Earlier, in 1949, the movie"s producer, Stanley Rubin, had been coaxed by film editor Danny Cahn to audition Marilyn for a TV show he was manning called Your Show Time Your Show Time. It was a series of short stories dramatized for television. After her reading, he thought Marilyn was beautiful, of course, but extremely nervous and inexperienced, thus he didn"t give her a job. However, he remembered her when it came time to cast this film. In fact, he says that he realized how much she"d improved after seeing some of her recent movies, and had the part in River River written with her in mind. When he contacted her, Stanley says that she didn"t want to do the movie, "because she didn"t want to do what she thought was a western. I told her I thought of it as a piece of Americana, but she still figured it to be a western. However, when I sent her a tape of the songs she would be singing in the film, she said, yes, she would do it. So, really, she did it so that she could sing those songs more than for any other reason." written with her in mind. When he contacted her, Stanley says that she didn"t want to do the movie, "because she didn"t want to do what she thought was a western. I told her I thought of it as a piece of Americana, but she still figured it to be a western. However, when I sent her a tape of the songs she would be singing in the film, she said, yes, she would do it. So, really, she did it so that she could sing those songs more than for any other reason."
Those who predicted the oil-and-water lack of chemistry between the autocratic Austrian-born director Otto Preminger and the sensitive, shy, insecure Marilyn would be right-to a point. Curiously, the director began the film seemingly quite pleased with Monroe as a person and artist, treating her on the set with truly European courtliness. However, by this time, Natasha Lytess had Marilyn reading her lines with exaggerated facial gymnastics, enunciating every syllable like a robot-and while no one liked it, no one could change it, either, not even Preminger. Again, the big problem on this set was the same as always-Natasha telling Marilyn how to act and usurping the director"s influence over her. It caused major problems between Marilyn and Preminger.
Set in the American Northwest during the gold rush, River of No Return River of No Return depicts Matt Calder (Robert Mitchum), his young son Mark (eleven-year-old Tommy Rettig), and saloon gal Kay Weston (Marilyn) as they follow her ex, a handsome horse thief and gambler, Harry Weston (Rory Calhoun), who needs to get upriver to Council City to register a claim on a gold mine he has cheated another gambler out of. With no transportation and time running out, Kay and Harry make the trip via raft. The trip is fraught with gripping, heart-stopping action, including a swamping of the raft in the treacherous river rapids. Wringing wet, out of sorts and out of breath, Marilyn is still a vision. depicts Matt Calder (Robert Mitchum), his young son Mark (eleven-year-old Tommy Rettig), and saloon gal Kay Weston (Marilyn) as they follow her ex, a handsome horse thief and gambler, Harry Weston (Rory Calhoun), who needs to get upriver to Council City to register a claim on a gold mine he has cheated another gambler out of. With no transportation and time running out, Kay and Harry make the trip via raft. The trip is fraught with gripping, heart-stopping action, including a swamping of the raft in the treacherous river rapids. Wringing wet, out of sorts and out of breath, Marilyn is still a vision.
Shot on location in two national parks in the Canadian Rockies-Banff Springs and Jasper in Alberta-in Technicolor, CinemaScope, and released initially in 3D, River of No Return River of No Return gives Marilyn, s.e.xier and more sensuous than ever, a chance not only to flex her dramatic acting muscles, but to prove her real muscles are up to the physicality the script demands of her character, as she raft-rides the swirling, potentially deadly whitewater of the river of the movie"s t.i.tle. Marilyn also sings four songs in the film and performs them admirably. She"s more than admirable in her acting. She"s forceful and vulnerable by turn as she comes to realize what a no-good rat Harry is and what a good man and father Matt is. gives Marilyn, s.e.xier and more sensuous than ever, a chance not only to flex her dramatic acting muscles, but to prove her real muscles are up to the physicality the script demands of her character, as she raft-rides the swirling, potentially deadly whitewater of the river of the movie"s t.i.tle. Marilyn also sings four songs in the film and performs them admirably. She"s more than admirable in her acting. She"s forceful and vulnerable by turn as she comes to realize what a no-good rat Harry is and what a good man and father Matt is.
