Hollywood sex goddess and comedienne Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson on the 1st of June, 1926. Her mother, Gladys, had entered into several relationships, further confusing her daughter as to who it was who fathered her. Afterward, Gladys gave Norma Jeane the name of Baker, a boyfriend she had before Mortenson. Norma Jeane's mother Gladys suffered from mental illness and was in and out of mental institutions for the rest of her life, and because of that Norma Jeane spent time in several different foster homes. In 1942, at the age of 16, Norma Jean married 21-year-old aircraft plant worker James Dougherty. The marriage only lasted four years, and they divorced in 1946. By this time Norma Jean began to model swimsuits and bleached her hair blonde.
Various shots made their way into the public eye, where some were eventually seen by RKO Pictures head Howard Hughes. He offered Norma Jeane a screen test, but an agent suggested that 20th Century-Fox would be the better choice for her. She was signed to a contract at $125 per week for a six-month period and that was increased by $25 per week at the end of that time when her contract was lengthened.
By then, Norma Jeane changed her name to Marilyn Monroe, borrowing her mother's maiden name and her grandmother's middle name. Her first film was in 1947 with a bit part in The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (1947). Her next production was not much better, a bit in the eminently forgettable Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! (1948). Two of the three brief scenes she appeared wound up on the cutting room floor. Later that same year she was given a somewhat better role as Evie in Dangerous Years (1947). However, Fox declined to renew her contract, so she went back to modeling and acting school.
Columbia Pictures then picked her up to play Peggy Martin in Ladies of the Chorus (1948), where she sang two numbers. Although the film did well, it still wasn't the film that made Marilyn get noticed and was dropped by Columbia. Once again Marilyn returned to modeling. In 1949 she appeared in United Artists' Love Happy (1949). It was also that same year she posed nude for the now famous calendar shot which was later to appear in Playboy magazine in 1953 and further boost her career. She would be the first centerfold in that magazine's long and illustrious history. The next year proved to be a good year for Marilyn. She appeared in five films, but the good news was that she received very good notices for her roles in two of them, The Asphalt Jungle (1950) from MGM and All About Eve (1950) from Fox. Even though both roles were basically not much mor than bit parts, movie fans remembered her ditzy but very sexy blonde performance.
In the first few years of the 1950s, Marilyn was cast in some usually forgettable roles, such as Love Nest (1951), Let's Make It Legal (1951), As Young As You Feel (1952) and We're Not Married! (1952). In all of those films, Marilyn played the shapely, dizzy blonde. In 1952, Marilyn finally starred in a serious role, in the dark drama Don't Bother to Knock. Critics didn't particularly care for her work in this picture, but she made a much more favorable impression later in the year in Monkey Business (1952), where she was seen for the first time as a platinum blonde, a look that became her trademark. The next year she appeared in the delightful Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) as Lorelei Lee. It was also the same year she began dating the baseball great Joe DiMaggio.
Marilyn was now a genuine box-office drawing card. Later, she appeared with Betty Grable, Lauren Bacall and Rory Calhoun in How to Marry a Millionaire (1953). Although her co-stars got the rave reviews, it was the sight of Marilyn that really excited the audience, especially the male members. During that same year, Marilyn starred opposite Robert Mitchum in another drama, River of No Return (1954). In the film, Marilyn looked awkward and out-of-place. However on January 14 1954, Marilyn married Joe DiMaggio, then proceeded to film her next movie, There's No Business Like Show Business (1955). That was quickly followed by The Seven Year Itch (1955), which showcased her considerable comedic talent and contained what is arguably one of the most memorable moments in cinema history: Marilyn standing above a subway grating and the wind from a passing subway blowing her white dress up.
By October of 1954, Marilyn announced her divorce from DiMaggio. The union lasted only eight months, as DiMaggio didn't like the fact that Marilyn's male fans got what they wanted after the famous skirt-blowing scene in The Seven Year Itch (1955). Also in 1955 she was suspended by Fox for not reporting for work on How to Be Very, Very Popular (1955). It was her second suspension, the first being for not reporting for the production of The Girl In Pink Tights (1955). Both roles went to others. Her work was slowing down, due to her habit of being continually late to the set, her illnesses (whether real or imagined) and generally being unwilling to cooperate with her producers, directors, and fellow actors. In Bus Stop (1956), however, Marilyn finally showed critics that she could play a straight dramatic role. As the troubled singer Cherie, Marilyn starred opposite the-then-rising-actor Don Murray.
It was also in 1956 that Marilyn married playwright, Arthur Miller. In 1957 Marilyn flew to Britain to film The Prince and the Showgirl (1957), opposite Laurence Olivier, which proved less than impressive critically and financially. It made money, but many critics panned it for being slow-moving. After a year off in 1958, Marilyn returned to the screen the next year for the delightful comedy, Some Like It Hot (1959) with Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. The film was an absolute smash hit, with Curtis and Lemmon pretending to be females in an all-girl band, so they can get work. This was to be Marilyn's only film for the year. Marilyn also won an award for Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy for this film at the Academy Awards in 1960, and Lemmon also won the Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy for this movie too. The film won other countless awards. Some Like It Hot (1959) soon proved to be Marilyn's greatest success in her entire legendary career.
In 1960 Marilyn appeared in George Cukor's Let's Make Love (1960), with Tony Randall and Yves Montand. However while it made money, it was critically panned as stodgy and slow-moving. The following year Marilyn made what was to be her final film. The Misfits (1961), which also proved to be the final film for the legendary Clark Gable, who died later that year of a heart attack. The film was popular with critics and the public alike.
In 1962 Marilyn was chosen to star in Fox's Something's Got to Give (1962). Again, her absenteeism caused delay after delay in production, resulting in her being fired from the production in June of that year. It looked as though her career was finished. Studios just didn't want to take a chance on her because it would cost them thousands of dollars in delays. She went into seclusion in her home in L.A. On August 5, 1962, her housekeeper found her dead body, nude and lying face down on her bed, apparently the victim of an overdose of sedatives. She was only 36 years old.
Overall, Marilyn made only 30 films in her lifetime, but her legendary status and mysticism in her movies will remain with film history forever.
Marilyn Monroe: 1926 - 1962
♥Forty-five years after her death, the legendary Marilyn Monroe still fascinates. She epitomises what it means to be an icon. It is still Marilyn Monroe whose star shines the brightest. While pin-ups, poster girls and primadonnas have faded in the public's collective consciousness, Marilyn's image is as instantly recognisable as it ever was. I still miss you lots Marilyn, the biggest shining star of Hollywood, lives on through her myth. Smiling down upon us, you'll always be in our hearts♥
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