Brouhaha Over Marilyn Monroe Photos

LOS ANGELES (CN) - Photographer Mark Anderson claims he was duped into photographing a huge collection of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia for a coffee-table book, by Millington Conroy's false claims to own the collection, and that now Conroy is interfering with Anderson's plans to have some of the photos published in Vanity Fair magazine.

Anderson says Conroy claimed to own the collection of jewelry, clothing and "rare and insightful correspondence with leading artists and politicians of Monroe's era," which Conroy claimed to have inherited from his aunt, Inez Melson, Monroe's former assistant. Anderson says he spent $44,500 photographing the collection of 750 items, and that Conroy induced him to form a corporation, defendant Jemm LA Associates, to publish the book.

Anderson claims he discovered in September 2007 that Conroy does not own the collection, and that when he informed Monroe's estate of the alleged fraud, the estate sued Conroy in LA Superior Court. Anderson claims Conroy already had lost a previous judgment to Monroe's estate, and that he fraudulently concealed the existence of the 750 items from the estate. The estate claims Conroy claimed, falsely, that the items had been stolen.

Now, Anderson says, Conroy is interfering with Vanity Fair's plan to publish some of his photos, because the accompanying article will portray Conroy in a less than favorable light.

Represented in Superior Court by Kenneth Ingber, Anderson seeks punitive damages and declaratory relief.

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