Marilyn Monroe[She obtained an order from the City Court of the State of New York and legally changed her name to Marilyn Monroe on February 23, 1956.][Marilyn Monroe's Official Web site.::. Fast Facts] (June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962), born
Norma Jeane Mortenson, but baptized
Norma Jeane Baker, was an American actress, singer and model.
After spending much of her childhood in foster homes, Monroe began a career as a model, which led to a film contract in 1946. Her early roles were minor, but her performances in
The Asphalt Jungle and
All About Eve (both 1950) were well received. She was praised for her comedic ability in such films as
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire, Some Like It Hot and
The Seven Year Itch, and became one of Hollywood's most popular and glamorous performers.
The typecasting of Monroe's "
dumb blonde" persona limited her career prospects, so she broadened her range. She studied at the
Actors Studio and formed Marilyn Monroe Productions. Her dramatic performance in
William Inge's
Bus Stop was hailed by critics, and she won a
Golden Globe Award for her performance in
Some Like it Hot.
The final years of Monroe's life were marked by illness, personal problems, and a reputation for being unreliable and difficult to work with.
The circumstances of her death, from an overdose of
barbiturates, have been the subject of conjecture. Though officially classified as a "probable suicide," the possibility of an accidental overdose, as well as the possibility of homicide, have not been ruled out.
In 1999, Monroe was ranked as the sixth
greatest female star of all time by the
American Film Institute.
Family and early life
Monroe was born in the
Los Angeles County Hospital on June 1, 1926,
[Churchwell, pp. 150–51] as Norma Jeane Baker, the third child born to
Gladys Pearl Baker, née Monroe, (1902–1984).
[Riese and Hitchens, p. 33]
Monroe's birth certificate names the father as Edward Mortenson (Norwegian),
[Summers, p. 5] with his residence stated as "unknown".
[Churchwell, p. 151] The name Mortenson is listed as her surname on the birth certificate, although Gladys immediately had it changed to Baker, the surname of her first husband which she had retained the use of. Gladys Baker had married a Martin E. Mortenson in 1924, but they had separated before Gladys' pregnancy.
[Summers, p. 5] Several of Monroe's biographers suggest that Gladys Baker used his name to avoid the stigma of illegitimacy.
[Churchwell, p. 150, citing previous biographers Anthony Summers, Donald Spoto and Fred Guiles] When Mortenson died, at the age of 85, Monroe's birth certificate together with her parents' marriage and divorce documents were discovered. The documents showed that Mortenson filed for divorce from Gladys on March 5, 1927, and it was finalized on October 15, 1928.
[L.A.County Hall of Records Case No. D-53720, 05MAR1927][Mortensen's Death and documents]
Throughout her life, Marilyn Monroe denied that Mortenson was her father.
[ She said that when she was a child, she had been shown a photograph of a man that Gladys identified as her father, Charles Stanley Gifford. She remembered that he had a thin moustache and somewhat resembled Clark Gable, and that she had amused herself by pretending that Gable was her father.][Churchwell, p. 154]
Mentally unstable and financially unable to care for the young Norma Jeane, Gladys placed her with foster parents Albert and Ida Bolender of Hawthorne, California, where she lived until she was seven. In her autobiography My Story (ghost-written by Ben Hecht)[Kovan, Florice Whyte, A Ghost Materialized - Ben Hecht Finally Credited on Marilyn Monroe's Memoir, (2001) Snickersnee Pressmarilyn_monroe] Monroe stated she believed that the Bolenders were her parents until Ida corrected her. After that, Monroe referred to them as Aunt and Uncle.
In 1933 Gladys bought a house and brought Norma Jeane to live with her. A few months after moving in, however, Gladys suffered a mental breakdown beginning a series of mental episodes that would plague her for the rest of her life. In My Story, Monroe recalls her mother "screaming and laughing" as she was forcibly removed to the State Hospital in Norwalk. Norma Jeane was declared a ward of the state, and Gladys' best friend, Grace McKee, became her guardian. It was Grace who had told Monroe that someday she would become a movie star. Grace was captivated by Jean Harlow, and would let Norma Jeane wear makeup and take her out to get her hair curled. They would go to the movies together, forming the basis for Norma Jeane's fascination with the cinema and the stars on screen.
