Marilyn Monroe

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Marilyn Monroe

Monroe in a promotional still from 1953
Born Norma Jeane Mortenson
June 1, 1926(1926-06-01)
Los Angeles, California
Died August 5, 1962 (aged 36)
Brentwood, Los Angeles, California
Other name(s) Norma Jeane Baker
Occupation actress, model, singer, comedian
Years active 1947–1962
Spouse(s) James Dougherty (June 19, 1942 – September 13, 1946)
Joe DiMaggio (January 14, 1954 – October 27, 1954)
Arthur Miller (June 29, 1956 – January 20, 1961)
Official website

Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson;[1] June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962), was a Golden Globe-winning,[2] critically-acclaimed[3][4][5] American actress, singer, model, Hollywood icon,[6] cultural icon, fashion icon,[7] pop icon,[8] film executive[9] and sex symbol. She is known for her beauty,[10][11] comedic acting roles and screen presence.[12] Monroe was one of the most popular movie stars of the 1950s and early 1960s and became the object of unprecedented popular adulation.[13][14] During the later stages of her career, she worked towards serious roles and her fame surpassed that of any other entertainer of her time.[15]

Monroe's death at age 36 was classified as probable suicide.[16] Many individuals including Jack Clemmons, the first LAPD Police officer to arrive at the death scene,[17] believed that she was murdered.[18] Others, including award-winning historian Anthony Summers, have doubted Clemmons' reliability as a source. Monroe is the only female on the Forbes top-earning dead celebrities list.[19]

Contents

[edit] Childhood

[edit] Family and early life

Main article: Childhood of Marilyn Monroe

Monroe was born in the charity ward of the Los Angeles County Hospital.[1][20] According to biographer Fred Lawrence Guiles, her grandmother, Della Monroe Grainger, had her baptized Norma Jeane Baker by Aimee Semple McPherson.[1] Although she took a stagename of Marilyn Monroe in 1946, she did not legally change her name until February 23, 1956.[21] Her mother was Gladys Pearl (Monroe) Baker (1902-1984).[22] For many years it was believed Gladys' second husband Martin Edward Mortenson (1897–1981) was Monroe's father. His name was listed on her birth certificate.[23]

[edit] Foster homes

Mentally unstable and unable to care for Monroe, Gladys placed her with foster parents Albert and Ida Bolender of Hawthorne, California, where she lived until she was seven.[24] In her autobiography My Story, Monroe stated she believed that the Bolenders were her parents until Ida, quite rudely, corrected her.

During one of her weekly visits, Gladys told Norma Jeane that she bought a house for them. A few months after moving in, Gladys suffered a breakdown. In My Story, Monroe recalls her mother "screaming and laughing," as she was forcibly removed to the State Hospital in Norwalk, where her mother, Della, had been taken and died.[25] According to My Sister Marilyn, Gladys's brother, Marion, hanged himself upon his release from an asylum, and Della's father, Tilford Marion Hogan, did the same in a fit of depression.

Monroe was declared a ward of the state, and Gladys's best friend, Grace McKee became her guardian. After McKee married in 1935, Monroe was sent to the Los Angeles Orphans Home (later renamed Hollygrove), and then to a succession of foster homes.[24]

Grace and her husband were about to move to East and could not take Norma Jeane. According to biographer Fred Lawrence Guiles, another family, moving to Louisiana wanted to adopt Norma Jeane, but Gladys would not allow it. Grace then approached the mother of a neighbor boy, James Dougherty, about the possibility of him marrying Norma Jeane so that she would not have to return to an orphanage or foster care.[24] Monroe would state in her autobiography that she did not feel like a wife; she enjoyed playing with the neighborhood children until her husband would call her home. The marriage lasted until 1946 when Monroe decided to pursue her career.

[edit] Career

[edit] Early years

Mrs. Norma Jeane Dougherty, YANK Magazine, 1945
Mrs. Norma Jeane Dougherty, YANK Magazine, 1945

While her first husband was in the Merchant Marine during World War II, Monroe moved in with her mother-in-law, where she started working in the Radioplane Munitions Factory owned by Hollywood actor Reginald Denny. She sprayed airplane parts with fire retardant and inspected parachutes. During this time, Army photographer David Conover snapped a photograph of her for a YANK magazine article. He encouraged her to apply to the The Blue Book modeling agency. She signed with the agency and began researching the work of famous actresses Jean Harlow and Lana Turner. Monroe enrolled in drama and singing classes and had her hair cut, straightened and lightened to golden blonde.[24]

Monroe became one of Blue Book's most successful models, appearing on dozens of magazine covers. In 1946, she came to the attention of talent scout Ben Lyon. He arranged a screen test for her with 20th Century Fox. She was offered a standard six-month contract with a starting salary of $125 per week.[26]

