The young girl on the right is supposed to be Connie Marshall according to the seller from whom I acquired this detached ad. I have to agree that she does resemble Connie, immensely. She has curly bangs in the front and her pigtails are hanging behind. Connie uses this exact hair style often.
Research: I went and searched for and found the magazine it appeared in (Good Housekeeping), purchased it and scanned this image. Now, the young woman on the left (center) resembles a young Marilyn Monroe. I researched this and learned that Marilyn Monroe was staying with an elderly woman in southern California at the time of this work. Even though she had recently married, she had begun her modeling at about that time, as well. I confirmed with the Norman Rockwell Museum that Norman Rockwell was indeed traveling around in the southern California area working on projects during that time even though his biography reports his residence in the New England area. I've also learned that, often times, artists have their models or subjects photographed from which the artist then creates his artwork. So, subjects may be photographed at diferent locations and times and simply filed away for later use. I asked the question about Marilyn's hair color. Wait a minute! Marilyn didn't color her hair blonde until 1945. Well, there is such a thing as "Artistic Licence". The final artwork the artist creates doesn't have to exactly resemble the photo they worked off of. It is likely not their intention. No one seems to know how Marilyn came about changing her hair to blonde. I wonder if she acquired the idea from this work.
Anyway, regardless of who the other characters really are and where everyone was, it is still a very nice piece of art. Imagine, Connie modeled for a great artist as Norman Rockwell...the artist who captured typical American life as we all recognize it. The young girl is Connie. OK...so I'm biased in favor of Connie. Aren't you?
Posted on December 20, 2009: The seller added that he/she was related to one of the owners. This lead me to believe that the original illustration went through multiple owners. Since then, the webmaster of another Connie Marshall fan site claims to have "confirmed" that the little girl was, indeed, Connie Marshall. Well, as it turns out, he has proven me correct! Clearly, the seller of my first illustration was truthful and, somehow, in a position to know the facts. _______________________________________________________________________
Home Sweet Homicide"- Motion Picture Edition
The book "Home Sweet Homicide" [Copyright 1944] by Craig Rice was published by Tower Books as a Motion Picture Edition with a first printing in August 1946. The book Cover has scenes from the 1944 movie "Home Sweet Homicide" and includes images of Connie Marshall in four different scenes. However, another significant unknown fact is that the motion picture Cast is included on the fourth page of the book. Yes, namely, Connie Marshall as April Carstairs. A Hard Bound First! _______________________________________________________________________
Skating Connie! 1942, Unconfirmed.
Come on! You know the young girl on the left looks exactly like Connie. Look closely at her face and the pigtails flying in the breeze behind her as she skates. Hey, doesn't that look like Dean Stockwell on the right? _______________________________________________________________________
Feel that Muscle! 1941.
Believe it or not? Is it Connie or not? Notice that this young girl is wearing her hair in the exact same style as Connie's. And, look at the boy. Isn't he the same boy who modeled with Connie in the William Steig Small Fry article? His face is a bit ballooned from the stress of forcing a noticeable muscle. Remember that artwork isn't meant to be perfect. Rather, it is meant to be eye catching and entertaining. _______________________________________________________________________
Dixie Cup Connie. 1941, Unconfirmed.
Wow! You have to admit that this young girl really looks like Connie. Just look at her hair and the features in her face. And, just as importantly, look closely at her hands. Observe the manner in which she positions each finger on her hands. Start with her right hand and then her left hand. Now, go to her Official website and compare it to her child photo in which she is holding a coffe cup. Now do you see the resemblence? Connie's fingers are positioned in precisely the same manner. I believe it's Connie. _______________________________________________________________________
Naughty Connie! 1941, Unconfirmed.
I am not totaly convinced that this child is Connie. However, I must admit that all of Connie's resemblence features are there. Her hair is a bit darker and her face is a bit distorted with eyes squinting from smiling with her face pressed up against the refrigerator. It's difficult to study her mouth because there is jam smeared all around her mouth. I can see these things because I have the larger original version. By the way, the young woman on the right is an actress and model named Karin Booth (aka Katherine Booth). I have a very large collection of her which I've put on hold while I vest all my time on my favorite young actress, Connie Marshall. _______________________________________________________________________
Life Savers!
I admit that this is probably not Connie. However, imagine for a moment that the young girl is wearing overalls instead of her plaid dress. Now look closely at the the length of her pigtails and the barely visible outline of her cheekbones. Oh, and observe her hands and the positioning of her fingers. She really starts to resemble Connie more and more. There is, however, one major problem. Connie resembled these features in 1944 while filming Wake Up and Dream. I'm not sure Connie was doing any modeling at that time. Perhaps someone from her family can confirm that. If this was indeed her, then I'm sure Connie would have had a 'Life Saver' story for her children. _______________________________________________________________________