After Grace McKee married Ervin Silliman (Doc) Goddard in 1935, the nine-year-old Norma Jeane was sent to the Los Angeles Orphans Home (later renamed Hollygrove), and then to a succession of foster homes.
Her time with the Goddard's would once again prove to be short. At the end of 1942 Grace and Doc decided to relocate to Virginia where Doc had received a lucritive job offer. It is unclear whether the Goddard's did not or could not take Norma Jeane with them, nevertheless Grace needed to find a home for her before they moved. An offer from a neighborhood family to adopt Norma Jeane was proposed, however, Gladys still would not allow it. With few options left Grace then approached Dougherty's mother and proposed the idea that Jim marry her, so that she would not have to return to an orphanage or foster care. Initially reluctant due to Norma Jeane's sixteen-year old age, Dougherty finally relented and after graduating high school in June 1942, married her in a ceremony arranged by Ana Lower. 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. In 1943, with World War II raging, Dougherty enlisted in the Merchant Marine and was shipped out to the Pacific. Frightened that he may not come back alive, Norma Jeane begged him to give her a child before he left. Dougherty disagreed feeling that she was to young to have a baby, but promised that they would reapproach the subject when he returned home. After he shipped out Norma Jeane moved in with Dougherty's mother.
Career
Modeling and early film work
[
] Magazine, 1945]]
While Dougherty was in the Merchant Marine, Norma Jeane found employment in the Radioplane Munitions Factory. 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 Blue Book Modeling Agency. She signed with the agency and began researching the work of Jean Harlow and Lana Turner. She was told that they were looking for models with lighter hair, so Norma Jeane bleached her brunette hair to a golden blonde.
Norma Jeane Dougherty became one of Blue Book's most successful models, appearing on dozens of magazine covers. Jim Dougherty, was oblivious of his wife's new job and only became aware of it when he discovered a shipmate of his admiring a photo of a sexy model in a magazine. The model was Norma Jeane. Dougherty wrote her several letters telling her that once he returned from service she would have to give up her modeling. A dissastisfied Norma Jeane, who now saw the possibilities of a modeling and acting career, decided then to divorce Dougherty. The marriage ended when he returned from overseas in 1946.
Her successful modeling career brought her to the attention of Ben Lyon, a 20th Century Fox executive, who arranged a screen test for her. Lyon was impressed and commented, "It's Jean Harlow all over again."[Riese and Hitchen, p. 288] She was offered a standard six-month contract with a starting salary of $125 per week. Lyon did not like her name and chose "Carole Lind" as a stagename, after Carole Lombard and Jenny Lind, but he soon decided it was not an appropriate choice. Norma Jeane was invited to spend the weekend with Lyon and his wife Bebe Daniels at their home. It was here that they decided to find her a new name. Following her idol Jean Harlow, Norma Jeane decided to choose her mother's maiden name of Monroe. Several variations such as Norma Jeane Monroe and Norma Monroe were tried and initially "Jeane Monroe" was chosen. Lyon, however, felt that there were too many actress's with the name Jean, or a variation of it such as Jean Peters, Gene Tierney, Jeanne Crain, and Jean Arthur. Wanting a more unique name Lyon suggested Marilyn commenting that she reminded him of Marilyn Miller, the sexy 1920's Broadway actress. Norma Jeane was initially hesitant due to the fact that Marilyn was the contraction of the name Mary Lynn, a name she did not like. Lyon, however, felt that the name "Marilyn Monroe" was sexy, had a "nice flow," and would be "lucky" due to the double "M" [Summers, p. 27] and thus Norma Jeane Baker took the name Marilyn Monroe.
She appeared in Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! and Dangerous Years (both 1947), but when her contract was not renewed, she returned to modeling. She attempted to find opportunities for film work, and while unemployed she posed for nude photographs.
In 1948 Monroe signed a six-month contract with Columbia Pictures, and was introduced to the studio's head drama coach, Natasha Lytess, who became her acting coach for several years.[Summers, p. 38] She starred in the low-budget musical Ladies of the Chorus, but the film was not a success, and her contract was not renewed.[Summers, p. 43] During her short stint at Columbia, studio head Harry Cohen softened her appearance somewhat by correcting a slight overbite she had. In addition he had her golden brownish-blonde hair lightened to platinum blonde.
