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Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic "
blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular
sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as well as an emblem of the era's
sexual revolution. She was a top-billed actress for a decade, and her films grossed $200 million (equivalent to $ billion in ) by the time of
her death in 1962. Long after her death, Monroe remains a major icon of
pop culture. In 1999, the
American Film Institute ranked her sixth on their list of the
greatest female screen legends from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Multiple film critics and media outlets have cited Monroe as one of the best actors never to have received an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nomination.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Monroe spent most of her childhood in a total of 12
foster homes
Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family ...
and an
orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or ab ...
; she married at age sixteen. She was working in a factory during World War II when she met a photographer from the
First Motion Picture Unit
The 18th AAF Base Unit (Motion Picture Unit), originally known as the First Motion Picture Unit, Army Air Forces, was the primary film production unit of the U.S. Army Air Forces (AAF) during World War II, and was the first military unit mad ...
and began a successful
pin-up model
A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously glamour models, fashion mod ...
ing career, which led to short-lived film contracts with
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
and
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
. After a series of minor film roles, she signed a new contract with Fox in late 1950. Over the next two years, she became a popular actress with roles in several comedies, including ''
As Young as You Feel
''As Young as You Feel'' is a 1951 American comedy film starring Monty Woolley, Thelma Ritter, and David Wayne, with Marilyn Monroe in a small role. It was directed by Harmon Jones.
Plot
When printer John R. Hodges is forced to retire at age 65 ...
'' and ''
Monkey Business'', and in the dramas ''
Clash by Night
''Clash by Night'' is a 1952 American film noir drama directed by Fritz Lang and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Paul Douglas, Robert Ryan, Marilyn Monroe and Keith Andes. The film is based on the 1941 play by Clifford Odets, adapted for the scre ...
'' and ''
Don't Bother to Knock
''Don't Bother to Knock'' is a 1952 American psychological film noir thriller starring Richard Widmark and Marilyn Monroe and directed by Roy Ward Baker.
The screenplay was written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 novel ''Mischief'' by C ...
''. She faced a scandal when it was revealed that she had posed for nude photographs prior to becoming a star, but the story did not damage her career and instead resulted in increased interest in her films.
By 1953, Monroe was one of the most marketable Hollywood stars; she had leading roles in the
film noir ''
Niagara'', which overtly relied on her sex appeal, and the comedies ''
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' and ''
How to Marry a Millionaire'', which established her star image as a "dumb blonde". The same year, her nude images were used as the
centerfold
The centerfold or centrefold of a magazine is the inner pages of the middle sheet, usually containing a portrait, such as a pin-up or a nude. The term can also refer to the model featured in the portrait. In saddle-stitched magazines (as opp ...
and on the cover of the first issue of ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...
''. She played a significant role in the creation and management of her public image throughout her career, but she was disappointed when she was
typecast
In film, television, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character, one or more particular roles, or characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ...
and underpaid by the studio. She was briefly suspended in early 1954 for refusing a film project but returned to star in ''
The Seven Year Itch
''The Seven Year Itch'' is a 1955 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder, from a screenplay he co-wrote with George Axelrod from the 1952 three-act play. The film stars Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, who reprised his stage role. ...
'' (1955), one of the biggest box office successes of her career.
When the studio was still reluctant to change Monroe's contract, she founded her own film production company in 1954. She dedicated 1955 to building the company and began studying
method acting
Method acting, informally known as The Method, is a range of training and rehearsal techniques, as formulated by a number of different theatre practitioners, that seeks to encourage sincere and expressive performances through identifying with, u ...
under
Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American theatre director, actor and acting teacher. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931 ...
at the
Actors Studio. Later that year, Fox awarded her a new contract, which gave her more control and a larger salary. Her subsequent roles included a critically acclaimed performance in ''
Bus Stop'' (1956) and her first independent production in ''
The Prince and the Showgirl
''The Prince and the Showgirl'' (originally titled '' The Sleeping Prince'') is a 1957 British romantic comedy film starring Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier, who also served as director and producer. The screenplay written by Terence Ratti ...
'' (1957). She won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for her role in ''
Some Like It Hot'' (1959), a critical and commercial success. Her last completed film was the drama ''
The Misfits'' (1961).
Monroe's troubled private life received much attention. She struggled with addiction and
mood disorder
A mood disorder, also known as an affective disorder, is any of a group of conditions of mental and behavioral disorder where a disturbance in the person's mood is the main underlying feature. The classification is in the '' Diagnostic and St ...
s. Her marriages to retired baseball star
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul DiMaggio (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "The Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career in Major League Baseball for the New York Yank ...
and to playwright
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...
were highly publicized, but ended in divorce. On August 4, 1962, she died at age 36 from an overdose of
barbiturates at her Los Angeles home. Her death was ruled a probable suicide.
Life and career
1926–1943: Childhood and first marriage
![Marilyn monroe as an infant brightened](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Marilyn_monroe_as_an_infant_brightened.jpg)
Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson on 1 June 1926 at the
Los Angeles General Hospital in Los Angeles, California. Her mother,
Gladys Pearl Baker (née Monroe), was born in
Piedras Negras, Coahuila
Piedras Negras () is a city and seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the Mexican state of Coahuila. It stands at the northeastern edge of Coahuila on the Mexico–United States border, across the Rio Grande from Eagle Pass in ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
to a poor
Midwestern
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
family who migrated to California at the turn of the century. At age 15, Gladys married John Newton Baker, an abusive man nine years her senior. They had two children, Robert (1918–1933) and
Berniece (1919–2014). She successfully filed for divorce and sole custody in 1923, but Baker kidnapped the children soon after and moved with them to his native
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
.
Monroe was not told that she had a sister until she was 12, and they met for the first time in 1944 when Monroe was 17 or 18. Following the divorce, Gladys worked as a film negative cutter at
Consolidated Film Industries
Consolidated Film Industries was a film laboratory and film processing company and was one of the leading film laboratories in the Los Angeles area for many decades. CFI processed negatives and made prints for motion pictures and television. The ...
. In 1924, she married Martin Edward Mortensen, but they separated just months later and divorced in 1928. In 2022, DNA testing indicated that Monroe's father was Charles Stanley Gifford, a co-worker of Gladys, with whom she had an affair in 1925. Monroe also had two other half-siblings from Gifford's marriage with his first wife, a sister, Doris (1920–1933), and a brother, Charles (1922–2015).
Although Gladys was mentally and financially unprepared for a child, Monroe's early childhood was stable and happy. Gladys placed her daughter with
evangelical Christian
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...
foster parents Albert and Ida Bolender in the rural town of
Hawthorne. She also lived there for six months, until she was forced to move back to the city for employment. She then began visiting her daughter on weekends. In the summer of 1933, Gladys bought a small house in
Hollywood with a loan from the
Home Owners' Loan Corporation
The Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) was a government-sponsored corporation created as part of the New Deal. The corporation was established in 1933 by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation Act under the leadership of President Franklin D. Ro ...
and moved seven-year-old Monroe in with her.
They shared the house with lodgers, actors George and Maude Atkinson and their daughter, Nellie. In January 1934, Gladys had a mental breakdown and was diagnosed with
paranoid schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social w ...
. After several months in a rest home, she was committed to the
Metropolitan State Hospital. She spent the rest of her life in and out of hospitals and was rarely in contact with Monroe. Monroe became a
ward of the state
In law, a ward is a minor or incapacitated adult placed under the protection of a legal guardian or government entity, such as a court. Such a person may be referenced as a "ward of the court".
Overview
The wardship jurisdiction is an ancient j ...
, and her mother's friend Grace Goddard took responsibility over her and her mother's affairs.
![Monroe and James Dougherty](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Monroe_and_James_Dougherty.jpg)
Over the next four years, Monroe's living situation changed often. For the first 16 months, she continued living with the Atkinsons, and may have been
sexually abused
Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assau ...
during this time. Always a shy girl, she now also developed a
stutter and became withdrawn. In the summer of 1935, she briefly stayed with Grace and her husband Erwin "Doc" Goddard and two other families. In September 1935, Grace placed her in the Los Angeles Orphans Home. The orphanage was "a model institution" and was described in positive terms by her peers, but Monroe felt abandoned.
Encouraged by the orphanage staff, who thought that Monroe would be happier living in a family, Grace became her
legal guardian in 1936, but did not take her out of the orphanage until the summer of 1937. Monroe's second stay with the Goddards lasted only a few months because Doc
molested
Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assau ...
her. She then lived for brief periods with her relatives and Grace's friends and relatives in Los Angeles and
Compton.
Monroe's childhood experiences first made her want to become an actress: "I didn't like the world around me because it was kind of grim ... When I heard that this was acting, I said that's what I want to be ... Some of my foster families used to send me to the movies to get me out of the house and there I'd sit all day and way into the night. Up in front, there with the screen so big, a little kid all alone, and I loved it."
Monroe found a more permanent home in September 1938, when she began living with Grace's aunt Ana Lower in the west-side district of
Sawtelle. She was enrolled at
Emerson Junior High School
Ralph Waldo Emerson Community Charter School (formerly Ralph Waldo Emerson Middle School and commonly referred to as Emerson) is a charter middle school in the Los Angeles Unified School District in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, United States ...
and went to weekly
Christian Science services with Lower. She excelled in writing and contributed to the school newspaper, but was otherwise a mediocre student. Owing to the elderly Lower's health problems, Monroe returned to live with the Goddards in
Van Nuys in about early 1941.
The same year, she began attending
Van Nuys High School
Van Nuys High School (VNHS) is a public high school in the Van Nuys district of Los Angeles, belonging to the Los Angeles Unified School District: District 2. The school is home to a Residential Program and three Magnet Programs—Math/Science, P ...
. In 1942, the company that employed Doc Goddard relocated him to
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...
. California child protection laws prevented the Goddards from taking Monroe out of state, and she faced having to return to the orphanage. As a solution, she married their neighbors' 21-year-old son, factory worker
James Dougherty, on June 19, 1942, just after her 16th birthday.
Monroe subsequently dropped out of high school and became a housewife. She found herself and Dougherty mismatched, and later said she was "dying of boredom" during the marriage. In 1943, Dougherty enlisted in the
Merchant Marine and was stationed on
Santa Catalina Island, where Monroe moved with him.
