Marilyn Monroe
Throughout her acting career of 16 years, Marilyn Monroe participated in 29 movies, 24 of these during the first 8 years of her career. Born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles General Hospital, her mother, Gladys, listed the fathers address as unknown. Marilyn would never learn the true identity of her father. However, some biographers, such as Donald H. Wolfe in The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe, believe that her biological father was Charles Stanley Gifford, a salesman for RKO Pictures where Marilyn's mother Gladys worked as a film-cutter. Monroe's birth certificate lists Gladys's second husband, Martin Edward Mortenson, as the father. Marilyn legally changed her name to Marilyn Monroe on February 23, 1956.
Marilyn Monroe's Chidlhood
Marilyn got a very rough start into life. Her mother's mental and emotional instability resulted in the little girl's placement in foster care with a couple named Albert and Ida Bolender; people she later described as "...terribly strict...they didn't mean any harm...it was their religion. They brought me up harshly." She remained under the Bolanders' supervision until age 7.In 1933, Norma Jeane was briefly reunited with her mother Gladys. However, Gladys began to show signs of renewed clinical depression and in 1934 was admitted to a rest home in Santa Monica. Grace McKee, Gladys's close friend then became Norma Jeane's guardian. According to a co-worker, "Grace loved and adored the little girl", recalled one of her co-workers. Grace told Marilyn not to worry, because she is going to become a beautiful girl when she grows up..."an important woman, a movie star." Grace was idolizing Jean Harlow, a superstar of the twenties, and Marilyn said later, "So, Jean Harlow became my idol, too." After Grace McKee married in 1935, Norma Jeane was sent to the Los Angeles Orphans Home (later known as Hollygrove). After that, several foster home placements followed for the obviously unhappy young lady.
When the Goddards were preparing to move to the East coast of the USA, Grace made one last desperate attempt to try to spare Norma Jeane any unnecessary suffering by the change of homes she had to endure. She asked a friend's mother (that of of James Dougherty) to consider helping her son and Norma Jeane get married as soon as she turned 16. The woman agreed, so Norma Jeane got married just 14 days after turning 16 years old, on June 19, 1942 to the 5 years older Jim Dougherty.
Marilyn Monroe's Young Adult Years
While her husband was away to fight in WW II, Norma Jeane Dougherty moved in with her mother-in-law, and soon took a job at Radioplane Company factory (which was owned by Hollywood actor Reginald Denny). Her job was to spray airplane parts with fire retardant and inspect parachutes. One day an Army photographer, David Conover, visited the factory, taking photos for a YANK magazine article about females contributing to the war effort. The photo was successful, and Norma Jeane was soon under contract by The Blue Book Modeling Agency. In his book entitled Finding Marilyn, Conover later claimed the two had a passionate relationship that lasted for years. Whatever the truth is, indeed, Marilyn underwent a complete metamorphosis. She changed her hair cut to a short style, straightened her curly hair and colored it golden blonde. In the fall of 1946 she was granted a divorce. About that marriage she was later quoted to say, "My marriage didn't make me sad, but it didn't make me happy either. My husband and I hardly spoke to each other. This wasn't because we were angry. We had nothing to say. I was dying of boredom."She soon became one of Blue Book's most highly sought after models, and people started looking towards finding her photo on magazine covers. In 1946, Ben Lyon noticed her. He arranged an auditioning for her with 20th Century Fox. As a result, she was offered a 6 months long contract with a salary of $125 / week as a start.
Marilyn Monroe: The First Years of Her Career
Her first role was a minor part in the movie "Scudda-Hoo! Scudda-Hay! When her contract expired after 6 months, she was let go. In 1948, a six-month stint at Columbia Pictures resulted in her role in Ladies of the Chorus; however, this low-budget musical was a flop, so Monroe was jobless again. However, she was rehired later in 1948 by 20th Century Fox. She sang her first song in the movie "Ladies of the Chorus". This came at a price fr Marilyn.Johnny Hyde, of the William Morris Agency, became her mentor and lover in 1949. Fox Vice-President Darryl F. Zanuck was not did not see any potential in Marilyn, but Hyde's persistence won out: Marilyn was given supporting parts in Fox's All About Eve and MGM's The Asphalt Jungle. Despite the these roles having been meaningless, the audience as well as critics noticed her beauty. It was Hyde who convinced Marilyn to have minor plastic surgery on her nose and chin, which together with a previously performed dental surgery were supposed to help her look not just pretty, but perfect.
In 1949, Marilyn reluctantly agreed to pose nude for a calendar. This decision cost her a lot of trouble later on in her career in terms of reputation. "Clash By Night" in 1952 earned her several favorable notices...Alton Cook of the New York World-Telegram and Sun wrote..."a forceful actress, a gifted new star, worthy of all that fantastic press agency. Her role here is not very big, but she makes it dominant." Monroe's first leading role in a feature movie was in "Don't Bother to Knock", also filmed in 1952.
Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio, and Arthur Miller
Marilyn and Joe DiMaggio met in early 1952, when she was 25 and he was 37. DiMaggio, recently retired from baseball, had expressed a desire to meet this famous star. By February their romance was in full blossom. Marilyn was quoted saying, "I was surprised to be so crazy about Joe. I expected a flashy New York sports type, and instead I met this reserved guy who didn't make a pass at me right away! He treated me like something special. Joe is a very decent man, and he makes other people feel decent, too!"Joe and Marilyn were married on January 14th 1953. The wedding was on the front page of most papers around the Globe. But the happiness did not last long. Joe developed extreme jealousy and opposed Marilyn's plans to continue working as a movie star. He felt offended by every Jim and Joe referring to his wife as a "sex symbol." He wanted her to become a housewife, which Marilyn could not accept. She later explained, "I didn't want to give up my career, and that's what Joe wanted me to do most of all."
In the fall of 1954 Marilyn and Joe separated...later to divorce. On October 6, Jerry Giesler made a press announcement and stated "...as her attorney, I am speaking for her and can only say that the conflict of careers has brought about this regrettable necessity." With the press hounding her, Marilyn answered in a choked voice, "I can't say anything today. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
"When I married him (Joe), I wasn't sure of why I married him, I have too many fantasies to be a housewife."
In early 1955 Marilyn again returned to New York and joined the Actors Studio, in pursuit of becoming a serious actress. There she met Lee Strasberg, head of the Studio and drama coach. Mr. Strasberg and his family would play an important role in her life.
She was to renew her acquaintance with Arthur Miller and have an affair with him before their marriage over a year later. To Marilyn, Miller represented the serious theater and an intellect that she found attractive. To Miller, years later..."It was wonderful to be around her, she was simply overwhelming. She had so much promise. It seemed to me that she could really be a great kind of phenomenon, a terrific artist. She was endlessly fascinating, full of original observations...there wasn't a conventional bone in her body."
Marilyn Monroe: Years of Success
During the next few months, two movies, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire made Monroes an A-list actress; she became one of the world's most famous movie stars. These films established Monroe's "dumb blonde" on-screen persona, a not so pleasant side-affect of her sudden fame.In Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Monroe's role as a gold-digging showgirl Lorelei Lee won her fantastic reviews from the critiques. The song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" inspired Madonna, Kylie Minogue and Geri Halliwell, as well as millions of others around the world. In the Los Angeles premiere of the film, Monroe and co-star Jane Russell pressed their foot- and handprints in the cement in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
In How to Marry a Millionaire, Monroe co-starred with Lauren Bacall and Betty Grable. She played a rather slow witted blonde, and even though the role was stereotypical, critics complimented her on her comedic talent.
Her next two films, the western River of No Return and the musical There's No Business Like Show Business, were not that successful. Monroe got tired of the roles that Zanuck assigned her. After completing work on The Seven Year Itch in early 1955, she decided to one-sidedly quit her contract as she fled Hollywood to study acting at The Actors Studio in New York. Fox was very upset, of course, and insisted The Girl in Pink Tights (which was never filmed), The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing, and How to Be Very, Very Popular (movies that Monroe, correctly, described as low level, meaningless junk).
Monroe did not heed and remained in New York. As The Seven Year Itch raced to the top of the box office in the summer of 1955, and with Fox starlets Jayne Mansfield and Sheree North failing to reach the desired box-office success, Zanuck finally agreed to any and all terms Marilyn wanted, and she returned to Hollywood. A new contract was drawn up, affording Monroe with the right approve the director as well as the option to choose projects.
The first film to be made under the contract was Bus Stop, directed by Joshua Logan. She played the role of Chérie, a saloon bar singer who becomes enamoured with a cowboy.
She was nominated for a Golden Globe for this performance and praised by critics. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times proclaimed: "Hold on to your chairs, everybody, and get set for a rattling surprise. Marilyn Monroe has finally proved herself an actress."
How Marilyn Monroe Rose to Success and Fame
In his autobiography, Movie Stars, Real People and Me, director Joshua Logan wrote: "I found Marilyn to be one of the great talents of all time... She struck me as being a much brighter person than I had ever imagined, and I think that was the first time I learned that intelligence and, yes brilliance have nothing to do with education."Monroe established her own production company with friend and photographer Milton H. Greene. Marilyn Monroe Productions released its first and only film The Prince and the Showgirl in 1957 to mixed reviews. Along with executive-producing the film, she starred opposite the famous British actor Laurence Olivier, who also directed this movie.
Olivier became furious at her habit of being late to the set, as well as her dependency on her drama coach, Paula Strasberg. Monroe's performance was hailed by critics, especially in Europe, where she was handed the David di Donatello, the Italian equivalent of the Academy Award, as well as the French Crystal Star Award. She was also nominated for the British BAFTA award.