She appeared in a small role in the Marx Brothers film Love Happy (1949) and impressed the producers, who sent her to New York to feature in the film's promotional campaign.[Summers, p. 45]
[Monroe in The Asphalt Jungle trailer.jpg|thumb|left|in [[The Asphalt Jungle] (1950)]]
Love Happy brought Monroe to the attention of the agent, Johnny Hyde, who agreed to represent her. He arranged for her to audition for John Huston, who cast her in the drama The Asphalt Jungle, as the young mistress of an aging criminal. Her performance brought strong reviews,[ and was seen by the writer and director, Joseph Mankiewicz. He accepted Hyde's suggestion of Monroe for a small comedic role in All About Eve, as Miss Caswell, an aspiring actress, described by another character as a student of "The Copacabana School of Dramatic Art". Mankiewicz later commented that he had seen an innocence in her that he found appealing, and that this had confirmed his belief in her suitability for the role.][Staggs, p. 92] Following Monroe's success in these roles, Hyde negotiated a seven-year contract for her with 20th Century Fox, shortly before his death in December 1950.[Riese and Hitchens, p. 228] It was sometime during this 1949-50 period that Hyde arranged for her to have a slight bump of cartlidge removed from her somewhat bulbous nose which further softened her appearance and accounts for the slight variation in look she had in films after 1950.
Monroe enrolled at the UCLA in 1951 where she studied literature and art appreciation,[Summers, p. 50] and appeared in several minor films playing opposite such long-established performers as Mickey Rooney, Constance Bennett, June Allyson, Dick Powell and Claudette Colbert.[Evans, pp. 98–109] In March 1951, she appeared as a presenter at the 23rd Academy Awards ceremony.[Wiley and Bona, p. 208]
In the early 1950s, Monroe and Gregg Palmer both unsuccessfully auditioned for roles as Daisy Mae and Abner in a proposed Li'l Abner television series based on the Al Capp comic strip, but the effort never materialized.
Career development
[]]]
In March 1952, Monroe faced a possible scandal when one of her nude photos from a 1949 session with photographer Tom Kelley was featured in a calendar. The press speculated about the identity of the anonymous model and commented that she closely resembled Monroe. As the studio discussed how to deal with the problem, Monroe suggested that she should simply admit that she had posed for the photograph but that she should emphasize that she had done so only because she had no money to pay her rent.[Summers, p. 58] She gave an interview in which she discussed the circumstances that led to her posing for the photographs, and the resulting publicity elicited a degree of sympathy for her plight as a struggling actress.
She made her first appearance on the cover of Life magazine in April 1952, where she was described as "The Talk of Hollywood".[Evans, p. 112] Stories of her childhood and upbringing portrayed her in a sympathetic light; a cover story for the May 1952 edition of True Experiences magazine showed a smiling and wholesome Monroe beside a caption that read, "Do I look happy? I should — for I was a child nobody wanted. A lonely girl with a dream — who awakened to find that dream come true. I am Marilyn Monroe. Read my Cinderella story."[Evans, p. 128-129] It was also during this time that she began dating baseball player Joe DiMaggio. A photograph of DiMaggio visiting Monroe at the 20th Century Fox studio was printed in newspapers throughout the United States, and reports of a developing romance between them generated further interest in Monroe.[Summers, p. 67]
[Monroe and Keith Andes in Clash by Night trailer.jpg|thumb|left|with [[Keith Andes] in Clash by Night]] (1952)
Over the following months, four films in which Monroe featured were released. She had been lent to RKO Studios to appear in a supporting role in Clash by Night, a Barbara Stanwyck drama, directed by Fritz Lang.[Jewell and Harbin, p. 266] Released in June 1952, the film was popular with audiences, with much of its success credited to curiosity about Monroe, who received generally favorable reviews from critics.[Riese and Hitchens, p. 93] This was followed by two films released in July, the comedy We're Not Married, and the drama Don't Bother to Knock; We're Not Married featured Monroe as a beauty pageant contestant, and while Variety described the film as "lightweight", its reviewer commented that Monroe was featured to full advantage in a bathing suit, but that some of her scenes suggested a degree of exploitation.[Riese and Hitchens, p. 545] In Don't Bother to Knock, she played a starring role[Riese and Hitchens, p. 132] as a babysitter who threatens to attack the child in her care. The downbeat melodrama was poorly reviewed, although Monroe commented that it contained some of her strongest dramatic acting.[Riese and Hitchens, p. 336] In O. Henry's Full House for 20th Century Fox, released in August 1952, she had a single one-minute scene with Charles Laughton yet received top billing alongside him and the film's other stars, including Anne Baxter, Jeanne Crain, Farley Granger, Jean Peters, Richard Widmark, Dale Robertson and Oscar Levant.
