Marilyn Monroe Films "Some Like It Hot"

In late summer 1958, Hollywood legendary director Billy Wilder brought a star-studded cast and production crew to Hotel del Coronado to film what the American Film Institute would later vote the greatest American comedy of all time: Some Like It Hot. Starring Marilyn Monroe as the charming ukulele singer Sugar Kane Kowalczyk, alongside Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon disguised as female musicians, the film turned the Victorian beachfront into a vibrant cinematic icon.

Wilder selected Hotel del Coronado to portray the fictional "Seminole Ritz" hotel in 1920s Florida because its ornate red turrets, sweeping verandas, and sunlit Pacific beach perfectly captured the lavish Gilded Age aesthetic required for the film. Marilyn Monroe stayed in luxury suite 2261 (now preserved as a historic landmark) and drew thousands of curious local residents, sailors, and vacationers to the boardwalk each day to watch outdoor filming sessions along the ocean sands.

The iconic beach scenes, featuring Monroe in a vintage bathing suit playing ukulele and chatting with Curtis on the sand, cemented Hotel Del’s legendary status in Hollywood history. Decades later, visitors from around the world continue to stroll the hotel’s sunlit boardwalk and explore the lobby memorabilia celebrating Marilyn Monroe’s unforgettable Coronado summer.