Since Norma Jeane was not considered a commercial stage name, Lyon suggested she adopt Marilyn (after the famous actress Marilyn Miller).[27] For her last name, she took her mother's maiden name of Monroe. During her first six months at Fox, Monroe was given no work, but Fox renewed her contract and she was given minor appearances in Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! and Dangerous Years, both released in 1947.[15] In Scudda Hoo!, her part was edited out except for a quick glimpse of her face when she speaks two words. Fox decided not to renew her contracts. Monroe returned to modeling and began to network and make contacts. She posed for nude photographs which were later featured in the first issue of Playboy.[24]

In 1948, during a six-month stint at Columbia Pictures, Monroe had a part in a Three Stooges short and starred in the film Ladies of the Chorus. The low-budget musical was not a success and Monroe was dropped again. She met one of Hollywood's top agents, Johnny Hyde, who had Fox re-sign her after MGM turned her down. Darryl F. Zanuck, the vice-president of Fox, was not convinced of Monroe's potential, but because of Hyde's persistence, she gained supporting parts in the Marx Brothers film Love Happy (1949), and in Fox's All About Eve and MGM's The Asphalt Jungle (both 1950). Even though the roles were small, moviegoers as well as critics took notice.[15] Hyde arranged for her to have minor plastic surgery on her nose and chin, adding that to earlier dental surgery.[28][29][30]

The next two years were filled with inconsequential roles in standard fare, such as We're Not Married! and Love Nest. However, RKO executives used Monroe to boost box office potential of the Fritz Lang production, Clash by Night. After the film performed well, Fox employed a similar tactic, and she was cast as the ditzy receptionist with Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers in Howard Hawks's slapstick comedy Monkey Business. Critics no longer ignored her, and both films' success at the box office was partly attributed to Monroe's growing popularity.

Fox finally gave Monroe a starring role in 1952 with Don't Bother to Knock, in which she portrayed a deranged babysitter who attacks the little girl in her care. It was a cheaply made B-movie, and although the reviews were mixed, they claimed it demonstrated Monroe's ability and confirmed she was ready for more leading roles. Her performance has been noted as one of her finest.[31]

As Rose in Niagara.
As Rose in Niagara.

[edit] Stardom

Monroe proved she could carry a big-budget film when she starred in Niagara in 1953. Movie critics focused on Monroe's connection with the camera as much as on the sinister plot.[32] She played an unbalanced woman planning to murder her husband.

[edit] Playboy playmate

Marilyn Monroe

First issue of Playboy, featuring a black-and-white photo of Monroe (in a dress) promising inside full-color pictures of her nude.
Playboy centerfold appearance
December 1953
Succeeded by Margie Harrison
Measurements Bust: 36[33]
Waist: 24[33]
Hips: 34[33]
Height 5 ft 5 in (1.7 m)[33]
Weight 118 lb (54 kg)[33]

Around this time, the nude photos of Monroe began to surface, taken by photographer Tom Kelley during her unemployment. Prints were bought by Hugh Hefner and, in December 1953, appeared in the first edition of Playboy. To the dismay of Fox, Monroe decided to publicly admit it was indeed her in the pictures. When a journalist asked her what she wore in bed she replied, "Chanel No. 5".[34] When asked what she had on during the photo shoot, she replied, "The radio".[34]

[edit] A-list actress

Over the following months, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire cemented Monroe's status as an A-list actress, as she became one of the world's biggest movie stars. The lavish Technicolor comedy films established Monroe's "dumb blonde" on-screen persona.[24]

In Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Monroe's turn as gold-digging showgirl Lorelei Lee won her rave reviews,[35] and the scene where she sang "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" has inspired the likes of Anna Nicole Smith, Madonna,[36] Kylie Minogue,[37] a Geri Halliwell, and millions of others worldwide. In the Los Angeles premiere of the film, Monroe and co-star Jane Russell pressed their foot- and handprints in the cement in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

In How to Marry a Millionaire, Monroe was teamed up with Lauren Bacall and Betty Grable. She played a short-sighted dumb blonde, and though the role was stereotypical, critics took note of her comedic timing.[38]

Monroe's next two films, the western River of No Return and the musical There's No Business Like Show Business, were not successful. Monroe eventually got tired of the roles that Zanuck assigned her. After completing work on The Seven Year Itch in early 1955, she broke her contract and fled Hollywood to study acting with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in New York.[15] Fox would not accede to her contract demands and insisted she return to work on productions she considered inappropriate, such as The Girl in Pink Tights (which was never filmed), The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing and How to Be Very, Very Popular.

[edit] Marilyn Monroe Productions

Once in New York, Monroe set up her own production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions, with fashion photographer Milton H. Greene.

As The Seven Year Itch raced to the top of the box office in the summer of 1955, and with Fox starlets Jayne Mansfield and Sheree North failing to click with audiences, Zanuck admitted defeat and Monroe returned to Hollywood. A new contract was drawn up, giving Monroe approval of the script, cinematographer and director as well as the option to act in other studios' projects, practically unheard of for an actress in the 1950s. Marilyn's victory over Fox caused one of the first serious breaches in the studio system.[39]

The first film to be made under the contract and production company was Bus Stop, directed by Joshua Logan. Monroe played Chérie,[40] a saloon bar singer who falls in love with a cowboy. Monroe deliberately appeared badly made-up and unglamorous. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for the performance and was praised by critics.[24] Bosley Crowther of The New York Times proclaimed: "Hold on to your chairs, everybody, and get set for a rattling surprise. Marilyn Monroe has finally proved herself an actress." In his autobiography, Movie Stars, Real People and Me, director Joshua Logan wrote: "I found Marilyn to be one of the great talents of all time... She struck me as being a much brighter person than I had ever imagined, and I think that was the first time I learned that intelligence and, yes brilliance have nothing to do with education."