[sings from the trailer of Niagra.jpg|right|thumb|As Rose in [[Niagara (1953 film)|Niagara]]]
Darryl F. Zanuck considered that Monroe's film potential was worth developing and cast her in Niagara, as a femme fatale scheming to murder her husband, played by Joseph Cotten.[Churchwell, p. 233] During filming, Whitey Snyder Monroe's make-up artist, noticed her stage fright (that would ultimately mark her behavior on film sets throughout her career); the director assigned him to spend hours gently coaxing and comforting Monroe as she prepared to film her scenes.[Summers, p. 74]
Much of the critical commentary following the release of the film focused on Monroe's overtly sexual performance,[Churchwell, p. 62] After seeing the film, Constance Bennett reportedly quipped, "There's a broad with her future behind her."[Riese and Hitchens, p. 340] Whitey Snyder also commented that it was during preparation for this film, after much experimentation, that Monroe achieved "the look, and we used that look for several pictures in a row ... the look was established."
While the film was a success, and Monroe's performance had positive reviews, her conduct at promotional events sometimes drew negative comments. Her appearance at the "Photoplay" awards dinner in a skin-tight gold lamé dress was criticized. Louella Parsons' newspaper column quoted Joan Crawford discussing Monroe's "vulgarity" and describing her behavior as "unbecoming an actress and a lady".[Churchwell, p. 234] Monroe had previously received criticism for wearing a dress with a neckline cut almost to her navel when she acted as Grand Marshall at the Miss America Parade in September 1952.[Summers, p. 71] A photograph from this event was used on the cover of the first issue of Playboy in December 1953, with a nude photograph of Monroe, taken in 1949, inside the magazine.[Summers, p. 59]
Mainstream success
[Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes trailer.jpg|left|thumb|Performing "[[Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend]" in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes]] (1953)
Her next film was Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) co-starring Jane Russell and directed by Howard Hawks. Her role as Lorelei Lee, a gold-digging showgirl, required her to act, sing, and dance. The two stars became friends, with Russell describing Monroe as "very shy and very sweet and far more intelligent than people gave her credit for".[Russell, p. 137] She later recalled that Monroe showed her dedication by rehearsing her dance routines each evening after most of the crew had left, but she arrived habitually late on set for filming. Realizing that Monroe remained in her dressing room due to stage fright, and that Hawks was growing impatient with her tardiness, Russell started escorting her to the set.[Russell, p. 138]
At the Los Angeles premiere of the film, Monroe and Russell pressed their hand- and footprints in the cement in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Monroe received positive reviews and the film grossed more than double its production costs.[Churchwell, p. 63] Her rendition of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" became associated with her. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes also marked one of the earliest films in which William Travilla dressed Monroe. Travilla would go on to dress Monroe in eight of her films including Bus Stop, Don't Bother to Knock, How to Marry a Millionaire, River of No Return, There’s No Business Like Show Business, Monkey Business, and The Seven Year Itch.[www.palmspringslife.com/Blogs/The-Life/January-2009/The-Man-Who-Dressed-Marilyn-Monroe-the-legendary-William-Travilla/]
How to Marry a Millionaire, a comedy about three models scheming to attract a wealthy husband, teamed Monroe with Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall, directed by Jean Negulesco.[Riese and Hitchens, p. 222] The producer and scriptwriter, Nunnally Johnson, said that it was the first film in which audiences "liked Marilyn for herself that she diagnosed the reason very shrewdly. She said that it was the only picture she'd been in, in which she had a measure of modesty... about her own attractiveness."[Summers, p. 86]
Monroe's films of this period established her "dumb blonde" persona and contributed to her popularity. In 1953 and 1954, she was listed in the annual "Quigley Poll of the Top Ten Money Making Stars", which was compiled from the votes of movie exhibitors throughout the United States for the stars that had generated the most revenue in their theaters over the previous year.
