She’s Back! Marilyn Monroe Strips Down For Playboy (Again)

It looks like Christmas has come early for Playboy subscribers — the saucy mag has revisited its roots for the December issue by featuring its most well-known model (and Hugh Hefner's all-time top crush), Marilyn Monroe. Clad in a towel and little else, the tribute is not only touching (2012 marks the 50th anniversary of her death), but quite titillating for fans and history buffs alike.

The glossy dug through its archives (10 million photos deep!), to publish the special series of rare shots of Monroe throughout her career. Of course, Hef couldn't be more pleased with the homage to Playboy's premiere cover girl, revealing, "She was most in control when she was in the nude ... What would be a position of vulnerability for others was a position of power for her." And boy does the portfolio prove it!

From her iconic shoot with Lawrence Schiller two days before her death to the candids of Monroe getting dressed by her pool, there's no denying this woman was a pro at posing sans skivvies. But, as we all know, there was a darker side to the blonde bombshell — a topic of conversation which Hefner, Roger Ebert, and Kim Morgan touch upon in recollections for the special issue (there's no denying that there is an academic edge to the mag, after all!).

Available on newsstands now, the gold-foil cover is sure to be a collector's item. Grab yours, stat — but maybe wait until you get home to thumb through it. (Huff Post U.K.)