The ninety-minute film began shooting on July 28, returning to Hollywood on September 29 to complete the shoot. River of No Return River of No Return would open toward the end of April 1954, to generally favorable reviews. would open toward the end of April 1954, to generally favorable reviews. * *
PART FIVE.
Difficult Times
Grace"s Upsetting Secret.
One day in May 1953, Marilyn Monroe returned home from a day of shopping to find Grace G.o.ddard"s car parked in front of her house. Grace was not in the habit of dropping by without calling first, so Marilyn must have suspected that something was wrong. "They were pretty inseparable during this time, after Gladys went back into the inst.i.tution," Grace"s stepdaughter, BeBe G.o.ddard, confirmed. "I think Marilyn called her every single day. She still depended on her. Grace was doing office work for her, arranging her schedule, keeping things organized. Marilyn was always filling her in on what was going on at the studio or in her personal life with Joe. Grace loved hearing her stories, especially the show business stories. Everything that the two of them had dreamt about so long ago had come true. It almost seemed unfathomable that Norma Jeane had become this ... sensation. ... sensation."
After inviting Grace inside, Marilyn listened in stunned silence while her aunt shared a secret that she had been hiding from everyone in her life-she had cancer.
The concept of a life-threatening illness and its treatment was quite complex for Grace. She had been a Christian Scientist for a long time, and in recent years pa.s.sionate about it. One of the core beliefs of the faith is that doctors are unnecessary. The body, as devout believers claim, has within it everything it needs to remain healthy. However, Grace had been feeling under the weather for many months and, despite her long-standing opposition to the medical profession, had secretly sought help at a Los Angeles clinic. That"s how she learned the devastating news that she had uterine cancer. Sadly, she was embarra.s.sed by her condition and not sure how to cope with it. In the 1950s, many women felt uneasy about openly discussing so-called "feminine issues," especially with the men in their lives. Marilyn had recently been diagnosed with endometriosis and practically no one knew about it. In Grace"s case, her husband, Doc, wasn"t aware that anything was wrong with her.
Marilyn was concerned, of course, but more than that, she was determined-determined to fight. She had become a firm believer in the medical profession, as doctors were an important part of the studio system at that time. Actors needed insurance, which required physicals, and they often needed (or believed they needed) treatment for conditions that were by-products of their stressful lives. There"s little doubt that Marilyn was dependent on sleeping pills by this time-doled out to her without concern by the studio physicians-and had also become used to the idea of taking other drugs to calm herself during times of stress. Marilyn convinced Grace that she needed to put her metaphysical beliefs aside for the time being and allow Western medicine the chance to heal her.
"I believe that Marilyn loved Grace more than anybody in the world," BeBe G.o.ddard would observe. "Grace had been a second mother from the time she was born and had been such a fair person, and as much a mother, or more so, than Gladys. Grace was the single most consistent factor throughout Marilyn"s life."
After years of focusing on her own career, her own happiness, her own life, Marilyn decided it was time to change. A debt needed to be repaid. This wonderful woman, who had always worked so tirelessly to solve the problems of others, needed her-and Marilyn wanted to make certain she was going to receive the best care money could buy. It was to be a delicate dance, however, because Grace did not want Doc or the rest of her family to know precisely what was going on. As much as possible, they would hide Grace"s condition and the fact that she was seeking help from doctors. While she eventually would admit to receiving treatment, she would never explain just how intensive her medical quest had been. In some respects, there would be a covert aspect to the journey the two women would take-but this was something with which Marilyn had become quite familiar. Marilyn had come to believe that the "truth" was something abstract, malleable-and she easily enrolled Grace in that belief. After all, they were simply trying to save her loved ones from anguish and worry.
While Marilyn had nothing but the best of intentions, Grace G.o.ddard"s experience in the following months would prove to be ghastly. Marilyn arranged for Grace to see numerous physicians, all of whom needed to examine her, of course. For a woman not familiar with any kind of medical examination to now have doctors studying the most intimate parts of her body was torturous. The experience was so draining, in fact, that after one day of tests, Grace told Marilyn that she could not go home to face her husband, Doc. Marilyn suggested that she stay with her for much of the summer. "We"ll have fun, just you and I," Marilyn suggested. "It"ll be like the old days." * *
Grace Learns About Marilyn"s Troubles.