[& Jane.jpg|thumb|360px|Marilyn Monroe and [[Jane Russell] putting signatures, hand and foot prints in cement at Grauman's Chinese Theater]] on June 27, 1953
During this time, Monroe discussed her acting ambitions, telling the New York Times "I want to grow and develop and play serious dramatic parts. My dramatic coach, Natasha Lytess, tells everybody that I have a great soul, but so far nobody's interested in it."[Summers, pp. 85-86] She saw a possibility in 20th Century Fox's upcoming film, The Egyptian, but was rebuffed by Darryl F. Zanuck who refused to screen test her.[Riese and Hitchens, p. 139]
Instead, she was assigned to the western River of No Return, opposite Robert Mitchum. Director Otto Preminger resented Monroe's reliance on Natasha Lytess, who coached Monroe and announced her verdict at the end of each scene. Eventually Monroe refused to speak to Preminger, and Mitchum had to mediate.[Server, p. 249] On the finished product, she commented, "I think I deserve a better deal than a grade Z cowboy movie in which the acting finished second to the scenery and the CinemaScope process."[Churchwell, p. 65]
In late 1953, Monroe was scheduled to begin filming The Girl in Pink Tights with Frank Sinatra, and when she failed to appear for work, 20th Century Fox suspended her.[Summers, p. 92] She and Joe DiMaggio were married in San Francisco on January 14, 1954, and they travelled to Japan soon after, combining a honeymoon with a business trip previously arranged by DiMaggio. For two weeks she took a secondary role to DiMaggio as he conducted his business, and said to a reporter, "Marriage is my main career from now on."[Summers, pp 93-95] She then travelled alone to Korea where she performed for 13,000 American Marines over a three-day period, and later commented that the experience had helped her overcome a fear of performing in front of large crowds.[Summers, p. 96]
[
]. February 17, 1954.]]
Returning to Hollywood in March 1954, Monroe settled her disagreement with 20th Century Fox and appeared in There's No Business Like Show Business, a musical which failed to recover its production costs.[Riese and Hitchen, p. 338] Time compared her unfavorably to co-star Ethel Merman, while Bosley Crowther for The New York Times said that Mitzi Gaynor had surpassed Monroe's "embarrassing to behold" performance.[Riese and Hitchens, p. 440] The reviews echoed Monroe's opinion of the film, which she had made reluctantly, with the assurance that she would be given the starring role in the film adaptation of the Broadway hit The Seven Year Itch.[Summers, p. 101]
In September 1954, Monroe filmed one of the key scenes for The Seven Year Itch in New York City. In it, she stands with her co-star, Tom Ewell, while the air from a subway grating blows her skirt over her head. A large crowd watched as director Billy Wilder ordered the scene to be refilmed many times. Among the crowd was Joe DiMaggio, who was reported to have been infuriated by the spectacle.[Summers, p. 103] After a quarrel, witnessed by journalist Walter Winchell, the couple returned to California where they avoided the press for two weeks, until Monroe announced that they had separated.[Summers, pp 103-105] Their divorce was granted in November 1954.[Riese and Hitchens, p. 129] The filming was completed in early 1955, and after refusing what Monroe considered to be inferior parts in The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing and How to Be Very, Very Popular, she decided to leave Hollywood, at the advice of Milton Greene.
The Actors Studio and formation of Marilyn Monroe Productions
Greene had first met Monroe in 1953 when he was assigned to photograph her for Look magazine. While many photographers tried to emphasize her sexy image, Greene presented her in more modest poses, and she was pleased with his work. As a friendship developed between them, she confided in him her frustration with her 20th Century Fox contract, and the roles she was offered. Her salary for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes amounted to $18,000, while freelancer Jane Russell was paid more than $100,000.[Summers, p. 119-120] Greene agreed that she could earn more by breaking away from 20th Century Fox. He gave up his job in 1954, mortgaged his home to finance Monroe, and allowed her to live with his family as they determined the future course of her career.
Truman Capote introduced Monroe to Constance Collier, who gave her acting lessons. She felt that Monroe was not suited to stage acting, but possessed a "lovely talent" that was "so fragile and subtle, it can only be caught by the camera". After only a few weeks of lessons, Collier died.[Summers, p. 128] Monroe had met Paula Strasberg and her daughter Susan on the set of There's No Business Like Show Business,[Strasberg, p. 54] and had previously said that she would like to study with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. In March 1955, Monroe met with Cheryl Crawford, one of the founders of the Actors Studio, and convinced her to introduce her to Lee Strasberg, who interviewed her the following day, and agreed to accept her as a student.[Summers, p. 129]
[Monroe in Bus Stop trailer 1.jpg|left|thumb|350px|Monroe's dramatic performance as [[Bus Stop (film)|Chérie], a saloon singer with little talent, marked a departure from her earlier comedies.]]