1944–1948: Modeling and first film roles
![MarilynMonroe - YankArmyWeekly](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/MarilynMonroe_-_YankArmyWeekly.jpg)
In April 1944, Dougherty was shipped out to the
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
, where he remained for most of the next two years. Monroe moved in with her in-laws and began a job at the
Radioplane Company, a munitions factory in Van Nuys. In late 1944, she met photographer
David Conover, who had been sent by the
U.S. Army Air Forces'
First Motion Picture Unit
The 18th AAF Base Unit (Motion Picture Unit), originally known as the First Motion Picture Unit, Army Air Forces, was the primary film production unit of the U.S. Army Air Forces (AAF) during World War II, and was the first military unit mad ...
to the factory to shoot morale-boosting pictures of female workers. Although none of her pictures were used, she quit working at the factory in January 1945 and began modeling for Conover and his friends. Defying her deployed husband, she moved on her own and signed a contract with the Blue Book Model Agency in August 1945.
The agency deemed Monroe's figure more suitable for
pin-up
A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously glamour models, fashion models ...
than high fashion modeling, and she was featured mostly in advertisements and men's magazines. To make herself more employable, she straightened her hair and dyed it blonde. According to Emmeline Snively, the agency's owner, Monroe quickly became one of its most ambitious and hard-working models; by early 1946, she had appeared on 33 magazine covers for publications such as ''
Pageant'', ''U.S. Camera'', ''Laff'', and ''Peek''. As a model, Monroe occasionally used the pseudonym Jean Norman.
![Marilyn Monroe postcard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Marilyn_Monroe_postcard.JPG)
Through Snively, Monroe signed a contract with an acting agency in June 1946. After an unsuccessful interview at
Paramount Pictures, she was given a screen-test by
Ben Lyon
Ben Lyon (February 6, 1901 – March 22, 1979) was an American film actor and a studio executive at 20th Century-Fox who later acted in British radio, films and TV.
Early life and career
Lyon was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Alvine ...
, a
20th Century-Fox executive. Head executive
Darryl F. Zanuck
Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of ...
was unenthusiastic about it, but he gave her a standard six-month contract to avoid her being signed by rival studio
RKO Pictures. Monroe's contract began in August 1946, and she and Lyon selected the
stage name "Marilyn Monroe". The first name was picked by Lyon, who was reminded of Broadway star
Marilyn Miller
Marilyn Miller (born Mary Ellen Reynolds; September 1, 1898 – April 7, 1936) was one of the most popular Broadway musical stars of the 1920s and early 1930s. She was an accomplished tap dancer, singer and actress, and the combination of these ...
; the surname was Monroe's mother's maiden name. In September 1946, she divorced Dougherty, who opposed her career.
Monroe spent her first six months at Fox learning acting, singing, and dancing, and observing the film-making process. Her contract was renewed in February 1947, and she was given her first film roles, bit parts in ''
Dangerous Years
''Dangerous Years'' is a 1947 American drama film produced by Sol M. Wurtzel, directed by Arthur Pierson, starring Billy Halop and Ann E. Todd. Marilyn Monroe makes her first onscreen appearance as Evie, the waitress in the restaurant scenes. ...
'' (1947) and ''
Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!
''Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!'' is a 1948 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by F. Hugh Herbert, based on the novel of the same name by George Agnew Chamberlain. Released by 20th Century Fox, the film stars June Haver, Lon McC ...
'' (1948). The studio also enrolled her in the
Actors' Laboratory Theatre The Actors' Laboratory Theatre was a politically active theatre company and acting school founded in January 1941 by Roman Bohnen, Jules Dassin, Dick Flake, Lloyd Bridges, Danny Mann, Jeff Corey, Mary Virginia Farmer and J. Edward Bromberg. Duri ...
, an acting school teaching the techniques of the
Group Theatre; she later stated that it was "my first taste of what real acting in a real drama could be, and I was hooked". Despite her enthusiasm, her teachers thought her too shy and insecure to have a future in acting, and Fox did not renew her contract in August 1947. She returned to modeling while also doing occasional odd jobs at film studios, such as working as a dancing "pacer" behind the scenes to keep the leads on point at musical sets.
![Marilyn-by Cronenweth](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Marilyn-by_Cronenweth.JPG)
Monroe was determined to make it as an actress, and continued studying at the Actors' Lab. She had a small role in the play ''Glamour Preferred'' at the
Bliss-Hayden Theater
The Beverly Hills Playhouse is an acting school with theaters and training facilities in Beverly Hills, California, and also in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City. It is one of the oldest acting schools and theatres in Los Angeles C ...
, but it ended after a couple of performances. To network, she frequented producers' offices, befriended gossip columnist
Sidney Skolsky
Sidney Skolsky (2 May 1905 – 3 May 1983) was an American writer best known as a Hollywood gossip columnist. He ranked with Hedda Hopper (with whom he shared a birthday) and Louella Parsons as the premier Hollywood gossip columnists of the first ...
, and entertained influential male guests at studio functions, a practice she had begun at Fox. She also became a friend and occasional sex partner of Fox executive
Joseph M. Schenck, who persuaded his friend
Harry Cohn, the head executive of
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
, to sign her in March 1948.
At Columbia, Monroe's look was modeled after
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer and producer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined th ...
and her hair was bleached platinum blonde. She began working with the studio's head drama coach,
Natasha Lytess, who would remain her mentor until 1955. Her only film at the studio was the low-budget musical ''
Ladies of the Chorus
''Ladies of the Chorus'' is a 1948 American musical romance film directed by Phil Karlson and starring Adele Jergens, Marilyn Monroe and Rand Brooks. The screenplay, written by Harry Sauber and Joseph Carole, was based on a story by Sauber.
Rel ...
'' (1948), in which she had her first starring role as a chorus girl courted by a wealthy man. She also screen-tested for the lead role in ''
Born Yesterday'' (1950), but her contract was not renewed in September 1948. ''Ladies of the Chorus'' was released the following month and was not a success.
1949–1952: Breakthrough years
![Marilyn Monroe Asphalt Jungle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Marilyn_Monroe_Asphalt_Jungle.jpg)
When her contract at Columbia ended, Monroe returned again to modeling. She shot a commercial for
Pabst beer and posed for artistic nude photographs by
Tom Kelley for John Baumgarth
calendars, using the name 'Mona Monroe'. Monroe had previously posed topless or clad in a bikini for other artists including
Earl Moran, and felt comfortable with nudity. Shortly after leaving Columbia, she also met and became the protégée and mistress of
Johnny Hyde
Johnny Hyde (23 April 1895 – 18 December 1950) was an American talent agent who developed the career of Marilyn Monroe.
Early life
Hyde was born to a Jewish family as Iván Haidabura in Russia and moved to the United States in April 1898 ...
, the vice president of the
William Morris Agency
The William Morris Agency (WMA) was a Hollywood-based talent agency. It represented some of the best known 20th-century entertainers in film, television, and music. During its 109-year tenure it came to be regarded as the "first great talent ag ...
.
Through Hyde, Monroe landed small roles in several films, including two critically acclaimed works:
Joseph Mankiewicz
Joseph Leo Mankiewicz (; February 11, 1909 – February 5, 1993) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career, and won both the Academy Award for Best Director and the Academy Award for Best A ...
's drama ''
All About Eve
''All About Eve'' is a 1950 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve" by Mary Orr, although Orr does not receive a screen credit ...
'' (1950) and
John Huston's film noir ''
The Asphalt Jungle
''The Asphalt Jungle'' is a 1950 American film noir heist film directed by John Huston. Based on the 1949 novel of the same name by W. R. Burnett, it tells the story of a jewel robbery in a Midwestern city. The film stars Sterling Hayden and L ...
'' (1950). Despite her screen time being only a few minutes in the latter, she gained a mention in ''
Photoplay'' and according to biographer Donald Spoto "moved effectively from movie model to serious actress". In December 1950, Hyde negotiated a seven-year contract for Monroe with 20th Century-Fox. According to its terms, Fox could opt to not renew the contract after each year. Hyde died of a heart attack only days later, which left Monroe devastated.
In 1951, Monroe had supporting roles in three moderately successful Fox comedies: ''
As Young as You Feel
''As Young as You Feel'' is a 1951 American comedy film starring Monty Woolley, Thelma Ritter, and David Wayne, with Marilyn Monroe in a small role. It was directed by Harmon Jones.
Plot
When printer John R. Hodges is forced to retire at age 65 ...
'', ''
Love Nest
''Love Nest'' is a 1951 American comedy-drama film directed by Joseph Newman and starring June Haver, William Lundigan, Frank Fay, and Marilyn Monroe.
The post-World War II comedy features an early supporting role for Monroe. It is one of t ...
'', and ''
Let's Make It Legal''. According to Spoto all three films featured her "essentially
sa sexy ornament", but she received some praise from critics:
Bosley Crowther
Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' described her as "superb" in ''As Young As You Feel'' and Ezra Goodman of the ''
Los Angeles Daily News'' called her "one of the brightest up-and-coming
ctresses for ''Love Nest''.
Her popularity with audiences was also growing: she received several thousand fan letters a week, and was declared "Miss
Cheesecake of 1951" by the army newspaper ''
Stars and Stripes'', reflecting the preferences of soldiers in the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. In February 1952, the
Hollywood Foreign Press Association
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) is a nonprofit organization of journalists and photographers who report on the entertainment industry activity and interests in the United States for media (newspaper, magazine and book publication ...
named Monroe the "best young box office personality".
In her private life, Monroe had a short relationship with director
Elia Kazan and also briefly dated several other men, including director
Nicholas Ray
Nicholas Ray (born Raymond Nicholas Kienzle Jr., August 7, 1911 – June 16, 1979) was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor best known for the 1955 film '' Rebel Without a Cause.'' He is appreciated for many narrative features p ...
and actors
Yul Brynner
Yuliy Borisovich Briner (russian: link=no, Юлий Борисович Бринер; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner, was a Russian-born actor. He was best known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in th ...
and
Peter Lawford
Peter Sydney Ernest Lawford ( Aylen; 7 September 1923 – 24 December 1984) was an English-American actor.Obituary '' Variety'', 26 December 1984.
He was a member of the " Rat Pack" and the brother-in-law of US president John F. Kennedy and se ...
. In early 1952, she began a highly publicized romance with retired
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
baseball star
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul DiMaggio (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "The Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career in Major League Baseball for the New York Yank ...
, one of the most famous sports personalities of the era.
