(I-Newswire) - From "Marilyn Monroe: The Exhibit" aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach harbor to an upcoming book release that claims to explore the relationship between June DiMaggio, relative of Joe DiMaggio, and the beloved model and movie star, the Marilyn Monroe hype ( and money-making ) machine is revving back up to full gear.

Except one writer – German actor and Marilyn Monroe expert and collector Mark Bellinghaus – has exposed the questionable facts behind the claims put forth by June, her backers, and "The Exhibit" that charges unsuspecting Monroe devotees $22.95 to have a look at cheap kitsch and copycat items easily found on eBay.

Online magazine Blogcritics.org showcases the exclusive and exhaustive report that vindicates Bellinghaus and allows the truth to get out before more people buy in:

Marilyn Monroe's Memory Defrauded in Long Beach – The Truth Is Here
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/02/06/132111.php

From the exhibit advertised as the largest private collection of Monroe memorabilia ever assembled to legendary Playboy founder Hugh Hefner to vague and distant family relatives looking to cash in, the story unfolds with breathtaking scope and fascinating detail.

Already this groundbreaking investigation is being picked up on and heralded all over the Internet:

* MSNBC.com's "Clicked" column: "…even Marilyn Monroe auctions aren't beyond the reach of someone with gumption and Google. Tell me this doesn't remind you of RatherGate…"

* Defamer ( on James Van Praagh's attempt to "communicate" with Ms. Monroe's hair curlers on Entertainment Tonight ): "If it wasn't Marilyn Monroe, exactly which dead blonde was James van Praagh communing with through those hair curlers?"

* Metafilter: "Marilyn Monroe, The Exhibit is a near-complete hoax, if Mark Bellinghaus – a man who appears to put the 'fan' into 'fanatical' – is to be believed."

Through painstaking research, interviews, photographs, and a lifetime of admiration and study, the case is made for anyone willing to take a second look at the latest attempt to make riches off the name ( if not possessions ) of a national icon.