In May 1955, Monroe started dating the playwright, Arthur Miller; they had met in Hollywood in 1950 and when Miller discovered she was in New York, he arranged for a mutual friend to reintroduce them.[Riese and Hitchens, p. 325] On June 1, 1955, Monroe's birthday, Joe DiMaggio accompanied Monroe to the premiere of The Seven Year Itch in New York City. He later hosted a birthday party for her, but the evening ended with a public quarrel, and Monroe left the party without him. A lengthy period of estrangement followed.[Summers, p. 142][Riese and Hitchens, p. 124]
Throughout 1955, Monroe studied with the Actors Studio, and found that one of her biggest obstacles was her severe stage fright. She was befriended by the actors, Kevin McCarthy and Eli Wallach who each recalled her as studious and sincere in her approach to her studies, and noted that she tried to avoid attention by sitting quietly in the back of the class.[Summers, p. 130] When Strasberg felt Monroe was ready to give a performance in front of her peers, Monroe and Maureen Stapleton chose the opening scene from Eugene O'Neill's Anna Christie, and although she had faltered during each rehearsal, she was able to complete the performance without forgetting her lines.[Summers, p. 145] Kim Stanley later recalled that students were discouraged from applauding, but that Monroe's performance had resulted in spontaneous applause from the audience.[ While Monroe was a student, Lee Strasberg commented, "I have worked with hundreds and hundreds of actors and actresses, and there are only two that stand out way above the rest. Number one is Marlon Brando, and the second is Marilyn Monroe."]
The Seven Year Itch was released and became a success, earning an estimated $8 million.[Riese and Hitchens, p. 475] Monroe received positive reviews for her performance, and was in a strong position to negotiate with 20th Century Fox.[ On New Year's Eve 1955, they signed a new contract which required Monroe to make four films over a seven-year period. The newly formed Marilyn Monroe Productions would be paid $100,000 plus a share of profits for each film. In addition to being able to work for other studios, Monroe had the right to reject any script, director or cinematographer she did not approve of.][Summers, p. 146][Riese and Hitchens, p. 309]
The first film to be made under the contract and production company was Bus Stop directed by Joshua Logan. Logan had studied under Konstantin Stanislavsky, approved of method acting, and was supportive of Monroe.[Riese and Hitchens, p. 275] Monroe severed contact with her drama coach, Natasha Lytess, replacing her with Paula Strasberg, who became a constant presence during the filming of Monroe's subsequent films.[Summers, p. 151]
[Olivier and Marilyn Monroe in The Prince and the Showgirl trailer 2.jpg|thumb|In [[The Prince and the Showgirl] (1957), Monroe co-starred with Laurence Olivier]], who also directed the film.
In Bus Stop Monroe played Chérie, a saloon bar singer with little talent, who falls in love with a cowboy. Her costumes, make-up and hair reflected a character who lacked sophistication, and Monroe provided deliberately mediocre singing and dancing. 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 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." Logan championed Monroe for an Academy Award nomination and complimented her professionalism until the end of his life.[Riese and Hitchens, p. 276] Though not nominated for an Academy Award,[Summers, p. 154] she received a Golden Globe nomination.
During this time, the relationship between Monroe and Miller had developed, and although the couple were able to maintain their privacy for almost a year, the press began to write about them as a couple,[Summers, p. 139] often referred to as "The Egghead and The Hourglass".[Riese and Hitchens, p. 326] The reports of their romance were soon overtaken by news that Miller had been called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee to explain his supposed communist affiliations. Called upon to identify communists he was acquainted with, Miller refused and was charged with contempt of Congress. He was acquitted on appeal.[Summers. p 157] During the investigation, Monroe was urged by film executives to abandon Miller, rather than risk her career but she refused, later branding them as "born cowards".[ The press began to discuss an impending marriage, but Monroe and Miller refused to confirm the rumor. In June 1956, a reporter was following them by car, and as they attempted to elude him, the reporter's car crashed, killing a female passenger. Monroe became hysterical upon hearing the news, and their engagement was announced, partly in the expectation that it would reduce the excessive media interest they were being subjected to.]