Because Grace G.o.ddard was now spending so much time at Marilyn Monroe"s home, Marilyn felt more freedom to share with her some of the problems she was having in her career. She was unhappy with Fox, she told her, and she didn"t know what to do about it. Grace, according to a later recollection, was clear in her advice. "You have to stand up for yourself, Norma Jeane," she told her. "Don"t let them push you around." Marilyn didn"t know if she could do it, she said, because Darryl Zanuck disliked her so much. He"d always believed that he was dealing with a stupid, very foolish actress, and she"d never been able to disabuse him of that opinion, no matter how hard she tried. She said that she"d hated every movie she"d made for him thus far because each one was "s.h.i.t"-an exaggeration, obviously, but one made in the emotion of the moment. No matter the scope of her complaint, though, Grace was firm. She told Marilyn that she had come too far to let Zanuck push her around. "Don"t forget who you are," she said. "Don"t forget where you came from." Marilyn told her that there were times when she definitely wished she could forget, some of the past had been so bad, so painful. "But it brought you here," Grace reminded her with a gentle smile. "And that"s not so bad now, is it?" Marilyn had to agree with her. It wasn"t so bad... most of the time. Grace was adamant, as always, that Marilyn was more powerful than she even realized. She"d already demonstrated such courage and spirit in her life-certainly now was not the time to stop. "You already have everything in you that you need," she told Marilyn, echoing an integral aspect of Christian Science. "As you see yourself, so will others. Believe in yourself," she concluded, "and others will follow."
On June 1, Marilyn spent her twenty-seventh birthday with Grace, BeBe, and Bebe"s brother Fritz. That night, they called Gladys at Rock Haven. She didn"t realize it was Marilyn"s birthday. "I don"t remember giving birth to you," she told her daughter. Then, unfortunately, she began to rant once again that she wanted her release from the sanitarium. If Marilyn and Grace really cared about her, they would see to it that she had her immediate freedom. The phone call ended badly, as most did with Gladys. Marilyn vowed never again to call her mother on her birthday, saying that she never wanted to have another birthday ruined such as her twenty-seventh.
At this time, Grace wrote to Berniece to tell her that all was as well as could be expected and that she had been organizing a filing system for Marilyn in order that she might keep track of her appointments (and, perhaps, not be late for them-though that wasn"t likely). "I really mean it when I say that next to President Eisenhower, she is next in line as far as the demands of her time are concerned," Grace wrote of Marilyn. (And it"s interesting that she often referred to her as Marilyn. If even Grace sometimes was calling Norma Jeane by her new name, then the transformation had to be complete.) She also said that she and Marilyn spent a great deal of time trying to catch up on her fan mail, but to no avail. Regarding her health, Marilyn had earlier suggested that Grace open up to Berniece about her cancer. She had done that, and was happy about it. Now she told Berniece that she"d been to a doctor who told her the cancer was under control but that she would soon have to have a hysterectomy. She predicted that after she had it she would "feel human again."
On June 26, Marilyn received an honor that probably meant more to her than any she"d received since becoming famous: her hand- and footprints in cement at Grauman"s Chinese Theatre. The occasion was really a promotional event for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and Marilyn was joined by her costar Jane Russell for the ceremony; they wore matching white polka-dot dresses. She and Jane had become fast friends. "The biggest disappointment to her, though, was that Grace was too sick on this day to be able to accompany Marilyn," said Wesley Miller from the law firm of Wright, Wright, Green & Wright. "Certainly, they both would have enjoyed the moment so much. Marilyn told me it seemed like just yesterday when Grace took her, as little Norma Jeane, to Grauman"s. She said she would place her small hands and feet into imprints left by the major stars of her youth as Grace stood behind her and watched. The two would go from one cement square to the next... and the next... each dedicated to a movie star who they had seen in motion pictures. Now, of course, Norma Jeane-as Marilyn Monroe-was in that same constellation of stars. In fact, she was a bigger star than many of the ones she and Grace once admired. For me, at the time, it was astonishing to consider how much she"d achieved, especially considering her unstable background. "This is as much for Aunt Grace as it is for me," she told me. "If it wasn"t for Aunt Grace, I don"t know where I would be, but I know it wouldn"t be where I am today." "
Throughout July, Marilyn was ill with bronchial infections. Grace insisted on taking care of her. She would take the telephone out of Marilyn"s bedroom and bring it into the living room and bury it with pillows so Marilyn wouldn"t hear it ring and disturb her sleep. Then she would dutifully take all messages for her.