Monroe in a promotional still for The Prince and the Showgirl, 1957.
Monroe in a promotional still for The Prince and the Showgirl, 1957.

The second movie filmed under Monroe's production company was The Prince and the Showgirl co-starring Laurence Olivier. Olivier, who directed the movie, said Monroe was "a brilliant comedienne, which to me means she is also an extremely skilled actress."[24] However, he became furious at her habit of being late to the set, as well as her dependency on her drama coach Paula Strasberg. Monroe's performance was hailed by critics, especially in Europe, where she was handed the David di Donatello, the Italian equivalent of the Academy Award, as well as the French Crystal Star Award. She was also nominated for the British BAFTA award.

[edit] Later years

In 1959, Monroe scored the biggest hit of her career starring alongside Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis in Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot. After shooting finished, Wilder publicly blasted Monroe for her difficult on-set behavior. His attitude softened soon, and he hailed her as a great comedienne. Some Like It Hot is consistently rated as one of the best films ever made.[41] Monroe's performance earned her a Golden Globe for best actress in musical or comedy.

After Some Like It Hot, Monroe shot Let's Make Love directed by George Cukor and co-starring Yves Montand. Monroe was forced to shoot the picture because of her obligations to Twentieth Century-Fox. While the film was not a commercial or critical success, it included one of Monroe's legendary musical numbers, Cole Porter's "My Heart Belongs to Daddy".

Arthur Miller wrote what became Monroe and her co-star Clark Gable's last completed film, The Misfits. The exhausting shoot took place in July, in the hot Northern Nevada Black Rock desert, and Reno Nevada. The rodeo and bar scenes were shot in Dayton, Nevada Monroe, Gable and Montgomery Clift delivered performances that are considered excellent by contemporary movie critics.[42] Tabloid magazines blamed Gable's death of a heart attack on Monroe, citing her tardiness and quoting Gable's widow Kay Spreckels Gable, who claimed that her husband did his own stunt work out of the frustration of waiting for Monroe.[43] Exacerbating the situation was Gable's advanced age, plus long history of alcohol and tobacco use, and previous heart attacks. Monroe was invited by Kay to the baptismal ceremony for her and Clark's son John Clark Gable. She attended.

In 1962, some of the most famous photographs of Monroe were taken by Bert Stern as a feature for Vogue magazine. This photo shoot was her last and it is known as "The Last Sitting".[44]

Monroe returned to Hollywood to resume filming on the George Cukor comedy Something's Got to Give, a never-finished film that has become legendary for problems on the set and proved a costly debacle for Fox.

"Happy Birthday, Mr. President"

Monroe's performance of the song
Problems listening to the file? See media help.

After shooting what was claimed to have been the first ever nude scene by a major motion picture actress, Monroe's attendance on the set became even more erratic. On June 1, her thirty-sixth birthday, she attended a charity event at Dodger Stadium.

Financially strained by the production costs of Cleopatra, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Fox dropped Monroe from the film and replaced her with Lee Remick. However, co-star Dean Martin, who had a clause in his contract giving him an approval over his co-star, was unwilling to work with anyone but Monroe. She was rehired.[45]

Monroe conducted a lengthy interview with Life, in which she expressed how bitter she was about Hollywood labeling her as a dumb blonde and how much she loved her audience.[46] She also did a photo shoot for Vogue and began discussing a future film project with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra, according to the Donald Spoto biography.

Monroe was planning to star in a biopic of Jean Harlow, as well as starring alongside Jack Lemmon in Irma La Douce, a Billy Wilder comedy that eventually starred Shirley MacLaine.[24] Other projects under consideration were What a Way to Go! (in which Shirley MacLaine replaced her), Kiss Me, Stupid, a comedy starring Dean Martin and Kim Novak, and a musical version of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn.[24]

Before the shooting of Something's Got to Give resumed, Monroe was found dead in her Los Angeles home on the morning of August 5, 1962. She remains one of the 20th century's legendary public figures and archetypal Hollywood movie stars.

Dougherty and Monroe in an undated photo.
Dougherty and Monroe in an undated photo.

[edit] Marriages and relationships

[edit] James Dougherty

Monroe married James Dougherty on June 19, 1942. In The Secret Happiness of Marilyn Monroe and To Norma Jeane with Love, Jimmie, he claimed they were in love, but dreams of stardom lured her away. In 1953, he wrote a piece called "Marilyn Monroe Was My Wife" for Photoplay, in which he claimed that she threatened to jump off the Santa Monica Pier if he left her. In the 2004 documentary Marilyn's Man, Dougherty made three new claims: that he invented the "Marilyn Monroe" persona; studio executives forced her to divorce him; and that he was her true love and her "dedicated friend for life."

