New York teen’s long-lost, candid footage of Marilyn Monroe found after half century

He was just a 14-year-old kid from the Bronx, but he captured footage of one of the biggest movie stars of all time at the height of her powers. The year was 1955 and teenager Peter Mangone was so obsessed with Marilyn Monroe, he skipped school in hopes of spotting her near the hotel in Manhattan where she was staying after her divorce from Joe DiMaggio.

Lucky for us, Mangone brought along his 8mm Kodak camera that day. After seeing Monroe strolling on the street with her entourage, the blond bombshell "waved, winked and invited him along," according to a synopsis of Mangone's book of photographs, "Marilyn Monroe: NYC, 1955."

Mangone eagerly followed his idol, capturing her with his trusty Kodak camera over the course of the afternoon. Later, Mangone's footage went missing, but it was recovered in 2002 in mint condition by his brother, who found it amongst his father's possessions. A portion of the silent film is embedded below.

"It was like finding my high school sweetheart," Mangone said. "She was just the way I remembered her."

Mangone passed away last year, but not before his book of Monroe stills was published. An exhibition, titled "Marilyn Monroe Rediscovered: The Lost Film of Peter Mangone," will double as a release party for the book at Danziger Gallery in Manhattan on January 10th. The show runs through February 9, 2013.

(Via Gothamist)