Business

Marilyn Monroe deal flirts with $50M figure

The Marilyn Monroe business is getting a makeover.

Nearly 50 years after the death of the sexy cinema icon, her name and likeness will soon grace a wide range of fresh merchandise, including apparel, handbags, fragrances and home goods.

That’s a long way from the piles of souvenirs that are hawked every year in Times Square and other tourist traps worldwide, according to Jamie Salter of Authentic Brands Group, which partnered with media company NECA to acquire the Marilyn Monroe estate.

“We’re not really interested in the trinkets and trash,” Salter told The Post. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good business — calendars, posters and shot glasses — but that’s not what we want to do with Marilyn Monroe.”

In addition to higher-class goods, the firm will cut deals for the breathy starlet’s image to appear in future Hollywood movies — possibly with the help of digital animation technology.

Salter declined to comment on terms, but sources said the deal was cut for less than $50 million after about six months of talks.

Anna Strasberg, executor of the estate and the third wife of Monroe’s ex-acting coach, Lee Strasberg, said in a statement that Salter and his firm “impressed me with their bold, imaginative ideas.” Strasberg, 71, will remain a partner in the venture.

The key will be to “create products that people actually want to buy,” Salter said.

Ironically, that means limiting the use of the sex kitten’s image as the firm distributes a slew of licensed products to mid-tier retail chains and discounters worldwide.

“You’re not going to get into bed with 300-thread-count sheets that have Marilyn Monroe’s face all over them,” Salter said. “That’s kind of hokey.”

Authentic Brands prides itself on the subtle and steady approach it’s taken during the past year in its licensing deal with Bob Marley. Only about a third of the products created thus far bear the image of the reggae legend.

It’s too early to say what Marilyn-branded clothing will look like, except that it will be “elegant, elegant, elegant — and size doesn’t matter,” Salter said. “Marilyn was an elegant woman, but she was not a pencil.”

The game plan:

* Create Marilyn-branded fragrances, cosmetics and apparel

* Step up Marilyn-related movie and TV deals

* Eliminate trinkets and souvenirs in Times Square

* Avoid cheesy merchandise bearing Monroe’s image

james.covert@nypost.com