Dougherty's actions seem to contradict these claims: he remarried months after Monroe divorced him; his sister told the December 1952 Modern Screen Magazine that he left Monroe because she wanted to pursue modeling, after he initially gave her permission to do so; he confirmed Monroe's version of the beginning of their relationship in an A&E Network Monroe documentary that his mother had asked him to marry her so that she would not be returned to an orphanage. Most telling, the 6 August 1962 The New York Times reported that, on being informed of her death, Dougherty replied "I'm sorry," and continued his LAPD patrol. He did not attend Monroe's funeral.

[edit] Joe DiMaggio

In 1951, Joe DiMaggio saw a picture of Monroe with two Chicago White Sox players, but did not ask the man who arranged the stunt to set up a date until 1952. Monroe wrote in My Story that she did not want to meet him, fearing a stereotypical jock. They eloped on 14 January 1954. During their honeymoon in Japan, she was asked to visit Korea. She performed ten shows over four days for over 100,000 servicemen. Biographers have noted that DiMaggio, who stayed in Japan, was not pleased with his wife's decision during what he wanted to be an intimate trip.

Monroe and DiMaggio as they wait to be married at San Francisco City Hall on 14 January 1954
Monroe and DiMaggio as they wait to be married at San Francisco City Hall on 14 January 1954

Back home, she wrote him a letter about her dreams for their future, dated February 28, 1954:

"My Dad, I don't know how to tell you just how much I miss you. I love you till my heart could burst... I want to just be where you are and be just what you want me to be... I want someday for you to be proud of me as a person and as your wife and as the mother of the rest of your children (two at least! I've decided)..."[47]

—Marilyn Monroe

DiMaggio biographer Maury Allen quoted New York Yankees PR man Arthur Richman that Joe told him everything went wrong from the trip to Japan on. On September 14, 1954, Monroe filmed the iconic skirt-blowing scene for The Seven Year Itch in front of New York's Trans-Lux Theater. Bill Kobrin, then Fox's east coast correspondent, told the Palm Springs Desert Sun in 2006 that it was Billy Wilder's idea to turn the shoot into a media circus: "... every time her dress came up and the crowd started to get excited, DiMaggio just blew up." Kobrin reported that the couple had a "yelling battle" in the theater lobby.[48] She filed for divorce on grounds of mental cruelty 274 days after the wedding.

In February 1961, Monroe was admitted to the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic, where, according to Spoto, she was placed in the ward for the most seriously disturbed. Monroe contacted DiMaggio, who secured her release. She later joined him in Florida, where he was serving as a batting coach at the Yankees' spring training camp. Their "just good friends" claim to the media did not stop rumors of remarriage; Bob Hope jokingly dedicating Best Song nominee The Second Time Around to them at the 1960 Academy Awards.

According to Allen, on 1 August 1962, DiMaggio  – alarmed by how Monroe had fallen in with people he considered detrimental to her well-being  – quit his job with a PX supplier to ask her to remarry him.

After Monroe's death, DiMaggio claimed her body and arranged her funeral. For 20 years, he had a dozen red roses delivered to her crypt three times a week. Unlike her other two husbands, he never talked about her publicly or otherwise exploited their relationship.

[edit] Arthur Miller

Miller and Monroe at a press conference after their wedding
Miller and Monroe at a press conference after their wedding

On June 29, 1956, Monroe married playwright Arthur Miller, whom she first met in 1951, in a civil ceremony in White Plains, New York. City Court Judge Seymour Robinowitz presided over the hushed ceremony in the law office of Sam Slavitt (the wedding had been kept secret from both the press and the public). In reflecting on his courtship of Monroe, Miller wrote, "She was a whirling light to me then, all paradox and enticing mystery, street-tough one moment, then lifted by a lyrical and poetic sensitivity that few retain past early adolescence".[49] Nominally raised as a Christian, she converted to Judaism before marrying Miller. After she finished shooting The Prince and the Showgirl with Laurence Olivier, the couple returned to the United States from England and discovered she was pregnant. However, she suffered from endometriosis, and the pregnancy was found to be ectopic. A subsequent pregnancy ended in miscarriage.

Miller's screenplay for The Misfits, a story about a despairing divorcée, was meant to be a Valentine gift for his wife, but by the time filming started in 1960 their marriage was beyond repair. A Mexican divorce was granted on January 24, 1961. On February 17, 1962, Miller married Inge Morath, one of the Magnum photographers recording the making of The Misfits.

In January 1964, Miller's play After The Fall opened, featuring a beautiful and devouring shrew named Maggie. The similarities between Maggie and Monroe did not go unnoticed by audiences and critics (including Helen Hayes).[citation needed] Simone Signoret noted in her autobiography the morbidity of Miller and Elia Kazan resuming their professional association "over a casket." In interviews and in his autobiography, Miller insisted that Maggie was not based on Monroe. However, he never pretended that his last Broadway-bound work, Finishing the Picture, was not based on the making of The Misfits. He appeared in the documentary The Century of the Self, lamenting the psychological work being done on her before her death.