Marilyn Monroe: A Troubled Soul
As early as in 1960, Marilyn was seeking medical advice from Dr. Ralph Greenson, a fashionable psychoanalyst to Hollywood stars at the time. He was a firm believer of psychotropic drugs, routinely prescribing barbiturates and tranquilizers in addition to other treatment methods, such as psychotherapy. July 1960 marked the start of filming "The Misfits," a short story by Arthur Miller adapted for film. While on location the Millers maintained separate living space, barely speaking to each-other. Meanwhile, pills for Marilyn were regularly flown in from her Los Angeles doctors, including Dr. Greenson. People around Marilyn noticed, it took so long to get her going in the morning that they usually had to make her up while she was still in bed. But she continued to give high performance.In February 1961, her psychiatrist advised her to volunteer forinpatient treatment in Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic, where, according to Donald Spoto, she was placed in the ward for the most seriously disturbed. Was she suicidal? We can only guess. She felt rather lethargic but unable to check out, she called DiMaggio, who secured her release. She later joined him in Florida. Their "just good friends" claim did not stop rumors of remarriage. Archive footage shows Bob Hope jokingly dedicated Best Song nominee The Second Time Around to them at the 1960 Academy Awards telecast.
In 1961 Marilyn purchased a house in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles. At the urging of her psychoanalyst, Dr Greenson, she hired Eunice Murray as housekeeper. Murray, calling herself a nurse, had neither the training or credentials. It is suspected that she was a "spy" for Dr. Greenson who continued to have more and more control over Marilyn's life, seeing her almost daily when she was in Los Angeles.
A reported affair with John F. Kennedy began in late 1961. At the President's gala birthday celebration in Madison Square Garden on May 19, 1962, Marilyn sang her now famous "Happy Birthday" tribute to JFK. The Attorney General, Bobby Kennedy was also reported to have had an affair with Marilyn shortly before her death.
According to Maury Allen, on August 1, 1962, DiMaggio - alarmed by how his ex-wife had fallen in with people he felt detrimental to her, such as Frank Sinatra and his "Rat Pack" - quit his job with a PX supplier to ask her to remarry him. There is no record of a second marriage between the two.
Marilyn Monroe's Death
Marilyn Monroe was found nude, dead in the bedroom of her Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, home August 5th, 1962 with an empty bottle of Nembutal sleeping pills by her side by two doctors who had to break into her locked room. The local coroner, who visited the scene later, said the circumstances of Miss Monroe's death indicated a "possible suicide". Before the service, the outer lid and the upper half of the divided inner lid of her casket were opened so that the mourners could get a last glimpse of the deceased actress. She wore her favorite green Emilio Pucci dress, she held a small bouquet of pink teacup roses in the coffin. The service was held at the Westwood Memorial Park Chapel in Hollywood, and only 30 people were invited to the private ceremony. Marilyn's acting coach and mentor, Lee Strasberg delivered her eulogy, and Judy Garland's "Over the Rainbow" (from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz) played at the end of the service.Marilyn is interred at Corridor of Memories, #24, at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, California, in a pink marble crypt. This is the cemetery where her foster mother Grace Goddard's aunt was buried and where Monroe in turn had arranged for Goddard to be buried.
Joe DiMaggio claimed her body and arranged her funeral, barring Hollywood's elite. For twenty years every week, Joe ordered a bouquet of her favorite roses be placed on Marilyn's grave; something none of the other men in her life (who were still alive) have done.
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This DVD presents a detailed history of Monroe Monroe through her 30 movies. Watch trailers and details behind the film legacy she left behind. As an... more »
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With her flawless beauty and childlike charisma, actress Marilyn Monroe continues to wield the most iconic screen presence in cinematic
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Collector's Choice Double Feature: Marilyn Monroe
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This release pairs two short features starring Marilyn Monroe. "Home Town Story" (1951) stars Jeffrey Lynn as an ex-politician who
Marilyn Monroe on eBay
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Marilyn Monroe Movies on Amazon
All About Eve
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Some Like It Hot (Collector's Edition)
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How To Marry A Millionaire
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There's No Business Like Show Business
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Reader Feedback
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calicoskies
5 star lens!!! Great job! Posted November 28, 2007 |
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harry2
Nice lens, I have bookmarked it and I will return soon. Feel free to visit my lens about Download Sites Posted November 22, 2007 |
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jodeven
Hey, some really good info here. I've learned a lot. Posted September 03, 2007 |
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Good_health
Very well done lens. I see some others are uncertain about her true cause of death, I have heard that is was suspicious. Before my time though. Good job. Posted August 19, 2007 |
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JohnTheMarketer
Marilyn was in my era, as was another lovely lady, Kim Novak, my favourite (sorry) :-) Given you 5. Posted July 22, 2007 |
