It’s a picture-perfect idea.
A Long Island beach is marking what would have been Marilyn Monroe’s 100th birthday Monday with a special tribute to celebrate the iconic 1949 photo shoot there that kick-started her career.
Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joe Saladino unveiled a plaque Friday at Tobay Beach commemorating the Hollywood legend’s iconic stop on Long Island.
“Tobay Beach wasn’t just a quiet escape; it was the place where a legend was launched,” the special plaque reads.
Saladino, standing near where the gorgeous then-23-year-old posed in a sexy swimsuit with an umbrella, said Monroe “visited New York City and was looking to catapult her career.
“We wanted to forever memorialize this iconic moment,” he said.
Photographer André de Dienes chose the Nassau County shore “to capture her youth, her beauty and her great personality” at a time that the Los Angeles native “was just starting and getting some minor film roles,” Saladino said.
Monroe, who at the time was still Norma Jean Mortenson, declared, “Let’s make history!” in front of the Atlantic Ocean’s crashing waves — and soon made good on her vow.
“Hollywood Studios quickly took notice,” Saladino said of the star’s meteoric rise in the 1950s.
“They looked at her youthfulness, her innocence, vulnerability, and her effortless beauty came across vividly through the camera lens.”
Monroe tragically died in 1962 at age 36 of a drug overdose.
