It doesn’t get much more Palm Springs than that.
On Saturday, 1,037 people—the official total verified by Guinness World Records officials, though it’s entirely possible a few went uncounted—descended on downtown Palm Springs to set a new world record for the largest gathering of people dressed as Marilyn Monroe.
The previous record of 254 people, set in Australia in 2020, was easily surpassed. The landslide victory likely came as a surprise to no one with even a passing familiarity with Palm Springs’ seemingly boundless enthusiasm for a good costume party and all things Norma Jeane.
Shattering a record in the desert heat
Most of the 1,037 Marilyn’s wore white dresses and blonde wigs, part of an official “icon kit” that also included white sunglasses and a martini glass, all sold for $75 ahead of the event. However, some homemade wigs and outfits could also be seen as the Marilyns gathered in a large open area of Palm Springs’ Downtown Park for the official record moment and accompanying photo op.
The look, of course, was meant to recreate Monroe’s world-famous look from the scene in the 1955 film “The Seven Year Itch” in which the starlet’s dress is blown upward by a passing subway train. That scene is famously—and somewhat controversially—memorialized in the “Forever Marilyn” statue that now sits in the center of the Downtown Park where Saturday’s event was held.
The faux Marilyns were joined by hundreds and perhaps thousands of other people who came out to take in the unique spectacle, which was the centerpiece of a slightly early celebration of Monroe’s 100th birthday. That milestone falls on Monday, June 1 (Monroe famously died in 1962 at just 36 years old).
“We did It,” media personality and Palm Springs resident Scott Nevins, who served as the event’s MC, declared after Guinness officials provided official verification of the record (although there seemed to be no real doubt the amassed crowd would easily set it).
The birthday event also included other festivities, including a Monroe impersonator who took the stage to sing two of the starlet’s most famous tunes, “I Wanna Be Loved By You” and “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend.”
Attendees also swarmed a custom photo op where they could recreate the famous subway grate scene. For those who stuck around after the record was shattered, the festivities continued with a tribute show dedicated to another icon with deep ties to the desert: Cher.
But it was the sheer spectacle of seeing over 1,000 people coming together in matching dresses and wigs amid heat that the National Weather Service reported reached at least 97 degrees to celebrate a movie star whose heyday occurred long before most in the crowd were born that was the real show and one most in attendance surely won’t forget anytime soon.
“ ‘Some Like It Hot’ feels fitting for today,” remarked Nevins as he tried to put a positive spin on the heat. “We all like it hot that’s why we live here.”
‘I’ve never seen a park like this in my life’
Organized by Greater Palm Springs Pride, the event drew a diverse crowd that crossed all lines of age, race, and gender.
Among those to don the iconic wig was Rachel Haro, who lives between La Quinta and the Bay Area. Haro said she relished the chance to dress up, which she doesn’t get to do very often, and that she had started doing her makeup earlier that morning.
“It was exciting to see every race, every gender come together and celebrate someone who really had an impact on people and their creativity,” Haro said.
Haro said the event created “a sense of unity where it didn’t matter who you were you just came together to celebrate the moment.”
Wearing a homemade Monroe dress he made out of an old curtain was Austin Newman. The Palm Springs resident said he happened to be downtown a couple of days earlier and saw members of a camera crew setting up for the event, who filled him in about it.
“I’m like, bro, let’s just have fun and party,” he said.
But Newman said he later got cold feet and didn’t come on Saturday.
“I was like, there’s no way, I’m going to look like an idiot,” he said. “Turns out most of them are men… I can’t believe I almost didn’t even come. I’ve never seen a public park like this in my life… Usually, you have to pay money to come to something like this. It’s like a music festival.”
Just before the record-setting moment, Nevins led a toast to Palm Springs, which he called “the greatest city in the world.”
On this particular afternoon, it was hard for anyone to disagree.
(This story was updated to add photos.)
Paul Albani-Burgio covers growth, development and business in the Coachella Valley. Email him at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs sets Guinness World Record with 1,037 Marilyn Monroes
Reporting by Paul Albani-Burgio, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