![Monroe and Andes in Clash By Night](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Monroe_and_Andes_in_Clash_By_Night.jpg)
Monroe found herself at the center of a scandal in March 1952, when she revealed publicly that she had posed for a nude calendar in 1949. The studio had learned about the photos and that she was publicly rumored to be the model some weeks prior, and together with Monroe decided that to prevent damaging her career it was best to admit to them while stressing that she had been broke at the time. The strategy gained her public sympathy and increased interest in her films, for which she was now receiving top
billing. In the wake of the scandal, Monroe was featured on the cover of
''Life'' magazine as the "Talk of Hollywood", and gossip columnist
Hedda Hopper
Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry; May 2, 1885February 1, 1966) was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, her readership was 35 million. A strong supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committ ...
declared her the "cheesecake queen" turned "box office smash". Three of Monroe's films —''
Clash by Night
''Clash by Night'' is a 1952 American film noir drama directed by Fritz Lang and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Paul Douglas, Robert Ryan, Marilyn Monroe and Keith Andes. The film is based on the 1941 play by Clifford Odets, adapted for the scre ...
'', ''
Don't Bother to Knock
''Don't Bother to Knock'' is a 1952 American psychological film noir thriller starring Richard Widmark and Marilyn Monroe and directed by Roy Ward Baker.
The screenplay was written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 novel ''Mischief'' by C ...
'' and ''
We're Not Married!
''We're Not Married!'' is a 1952 American anthology romantic comedy film directed by Edmund Goulding. It was released by 20th Century Fox.
The screenplay was written by Nunnally Johnson, while the story was adapted by Dwight Taylor from Gin ...
''— were released soon after to capitalize on the public interest.
Despite her newfound popularity as a sex symbol, Monroe also wished to showcase more of her acting range. She had begun taking acting classes with
Michael Chekhov
Mikhail Aleksandrovich Chekhov (russian: Михаил Александрович Чехов; 29 August 1891 – 30 September 1955), known as Michael Chekhov, was an American actor, director, author and theatre practitioner. He was a nephew ...
and mime
Lotte Goslar
Lotte Goslar (27 February 1907 – 16 October 1997) was a German-American dancer.
Life
Born in Dresden, Goslar came from a banking family and worked towards a career as a dancer from an early age. She took lessons with Mary Wigman and Gret Pa ...
soon after beginning the Fox contract, and ''Clash by Night'' and ''Don't Bother to Knock'' showed her in different roles. In the former, a drama starring
Barbara Stanwyck and directed by
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...
, she played a fish cannery worker; to prepare, she spent time in a fish cannery in
Monterey
Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bot ...
. She received positive reviews for her performance: ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
'' stated that "she deserves starring status with her excellent interpretation", and ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote that she "has an ease of delivery which makes her a cinch for popularity". The latter was a thriller in which Monroe starred as a mentally disturbed babysitter and which Zanuck used to test her abilities in a heavier dramatic role. It received mixed reviews from critics, with Crowther deeming her too inexperienced for the difficult role, and ''Variety'' blaming the script for the film's problems.
![Monroe in Don't Bother to Knock (1952)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Monroe_in_Don%27t_Bother_to_Knock_%281952%29.jpg)
Monroe's three other films in 1952 continued with her typecasting in comedic roles that highlighted her sex appeal. In ''We're Not Married!'', her role as a beauty pageant contestant was created solely to "present Marilyn in two bathing suits", according to its writer
Nunnally Johnson
Nunnally Hunter Johnson (December 5, 1897 – March 25, 1977) was an American screenwriter, film director, producer, and playwright. As a filmmaker, he wrote the screenplays to more than fifty films in a career that spanned from 1927 to 1967. He ...
. In
Howard Hawks's ''
Monkey Business'', in which she acted opposite
Cary Grant
Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...
, she played a secretary who is a "dumb, childish blonde, innocently unaware of the havoc her sexiness causes around her".
In ''
O. Henry's Full House
''O. Henry's Full House'' is a 1952 American anthology film made by 20th Century Fox, consisting of five films, each based on a story by O. Henry.
The film was produced by André Hakim and directed by five directors from five screenplays with di ...
'', with
Charles Laughton she appeared in a passing ''vignette'' as a nineteenth-century street walker. Monroe added to her reputation as a new sex symbol with publicity stunts that year: she wore a revealing dress when acting as Grand Marshal at the
Miss America Pageant
Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...
parade, and told gossip columnist
Earl Wilson that she usually wore no underwear. By the end of the year, gossip columnist
Florabel Muir
Florabel Muir (May 6, 1889 – April 27, 1970) was an American reporter, newspaper columnist and author. She became known for covering both Hollywood celebrities and underworld gangsters from the 1920s through the 1960s.
Career
Muir was b ...
named Monroe the "
it girl
An "it girl" is an attractive young woman, who is perceived to have both sex appeal and a personality that is especially engaging.
The expression ''it girl'' originated in British upper-class society around the turn of the 20th century. ...
" of 1952.
During this period, Monroe gained a reputation for being difficult to work with, which would worsen as her career progressed. She was often late or did not show up at all, did not remember her lines, and would demand several re-takes before she was satisfied with her performance. Her dependence on her acting coaches—Natasha Lytess and then
Paula Strasberg
Paula Strasberg (born Pearl Miller; March 8, 1909 – April 29, 1966) was an American stage actress. She became actor and teacher Lee Strasberg's second wife and mother of actors John and Susan Strasberg, as well as Marilyn Monroe's acting coac ...
—also irritated directors. Monroe's problems have been attributed to a combination of perfectionism, low self-esteem, and stage fright.
She disliked her lack of control on film sets and never experienced similar problems during photo shoots, in which she had more say over her performance and could be more spontaneous instead of following a script.
[ To alleviate her anxiety and chronic ]insomnia
Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...
, she began to use barbiturates, amphetamines
Substituted amphetamines are a class of compounds based upon the amphetamine structure; it includes all derivative compounds which are formed by replacing, or substituting, one or more hydrogen atoms in the amphetamine core structure with sub ...
, and alcohol, which also exacerbated her problems, although she did not become severely addicted until 1956. According to Sarah Churchwell
Sarah Bartlett Churchwell (born May 27, 1970) is a professor of American Literature and Public Understanding of the Humanities at the School of Advanced Study, University of London, UK. Her expertise is in 20th- and 21st-century American literature ...
, some of Monroe's behavior, especially later in her career, was also in response to the condescension and sexism of her male co-stars and directors. Biographer Lois Banner said that she was bullied by many of her directors.
1953: Rising star
Monroe starred in three movies that were released in 1953 and emerged as a major sex symbol and one of Hollywood's most bankable performers. The first was the Technicolor
Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades.
Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...
film noir '' Niagara'', in which she played a '' femme fatale'' scheming to murder her husband, played by Joseph Cotten
Joseph Cheshire Cotten Jr. (May 15, 1905 – February 6, 1994) was an American film, stage, radio and television actor. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original stage productions of '' The Philadelphia Story'' and '' Sab ...
. By then, Monroe and her make-up artist Allan "Whitey" Snyder
Allan "Whitey" Snyder (August 7, 1914 – April 16, 1994) was an American Hollywood make-up artist and is best remembered as the personal make-up artist of Marilyn Monroe.
Career
Allan Snyder began his long career as a makeup artist in 194 ...
had developed her "trademark" make-up look: dark arched brows, pale skin, "glistening" red lips and a beauty mark
A beauty mark or beauty spot is a euphemism for a type of dark facial mark so named because such birthmarks are sometimes considered an attractive feature.Ariel, Irving M. (1981). A Historical Introduction: Is the beauty mark a mark of beauty o ...
. According to Sarah Churchwell, ''Niagara'' was one of the most overtly sexual films of Monroe's career. In some scenes, Monroe's body was covered only by a sheet or a towel, considered shocking by contemporary audiences. ''Niagara''s most famous scene is a 30-second long shot
In photography, filmmaking and video production, a wide shot (sometimes referred to as a full shot or long shot) is a shot that typically shows the entire object or human figure and is usually intended to place it in some relation to its surro ...
behind Monroe where she is seen walking with her hips swaying, which was used heavily in the film's marketing.
When ''Niagara'' was released in January 1953, women's clubs
The woman's club movement was a social movement that took place throughout the United States that established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform public policy. While women's organizations had always been a par ...
protested it as immoral, but it proved popular with audiences. While ''Variety'' deemed it "clichéd" and "morbid", ''The New York Times'' commented that "the falls and Miss Monroe are something to see", as although Monroe may not be "the perfect actress at this point ... she can be seductive—even when she walks".
Monroe continued to attract attention by wearing revealing outfits, most famously at the ''Photoplay'' Awards in January 1953, where she won the "Fastest Rising Star" award. A pleated "sunburst" waist-tight, deep decolleté gold lamé dress designed by William Travilla
William Travilla (March 22, 1920 – November 2, 1990), known professionally as Travilla, was an American costume designer for theatre, film, and television. He is perhaps best known for designing costumes for Marilyn Monroe in eight of her fil ...
for ''Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'', but barely seen at all in the film, was to become a sensation. Prompted by such imagery, veteran star Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was si ...
publicly called the behavior "unbecoming an actress and a lady".
While ''Niagara'' made Monroe a sex symbol and established her "look", her second film of 1953, the satirical musical comedy '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'', cemented her screen persona as a "dumb blonde
Blonde stereotypes are stereotypes of blonde-haired people. Sub-types of this stereotype include the " blonde bombshell" and the "dumb blonde". Blondes are stereotyped as more desirable, but less intelligent than brunettes. There are many blo ...
". Based on Anita Loos
Corinne Anita Loos (April 26, 1888 – August 18, 1981) was an American actress, novelist, playwright and screenwriter. In 1912, she became the first female staff screenwriter in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood, when D. W. Griffith put h ...
' novel and its Broadway version, the film focuses on two "gold-digging" showgirl
A showgirl is a female dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show intended to showcase the performer's physical attributes, typically by way of revealing clothing, toplessness, or nudity.
History
Showgirls date back to the late 180 ...
s played by Monroe and Jane Russell
Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell (June 21, 1921 – February 28, 2011) was an American actress, singer, and model. She was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s. She starred in more than 20 films.
Russell moved from th ...
. Monroe's role was originally intended for Betty Grable
Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer.
Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million; for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she reign ...
, who had been 20th Century-Fox's most popular " blonde bombshell" in the 1940s; Monroe was fast eclipsing her as a star who could appeal to both male and female audiences.
