Inn key to room where Marilyn Monroe stayed sells for $131

NEW MILFORD, Conn. – The key to a room at the Connecticut inn where Marilyn Monroe stayed in 1956 while dating playwright Arthur Miller has sold for $131.

The key from the Homestead Inn in New Milford sold Friday on eBay to a woman who lives in the town, antiques dealer Loretta Kretchko said Monday.

Kretchko, who runs Bob Kretchko Antiques with her husband, Bob, said they bought the inn’s keys two years ago when the property changed hands. There were multiple keys for other rooms but only one for Monroe’s favourite — No. 22, Loretta Kretchko said.

The Kretchkos put the key up for sale after seeing the interest generated by the recent auction of a dress Monroe wore as she famously sang “Happy Birthday” to President John Kennedy. The dress sold this month for $4.8 million.

“I did think the key would have gone for a little more money to a Marilyn Monroe collector,” Loretta Kretchko said. “It went to a local person for nostalgia.”

During the time Monroe stayed at the inn, Miller lived in nearby Roxbury. The couple later married.