Arm in arm with her first devoted fan, Marilyn at 4
MARILYN Monroe had many admirers down the years, but the young fellow pictured with her in a series of rarely seen photos may well have been one of the very first.
Named Lester Bolender, he and Norma Jean Baker, as she then was, became so close in the foster family in which they were placed that they were known as ‘the twins’.
The black and white photos of the pair were found in the film star’s personal possessions after her death, suggesting the relationship remained important to her even in later life, although it is not known whether she and Lester stayed in touch.
The pictures, taken in 1930 when both were aged four, are to be auctioned in the US next week and are expected to sell for around £1,000.
In one of the photos, Monroe and Lester are seen standing together with their arms around each other.
They lived with a family named the Bolenders in a suburb outside Los Angeles, and the three years Monroe spent with them were said to be among the happiest of her turbulent childhood.
She used to play on a nearby beach or climb the apple tree outside her bedroom window with Lester, making forts with blankets in the branches.
The Bolender family wanted to adopt Monroe but in 1933 her mother Gladys, who gave her up for foster care when she was a baby, said she wanted her back.
However, Gladys was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia the following year and Monroe was returned to foster care.
The iconic Hollywood star died aged 36 in 1962 from a drug overdose, while Lester passed away in 1999 aged 73.