As part of the film's publicity campaign, she and Russell pressed their hand and footprints in wet concrete outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre in June. ''Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' was released shortly after and became one of the biggest box office successes of the year. Crowther of ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' and William Brogdon of ''Variety'' both commented favorably on Monroe, especially noting her performance of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend
"Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" is a jazz song introduced by Carol Channing in the original Broadway production of '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' (1949), with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Leo Robin.
Marilyn Monroe version
American actr ...
"; according to the latter, she demonstrated the "ability to sex a song as well as point up the eye values of a scene by her presence".
In September, Monroe made her television debut in the ''Jack Benny Show
''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th century American comedy. He played one role throughout his radio and televis ...
'', playing Jack's fantasy woman in the episode "Honolulu Trip". She co-starred with Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall in her third movie of the year, '' How to Marry a Millionaire'', released in November. It featured Monroe as a naïve model who teams up with her friends to find rich husbands, repeating the successful formula of ''Gentlemen Prefer Blondes''. It was the second film ever released in CinemaScope, a widescreen format that Fox hoped would draw audiences back to theaters as television was beginning to cause losses to film studios. Despite mixed reviews, the film was Monroe's biggest box office success at that point in her career.
Monroe was listed in the annual Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll The Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll were polls on determining the bankability of movie stars. They began quite early in the movie history. At first, they were popular polls and contests conducted in film magazines, where the readers would vote for t ...
in both 1953 and 1954, and according to Fox historian Aubrey Solomon became the studio's "greatest asset" alongside CinemaScope. Monroe's position as a leading sex symbol was confirmed in December 1953, when Hugh Hefner featured her on the cover and as centerfold in the first issue of ''Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...
''; Monroe did not consent to the publication. The cover image was a photograph taken of her at the Miss America Pageant parade in 1952, and the centerfold featured one of her 1949 nude photographs.
1954–1955: Conflicts with 20th Century-Fox and marriage to Joe DiMaggio
Monroe had become one of 20th Century-Fox's biggest stars, but her contract had not changed since 1950, so that she was paid far less than other stars of her stature and could not choose her projects. Her attempts to appear in films that would not focus on her as a pin-up had been thwarted by the studio head executive, Darryll F. Zanuck, who had a strong personal dislike of her and did not think she would earn the studio as much revenue in other types of roles. Under pressure from the studio's owner, Spyros Skouras
Spyros Panagiotis Skouras (; gr, Σπύρος Σκούρας; March 28, 1893 – August 16, 1971) was a Greek-American motion picture pioneer and film executive who was the president of 20th Century-Fox from 1942 to 1962. He resigned June 27, 19 ...
, Zanuck had also decided that Fox should focus exclusively on entertainment to maximize profits and canceled the production of any "serious films". In January 1954, he suspended Monroe when she refused to begin shooting yet another musical comedy, ''The Girl in Pink Tights
''The Girl in Pink Tights'' is a musical comedy with music by Sigmund Romberg; lyrics by Leo Robin; and a musical book by Jerome Chodorov and Joseph Fields. The musical opened on Broadway on March 5, 1954 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre where it ...
''.
This was front-page news, and Monroe immediately took action to counter negative publicity. On January 14, she and Joe DiMaggio were married at the San Francisco City Hall
San Francisco City Hall is the seat of government for the City and County of San Francisco, California. Re-opened in 1915 in its open space area in the city's Civic Center, it is a Beaux-Arts monument to the City Beautiful movement that epitomi ...
. They then traveled by car to San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly hal ...
, then honeymooned outside Idyllwild, California, in the mountain lodge of Monroe's lawyer Lloyd Wright. On January 29, 1954, fifteen days later, they flew to Japan, combining a "honeymoon" with his commitment to his former San Francisco Seals coach Lefty O'Doul
Francis Joseph "Lefty" O'Doul (March 4, 1897 – December 7, 1969) was an American Major League Baseball player who went on to become an extraordinarily successful manager in the minor leagues. He was also a vital figure in the establishmen ...
, to help train Japanese baseball teams. From Tokyo, she traveled with Jean O'Doul, Lefty's wife, to Korea, where she participated in a USO
The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
show, singing songs from her films for over 60,000 U.S. Marines over a four-day period. After returning to the U.S., she was awarded ''Photoplay''s "Most Popular Female Star" prize. Monroe settled with Fox in March, with the promise of a new contract, a bonus of $100,000, and a starring role in the film adaptation of the Broadway success ''The Seven Year Itch
''The Seven Year Itch'' is a 1955 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder, from a screenplay he co-wrote with George Axelrod from the 1952 three-act play. The film stars Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, who reprised his stage role. ...
''.
In April 1954, Otto Preminger
Otto Ludwig Preminger ( , ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-American theatre and film director, film producer, and actor.
He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre. He first gai ...
's western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
''River of No Return
''River of No Return'' is a 1954 American Western film directed by Otto Preminger and starring Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe. The screenplay by Frank Fenton is based on a story by Louis Lantz, who borrowed his premise from the 1948 Italia ...
'', the last film that Monroe had filmed prior to the suspension, was released. She called it a " Z-grade cowboy movie in which the acting finished second to the scenery and the CinemaScope process", but it was popular with audiences. The first film she made after the suspension was the musical ''There's No Business Like Show Business
"There's No Business Like Show Business" is an Irving Berlin song, written for the 1946 musical '' Annie Get Your Gun'' and orchestrated by Ted Royal. The song, a slightly tongue-in-cheek salute to the glamour and excitement of a life in show b ...
'', which she strongly disliked but the studio required her to do for dropping ''The Girl in Pink Tights''. It was unsuccessful upon its release in late 1954, with Monroe's performance considered vulgar by many critics.
In September 1954, Monroe began filming Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Hol ...
's comedy ''The Seven Year Itch
''The Seven Year Itch'' is a 1955 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder, from a screenplay he co-wrote with George Axelrod from the 1952 three-act play. The film stars Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, who reprised his stage role. ...
'', starring opposite Tom Ewell
Tom Ewell (born Samuel Yewell Tompkins, April 29, 1909 – September 12, 1994) was an American film, stage and television actor, and producer. His most successful and most identifiable role was that of Richard Sherman in ''The Seven Year Itch'' ...
as a woman who becomes the object of her married neighbor's sexual fantasies. Although the film was shot in Hollywood, the studio decided to generate advance publicity by staging the filming of a scene in which Monroe is standing on a subway grate with the air blowing up the skirt of her white dress on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan. The shoot lasted for several hours and attracted nearly 2,000 spectators. The "subway grate scene" became one of Monroe's most famous, and ''The Seven Year Itch'' became one of the biggest commercial successes of the year after its release in June 1955.
The publicity stunt placed Monroe on international front pages, and it also marked the end of her marriage to DiMaggio, who was infuriated by it. The union had been troubled from the start by his jealousy and controlling attitude; he was also physically abusive. After returning from NYC to Hollywood in October 1954, Monroe filed for divorce, after only nine months of marriage.
After filming for ''The Seven Year Itch'' wrapped up in November 1954, Monroe left Hollywood for the East Coast, where she and photographer Milton Greene
Milton H. Greene (March 14, 1922 – August 8, 1985) was an American fashion and celebrity photographer and film and television producer, best known for his photo shoots with Marilyn Monroe.
Early life
Greene was born Milton H. Greengold ...
founded their own production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions (MMP)—an action that has later been called "instrumental" in the collapse of the studio system
A studio system is a method of filmmaking wherein the production and distribution of films is dominated by a small number of large movie studios. It is most often used in reference to Hollywood motion picture studios during the Golden Age of Hol ...
. Monroe stated that she was "tired of the same old sex roles" and asserted that she was no longer under contract to Fox, as it had not fulfilled its duties, such as paying her the promised bonus. This began a year-long legal battle between her and Fox in January 1955. The press largely ridiculed Monroe, and she was parodied in the Broadway play ''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?'' is a 1957 American satirical comedy film starring Jayne Mansfield and Tony Randall, with Betsy Drake, Joan Blondell, John Williams, Henry Jones, Lili Gentle, and Mickey Hargitay, and with a cameo by Groucho M ...
'' (1955), in which her lookalike Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, singer, nightclub entertainer, and ''Playboy'' Playmate. A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s while under contract at 20th Century Fox, Man ...
played a dumb actress who starts her own production company.
After founding MMP, Monroe moved to Manhattan and spent 1955 studying acting. She took classes with Constance Collier
Constance Collier (born Laura Constance Hardie; 22 January 1878 – 25 April 1955) was an English stage and film actress and acting coach. She wrote hit plays and films with Ivor Novello and she was the first person to be treated with insul ...
and attended workshops on method acting
Method acting, informally known as The Method, is a range of training and rehearsal techniques, as formulated by a number of different theatre practitioners, that seeks to encourage sincere and expressive performances through identifying with, u ...
at the Actors Studio, run by Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American theatre director, actor and acting teacher. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931 ...
. She grew close to Strasberg and his wife Paula, receiving private lessons at their home due to her shyness, and soon became a family member. She replaced her old acting coach, Natasha Lytess, with Paula; the Strasbergs remained an important influence for the rest of her career. Monroe also started undergoing psychoanalysis
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...
, as Strasberg believed that an actor must confront their emotional traumas and use them in their performances.
Monroe continued her relationship with DiMaggio despite the ongoing divorce process; she also dated actor Marlon Brando and playwright Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...
. She had first been introduced to Miller by Elia Kazan in the early 1950s. The affair between Monroe and Miller became increasingly serious after October 1955, when her divorce was finalized and he separated from his wife. The studio urged her to end it, as Miller was being investigated by the FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
for allegations of communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...
and had been subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee, but Monroe refused. The relationship led to the FBI opening a file on her.
By the end of the year, Monroe and Fox signed a new seven-year contract, as MMP would not be able to finance films alone, and the studio was eager to have Monroe working for them again. Fox would pay her $400,000 to make four films, and granted her the right to choose her own projects, directors and cinematographers. She would also be free to make one film with MMP per each completed film for Fox.
1956–1959: Critical acclaim and marriage to Arthur Miller
Monroe began 1956 by announcing her win over 20th Century-Fox. She legally changed her name to ''Marilyn Monroe''. The press wrote favorably about her decision to fight the studio; ''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' called her a "shrewd businesswoman" and '' Look'' predicted that the win would be "an example of the individual against the herd for years to come". In contrast, Monroe's relationship with Miller prompted some negative comments, such as Walter Winchell
Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and co ...
's statement that "America's best-known blonde moving picture star is now the darling of the left-wing intelligentsia."
