The distinctive blue building that houses the Marlin Club was built in 1905 and first operated as a fish market downstairs and a boarding house upstairs. On December 23, 1941 all tourism and non-essential traffic were prohibited from going to the Island. World War II and the Merchant Marines took over the Island from 1942–1945. The Marlin Club bar first opened in 1944 as an Officer’s Club for the Merchant Marines stationed on the island during WWII.
In 1943 Norma Jeane Baker (Marilyn Monroe) and her husband Jimmy Dougherty were living in the boarding house above the Marlin Club.
In 1942 a 16-year-old Norma Jeane Baker (Marilyn Monroe) married 21-year-old James Dougherty. Dougherty joined the Merchant Marines in 1943 and was assigned to teach ocean safety on Catalina Island. The young couple moved into the boarding house above the Marlin Club and lived there until they moved into their Apartment at 310 Metropole Ave. Young Marilyn worked at the local favorite Lloyd’s Candy Store.
One year after her arrival in Avalon, Marilyn was discovered by a photographer, divorced her husband, and changed her name to Marilyn Monroe.
Over the years Marilyn made several trips back to Catalina. In the last slide above Chicago White Sox third baseman, Hank Majeski is shown with the now-famous and now-blond Marilyn Monroe during spring training on Catalina Island in March of 1950.
Do you have a story of the famous people who have frequented the Marlin Club? Email us and we will add their story to our wall of shame fame. mail@marlinclub.com
