April 19, 2012 – The third year in a row collectors can look forward to a new issue of the series “Hollywood Legends”. The Coin Invest Trust designed another sequel on behalf of Cook Islands.
The reverse is common to all the coins. Each: Cook Islands / 5 dollars / 2012 / silver .925 / 25 g / 38.61 mm / mintage: 2,500 pieces.
Being the South Sea state a Commenwealth member, naturally the obverse bears a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II as the official head of state. Running around are indicated the denomiation of “5 Dollars”, the name of the head of state, “Elizabeth II”, and of the issuing country: “Cook Islands”.
The coins’ obverses are designed uniformly in the series’ design. In the upper half is written in a semicircle “Hollywood Legends”, featuring a small star before and after the first word. In the exergue you can see a 35mm strip that makes clear from where the honoured persons originate; on that strip is indicated the name of the commemorated star: “Marlene Dietrich”, “Anita Ekberg” and “Robert Mitchum” respectively. On top of the strip is shown in small script the issuing year “2012”, above hovers a big star bearing a stilised symbol of a film camera. The field’s centre shows a framed photograph slightly overlapping all the other elements. A black and white photograph of the honoured person in question taken by the legendary photographer Bernard of Hollwood, alias Bruno Bernard, is printed on textured ground showing pictures known by everybody: “the Dietrich” with a white top hat and her matchless smile; the blonde beauty of Anita Ekberg in a bikini lounging seductively on the beach; Robert Mitchum in military uniform and his famous easy-going look. The inferior corner of the portrait exhibits the photographer’s the rolling signature: “Bernard of Hollywood”.
This was how young Bruno Bernard started to call himself when he set up a photo studio in the basement in his Hollywood apartment where he had just arrived in 1940. He discovered the future star Marilyn Monroe and was to become “the” star photographer of the film business. In 1984 he was awarded an Academy Award in recognition of his achievements, until now the only photographer honoured in that way.
In 1930 Marlene Dietrich became a worldwide star when she played Lola in “The Blue Angel”. Her physique and especially her long legs were considered the ideal of beauty of that epoch, even in the USA she was the German star par excellence.
Similarly Swede Anita Ekberg, born 1931, influenced the image of women of her time. A scene in Fellini’s “La dolce Vita” immortalised her and the film itself: wearing nearly nothing she took a nightly bath in the Roman Fontana di Trevi. But before she had yet played besides John Wayne and Lauren Bacall and even won a Golden Globe as “Most promising newcomer”.
Robert Mitchum, nicknamed “Mitch”, personified coolness for a long time with his cool and sometimes even cynical behaviour, with his style and facial expression. In The American Film Institute’s list of Greatest male American screen legends of all time he figures on no. 23 thanks to his appearances in successful films like “River of No Return” and “The Night of the Hunter”.
Bernard of Hollywood created pictures that travelled the world and showed the stars how people knew them and how they wanted to be known: cool and superior, seductive and adorable, embodiments of femaleness and maleness. Today these photos are captured even on silver coins remembering Hollywood’s great stars.
The coins are available through coin dealers.
You can find more information on the Coin Invest Trust here.
Do you remember the famous Trevi fountain scene of Anita Ekberg?
Marlene Dietrich as Lola in the “Blue Angel” was considered scandalous.
Mitchum became famous by Charles Laughton’s “The Night of the Hunter”. How he explained Good and Bad with his struggling hands was to be cited over and over again.