Bus Stop was followed by The Prince and the Showgirl directed by Laurence Olivier, who also co-starred. Prior to filming, Olivier praised Monroe as "a brilliant comedienne, which to me means she is also an extremely skilled actress". During filming he resented Monroe's dependence on her drama coach, Paula Strasberg, regarding Strasberg as a fraud whose only talent was the ability to "butter Marilyn up". He recalled his attempts at explaining a scene to Monroe, only to hear Strasberg interject, "Honey - just think of Coca-Cola and Frank Sinatra."[Olivier, pp 211-212]
Despite Monroe and Olivier clashing, Olivier later commented that in the film "Marilyn was quite wonderful, the best of all."[Olivier, p. 213] Monroe's performance was hailed by critics, especially in Europe, where she won the David di Donatello, the Italian equivalent of the Academy Award, as well as the French Crystal Star Award. She was also nominated for a BAFTA.
Later years
It was more than a year before Monroe began her next film; during her hiatus she lived with Miller in Amagansett, Long Island and suffered a miscarriage on August 1, 1957.[Churchwell, p. 261][Moberly Monitor-Index, Moberly, MO, Friday, 2 August 1957, p. 6, cols 6-7, article: "Marilyn Monroe Loses Her Baby By Miscarriage."] With Miller's encouragement she returned to Hollywood in August 1958, and filmed Some Like it Hot directed by Billy Wilder, and co-starring Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis. Although Wilder had experienced Monroe's tardiness, stage fright, and inability to remember lines during production of The Seven Year Itch, her behavior was more hostile, and was marked by refusals to participate in filming, and occasional outbursts of profanity.[Churchwell, p. 262] She consistently refused to take direction from Wilder, or insisted on numerous retakes of simple scenes until she was satisfied.[Churchwell, p. 264] She developed a rapport with Lemmon, but she disliked Curtis after hearing that he had described their love scenes as "like kissing Hitler".[Riese and Hitchens, p. 111] Curtis later stated that the comment was intended as a joke.[Churchwell, p. 265]
[Monroe in Some Like it Hot trailer cropped.jpg|thumb|in [[Some Like It Hot] (1959)]]
The film became a resounding success, and was nominated for five Academy Awards. Monroe was acclaimed for her performance and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Wilder commented that the film was the biggest success he had ever been associated with.[Riese and Hitchens, p. 489] He discussed the problems he encountered during filming, saying "Marilyn was so difficult because she was totally unpredictable. I never knew what kind of day we were going to have... would she be cooperative or obstructive?"[Summers, p. 178] He had little patience with her method acting technique and said that instead of going to the Actors Studio "she should have gone to a train-engineer's school ... to learn something about arriving on schedule."[Riese and Hitchens, p. 2] Wilder had become ill during filming, and explained, "We were in mid-flight – and there was a nut on the plane."[Summers, p. 177] In hindsight, he discussed Monroe's "certain indefinable magic" and "absolute genius as a comic actress,"[Riese and Hitchens, p. 552]
By this time, Monroe had only completed one film, Bus Stop, under her four picture contract with 20th Century Fox. She agreed to appear in Let's Make Love, which was to be directed by George Cukor, but she was not satisfied with the script, and Arthur Miller rewrote it.[Riese and Hitchens, p. 269] Gregory Peck was originally cast in the male lead role, but he refused the role after Miller's rewrite; Cary Grant, Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner and Rock Hudson also refused the role before it was offered to Yves Montand.[Summers, p. 183] Monroe and Miller befriended Montand and his wife, actress Simone Signoret, and filming progressed well until Miller was required to travel to Europe on business. Monroe began to leave the film set early and on several occasions failed to attend, but her attitude improved after Montand confronted her. Signoret returned to Europe to make a film, and Monroe and Montand began a brief affair that ended when Montand refused to leave Signoret.[Summers, p. 186] The film was not a critical or commercial success.[Riese and Hitchens, p. 270]
Monroe's health deteriorated during this period, and she began to see a Los Angeles psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenson. He later recalled that during this time she frequently complained of insomnia, and told Greenson that she visited several medical doctors to obtain what Greenson considered an excessive variety of drugs. He concluded that she was progressing to the point of addiction, but also noted that she could give up the drugs for extended periods, without suffering any withdrawal symptoms.[Summers, p. 188] According to Greenson, the marriage between Miller and Monroe was strained; he said that Miller appeared to genuinely care for Monroe and was willing to help her, but that Monroe rebuffed while also expressing resentment towards him for not doing more to help her.[Summers, p.189] Greenson stated that his main objective at the time was to enforce a drastic reduction in Monroe's drug intake.[Summers, p. 190]