In March, Monroe began filming the drama '' Bus Stop'', her first film under the new contract. She played Chérie, a saloon singer whose dreams of stardom are complicated by a naïve cowboy who falls in love with her. For the role, she learned an Ozark accent, chose costumes and makeup that lacked the glamor of her earlier films, and provided deliberately mediocre singing and dancing. Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
director Joshua Logan agreed to direct, despite initially doubting Monroe's acting abilities and knowing of her difficult reputation.
The filming took place in Idaho and Arizona, with Monroe "technically in charge" as the head of MMP, occasionally making decisions on cinematography and with Logan adapting to her chronic lateness and perfectionism. The experience changed Logan's opinion of Monroe, and he later compared her to Charlie Chaplin in her ability to blend comedy and tragedy.
On June 29, Monroe and Miller were married at the Westchester County Court in White Plains, New York
(Always Faithful)
, image_seal = WhitePlainsSeal.png
, seal_link =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = U.S. state, State
, su ...
; two days later they had a Jewish ceremony at the home of Kay Brown, Miller's literary agent, in Waccabuc, New York
Waccabuc is a hamlet and lake in the town of Lewisboro, Westchester County, New York, United States. Waccabuc is considered "New York's Secret Suburb" and is home to a "collection of privacy-loving C.E.O.s and bright stars in other firmaments," acc ...
. With the marriage, Monroe converted to Judaism
Conversion to Judaism ( he, גיור, ''giyur'') is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. " ...
, which led Egypt to ban all of her films. Due to Monroe's status as a sex symbol and Miller's image as an intellectual, the media saw the union as a mismatch, as evidenced by ''Variety''s headline, "Egghead Weds Hourglass".
''Bus Stop'' was released in August 1956 and became a critical and commercial success. ''The Saturday Review of Literature
''Saturday Review'', previously ''The Saturday Review of Literature'', was an American weekly magazine established in 1924. Norman Cousins was the editor from 1940 to 1971. Under Norman Cousins, it was described as "a compendium of reportage, es ...
'' wrote that Monroe's performance "effectively dispels once and for all the notion that she is merely a glamour personality" and Crowther proclaimed: "Hold on to your chairs, everybody, and get set for a rattling surprise. Marilyn Monroe has finally proved herself an actress." She also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress for her performance.
In August, Monroe also began filming MMP's first independent production, ''The Prince and the Showgirl
''The Prince and the Showgirl'' (originally titled '' The Sleeping Prince'') is a 1957 British romantic comedy film starring Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier, who also served as director and producer. The screenplay written by Terence Ratti ...
'', at Pinewood Studios in England. Based on a 1953 stage play by Terence Rattigan
Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (10 June 191130 November 1977) was a British dramatist and screenwriter. He was one of England's most popular mid-20th-century dramatists. His plays are typically set in an upper-middle-class background.Geoffrey Wan ...
, it was to be directed and co-produced by, and to co-star, Laurence Olivier. The production was complicated by conflicts between him and Monroe. Olivier, who had also directed and starred in the stage play, angered her with the patronizing statement "All you have to do is be sexy", and with his demand she replicate Vivien Leigh's stage interpretation of the character. He also disliked the constant presence of Paula Strasberg, Monroe's acting coach, on set. In retaliation, Monroe became uncooperative and began to deliberately arrive late, later saying, "if you don't respect your artists, they can't work well."
Monroe also experienced other problems during the production. Her dependence on pharmaceuticals escalated and, according to Spoto, she had a miscarriage. She and Greene also argued over how MMP should be run. Despite the difficulties, filming was completed on schedule by the end of 1956. ''The Prince and the Showgirl'' was released to mixed reviews in June 1957 and proved unpopular with American audiences. It was better received in Europe, where she was awarded the Italian David di Donatello and the French Crystal Star awards and nominated for a BAFTA.
After returning from England, Monroe took an 18-month hiatus to concentrate on family life. She and Miller split their time between NYC, Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
and Long Island. She had an ectopic pregnancy in mid-1957, and a miscarriage a year later; these problems were most likely linked to her endometriosis. Monroe was also briefly hospitalized due to a barbiturate overdose. As she and Greene could not settle their disagreements over MMP, Monroe bought his share of the company.
Monroe returned to Hollywood in July 1958 to act opposite Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...
in Billy Wilder's comedy on gender roles, '' Some Like It Hot''. She considered the role of Sugar Kane another "dumb blonde", but accepted it due to Miller's encouragement and the offer of 10% of the film's profits on top of her standard pay. The film's difficult production has since become "legendary". Monroe demanded dozens of retakes, and did not remember her lines or act as directed—Curtis famously said that kissing her was "like kissing Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
" due to the number of retakes.
Monroe privately likened the production to a sinking ship and commented on her co-stars and director saying why should I worry, I have no phallic symbol to lose." Many of the problems stemmed from her and Wilder—who also had a reputation for being difficult—disagreeing on how she should play the role. She angered him by asking to alter many of her scenes, which in turn made her stage fright worse, and it is suggested that she deliberately ruined several scenes to act them her way.
In the end, Wilder was happy with Monroe's performance, saying: "Anyone can remember lines, but it takes a real artist to come on the set and not know her lines and yet give the performance she did!" ''Some Like It Hot'' was a critical and commercial success when it was released in March 1959. Monroe's performance earned her a Golden Globe for Best Actress, and prompted ''Variety'' to call her "a comedienne with that combination of sex appeal and timing that just can't be beat". It has been voted one of the best films ever made in polls by the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, the
American Film Institute, and ''
Sight & Sound
''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
''.
1960–1962: Career decline and personal difficulties
![Monroe Montand Let's Make Love](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Monroe_Montand_Let%27s_Make_Love.jpg)
After ''Some Like It Hot'', Monroe took another hiatus until late 1959, when she starred in the musical comedy ''
Let's Make Love
''Let's Make Love'' is a 1960 American musical comedy film made by 20th Century Fox in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope. Directed by George Cukor and produced by Jerry Wald from a screenplay by Norman Krasna, Hal Kanter, and Arthur Miller, the film ...
''. She chose
George Cukor
George Dewey Cukor (; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO when David O. Selznick, the studio's Head ...
to direct and Miller rewrote some of the script, which she considered weak. She accepted the part solely because she was behind on her contract with Fox. The film's production was delayed by her frequent absences from the set. During the shoot, Monroe had an extramarital affair with her co-star
Yves Montand
Ivo Livi (), better known as Yves Montand (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), was an Italian-French actor and singer.
Early life
Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, to Giovanni Livi, a broom manufacturer, Ivo held stron ...
, which was widely reported by the press and used in the film's publicity campaign.
''Let's Make Love'' was unsuccessful upon its release in September 1960. Crowther described Monroe as appearing "rather untidy" and "lacking ... the old Monroe dynamism", and Hedda Hopper called the film "the most vulgar picture she's ever done".
Truman Capote
Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...
lobbied for Monroe to play Holly Golightly in
a film adaptation of ''
Breakfast at Tiffany's'', but the role went to
Audrey Hepburn as its producers feared that Monroe would complicate the production.
The last film Monroe completed was John Huston's ''
The Misfits'', which Miller had written to provide her with a dramatic role. She played a recently divorced woman who becomes friends with three aging cowboys, played by
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
,
Eli Wallach
Eli Herschel Wallach (; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. From his 1945 Broadway debut to his last film appearance, Wallach's entertainment career spanned 65 years. Origina ...
and
Montgomery Clift
Edward Montgomery Clift (; October 17, 1920 – July 23, 1966) was an American actor. A four-time Academy Award nominee, he was known for his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men", according to ''The New York Times''.
He is best remembered ...
. The filming in the Nevada desert between July and November 1960 was again difficult. Monroe's and Miller's marriage was effectively over, and he began a new relationship with set photographer
Inge Morath
Ingeborg Hermine Morath (; 27 May 1923 – 30 January 2002) was an Austrian photographer. In 1953, she joined the Magnum Photos Agency, founded by top photographers in Paris, and became a full photographer with the agency in 1955. Morath was the ...
.
![Marilyn Monroe Misfits](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Marilyn_Monroe_Misfits.jpg)
Monroe disliked that he had based her role partly on her life, and thought it inferior to the male roles. She also struggled with Miller's habit of rewriting scenes the night before filming. Her health was also failing: she was in pain from
gallstone
A gallstone is a stone formed within the gallbladder from precipitated bile components. The term cholelithiasis may refer to the presence of gallstones or to any disease caused by gallstones, and choledocholithiasis refers to the presence of mi ...
s, and her drug addiction was so severe that her makeup usually had to be applied while she was still asleep under the influence of barbiturates. In August, filming was halted for her to spend a week in a hospital
detox
Detoxification or detoxication (detox for short) is the physiological or medicinal removal of toxic substances from a living organism, including the human body, which is mainly carried out by the liver. Additionally, it can refer to the period of ...
. Despite her problems, Huston said that when Monroe was acting, she "was not pretending to an emotion. It was the real thing. She would go deep down within herself and find it and bring it up into consciousness."
Monroe and Miller separated after filming wrapped, and she obtained a
Mexican divorce In the mid-20th century, some Americans traveled to Mexico to obtain a "Mexican divorce". A divorce in Mexico was easier, quicker, and less expensive than a divorce in most U.S. states, which then only allowed at-fault divorces requiring extensive ...
in January 1961. ''The Misfits'' was released the following month, failing at the box office. Its reviews were mixed, with ''Variety'' complaining of frequently "choppy" character development, and Bosley Crowther calling Monroe "completely blank and unfathomable" and writing that "unfortunately for the film's structure, everything turns upon her". It has received more favorable reviews in the 21st century.
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew (born 1954) is a British writer and lecturer on film, and Programmer-at-large at BFI South Bank. After gaining a First in Classics at King's College, Cambridge, he was for some years programmer at London's Electric Cinema in Notting ...
of the
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...
has called it a classic, Huston scholar Tony Tracy called Monroe's performance the "most mature interpretation of her career", and Geoffrey McNab of ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' praised her "extraordinary" portrayal of the character's "power of empathy".
Monroe was next to star in a television adaptation of
W. Somerset Maugham
William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...
's ''
Rain
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water ...