From the television feed of Kennedy's birthday gala where Monroe sang "Happy Birthday, Mr. President".
From the television feed of Kennedy's birthday gala where Monroe sang "Happy Birthday, Mr. President".

[edit] The Kennedys

On May 19, 1962, Monroe made her last significant public appearance, singing "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" at a televised birthday party for President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden. The dress that she wore to the event, specially designed and made for her by Jean Louis, sold at an auction in 1999 for 1.26 million dollars, establishing a new world record for the most expensive piece of clothing ever sold at an auction.

It has been claimed that Monroe was involved with both Robert Kennedy and John F. Kennedy.[45] Jeanne Carmen, who claimed to have been a friend of Monroe's, also claimed she dated both. The affair with President John F. Kennedy was more lust-related, while the one with Attorney General Robert Kennedy was based on intellectual attachment. Monroe was devastated by each relationship, which both men failed to break the news to Monroe that they no longer wanted an affair with her.[45] DiMaggio told both his son and attorney that "the Kennedys killed her."[50]

[edit] Death and aftermath

Main article: Death of Marilyn Monroe

On August 5, 1962, LAPD police sergeant Jack Clemmons received a call at 4:25AM from Dr. Hyman Engelberg proclaiming that Monroe was dead at her home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California. Sergeant Clemmons was the first police officer to arrive at the death scene.[51] Many questions remain unanswered about the circumstances of her death and the timeline from when Monroe's body was found.

The official cause of Monroe's death was classified, by Dr. Thomas Noguchi of the Los Angeles County Coroners office, as a case of "acute barbiturate poisoning." Eight milligrams of chloral hydrate and 4.5 milligrams of Nembutal were found in her system after the autopsy.[52] Her death was classified as "probable suicide,"[16] but because of a lack of evidence, investigators could not classify her death as suicide or homicide. Also, some conspiracy theories involve John and Robert Kennedy with her death, while other theories suggest CIA or mafia complicity. As a side note, toxicology tests revealed that Monroe also had a slight iron deficiency in her blood.[53]

On August 8, 1962, Monroe was interred in a crypt at Corridor of Memories, #24, at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. Lee Strasberg delivered the eulogy.

[edit] Administration of estate

In her will, Monroe left Lee Strasberg 75 percent of the residuary estate. She expressed her desire that Strasberg, or, if he predeceased her, her executor, "distribute [her personal effects] among my friends, colleagues and those to whom I am devoted."[54]

Strasberg willed his portion to his widow, Anna. She declared she would never sell Monroe's personal items after successfully suing Odyssey Auctions in 1994 to prevent the sale of items, which were withheld by Monroe's former business manager, Inez Melson. However, in October 1999, Christie's auctioned the bulk of the items Monroe willed to Strasberg, netting US $13,405,785.

Anna Strasberg is currently in litigation against the children of four photographers to determine rights of publicity, which permits the licensing of images of deceased personages for commercial purposes. The decision as to whether Monroe was a resident of California, where she died, or New York, where her will was probated, is worth millions.[55]

On May 4, 2007, a federal judge in New York ruled that Monroe's rights of publicity ended upon her death, thus allowing the family of photographer Sam Shaw to sell photos of Monroe.[56]

On March 17, 2008, a federal judge issued a decision in favor of two photo archives in the tangled, long-running legal battle over who controls the likeness of Monroe.

A judge found that CMG and Marilyn Monroe LLC had been inconsistent in their arguments that Monroe was domiciled in California when she died. U.S. District judge Margaret M. Morrow applied a concept called judicial estoppel, which is designed to prevent parties from changing positions when it suits their legal advantage. The Greene and Kelley archives say they will now license photographs of Monroe and other celebrities for commercial use through a new company called Legends Licensing, LLC with a division called Marilyn Monroe Licensing Group.

The Monroe lawsuit has seemed resolved several times before, only to flare back up with new legal maneuvering. Marilyn Monroe LLC successfully lobbied for a change in the right of publicity law in California last year. A similar law failed to pass in New York State. If such a law were to pass in New York, it could give CMG new grounds to continue fighting its case for control over Monroe's likeness.[57] In effect, the ruling tossed ownership rights to the public, said Jonathan Polak, who leads the intellectual property group at Sommer Barnard. “Marilyn Monroe is one of the heavyweight celebrities in the licensing business and she has generated significant licensing revenues, but the court has essentially unleashed the right of publicity for Marilyn to the public domain,” Polak said.[58]

[edit] Quotes

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
“ Hollywood is a place where they’ll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul. ”
“

I think that when you are famous every weakness is exaggerated. (...) Goethe said, "Talent is developed in privacy," you know? And it's really true. (...) Creativity has got to start with humanity and when you're a human being, you feel, you suffer. You're gay, you're sick, you're nervous, or whatever.[59]

