Her intellectual ambitions were often the butt of jokes. Sometimes she joined in the humor. When she told a New York press conference that she wanted "one of the parts in The Brothers Karamazov , by Dostoevski," a reporter ridiculed her.
Steinem is bound to take some heat for contributing the text to a picture book of Marilyn, posing in tight pants or a bikini. The author confesses she was worried that she would be accused of "exploiting" Marilyn's notoriety.
She writes that her fee for the book has gone to a special children's fund that has been created as part of the Ms. Candid shots: The seductive persona was something the star could turn on and off at will. The look has almost become a cartoon: the boozy, heavy-lidded gaze, the broad "smile" she cultivated baring her teeth and gums, the artificial mole on her cheek. The photographs by George Barris in Marilyn include the last pictures ever taken of her. The more candid shots show the allure she could project when she wasn't trying to look beautiful.
To see how Norma Jeane Baker became Marilyn Monroe, compare the Barris photos from the end of her life to those by de Dienes, who shot Monroe when she was an unknown Hollywood model in the late s.
De Dienes's pictures show a fresh and captivating young brunette, small-waisted and bosomy, with a natural smile and grace. They also show some of the funnier conventions of pinup and magazine shots of that era: there's Norma Jeane looking fetching in dungarees on a split-rail fence, or in a playsuit with a beach ball or in a Heidi dress and pinafore, posing with a baby goat.
Before de Dienes died last year in Los Angeles, he wrote an accompanying text. Madly in love with Norma Jeane her first husband was off in the merchant marine , he recounts a monthlong photo shoot through the West, where he posed her against mountains, snow banks and deserts. His story begins to take on the flavor of a French farce as he recounts his earnest attempts to get into her bed.
He writes that he succeeded only once. But he stayed in touch with her and, in the last summer of her life, visited her one evening on her birthday. Between and she appeared in lead parts in many popular movies: "How To Marry a Millionaire. Marilyn's picture appeared on the front cover of many magazines and the front pages of many newspapers.
She began to earn more money. Life should have been good. But Marilyn was not happy. She was being asked to repeat her part as a dumb blonde in movie after movie. She wanted to be accepted as a good actress. She thought she could change the way people thought of her. But she did not succeed. People thought of Marilyn Monroe as "that blonde bombshell.
She also failed in her attempts at marriage. She admitted that she got married the first time only to escape from being forced to live in a group home for children without parents.
In she married again. They were together for only a few months. Later, she tried again. She married Arthur Miller, a famous writer of plays. That marriage ended unhappily in , after five years. Marilyn returned to Hollywood. But things were different now. Friends said she was drinking too much alcohol. They said she was taking too many drugs. She seemed to always be in trouble with the movie company.
She had gained too much weight. Or, she had not learned what she was to say in the movie. Or she had arrived late for the filming. By , Marilyn's problems were threatening her work in the movies. She lost weight for her part. She tried to arrive on time for the filming. She reportedly knew her part. However, she became sick several times and missed work. Fox company officials dismissed her. On August 4, , Marilyn Monroe died alone in her home.
She was thirty-six years old. Reports said taking too many drugs killed her. But people who knew her said failed marriages, and the failure of her latest movie also led to her death. Many people said Marilyn Monroe never escaped her past. She continued to suffer from the early, sad life of a little girl named Norma Jean.
I'm Steve Ember. And I'm Shirley Griffith. At the age of thirty-six, she took her own life. However, a handwritten recipe that was later featured in a book of her letters may prove otherwise. United States. Type keyword s to search. Today's Top Stories. Ring in the Holidays with Loewe's New Campain. Getty Images. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below.
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