'' for
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
, but the project fell through as the network did not want to hire her choice of director, Lee Strasberg. Instead of working, she spent the first six months of 1961 preoccupied by health problems. She underwent a
cholecystectomy and surgery for her endometriosis, and spent four weeks hospitalized for depression. She was helped by DiMaggio, with whom she rekindled a friendship, and dated his friend
Frank Sinatra for several months. Monroe also moved permanently back to California in 1961, purchasing a house at
12305 Fifth Helena Drive
12305 Fifth Helena Dr. is a home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California. The house is most famous as the final residence of Marilyn Monroe and the location of her death on August 4, 1962.
Location
The property is located at 12305 Fifth Helena Dr ...
in
Brentwood, Los Angeles
Brentwood is a suburban neighborhood in the Westside region of Los Angeles.
History
General
Modern development began after the establishment of the Pacific Branch of the National Home for Disabled Soldiers and Sailors in the 1880s. A sma ...
, in early 1962.
![Cropped version of Monroe on the set of Something's Got to Give](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Cropped_version_of_Monroe_on_the_set_of_Something%27s_Got_to_Give.jpg)
Monroe returned to the public eye in the spring of 1962. She received a "World Film Favorite" Golden Globe Award and began to shoot a film for Fox, ''
Something's Got to Give
''Something's Got to Give'' is an unfinished American feature film shot in 1962, directed by George Cukor for 20th Century Fox and starring Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin and Cyd Charisse. A remake of ''My Favorite Wife'' (1940), a screwball comedy ...
'', a remake of ''
My Favorite Wife
''My Favorite Wife'' (released in the U.K. as ''My Favourite Wife'') is a 1940 screwball comedy produced by Leo McCarey and directed by Garson Kanin. The picture stars Irene Dunne as a woman who, after being shipwrecked on a tropical island fo ...
'' (1940). It was to be co-produced by MMP, directed by George Cukor and to co-star
Dean Martin and
Cyd Charisse
Cyd Charisse (born Tula Ellice Finklea; March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008) was an American actress and dancer.
After recovering from polio as a child and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually featured her abilit ...
. Days before filming began, Monroe caught
sinusitis
Sinusitis, also known as rhinosinusitis, is inflammation of the mucous membranes that line the sinuses resulting in symptoms that may include thick nasal mucus, a plugged nose, and facial pain. Other signs and symptoms may include fever, head ...
. Despite medical advice to postpone the production, Fox began it as planned in late April.
Monroe was too sick to work for most of the next six weeks, but despite confirmations by multiple doctors, the studio pressured her by alleging publicly that she was faking it. On May 19, she took a break to sing "
Happy Birthday, Mr. President" on stage at President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
's early birthday celebration at
Madison Square Garden in New York. She drew attention with her costume: a beige, skintight dress covered in rhinestones, which made her appear nude. Monroe's trip to New York caused even more irritation for Fox executives, who had wanted her to cancel it.
Monroe next filmed a scene for ''Something's Got to Give'' in which she swam naked in a swimming pool. To generate advance publicity, the press was invited to take photographs; these were later published in ''Life''. This was the first time that a major star had posed nude at the height of their career. When she was again on sick leave for several days, Fox decided that it could not afford to have another film running behind schedule when it was already struggling with the rising costs of ''
Cleopatra'' (1963). On June 7, Fox fired Monroe and sued her for $750,000 in damages. She was replaced by
Lee Remick
Lee Ann Remick (December 14, 1935 – July 2, 1991) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film '' Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962), and for the 1966 Tony Award for Best Actress in ...
, but after Martin refused to make the film with anyone other than Monroe, Fox sued him as well and shut down the production. The studio blamed Monroe for the film's demise and began spreading negative publicity about her, even alleging that she was mentally disturbed.
Fox soon regretted its decision and reopened negotiations with Monroe later in June; a settlement about a new contract, including recommencing ''Something's Got to Give'' and a starring role in the
black comedy
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discu ...
''
What a Way to Go!'' (1964), was reached later that summer. She was also planning on starring in a biopic of
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...
. To repair her public image, Monroe engaged in several publicity ventures, including interviews for ''Life'' and ''
Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan may refer to:
Food and drink
* Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo"
History
* Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953
Hotels and resorts
* Cosmopoli ...
'' and her first photo shoot for ''
Vogue
Vogue may refer to:
Business
* ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine
** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine
** ''Vogue China'', ...
''. For ''Vogue'', she and photographer
Bert Stern
Bertram Stern (October 3, 1929 – June 26, 2013) was an American commercial photographer.
Biography
Stern was the son of Jewish immigrants and grew up in Brooklyn. His father worked as a children's portrait photographer. After dropping out of ...
collaborated for two series of photographs, one a standard fashion editorial and another of her posing nude, which were published posthumously with the title ''
The Last Sitting''.
Death and funeral
![Marilyn Monroe, visit to Mexico in 1962](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Marilyn_Monroe%2C_visit_to_Mexico_in_1962.jpg)
During her final months, Monroe lived at
12305 Fifth Helena Drive
12305 Fifth Helena Dr. is a home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California. The house is most famous as the final residence of Marilyn Monroe and the location of her death on August 4, 1962.
Location
The property is located at 12305 Fifth Helena Dr ...
in the
Brentwood neighborhood of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
. Her housekeeper Eunice Murray was staying overnight at the home on the evening of August 4, 1962. Murray woke at 3:00a.m. on August 5 and sensed that something was wrong. She saw light from under Monroe's bedroom door but was unable to get a response and found the door locked. Murray then called Monroe's psychiatrist,
Ralph Greenson
Ralph R. Greenson (born Romeo Samuel Greenschpoon, September 20, 1911 – November 24, 1979) was a prominent American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. Greenson is famous for being Marilyn Monroe's psychiatrist, and was the basis for Leo Rosten's 19 ...
, who arrived at the house shortly after and broke into the bedroom through a window to find Monroe dead in her bed. Monroe's physician, Hyman Engelberg, arrived at around 3:50a.m. and pronounced her dead. At 4:25a.m., the
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
was notified.
Monroe died between 8:30 p.m. and 10:30p.m. on August 4,; the
toxicology
Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating e ...
report showed that the
cause of death
In law, medicine, and statistics, cause of death is an official determination of conditions resulting in a human's death, which may be recorded on a death certificate. A cause of death is determined by a medical examiner. The cause of death is ...
was
acute barbiturate poisoning. She had 8
mg%
Milligram per cent is a traditional symbol used to denote a unit of measure of concentration. The traditional use of the 'mg%' symbol was meant to indicate the mass (in milligrams) of that chemical in 100 litre, milliliters of solution (e.g., blood ...
(
milligrams
The kilogram (also kilogramme) is the unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI), having the unit symbol kg. It is a widely used measure in science, engineering and commerce worldwide, and is often simply called a kilo colloquially. ...
per 100
milliliters
The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3) ...
of solution)
chloral hydrate
Chloral hydrate is a geminal diol with the formula . It is a colorless solid. It has limited use as a sedative and hypnotic pharmaceutical drug. It is also a useful laboratory chemical reagent and precursor. It is derived from chloral (trichl ...
and 4.5 mg% of
pentobarbital
Pentobarbital (previously known as pentobarbitone in Britain and Australia) is a short-acting barbiturate typically used as a sedative, a preanesthetic, and to control convulsions in emergencies. It can also be used for short-term treatment of i ...
(Nembutal) in her blood, and 13 mg% of pentobarbital in her liver. Empty medicine bottles were found next to her bed. The possibility that Monroe had accidentally overdosed was ruled out because the dosages found in her body were several times the lethal limit.
![New York Mirror Front Page of August 6, 1962](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/New_York_Mirror_Front_Page_of_August_6%2C_1962.jpeg/1200px-New_York_Mirror_Front_Page_of_August_6%2C_1962.jpeg)
The
Los Angeles County Coroners Office was assisted in their investigation by the Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Team, who had expert knowledge on suicide. Monroe's doctors stated that she had been "prone to severe fears and frequent depressions" with "abrupt and unpredictable mood changes", and had overdosed several times in the past, possibly intentionally.
Due to these facts and the lack of any indication of foul play, deputy coroner
Thomas Noguchi
is the former Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner for the County of Los Angeles. Popularly known as the "coroner to the stars", Noguchi determined the cause of death in many high-profile cases in Hollywood during the 1960s and 1970s. He performed a ...
classified her death as a probable suicide.
Monroe's sudden death was front-page news in the United States and Europe. According to Lois Banner, "it's said that the suicide rate in Los Angeles doubled the month after she died; the circulation rate of most newspapers expanded that month", and the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
'' reported that they had received hundreds of phone calls from members of the public requesting information about her death. French artist
Jean Cocteau
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the s ...
commented that her death "should serve as a terrible lesson to all those whose chief occupation consists of spying on and tormenting film stars", her former co-star Laurence Olivier deemed her "the complete victim of ballyhoo and sensation", and ''Bus Stop'' director Joshua Logan said that she was "one of the most unappreciated people in the world".
Her funeral, held at the
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary is a cemetery and mortuary located in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood, with an entrance from Glendon Avenue.
The cemetery was ...
on August 8, was private and attended by only her closest associates. The service was arranged by Joe DiMaggio, Monroe's half-sister
Berniece Baker Miracle, and Monroe's business manager Inez Melson. Hundreds of spectators crowded the streets around the cemetery. Monroe was later entombed at Crypt No. 24 at the Corridor of Memories.
In the following decades, several
conspiracy theories
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
*
*
*
* The term has a nega ...
, including murder and accidental overdose, have been introduced to contradict suicide as the cause of Monroe's death. The speculation that Monroe had been murdered first gained mainstream attention with the publication of
Norman Mailer's ''
Marilyn: A Biography'' in 1973, and in the following years became widespread enough for the
Los Angeles County District Attorney John Van de Kamp
John Kalar Van de Kamp (February 7, 1936 – March 14, 2017) was an American politician and lawyer who served as Los Angeles County District Attorney from 1975 until 1981, and then as the 28th Attorney General of California from 1983 until 1991.
...
to conduct a "threshold investigation" in 1982 to see whether a criminal investigation should be opened. No evidence of foul play was found.
Screen persona and reception
The 1940s had been the heyday for actresses who were perceived as tough and smart—such as
Katharine Hepburn and
Barbara Stanwyck—who had appealed to women-dominated audiences during the war years. 20th Century-Fox wanted Monroe to be a star of the new decade who would draw men to movie theaters, and saw her as a replacement for the aging
Betty Grable
Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer.
Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million; for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she reign ...