 ”
“ Say goodbye to Pat, say goodbye to the president and say goodbye to yourself, because you're a nice guy.[...]I'll see, I'll see.[60] ”
“ I don't know who invented high heels, but all women owe him a lot.[34] ”
“ I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go. Things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they go right. You believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart, so that better things can fall together. ”
“ I don't mind living in a man's world, as long as I can be a woman in it. ”
“ When it comes down to it, I let them think what they want. If they care enough to bother with what I do, then I'm already better than them. ”
“ I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes. I am out of control at times and hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best. ”
“ Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring. ”
“ It's all make believe, isn't it? ”
“ If I'd observed all the rules, I'd never have got anywhere. ”


“ I'm trying to find myself as a person, sometimes that's not easy to do. Millions of people live their entire lives without finding themselves, but it is something I must do. The best way for me to find myself as a person is to prove to myself that I am an actress. ”
“ I have too many fantasies to be a housewife....I guess I am a fantasy. ”
“ I love to do the things the censors won't pass. ”
“ Gravity catches up with all of us. ”


[edit] Quotes about Monroe

  • "Marilyn Monroe was late for everything – but much too early for death." (Army Archerd)
  • "Everything Marilyn does is different from any other woman, strange and exciting, from the way she talks to the way she uses that magnificent torso."[61]
  • "She can make any move, any gesture, almost unsufferably suggestive."[62]
  • "She wasn't disciplined and she was often late, but there was a sort of magic about her which we all recognized at once."[63]
  • "Nobody discovered her, she earned her own way to stardom."[64]
  • "If it hadn't been for her friends, she might still be alive."[65]

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Awards and nominations

in The Seven Year Itch (1955)
in The Seven Year Itch (1955)
  • 1952 Photoplay Award: Special Award
  • 1953 Golden Globe Henrietta Award: World Film Favorite Female.
  • 1953 Photoplay Award: Most Popular Female Star
  • 1956 BAFTA Film Award nomination: Best Foreign Actress for The Seven Year Itch
  • 1956 Golden Globe nomination: Best Motion Picture Actress in Comedy or Musical for Bus Stop
  • 1958 BAFTA Film Award nomination: Best Foreign Actress for The Prince and the Showgirl
  • 1958 David di Donatello Award (Italian): Best Foreign Actress for The Prince and the Showgirl
  • 1959 Crystal Star Award (French): Best Foreign Actress for The Prince and the Showgirl
  • 1960 Golden Globe, Best Motion Picture Actress in Comedy or Musical for Some Like It Hot
  • 1962 Golden Globe, World Film Favorite: Female
  • Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame 6104 Hollywood Blvd.
  • 1999 she was ranked as the sixth greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute in their list AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars.
  • 2008 Woman of the Week, Boomer and Carton Radio Program, WFAN 660 NY Radio.
Awards
Preceded by
Rosalind Russell
for Auntie Mame		 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
for Some Like It Hot
1960		 Succeeded by
Shirley MacLaine
for The Apartment

[edit] Art (selection)

  • Willem de Kooning: Marilyn Monroe (Oil on canvas, 1954)
  • Andy Warhol: Marilyn Diptych (Print on canvas, 1962)
  • James Rosenquist: Marilyn Monroe I (Oil on canvas, 1962)
  • Mimmo Rotella: Marilyn Monroe (Handcoloured decollage), 1962)
  • Richard Hamilton: My Marilyn (Photo and oil on canvas, 1966)
  • Salvador Dali: Mao Monroe (Oil on Perspex, 1967)
  • Robert Rauschenberg: Test Stone #1 (Lithography on paper, 1967)
  • George Segal: The Film Poster (Paperprint, 1967)
  • Ray Johnson: Dear Marilyn Monroe (Collage, 1972−1994) and Dear Marilyn Monroe, To Chuck Close (Collage, 1980−1994)
  • Audrey Flack: Marilyn: Golden Girl (Oil on acrylic glass, 1978)
  • Richard Serra: Marilyn Monroe–Greta Garbo (Steal-sculpture and lithography, 1981)
  • Peter Blake: Marilyn Monroe Over a Painting No 1 (Photo on painting, 1989-1990), Marilyn Monroe Wall No 2 (Assemblage, 1990), MM Red Yellow (Collage, 1990), M for Marilyn Monroe (Screenprint, 1991) and H.O.M.A.G.E. – JJ MM RR KS (Collage, 1991)
  • Douglas Gordon: As Kurt Cobain, as Andy Warhol, as Myra Hindley, as Marilyn Monroe (Photography, 1996)
  • Barbara Kruger: Not Stupid Enough (Lettered photography, 1997)
  • Mel Ramos: Peek-a-boo Marilyn (Coloured lithography, 2002)
  • Gina Lollobrigida: My Friend Marilyn Monroe (Bronze-sculpture, 2003)

