgirl’ magazine, No. 1 featuring in-depth articles on James Dean, ‘Actor Turns Photographer,’ illustrated with four pages of black & white photographs taken by Dean of actress Pier Angeli, and an article on Marilyn Monroe, ‘Three Encounters with a Love Goddess,’ story and photographs by Philippe Halsman. Lightly used copy with a touch of dust soiling and with a few short marginal tears. The article on James Dean refers to his work in Elia Kazan’s classic adaptation (truncated) of John Steinbeck’s novel ‘East of Eden’ and notes that while on the set of the film he seized a camera from the still photographer’s gear case and began taking photographs of Pier Angeli who was visiting the set. The editors of ‘Hollywood Dreamgirl’ were so impressed by the results that they chose to print them in this issue. At the time, Dean was involved in a romantic relationship with Miss Angeli, whom he met while she was shooting ‘The Silver Chalice’ on an adjoining Warner lot. Tragically, Dean died in a car accident near Cholame, California on September 30, 1955. He received a posthumous Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his role as Cal Trask in ‘East of Eden,’ the first of two he would receive in this manner, the second being for his work as Jett Rink in ‘Giant.’ Dean had an interest in photography and these striking and accomplished images of Angeli are the only James Dean photographs published in his lifetime. The article on Marilyn Monroe runs for 13 pages and includes text and black & white photographs by the great portrait photographer Philippe Halsman, whose photographs of Monroe are some of the most iconic of her career, including the terrific cover color photo on the November 9, 1959 issue of ‘Life’ magazine of the lovely actress in which she is laughing and jumping while wearing a sexy backless black dress. In this ‘Hollywood Dreamgirl’ article there are many views of Marilyn Monroe, depicting her emotional range as an actress, her great beauty and allure, and a wonderful pair of photographs of her ‘walking with a wiggle,’ taken by Halsman on Sunset Boulevard before she was famous, showing her dressed in a modest knee length skirt and white blouse, taken from behind, with one shot of her looking back over her shoulder. At the time of this article, Miss Monroe was promoting her work in Billy Wilder’s classic comedy film ‘The Seven Year Itch.’ Halsman’s text is rich in detail and personal memories of his work with Monroe. The front cover black & white photographic portrait of Grace Kelly is also by Philippe Halsman. Other actresses appearing in this issue include, Doris Day, Ann Francis, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Mitzi Gaynor, Audrey Hepburn, Susan Hayward, Janet Leigh, Dorothy Malone, Jayne Mansfield, Sheree North, Kim Novak, Jane Powell, Jane Russell, Susan Strasberg, Mamie Van Doren, Esther Williams, etc. (Inventory #: 15973J)