Some like it boo! Owl Has Fun Echoing Marilyn Monroe’s Iconic Little White Dress Moment
- The short-eared owl has its windswept feathers ruffled in a surprisingly familiar way
Watch twit twoo! This windswept scene is straight out of a Hollywood movie.
Echoing Marilyn Monroe’s iconic little white dress moment, a short-eared owl was captured with its feathers ruffled in a surprisingly familiar way.
But the windy Durham moors where the owl was snapped are a far cry from the hot summer streets of New York where Miss Monroe created the windy spectacle of The Seven Year Itch.
And although the 1955 classic saw the blonde bombshell need three hours and 14 takes atop a subway grate to nail the scene, for an amateur wildlife photographer it took minutes to snap her shot thanks to a perfectly timed gust of wind. .
Paul Cleasby, 58, said: ‘I spotted some short-eared owls flying around and stopped the car. This one flew towards me and landed on a pole nearby.
Echoing Marilyn Monroe’s iconic little white dress moment, a short-eared owl was captured with its feathers ruffled in a surprisingly familiar way

Although the 1955 classic (pictured) saw the blonde bombshell need three hours and 14 shots atop a subway grate to nail the scene, for an amateur wildlife photographer it took minutes to snap her shot thanks to a perfectly timed gust of wind
“I was thrilled he sat there for a good few minutes and posed well so I could capture a few shots from the comfort of my car.”
The owl’s feathers flutter to the right as it perches in windy weather – as its tiny paws hug each other in a cheeky pose.
The photo is a mirror image of the historic photo, which showed the Hollywood icon’s white dress floating above a New York City subway grate.
But the dress – which sold for $4.6 million in 2011 – also ruffled some feathers and is believed to have even helped end the actress’ marriage to baseball player Joe DiMaggio.
The finale of their wedding drama came on September 15 when two thousand men and dozens of photographers stood at the corner of Lexington Avenue and Fifty-Second Street to watch the filming of the famous scene.
Standing above a metro grid, Marilyn’s skirt went up to her neck and revealed transparent panties. Director Billy Wilder stopped filming and ordered him to change them.
When she returned from her trailer, DiMaggio had retired to Toots Shor’s bar to drown herself in drink and had flown to San Francisco on her own.