In 1956 Arthur Miller had lived briefly in Nevada and wrote a short story about some of the local people he had become acquainted with, a divorced woman and some aging cowboys. By 1960 he had developed the short story into a screenplay, and envisioned it as a suitable role for Monroe. It became her last completed film, The Misfits, directed by John Huston and costarring Clark Gable, Montgomery Clift and Thelma Ritter. Filming commenced in July 1960, with most of it taking place in the hot Northern Nevada Black Rock Desert. Monroe was frequently ill and unable to perform, and away from the influence of Dr. Greenson, had resumed her consumption of sleeping pills and alcohol.[Strasberg, p. 134] and in August, Monroe was rushed to Los Angeles where she was hospitalized for ten days. Newspapers reported that she had been near death, although the nature of her illness was not disclosed.[Summers, p. 194] Louella Parsons wrote in her newspaper column that Monroe was "a very sick girl, much sicker than at first believed," and disclosed that she was being treated by a psychiatrist.
Monroe returned to Nevada and completed the film, but she became hostile towards Arthur Miller, and public arguments were reported by the press.[Summers, pp 192 & 194] Making the film had proved to be an arduous experience for the actors; in addition to Monroe's distress, Montgomery Clift had frequently been unable to perform due to illness, and by the final day of shooting, Thelma Ritter was in hospital suffering from exhaustion. Gable, commenting that he felt unwell, left the set without attending the wrap party.[Goode, p. 284] Monroe and Miller returned to New York on separate flights.[Summers, p. 195]
[Monroe in The Misfits trailer 2.jpg|thumb|left|Monroe in her final completed film, [[The Misfits (film)|The Misfits] (1961)]]
Within ten days Monroe had announced her separation from Miller, and Gable had died from a heart attack.[Goode, pp 284-285] Gable's widow, Kay, commented to Louella Parsons that it had been the "eternal waiting" on the set of The Misfits that had contributed to his death, though she did not name Monroe. When reporters asked Monroe if she felt guilty about Gable's death, she refused to answer,[Harris, p. 379] but the journalist, Sidney Skolsky, recalled that privately she expressed regret for her poor treatment of Gable during filming and described her as being in "a dark pit of despair."[Summers, p. 196] Monroe later attended the christening of the Gables' son, at the invitation of Kay Gable.
The Misfits was the subject of mediocre reviews, and was not a commercial success, though some praised the performances of Monroe and Gable.[ Huston later commented that Monroe's performance was not acting in the true sense, and that she had drawn from her own experiences to show herself, rather than a character. "She had no techniques. It was all the truth. It was only Marilyn."]
During the following months, Monroe's dependence on alcohol and prescription medications began to take a toll on her health, and friends such as Susan Strasberg later spoke of her illness.[Summers, p. 198] Her divorce from Arthur Miller was finalized in January 1961, with Monroe citing "incompatibility of character,"[ and in February she voluntarily entered the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic. Later describing the experience as a "nightmare,"][Summers, p. 199] she was able to phone Joe DiMaggio from the clinic, and he immediately traveled from Florida to New York to facilitate her transfer to the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, where she remained for three weeks. Illness prevented her from working for the remainder of the year; she underwent surgery to correct a blockage in her Fallopian tubes in May, and the following month underwent gall bladder surgery.[Summers, p. 202] She returned to California and lived in a rented apartment as she convalesced.
In 1962 Monroe began filming Something's Got to Give, which was to be the third film of her four-film contract with 20th Century Fox. It was to be directed by George Cukor, and co-starred Dean Martin and Cyd Charisse. She was ill with a virus as filming commenced, and suffered from high temperatures and recurrent sinusitis. On one occasion she refused to perform with Martin as he had a cold, and the producer Henry Weinstein recalled seeing her on several occasions being physically ill as she prepared to film her scenes, and attributed it to her dread of performing. He commented, "Very few people experience terror. We all experience anxiety, unhappiness, heartbreaks, but that was sheer primal terror."[Summers, p. 268]