, their most popular "blonde bombshell" of the 1940s. According to film scholar
Richard Dyer, Monroe's star image was crafted mostly for the
male gaze
In feminist theory, the male gaze is the act of depicting women and the world in the visual arts and in literature from a masculine, heterosexual perspective that presents and represents women as sexual objects for the pleasure of the heteros ...
.
![Harlow-jean swim1934](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Harlow-jean_swim1934.jpg)
From the beginning, Monroe played a significant part in the creation of her public image, and towards the end of her career exerted almost full control over it. She devised many of her publicity strategies, cultivated friendships with gossip columnists such as
Sidney Skolsky
Sidney Skolsky (2 May 1905 – 3 May 1983) was an American writer best known as a Hollywood gossip columnist. He ranked with Hedda Hopper (with whom he shared a birthday) and Louella Parsons as the premier Hollywood gossip columnists of the first ...
and
Louella Parsons
Louella Parsons (born Louella Rose Oettinger; August 6, 1881 – December 9, 1972) was an American movie columnist and a screenwriter. She was retained by William Randolph Hearst because she had championed Hearst's mistress Marion Davies and s ...
, and controlled the use of her images. In addition to Grable, she was often compared to another iconic blonde, 1930s film star
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...
. The comparison was prompted partly by Monroe, who named Harlow as her childhood idol, wanted to play her in a biopic, and even employed Harlow's hair stylist to color her hair.
Monroe's screen persona focused on her blonde hair and the stereotypes that were associated with it, especially dumbness, naïveté, sexual availability and artificiality. She often used a breathy, childish voice in her films, and in interviews gave the impression that everything she said was "utterly innocent and uncalculated", parodying herself with
double entendre
A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...
s that came to be known as "Monroeisms". For example, when she was asked what she had on in the 1949 nude photo shoot, she replied, "I had the radio on".
![Marilyn Monroe Seven Year Itch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Marilyn_Monroe_Seven_Year_Itch.jpg)
In her films, Monroe usually played "the girl", who is defined solely by her gender. Her roles were almost always chorus girls, secretaries, or models: occupations where "the woman is on show, there for the pleasure of men." Monroe began her career as a pin-up model, and was noted for her hourglass figure. She was often positioned in film scenes so that her curvy silhouette was on display, and frequently posed like a pin-up in publicity photos. Her distinctive, hip-swinging walk also drew attention to her body and earned her the nickname "the girl with the horizontal walk".
Monroe often wore white to emphasize her blondness and drew attention by wearing revealing outfits that showed off her figure. Her publicity stunts often revolved around her clothing either being shockingly revealing or even
malfunctioning, such as when a shoulder strap of her dress snapped during a press conference. In press stories, Monroe was portrayed as the embodiment of the
American Dream, a girl who had risen from a miserable childhood to Hollywood stardom. Stories of her time spent in foster families and an orphanage were exaggerated and even partly fabricated. Film scholar Thomas Harris wrote that her working-class roots and lack of family made her appear more sexually available, "the ideal playmate", in contrast to her contemporary,
Grace Kelly
Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956.
Kelly ...
, who was also marketed as an attractive blonde, but due to her upper-class background was seen as a sophisticated actress, unattainable for the majority of male viewers.
Although Monroe's screen persona as a dim-witted but sexually attractive blonde was a carefully crafted act, audiences and film critics believed it to be her real personality. This became a hindrance when she wanted to pursue other kinds of roles, or to be respected as a businesswoman. The academic Sarah Churchwell studied narratives about Monroe and wrote:
Biographer
Lois Banner writes that Monroe often subtly parodied her
sex symbol status in her films and public appearances, and that "the 'Marilyn Monroe' character she created was a brilliant archetype, who stands between
Mae West
Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...
and
Madonna in the tradition of twentieth-century gender tricksters." Monroe herself stated that she was influenced by West, learning "a few tricks from her—that impression of laughing at, or mocking, her own sexuality". She studied comedy in classes by mime and dancer Lotte Goslar, famous for her comic stage performances, and Goslar also instructed her on film sets. In ''Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'', one of the films in which she played an archetypal dumb blonde, Monroe had the sentence "I can be smart when it's important, but most men don't like it" added to her character's lines.
![Marilyn Monroe at Ciro's](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Marilyn_Monroe_at_Ciro%27s.jpg)
According to Dyer, Monroe became "virtually a household name for sex" in the 1950s and "her image has to be situated in the flux of ideas about morality and sexuality that characterised the Fifties in America", such as
Freudian
Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts i ...
ideas about sex, the
Kinsey report
The Kinsey Reports are two scholarly books on human sexual behavior, ''Sexual Behavior in the Human Male'' (1948) and ''Sexual Behavior in the Human Female'' (1953), written by Alfred Kinsey, Wardell Pomeroy, Clyde Martin, and (for ''Sexual Behavi ...
(1953), and
Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan ( February 4, 1921 – February 4, 2006) was an American feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book ''The Feminine Mystique'' is often credited with sparking the se ...
's ''
The Feminine Mystique
''The Feminine Mystique'' is a book by Betty Friedan, widely credited with sparking second-wave feminism in the United States. First published by W. W. Norton on February 19, 1963, ''The Feminine Mystique'' became a bestseller, initially selling o ...
'' (1963). By appearing vulnerable and unaware of her sex appeal, Monroe was the first sex symbol to present sex as natural and without danger, in contrast to the 1940s ''femme fatales''. Spoto likewise describes her as the embodiment of "the postwar ideal of the American girl, soft, transparently needy, worshipful of men, naïve, offering sex without demands", which is echoed in
Molly Haskell
Molly Clark Haskell (born September 29, 1939)Aitken, Ian, ed. (2006)''Encyclopedia of Documentary Film, Volume 2'' New York: Routledge. p. 541. . is an American feminist film critic and author. She contributed to ''The Village Voice''—fir ...
's statement that "she was the Fifties fiction, the lie that a woman had no sexual needs, that she is there to cater to, or enhance, a man's needs." Monroe's contemporary Norman Mailer wrote that "Marilyn suggested sex might be difficult and dangerous with others, but ice cream with her", while
Groucho Marx characterized her as "
Mae West
Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...
,
Theda Bara
Theda Bara ( ; born Theodosia Burr Goodman; July 29, 1885 – April 7, 1955) was an American silent film and stage actress.
Bara was one of the more popular actresses of the silent era and one of cinema's early sex symbols. Her femme fatal ...
, and
Bo Peep all rolled into one". According to Haskell, due to her sex symbol status, Monroe was less popular with women than with men, as they "couldn't identify with her and didn't support her", although this would change after her death.
Dyer has also argued that Monroe's blonde hair became her defining feature because it made her "racially unambiguous" and exclusively white just as the
civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...
was beginning, and that she should be seen as emblematic of racism in twentieth-century popular culture. Banner agreed that it may not be a coincidence that Monroe launched a trend of platinum blonde actresses during the civil rights movement, but has also criticized Dyer, pointing out that in her highly publicized private life, Monroe associated with people who were seen as "
white ethnic
White ethnic is a term used to refer to white Americans who are not Old Stock or White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. "Religion is the most critical factor in separating white ethnics in American society. As Catholics and secondarily Jews ... they were ...
s", such as Joe DiMaggio (
Italian-American
Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, ...
) and Arthur Miller (Jewish). According to Banner, she sometimes challenged prevailing racial norms in her publicity photographs; for example, in an image featured in ''Look'' in 1951, she was shown in revealing clothes while practicing with
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
singing coach
Phil Moore.
![MonroeLustreCremead](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/MonroeLustreCremead.jpg)
Monroe was perceived as a specifically American star, "a national institution as well known as hot dogs, apple pie, or baseball" according to ''Photoplay''. Banner calls her the symbol of
populuxe, a star whose joyful and glamorous public image "helped the nation cope with its paranoia in the 1950s about the
Cold War, the atom bomb, and the totalitarian communist Soviet Union". Historian Fiona Handyside writes that the French female audiences associated whiteness/blondness with American modernity and cleanliness, and so Monroe came to symbolize a modern, "liberated" woman whose life takes place in the public sphere. Film historian
Laura Mulvey
Laura Mulvey (born 15 August 1941) is a British feminist film theorist. She was educated at St Hilda's College, Oxford. She is currently professor of film and media studies at Birkbeck, University of London. She previously taught at Bulmershe ...
has written of her as an endorsement for American consumer culture:
Twentieth Century-Fox further profited from Monroe's popularity by cultivating several lookalike actresses, such as
Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, singer, nightclub entertainer, and ''Playboy'' Playmate. A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s while under contract at 20th Century Fox, Man ...
and
Sheree North
Sheree North (born Dawn Shirley Crang; January 17, 1932 – November 5, 2005) was an American actress, dancer, and singer, known for being one of 20th Century-Fox's intended successors to Marilyn Monroe.
Early life
North was born Dawn Shirley ...
. Other studios also attempted to create their own Monroes:
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
with
Mamie Van Doren
Mamie Van Doren (born Joan Lucille Olander; February 6, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and sex symbol. She is perhaps best known for the rock 'n' roll, juvenile delinquency exploitation film ''Untamed Youth'' (1957).
Early life
Van D ...
, Columbia Pictures with
Kim Novak
Marilyn Pauline "Kim" Novak (born February 13, 1933) is an American retired film and television actress and painter.
Novak began her career in 1954 after signing with Columbia Pictures and quickly became one of Hollywood's top box office stars, ...
, and
The Rank Organisation
The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribut ...
with
Diana Dors
Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer.
Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was p ...
.
Legacy
![Marilyn Monroe, Photoplay 1953](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Marilyn_Monroe%2C_Photoplay_1953.jpg)
According to ''The Guide to United States Popular Culture'', "as an icon of American popular culture, Monroe's few rivals in popularity include
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
and
Mickey Mouse... no other star has ever inspired such a wide range of emotions—from lust to pity, from envy to remorse." Art historian
Gail Levin stated that Monroe may have been "the most photographed person of the 20th century",
and The American Film Institute has named her
the sixth greatest female screen legend in
American film history. The
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
has included her on their list of "100 Most Significant Americans of All Time", and both ''Variety'' and
VH1 have placed her in the top ten in their rankings of the greatest popular culture icons of the twentieth century.
Hundreds of books have been written about Monroe. She has been the subject of numerous films, plays, operas, and songs, and has influenced artists and entertainers such as
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...
and Madonna. She also remains a valuable brand: her image and name have been licensed for hundreds of products, and she has been featured in advertising for brands such as
Max Factor
Max Factor is a line of cosmetics from Coty, Inc. It was founded in 1909 as Max Factor & Company by Maksymilian Faktorowicz.
