Suit Alleges Monroe Exhibit Mostly Bogus

A Los Angeles law firm has filed what it hopes will become a class-action lawsuit against the organizers of the Queen Mary’s Marilyn Monroe memorabilia exhibit, claiming that it contains mostly items never touched by the iconic sex symbol.

The exhibit, part of a resurgence of interest in Monroe memorabilia, has been seen by thousands of people.

They have paid $22.95 each to gaze at such personal items as hair rollers, suitcases, a lipstick holder and a “red shiny dress” purportedly worn or used by Monroe.

However, the lawsuit alleges that Monroe had no contact with many of the items, some of which, it says, weren’t manufactured until after the movie star’s death from an overdose of sleeping pills in August 1962.

A spokeswoman for the Queen Mary and the exhibit declined to comment.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of two exhibit attendees -- Ernest Cunningham, author of “The Ultimate Marilyn,” and Emily Sadjady -- and seeks to force the Queen Mary and exhibit organizers to refund attendees’ admission fees. It also asks for unspecified punitive damages.

“They were genuinely upset” to learn that many of the items allegedly were fake mementos, attorney George Braunstein said.

“The Queen Mary should have done a little more homework,” he added.

The exhibit opened Nov. 11 on the ship, after the Hollywood Museum canceled a scheduled show there over questions about the provenance of some of the memorabilia.

The items are owned by Chicago collector Robert W. Otto, who could not be reached Tuesday for comment.

In the past he has insisted that the items in the collection are legitimate Monroe memorabilia.

The lawsuit was filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court.