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c Biography from marlynmonroe.com - Page 1
  2. ^ Awards for Marilyn Monroe
  3. ^ http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/marilyn-monroe-later-career10.htm
  4. ^ http://www.qnetwork.com/?page=review&id=1678
  5. ^ http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/gentlemen_prefer_blondes/
  6. ^ "Marilyn Monroe: An icon at 80", Independent, 2006-05-14. 
  7. ^ lifestyle - The Student Life
  8. ^ http://www.time.com/time/time100/heroes/profile/monroe01.html
  9. ^ http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/marilyn-monroe-later-career6.htm
  10. ^ http://www.marilynmonroe.com/about/bio.html
  11. ^ http://www.who2.com/marilynmonroe.html
  12. ^ Ebert, Roger. Review - Chicago Sun Times
  13. ^ http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9053433/Marilyn-Monroe
  14. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lkJmEX-P9Q
  15. ^ a b c d Marilyn Monroe at Encyclopædia Britannica
  16. ^ a b Grant Rollings, The curse of the Playmates, The Sun, February 12, 2007
  17. ^ Wolfe, Donald H. The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe. (1998) ISBN-10: 0787118079
  18. ^ Marilyn Monroe at Seize The Night
  19. ^ Marilyn Monroe at Forbes
  20. ^ Marilyn Monroe from encarta.msn.com
  21. ^ Fast Facts from marilynmonroe.com
  22. ^ Social Security Death Index showing "Gladys Eley, last residence Gainesville, Alachua, Florida, Born: 27 May 1900, Died: Mar 1984, SSN issued by Oregon (Before 1951)"
  23. ^ "Birth of Marilyn Monroe Shown to Be Legitimate", Associated Press, February 13, 1981. Retrieved on 2007-07-21. "Eighteen years after Marilyn Monroe's death, the widely held belief the movie star was born illegitimate has been disproved. Authorities say they have found copies of her birth certificate at the home of a dead man they believe was her father. Martin Edward Mortensen, 85 years old, died on Tuesday, apparently of a heart attack, Lisle Ford, a Riverside County coroner's investigator, said. He said that he had found copies of Monroe's birth certificate at Mortensen's apartment, as well as marriage and divorce papers for Mortensen and Gladys Baker, Monroe's mother. The birth certificate states Monroe was born Norma Jean Mortensen on June 1, 1926, in Los Angeles. Her father is listed as Edward Mortensen, address unknown, age twenty nine. Monroe died in Los Angeles on August 5, 1962, apparently a suicide from an overdose of barbiturates." 
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Marilyn Monroe - Actress
  25. ^ [1]
  26. ^ Biography at marilynmonroe.com - Page 2
  27. ^ Marilyn Monroe Biography at Net Glimse
  28. ^ Celebrity Plastic Surgery
  29. ^ Marilyn's Cosmetic Surgery
  30. ^ Legend: The Life and Death of Marilyn Monroe by Fred Lawrence Guiles ISBN 978-0812885255
  31. ^ Don't Bother to Knock
  32. ^ Niagara (1953). Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2006-08-01.
  33. ^ a b c d e Playboy Data Sheet: Marilyn Monroe. Playboy. Retrieved on 2008-02-20.
  34. ^ a b c Marilyn Monroe Quotes
  35. ^ Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
  36. ^ Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend - Marilyn Monroe Songs
  37. ^ Kylie Minogue and - Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend (Live)
  38. ^ How to Marry a Millionaire (1953). Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2006-08-01.
  39. ^ http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/marilyn-monroe-later-career9.htm
  40. ^ Bus Stop
  41. ^ Some Like It Hot (1959). Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2006-08-01.
  42. ^ The Misfits (1961). Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2006-08-01.
  43. ^ Frankly, We Gave A Damn
  44. ^ Bowman, David. "The last sitting", Salon, 2001-08-14. 
  45. ^ a b c CNN Larry King Live - Panel Discusses Marilyn Monroe
  46. ^ Meryman, Richard. "Marilyn Monroe's Last Interview", 1962. Retrieved on 2006-08-01. 
  47. ^ Shea, John. "JOE'S BID-NESS: DiMaggio's granddaughters are selling off their memorabilia", San Francisco Chronicle, 2006-05-17. Retrieved on 2006-08-01. 
  48. ^ Goolsby, Denise. "Meet Marilyn Monroe photographer Saturday", The Desert Sun, 2006-06-26. Retrieved on 2006-08-01. 
  49. ^ Arthur Miller, Timebends, 1987, New York, Grove Press, p. 359, ISBN 0-8021-0015-5
  50. ^ Engelberg, Morris. DiMaggio, Setting the record straight, page 281, (2003), ISBN 0-7603-1482-9
  51. ^ Wolfe, Donald H. The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe. (1998) ISBN-10: 0787118079
  52. ^ cited from Marilyn Monroe: Unseen Archives by Marie Clayton, Barnes & Noble Inc 2004, p. 361
  53. ^ Reed, Jonathan M. & Squire, Larry R. The Journal of Neuroscience, May 15, 1998, 18(10):3943-3954.
  54. ^ The Will of Marilyn Monroe. Court TV. Retrieved on 2006-08-01.
  55. ^ Koppel, Nathan. "A battle erupts over the right to market Monroe", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2006-04-10. Retrieved on 2006-08-01. 
  56. ^ Judge rejects Monroe claim to photographer profits. ABC News (May 5, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
  57. ^ Lang, Daryl. "Photo Archives Claim Victory In Marilyn Monroe Suit", pdnonline, 2008-03-18. Retrieved on 2008-03-18. 
  58. ^ Hoskins, Michael W.. "Indy firm loses Marilyn Monroe rights case", cms.ibj.com, 2008-03-19. Retrieved on 2008-03-19. 
  59. ^ Meryman, Richard. "Marilyn Monroe Pours Her Heart Out", Life, 1962-08-03. 
  60. ^ The last words of Marilyn to Peter Lawford, in August 5, 1962. Anel Marilyn Monroe (1926–1962)
  61. ^ Clark Gable as quoted in Marilyn Monroe: Unseen Archives by Marie Clayton, Barnes & Noble Inc. 2004, p. 380
  62. ^ Henry Hathaway as quoted in Marilyn: The Ultimate Book by Mike Evans, MQ Publications 2004, p. 151
  63. ^ Barbara Stanwyck as quoted in Marilyn Monroe: Unseen Archives by Marie Clayton, Barnes & Noble Inc 2004, p. 380
  64. ^ Darryl R. Zanuck, president of 20th Century Fox, as quoted in Marilyn: The Ultimate Book by Mike Evans, MQ Publications 2004, p. 79
  65. ^ Joe DiMaggio as quoted in Marilyn Monroe: Unseen Archives by Marie Clayton, Barnes & Noble Inc 2004, p. 380

