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SNIVELY Emmeline

 

Date of birth : May 2, 1909, Ohio.

Date of death : September 17, 1975, Huntington Beach, California.

Addresses 

In 1930 : 916 Hilgarde avenue, Los Angeles

617 So Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles.

Occupation

Owner and manager of the Blue Book Modeling Agency, located at the Ambassador Hotel, 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles.

 

Portrait 

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Story

Her parents were Frank (born in 1878, Ohio) and Myrtle Snively (born in 1882, Indiana). She lived in Toledo, Ohio until the age of 10. Her father was manager of advert for the Toledo News Bee. Then they went to Des Moines before settling in Los Angeles in 1929. Myrtle ran a boarding house located 916 Hilgrade Avenue. 

Emmeline was an art student at Holmby College, and later attended UCLA and worked at its department of photography. She graduated in 1934 then began teaching art; but after several years, she became interested in the other jobs Hollywood offered.

She thought there was a real need of having a model school on the market, a place where the girls could learn how to make a living in the industry of photography and movies.

In 1937 she opened the agency in Westwood under the name of "Village School" and ran it until 1943.

Very soon, she began enrolling young women into her "Blue Book", a catalogue she published every year that featured models availabe for hire. The brochure told "The school offers a non-professionnal course featuring charm, posture, figure control, wardrobe building and personal development".

With her mother's complicity, Myrtle, she ran her business energetically, with a mix of mistrust and humor, elegance and perceptiveness, or even cynicism towards the dangers moral as well as material of the modelling life. 

Early 1940', she settled her agency on Sunset Boulevard, next to the famous Russian restaurant Bublichki 

(,;;). There she found a way to publicising her business with beauty contests such as Miss May, Miss Summer...

In January 1944 she settled at the Ambassador Hotel, on Wilshire Boulevard, where she made her activity

prosper and set up the Blue Book of Charm and Modeling Agency (,,

;).

Occupying n° 37, Casino Floor (), the Blue Book joined a mix of 40 established shops, including clothes stores, a hairdresser and various other retail oulets. It was also close to the Steinie Photographic Studio. She often used Erwin Steinmeyer, the proprietor, to make test shots of the girls on  her books.

She educated the girls to "the movie careers and learn them to pose in front of a lens, with individualized

advices to take advantage of their charm and beauty" (;,,

;,;).

On August 2, 1945 she was accompanied with photographer Potter Hueth to the agency, where she signed her contract with the Blue Book Modeling Agency; she was aged 19 and wore a white dress with an orange yoke and white suede shoes.

 
At that time, Emmeline Snively had about 20 models in her agency. Many of the girls wanted to become movie stars because the models weren't well paid in Los Angeles. Their purpose was to work in New Yotk City, or to get a contract for a movie.

 

Norma Jeane's file:

     - stature : 1m65

     - weight : 53kg

     - measurements : 91-60-86

     - size : 40

     - hair color : medium blonde ("too much curled and unruly, discoloring and perm recommended")

     - eye color : blue

     - teeth perfect

     - knows a little dancing and singing.

Part of the file ;

Note () about this picture () taken by Richard Miller.

 

Norma Jeane paid 25$ to have her picture in the agency catalog (,).

She assiduously attended make-up and beauty cares lessons with Maria Smith, fashion lesson with Mrs Gavin

Beardsley and charm school with Miss Snively ().

She never attended beauty contests with the agency, due to the fact she was married.

September 1945, at the Ambassador Hotel 

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Marilyn also posed for Douglas Airview, the magazine of American Airlines; Emmeline

Snively was tehre during the shooting, made by photographer Larry Kronquist ,

;,,,.

April 1946, at the Ambassador Hotel ,,,;;

 

Fashion show

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The lessons cost 100$; the first payment was deduced from her first salary : she worked as a receptionist, on September 2, 1945, at an exhibition (California Industrial Exhibition) for the Holga Steel Company at

the Pan Pacific Auditorium (7600 Beverly Boulevard) (,); 

she worked 10 days for 100$ :-,,,.

She talked to visitors, gave out leaflets ans showcased one of the company's items.

Then, she posed for 2 days for the Montgomery Ward clothes catalog and paraded for the Hollywood Fashion

Show ().

 
She was sent to fashion magazines editors to make the covers of magazines and publicity agencies; in the space of 6 months (in 1946) she was on the cover of many magazines as Peek, See, US camera, Parade,

Glamorous models, Personal romances, Pageant, Laff -

After this excessive success, the offers dried up for the 6 following months; actually the magazines were afraid of seeing her too much. 

In 1946 Emmeline Snively put her in touch with her frriend Helen Ainsworth.

 

In 1954 they met again when Marilyn invited her on the set of "There's No Business Like Show Business" 

.

 Letter to Marilyn dated June 31, 1958 .

August 8, 1962, she attended Marilyn's funerals at the Westwood Village ,

.

She never married and spent her whole life single.

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