Elvis, Marilyn, and Photoshop

This is a combination of three old posts from 2018 and 2015.  It is very long, so expect to be on here a while.

 

Pairing up Elvis and Marilyn Monroe seems to be a favorite thing for Photoshop jockeys. I have almost 50 Elvis/Marilyn pictures in my files. I like the pairing of the world’s two biggest pop culture icons because the photos are fun. I felt there was no intent to trick people into believing they are real.

Then I saw this one.

 

Somebody felt it was a smart idea to pair up eleven-year-old Elvis with a young Norma Jeane Mortenson, who later became known as Marilyn Monroe. Why? What’s the point?

 

Let’s Deconstruct THIS Photoshopped Elvis/marilyn Picture:

 

First, the original Elvis photo.

 

This is a photo of Elvis with twelve-year-old Mary Magdalene Morgan. It was taken in 1946 shortly before Elvis’ family moved from Tupelo to Memphis.   Go back to the first picture and note that Elvis has been flipped from this original shot .

 

And, now, the original Marilyn photo.

 

And here’s young Norma Jeane. She got flipped side-to-side, too, and other modifications were made with her arms.

 

Although I have an appreciation of this clever concept and skill to do it, I think it’s pretty crummy that people are now messing with kid pictures of Elvis.

 

 

That being said, I love the pictures of older Elvis and Marilyn together.  I know that Marilyn was nine or ten years older than Elvis, and they never met, so I just go with the flow and don’t worry about the pics being fake.  It’s just fun.

 

So let’s take a look at:

The Elvis / Marilyn Photoshop Awards — Part 1

 

For the past ten years, I have been collecting images of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe together. She was born nine years before him (and died fifteen years earlier), and there is no record of them ever meeting, let alone having any romantic liaisons.

However, Photoshop jockeys and artists love to morph these two pop culture icons into fun pictures. I have my collection of them sorted into five categories, and just for kicks I rated the images in each group. So here are my rankings in ascending order.

Head Shots:

This one is okay, but I’m not crazy about seeing the back of Elvis head or the streaks of gray in his hair. I realize others might disagree.

 

This is too pale and washed out to suit me.

 

This Andy Warhol wall-hanging tapestry is probably worth a ton of money, but Elvis looks really bad.

 

Even weirder colors on this one.

 

Good color here, but Marilyn looks better is so many other images.

 

I like this, but I wish it was in color.

 

This is interesting, because it shows us the original Marilyn Monroe picture before Photoshopping.

 

The images are starting to get very good now.

 

First runner-up. This was a tough choice to make, because this is really good.

 

My choice for best head shot of Elvis and Marilyn. I like him smiling and she looks sweet. By a very small margin, that nudges out the brooding and sexy one above. Feel free to disagree.

 

A Little Bit More:

 

This one is okay, but what is that weird thing in the sky in the background?

 

Serious Elvis fans will recognize that the original photo came from Love Me Tender where Elvis hugged Debra Paget.

 

The artist that drew this Montserrat stamp did a good job on Elvis, but Marilyn looks terrible.

 

There are a couple of these Happy Valentine’s Day images, but I prefer Elvis and Marilyn without messages.

 

Good artwork, but it would have been better in color.

 

I like the idea of having Marilyn and Elvis singing into a mic.

 

Here’s the other Valentine’s Day image.

 

And here’s the same Marilyn picture used with a different Elvis.

 

I wish someone had found a photo of Marilyn in a cowboy hat to use here.

 

Now we’re getting to the really good ones. This looks like a beautiful young couple out on a date.

 

Great picture. Love it.

 

My big winner. That cosmic background is so cool.

 

Like the first image in this group says:

Elvis and Marilyn – Stars Forever.

 

Next we have three other categories:  Full-Body Shots; Elvis, Marilyn, James Dean, and Humphrey Bogart, and Clever Combinations. All part of:

 

The Elvis / Marilyn Photoshop Awards — Part 2

 

 

Last week we looked at the Elvis and Marilyn images in two categories of my collection – Head Shots and A Little Bit More.  Now we will get into the other three categories, again ranking them in ascending order.

Full Body Shots:

 

There wasn’t not much talent needed to show them both side-by-side in gold outfits.

 

This could have been better if they had brightened it up.

 

Good concept, but the picture cuts off Elvis’ head and it is too fuzzy.

 

Why did they put a polka-dot necktie on Elvis?

 

This had to be pretty easy to put together, but I do like seeing their two most iconic photos together.

 

An older Elvis and an older Marilyn than on most of these images.

 

I found this on an Italian website. I’m pretty sure that is Elvis’ head on somebody else’s body.

 

This image just doesn’t impart much connection between Elvis and Marilyn.

 

Study Elvis in this. Doesn’t it look like the scene in Jailhouse Rock when he told Judy Tyler “That ain’t tactics, Honey. It’s just the beast in me.”

 

Great artwork. As before, I’d like more color, but there is probably something deeper I am missing.

 

This must be the most familiar of all the Elvis/Marilyn images. I found it all over the internet.

 

The big winner. I love the pose, but it has to be someone else’s body with Elvis’ head. I have never seen a photo of him in that position.

 

Elvis / Marilyn / James Dean / Humphrey Bogart:

 

There are a bunch of drawings of these four icons together in bars, diners, and other scenes. For my collection, I have cropped out Dean and Bogart, but I couldn’t do that with this one because it would ruin the coolness of the Mt. Rushmore image.

 

Marilyn and Elvis just seem to be plopped into this picture. No real connection.

 

Better. Elvis is singing to Marilyn, and she is swooning to his music.

 

First runner up. I couldn’t cut out Humphrey Bogart, but I love Elvis checking out Marilyn.

 

The big winner. Elvis has Marilyn on one side and a pile of money on the other.

 

Clever Combinations:

 

An interesting combination of images and design.

 

This is clever. I wonder what Marilyn was holding in the original.

 

Do you think Elvis and Marilyn had enough star power to get the police to buzz off?

 

Young lovers in Paris. I particularly like the rose.

 

How cool is this? Hard to believe this didn’t rank in the top three.

 

Outstanding, but I have one little quibble. Why didn’t they align the original pictures so Elvis was taller than Marilyn? Still, second runner-up.

 

This one is a bonus, not part of the ranking.  I made it wuth Windows Paint, and I wanted it to appear right after the one that inspired it.

 

First runner-up. In spite of it not being a sharp image, I am very impressed with this pairing of Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe. Powerful.

 

This is the grand winner in the Clever Combination group. And I created it by mistake. While watching a YouTube video that had a sequence of Elvis / Marilyn images morphing from one to the next, I clicked on Screen Grab a little late. So, two images were captured together. I love the result and gave myself the prize.

 

Elvis and Marilyn – Stars Forever:

 

Editor’s Note:  Several other websites and blogs lift articles from ElvisBlog to put on theirs.  I’m sure somebody will take this one.

 

 

© 2021 Philip R Arnold, Original Elvis Blogmeister All Rights Reserved www.ElvisBlog.net

.

.

 .

.

.

Elvis, Elvis Presley, and Graceland are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.