[edit] References

  • Baty, S. Paige (1995). American Monroe: The Making of a Body Politic. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-08806-9.  Examines Monroe's stature as an icon.
  • Belmont, Georges (2000). Marilyn Monroe and the Camera. Te Neues Publishing Company. ISBN 3-8238-5467-4.  Monroe's "love affair" with the camera.
  • Churchwell, Sarah (2004). The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe. Metropolitan Books. ISBN 0-8050-7818-5.  Explores Western Civilization's fixation with Monroe.
  • Clayton, Marie (2004). Marilyn Monroe: Unseen Archives. Barnes & Noble Inc.. ISBN 0-7607-4673-7. 
  • Cunningham, Ernest W. (1997). The Ultimate Marilyn. Renaissance Books. ISBN 1-58063-003-0.  A compendium of facts, fantasies and scandals about Marilyn Monroe.
  • Evans, Mike (2004). Marilyn: The Ultimate Book. MQ Publications. ASIN B000FL52LG. 
  • Gilmore, John (2007). Inside Marilyn Monroe: A Memoir. Ferine Books. ISBN 0-9788968-0-7.  Examination of Monroe's personal and professional life.
  • Guiles, Fred Lawrence (1993). Norma Jean: The Life of Marilyn Monroe. Paragon House Publishers. ISBN 1-55778-583-X.  Reissue of a biography cited in this article.
  • Mailer, Norman (1973). Marilyn: A Biography. Grosset & Dunlap. ISBN 0-448-01029-1.  His controversial take on Monroe.
  • My Sister Marilyn, Miracle, Berniece Baker and Mona Raw Baker. Publisher: Algonquin Books; first edition (1994) Hardcover: 238 pages ISBN 1565120701
  • Monroe, Marilyn (2000). My Story. Cooper Square Press. ISBN 0-8154-1102-2.  Reprint of her memoirs, ghost-written by Ben Hecht; introduction by Andrea Dworkin.
  • Rollyson, Carl E. (1993). Marilyn Monroe: A Life of the Actress. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80542-1.  Scholarly look at her films.
  • Spoto, Donald (2001). Marilyn Monroe: The Biography. Cooper Square Press. ISBN 0-8154-1183-9.  Biography cited in this article.
  • Smith, Matthew (2004). Marilyn's Last Words: Her Secret Tapes and Mysterious Death. Carroll & Graf Publishers. ISBN 0-7867-1380-1.  Alleged transcripts of Monroe's therapy sessions.
  • Steinem, Gloria (1988). Marilyn: Norma Jeane, photos by George Barris. Signet. (1988) ISBN 0451155963
  • Taylor, Roger G. (2006). Marilyn in Art. Chaucer Press. ISBN 1-904957-02-1.  Examines Monroe's influence on numerous artists.
  • Victor, Adam (1999). The Complete Marilyn Monroe. Thames and Hudson Ltd. ISBN 0-500-01978-9. 
  • Vitacco-Robles, Gary (2003). Cursum Perficio: Marilyn Monroe's Brentwood Hacienda: The Story of Her Final Months. IUniverse. ISBN 0-595-01082-2

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Persondata
NAME Monroe, Marilyn
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Norma Jeane Mortenson
SHORT DESCRIPTION American actress
DATE OF BIRTH June 1, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Los Angeles, California
DATE OF DEATH August 5, 1962
PLACE OF DEATH Brentwood, California

‹The template Lifetime is being considered for deletion.› 

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