M is for Marilyn Monroe

Born: June 1, 1926

Died: August 4, 1962

Aged: 36 years from overdose-accidental, suicide or murder-I think murder

Real Name: Norma Jean Mortensen(Baker)

Marriages: 3-2nd to Joe DiMaggio, 3rd-Arthur Miller

Affairs: Johnny Hyde, Andre Des Diennes, Yves Montand, JFK, Robert Kennedy etc..

Friends: Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald

A world icon, sex symbol extraordinaire. More books have been written about her than any other actor/actress. Her family history seems to be riddled with mental instability. Her mother worked as a film cutter but was in and out of mental institutions which meant she could not care for her daughter. (Marilyn had a half brother who died before she was born and she has a half sister). Marilyn ended up in orphanages and foster homes. In one of these homes she was raped when she was just a child. As soon as she could, she married so she would not have to go to another foster home but her heart belonged to becoming an actress. Her idol was Clark Gable. When her first marriage crumbled, she started being in the movies but didn't make much of a splash. To be able to get her car out of the pound, she did a nude spread. Later, when she was famous, she was going to be blackmailed but she decided to reveal it herself to the press and it worked to her advantage.  Johnny Hyde was an agent who helped her get small roles where she was noticed.  As she climbed up the ladder to stardom her insecurities plagued her and she started taking more pills. She could not sleep so she made sure the phone was placed outside her door so the ringing would not wake her if she did fall asleep. Her issues with showing up late on the set or not showing up at all started to rear its ugly head. When she finally made it to stardom she said, "Thank God, that's the last C$#! I will have to suck." She was famous for the casting couch. She went to Korea  for the soldiers. When Ella had trouble getting bookings, Marilyn helped out and would sit in the front row-Ella always appreciated the help. Marilyn wanted to be known as an actress so she left the studio and showed up in New York to study under the famed Lee Strasburg method style of acting. She often brought his daughter to the set and it was of a great annoyance to the director and others never mind being always late...by hours!. During the filming of "Some Like It Hot" she had to do over 70 takes just asking where the bourbon (or whiskey, I forget-watch the movie:)) was. They finally had to write it on a paper and place it in the drawer. These antics made Tony Curtis say "Kissing her was like kissing Hitler." He later claimed he slept with her but I doubt it.  Billy Wilder liked working with her because of what she brought to the screen which one could not see when you saw her in person.  Photographers loved her and one night Andre Des Diennes got a call from Marilyn at 2am. She could not sleep & was depressed and wanted pictures of her in the most desolate of places to capture her mood. He took these pictures-without makeup or anything else, just the headlights from the car.  After she said " You usually write captions for your photographs, you can put-The end of everything, underneath these."

When she was found dead, the police were not called initially. Peter Lawford, who lived behind her, was at the house (he was married to Pat Kennedy), a doctor and some others were there. She was found naked with her hand on the telephone which was strange since she didn't want the phone in her room and the phone records went missing later. There was no water or cup found in her room so how did she take the pills? The pill bottles were there on the table. The big thing is that they found drugs in her blood stream but nothing was found in her stomach! They also found a small puncture wound between her toes!! Whatever happened these are questions left unanswered. It is quick to say she took an overdose due to her history but things don't add up. Regardless she is bigger now than ever. DiMaggio was heartbroken as it seemed they may have been seeing each other just before she died. He made sure red roses were at her burial crypt every week.

Films: "The Asphalt Jungle", "The Lady Eve", "Niagara", "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", "How To Marry A Millionaire", "The Seven Year Itch", "Bus Stop", "Some Like It Hot", "The Misfits"

Quote: " "I want to be a big star more than anything. It's something precious."