Early Life
The legend of Marilyn Monroe flowers from one generation to the next. Most of today's fans were not even born during her lifetime, yet for some unexplainable reason they find themselves drawn to her. The combination of her beauty, vulnerability and tragic death has perpetuated a rescue fantasy for many. Men believe they could have been the soul mate that she never found. While women wonder if they could have been that one true friend that she never had. They all wish they could have been the one to save her. But Marilyn couldn't be saved. She was tormented by insecurities that we will never understand.
Without a doubt, her childhood contributed to her insecurity and unhappiness later in life. Although Marilyn did sometimes exaggerate the horrors of her upbringing, there can be no denying that it was indeed a grim and difficult experience for her. Illegitimate at birth, little Norma Jeane Mortensen (she was baptized with the surname Baker), entered the world on June 1st, 1926. Without a father, Norma Jeane was left in the care of her mother, Gladys Baker. Unfortunately, this did not last. Gladys, whose family had a history of mental illness, had a break-down and was institutionalized. She remained this way until her death in 1984. Little Norma Jeane spent her young life being shuffled from foster home to foster home. She even spent two traumatizing years living in a Los Angeles orphanage. It is hard to believe that a goddess could rise up from such circumstances.
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The Transformation
Here the transformation began, with a studio contract in hand, the newly named Marilyn Monroe lightened her dark locks and the Blonde Bombshell was born. In the early 1950's Marilyn appeared in a slew of small roles as the stereotypical dumb blonde. During this timeframe a photo from her past came back to haunt her. Young Norma Jeane the model had posed nude because she desperately needed the money to get her car out of hock. Now this photo of a beautiful girl stretched out nude on red velvet was showing up in every garage in the United States. To the studio's surprise Marilyn admitted that indeed it was her in the photo and unashamed she went on to quip that she didn't have anything on but the radio. Normally, such an admission would have been the end of a career but in Marilyn's case it was only the beginning.
By 1955, Marilyn had grown tired of the roles the studio gave her to play. She wanted to be a serious actress. She walked out on her contract with 20th Century Fox and took up residence in New York. Here she studied at the Actor's Studio with Lee Strasberg. After a year long strike, the studio eventually gave in to her unprecedented demands including story and director approval. Her new contract allowed her an incredible amount of creative control that was considered revolutionary for an actress at that time. Her first film after her return, was Bus Stop (1956). The film won her rave reviews for her touching performance as Cherie the Chanteuse.
By the 1960's, Marilyn had resorted to a steady diet of sleeping pills and champagne. Some people blame her journey into psychoanalysis teamed with using "the method" style of acting she perfected in New York. In the method you use your own emotions to actually feel what the character is going through. Considering the traumatic childhood Marilyn endured, it should be no surprise that all this digging into her psyche made it difficult for her to function.
Arthur Miller tried to save her. He wrote a film for her called The Misfits (1961) where she could fulfill her life-long desire to be a serious actress. He even paired her with her childhood idol Clark Gable. But it would not work. Marilyn had a break down during the filming and by the end of the shoot her marriage to Arthur was over. Even more heartbreaking is the fact that this film would be the last time either Clark Gable or Marilyn would ever appear on the screen. Clark Gable died of a heart attack shortly after shooting on the film had wrapped. Marilyn was very distraught, believing her tardiness, which left Gable waiting endlessly in the heat had killed him.
For a time in 1962, it seemed that Marilyn had put her life back on track. She had shed 15 pounds for her role in Something's Got to Give, and when she showed up for hair and makeup tests she was as beautiful as ever. But it was only a facade. Out of 30 shooting days Marilyn only appeared on the set 13 times, claiming illness. When she left filming to appear at President Kennedy's Birthday gala, the Studio executives were appalled. In retaliation, she was fired and sued for breach of contract. Marilyn was devastated.
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Awards and Nominations
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1952 Photoplay Award: Special Award
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1953 Photoplay Award: Most Popular Female Star
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1956 BAFTA Film Award nomination: Best Foreign Actress for The Seven Year Itch
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1956 Golden Globe nomination: Best Motion Picture Actress in Comedy or Musical for Bus Stop
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1958 BAFTA Film Award nomination: Best Foreign Actress for The Prince and the Showgirl
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1958 David di Donatello Award (Italian): Golden Plate for The Prince and the Showgirl
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1959 Crystal Star Award (French): Best Foreign Actress for The Prince and the Showgirl
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1960 Golden Globe, Best Motion Picture Actress in Comedy or Musical for Some Like It Hot
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1962 Golden Globe, World Film Favorite: Female
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Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame 6104 Hollywood Blvd.
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Marilyn's Favs
ACTORS : John Barrymore, Marlon Brando, Charlie Chaplin, Joan Crawford, Olivia de Havilland, Marie Dressler, Clark Gable, Great Garbo, Cary Grant, Jean Harlow, Charles Laughton, Tyrone Power, Ginger Rodgers, Will Rogers, and Richard Widmark.
ARTISTS : Botticelli, El Greco, Goya, Michelangelo and Picasso.
BOOK : How Stanislavsky Directs by Michael Gorchakov
CANDY : Tootsie Rolls
COLORS : beige, black, red and white.
DRINK : Dom Perignon 1953
FILM PERFORMANCE : The Asphalt Jungle (1950), Don't Bother to Knock (the breakdown scene) (1952)
MUSICIANS : Louis Armstrong, Earl Bostick, Ludwig von Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
PHOTOGRAPH : Cecil Beaton's photo of her in white dress
PLAYS : A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman
PLAYWRIGHTS : Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams
PERFUME : Chanel No. 5
POETS : John Keats, Walt Whitman
REMEMBERACE : Korea
RESTAURANT : Romanoff's
SINGERS : Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra
STORE : Bloomingdale's
WRITERS : Fyodor Dostoyevsky, J.D Salinger, George Bernard Shaw, Thomas Wolfe
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Death
On August 5, 1962, Marilyn was found dead, nude on her bed, with a phone in her hand. It seems even in her final hours she tried reaching out for help. But now just like in her childhood there was no one there to save her. Her death was ruled as an overdose of sleeping pills. Several conspiracy theories have been brought up around the circumstances, some involving the president JFK. Cover-up has been a main topic for discussion.
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