Max Factor specialized in movie make-up. Until its 1973 sale for US$500 million (approximately $ billion in 2017 dolla ...
,
Chanel,
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
, and
Absolut Vodka
Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is a part of the French group Pernod Ricard. Pernod Ricard bought Absolut for €5.63 billion in 2008 from the Swedish state. Absolut is one of the largest brands ...
.
Monroe's enduring popularity is tied to her conflicted public image. On the one hand, she remains a sex symbol, beauty icon and one of the most famous stars of
classical Hollywood cinema
Classical Hollywood cinema is a term used in film criticism to describe both a narrative and visual style of filmmaking which became characteristic of American cinema between the 1910s (rapidly after World War I) and the 1960s. It eventually b ...
. On the other, she is also remembered for her troubled private life, unstable childhood, struggle for professional respect, as well as her death and the conspiracy theories that surrounded it. She has been written about by scholars and journalists who are interested in gender and feminism;
these writers include
Gloria Steinem
Gloria Marie Steinem (; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Steinem was a c ...
,
Jacqueline Rose
Jacqueline Rose, FBA (born 1949 in London) is a British academic who is Professor of Humanities at the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities.
Life and work
Jacqueline Rose is known for her work on the relationship between psychoanalysis, fem ...
, Molly Haskell, Sarah Churchwell,
and Lois Banner. Some, such as Steinem, have viewed her as a victim of the studio system.
Others, such as Haskell, Rose, and Churchwell,
have instead stressed Monroe's proactive role in her career and her participation in the creation of her public persona.
![James Gill's](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/James_Gill%27s_%22Marylin_Tryptich%22.jpg)
Owing to the contrast between her stardom and troubled private life, Monroe is closely linked to broader discussions about modern phenomena such as mass media, fame, and consumer culture. According to academic Susanne Hamscha, Monroe has continued relevance to ongoing discussions about modern society, and she is "never completely situated in one time or place" but has become "a surface on which narratives of American culture can be (re-)constructed", and "functions as a cultural type that can be reproduced, transformed, translated into new contexts, and enacted by other people". Similarly, Banner has called Monroe the "eternal shapeshifter" who is re-created by "each generation, even each individual... to their own specifications".
Monroe remains a
cultural icon
A cultural icon is a person or an artifact that is identified by members of a culture as representative of that culture. The process of identification is subjective, and "icons" are judged by the extent to which they can be seen as an authentic ...
, but critics are divided on her legacy as an actress.
David Thomson called her body of work "insubstantial" and
Pauline Kael
Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' magazine from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael's opinions oft ...
wrote that she could not act, but rather "used her lack of an actress's skills to amuse the public. She had the wit or crassness or desperation to turn cheesecake into acting—and vice versa; she did what others had the 'good taste' not to do". In contrast,
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire''.
Early life and education
Bradshaw was educated at Haberdasher ...
wrote that Monroe was a talented comedian who "understood how comedy achieved its effects",
and
Roger Ebert wrote that "Monroe's eccentricities and neuroses on sets became notorious, but studios put up with her long after any other actress would have been blackballed because what they got back on the screen was magical". Similarly,
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum (born February 27, 1943) is an American film critic and author. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for ''The Chicago Reader'' from 1987 to 2008, when he retired. He has published and edited numerous books about cinema and has ...
stated that "she subtly subverted the sexist content of her material" and that "the difficulty some people have discerning Monroe's intelligence as an actress seems rooted in the ideology of a repressive era, when super feminine women weren't supposed to be smart".
Filmography
![Marilyn Monroe in Some Like it Hot trailer cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Marilyn_Monroe_in_Some_Like_it_Hot_trailer_cropped.jpg)
* ''Seven Sirens'' (1946)
* ''
Dangerous Years
''Dangerous Years'' is a 1947 American drama film produced by Sol M. Wurtzel, directed by Arthur Pierson, starring Billy Halop and Ann E. Todd. Marilyn Monroe makes her first onscreen appearance as Evie, the waitress in the restaurant scenes. ...
'' (1947)
* ''
Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!
''Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!'' is a 1948 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by F. Hugh Herbert, based on the novel of the same name by George Agnew Chamberlain. Released by 20th Century Fox, the film stars June Haver, Lon McC ...
'' (1948)
* ''
Ladies of the Chorus
''Ladies of the Chorus'' is a 1948 American musical romance film directed by Phil Karlson and starring Adele Jergens, Marilyn Monroe and Rand Brooks. The screenplay, written by Harry Sauber and Joseph Carole, was based on a story by Sauber.
Rel ...
'' (1948)
* ''
Love Happy
''Love Happy'' is a 1949 American musical comedy film, released by United Artists, directed by David Miller and starring the Marx Brothers (Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx and Chico Marx) in their 13th and final feature film, as well as a memorable wa ...
'' (1949)
* ''
A Ticket to Tomahawk
''A Ticket to Tomahawk'' is a 1950 American Western film directed by Richard Sale and starring Dan Dailey and Anne Baxter. It was released by 20th Century Fox. Marilyn Monroe appeared in one of her earliest roles.
Plot
In 1876, Johnny Jameson ...
'' (1950)
* ''
The Asphalt Jungle
''The Asphalt Jungle'' is a 1950 American film noir heist film directed by John Huston. Based on the 1949 novel of the same name by W. R. Burnett, it tells the story of a jewel robbery in a Midwestern city. The film stars Sterling Hayden and L ...
'' (1950)
* ''
All About Eve
''All About Eve'' is a 1950 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve" by Mary Orr, although Orr does not receive a screen credit ...
'' (1950)
* ''
The Fireball
''The Fireball'' is a 1950 American drama film starring Mickey Rooney and Pat O'Brien, and directed by Tay Garnett. The cast also includes Beverly Tyler and the eighth screen appearance of Marilyn Monroe.
The film, released by 20th Century Fox ...
'' (1950)
* ''
Right Cross
''Right Cross'' is a 1950 sports drama film released by MGM, directed by John Sturges, written by Charles Schnee and starring June Allyson, Ricardo Montalban, Dick Powell, Lionel Barrymore and (in a small uncredited role) Marilyn Monroe.
Plot ...
'' (1951)
* ''
Home Town Story'' (1951)
* ''
As Young as You Feel
''As Young as You Feel'' is a 1951 American comedy film starring Monty Woolley, Thelma Ritter, and David Wayne, with Marilyn Monroe in a small role. It was directed by Harmon Jones.
Plot
When printer John R. Hodges is forced to retire at age 65 ...
'' (1951)
* ''
Love Nest
''Love Nest'' is a 1951 American comedy-drama film directed by Joseph Newman and starring June Haver, William Lundigan, Frank Fay, and Marilyn Monroe.
The post-World War II comedy features an early supporting role for Monroe. It is one of t ...
'' (1951)
* ''
Let's Make It Legal'' (1951)
* ''
Clash by Night
''Clash by Night'' is a 1952 American film noir drama directed by Fritz Lang and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Paul Douglas, Robert Ryan, Marilyn Monroe and Keith Andes. The film is based on the 1941 play by Clifford Odets, adapted for the scre ...
'' (1952)
* ''
We're Not Married!
''We're Not Married!'' is a 1952 American anthology romantic comedy film directed by Edmund Goulding. It was released by 20th Century Fox.
The screenplay was written by Nunnally Johnson, while the story was adapted by Dwight Taylor from Gin ...
'' (1952)
* ''
Don't Bother to Knock
''Don't Bother to Knock'' is a 1952 American psychological film noir thriller starring Richard Widmark and Marilyn Monroe and directed by Roy Ward Baker.
The screenplay was written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 novel ''Mischief'' by C ...
'' (1952)
* ''
Monkey Business'' (1952)
* ''
O. Henry's Full House
''O. Henry's Full House'' is a 1952 American anthology film made by 20th Century Fox, consisting of five films, each based on a story by O. Henry.
The film was produced by André Hakim and directed by five directors from five screenplays with di ...
'' (1952)
* ''
Niagara'' (1953)
* ''
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' (1953)
* ''
How to Marry a Millionaire'' (1953)
* ''
River of No Return
''River of No Return'' is a 1954 American Western film directed by Otto Preminger and starring Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe. The screenplay by Frank Fenton is based on a story by Louis Lantz, who borrowed his premise from the 1948 Italia ...
'' (1954)
* ''
There's No Business Like Show Business
"There's No Business Like Show Business" is an Irving Berlin song, written for the 1946 musical '' Annie Get Your Gun'' and orchestrated by Ted Royal. The song, a slightly tongue-in-cheek salute to the glamour and excitement of a life in show b ...
'' (1954)
* ''
The Seven Year Itch
''The Seven Year Itch'' is a 1955 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder, from a screenplay he co-wrote with George Axelrod from the 1952 three-act play. The film stars Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, who reprised his stage role. ...
'' (1955)
* ''
Bus Stop'' (1956)
* ''
The Prince and the Showgirl
''The Prince and the Showgirl'' (originally titled '' The Sleeping Prince'') is a 1957 British romantic comedy film starring Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier, who also served as director and producer. The screenplay written by Terence Ratti ...
'' (1957)
* ''
Some Like It Hot'' (1959)
* ''
Let's Make Love
''Let's Make Love'' is a 1960 American musical comedy film made by 20th Century Fox in DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope. Directed by George Cukor and produced by Jerry Wald from a screenplay by Norman Krasna, Hal Kanter, and Arthur Miller, the film ...
'' (1960)
* ''
The Misfits'' (1961)
* ''
Something's Got to Give
''Something's Got to Give'' is an unfinished American feature film shot in 1962, directed by George Cukor for 20th Century Fox and starring Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin and Cyd Charisse. A remake of ''My Favorite Wife'' (1940), a screwball comedy ...
'' (1962–unfinished)
See also
*
Marilyn Monroe performances and awards
*
Marilyn Monroe in popular culture
American actress Marilyn Monroe's life and persona have been depicted in film, television, music, the arts, and by other celebrities.
Advertising
* Absolut Vodka "Absolut Marilyn" (1995): by Chiat/Day.
* America250 "Public Service Announce ...
Notes
References
Sources
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External links
*
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Monroe's fileat the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
website
"Marilyn Monroe: Still Life"A website containing clips and essays related to
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
's ''
American Masters
''American Masters'' is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and those who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the ...
'' documentary on Monroe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monroe, Marilyn
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