It was at around this time that Grace became alarmed because of Marilyn"s reliance on sleeping pills. She saw that Marilyn couldn"t sleep at night without them and that she couldn"t even take an afternoon nap unless she was medicated. Then there were the "uppers" Marilyn was taking to stay awake during the day after what she called "a sleeping pill hangover." It was all too much, Grace decided. When she finally confronted Marilyn about it, Marilyn told her that she knew what she was doing, "and I"m very careful, Aunt Grace. I"ve been taking these things for at least ten years." That was news to Grace. She also noticed that Marilyn was drinking-bourbon and soda-much more than she ever had in the past. Moreover, Marilyn believed that as a consequence of the stresses in her life, she was eating more and thus gaining weight. It"s true that she was a tad rounder at this time, but not much. However, every pound mattered when wearing those skin-baring gowns for which she was becoming so famous. At a loss as to what to do, she began using colonic irrigation-basically, enemas. If she had to get into a dress that she didn"t think would fit, she would endure as many enemas as it would take to squeeze into it Eventually, she would succeed, too; she could actually lose inches in just a day. Though it was an extremely dangerous way to control one"s weight, Marilyn would swear by it for the rest of her life. This was almost more than Grace could process. In fact, she didn"t believe it was true. As it happened, Wesley Miller mentioned it to her when he dropped by to deliver some doc.u.ments for Marilyn to sign. He said that Marilyn had confided in his wife that she was using enemas for the purpose of weight loss. "I simply have never heard of such a thing," Grace told Miller. "Well, it"s true," he said. "Ask Marilyn. I"m worried about it. It"s not good. Someone needs to talk to her about it." Grace agreed. "I can"t believe that Joe would allow such a thing," she said. Grace then called Berniece to ask her if she were aware of her half sister"s bad habits. "I never knew a thing about sleeping pills," Berniece said. "And bourbon? It just can"t be! Not Norma Jeane. It makes me wonder what else we don"t know." * *
A Graceful Exit.
While Grace G.o.ddard lived with Marilyn Monroe, she witnessed the beginning of her battle with mood-altering substances. However, by August, Grace too was self-medicating in order to help her deal with the great pain she was in as a result of the spreading cancer. Despite her best efforts, Marilyn was not able to convince her to undergo chemotherapy. Doctors brought in by Marilyn urged Grace to undergo a hysterectomy, and she does seem to have considered it briefly, but in the end she would never allow that surgery to happen. As much as Marilyn might have tried to convince her, Grace was adamant.
It was a losing battle on all counts. There was nothing that could be done to encourage Grace to listen to the advice of the many doctors Marilyn had arranged for her to consult. By this time, Marilyn was getting ready to leave to begin filming River of No Return River of No Return. Without treatment and Marilyn"s constant intervention, there seemed little doubt that Grace would die. Still, she believed that her Christian Science principles would heal her. At a loss as to how to proceed-other than just to pray for the best outcome-the two women would often go through numerous bottles of wine in a single evening. It was as if the alcohol allowed them to forget, even if just temporarily, that one of them was dying. On certain occasions, a distraught Marilyn would end such binges with a handful of pills to make her sleep. The longer Grace stayed with Marilyn, the more Marilyn"s medicine cabinet filled with different kinds of pain pills-prescriptions from different doctors, some intended to help Grace"s cancer or its collateral conditions, and some to make life "more bearable" for her. At this same time, both women were being treated for their anxiety, each having prescriptions of barbiturates, including phen.o.barbital. Marilyn eagerly took hers. Grace didn"t. She just puts them aside, promising to take them later.
The day finally came at the end of July when Marilyn had to leave the state to begin working on the movie. Grace needed to return to her family. They both knew that Grace was going home to die. On September 23, while Marilyn was away making the movie, Grace G.o.ddard pa.s.sed away. She was just fifty-nine.
A Shocking Discovery About Grace.
Grace G.o.ddard"s husband, Doc, told Marilyn and Berniece that her death had been very sudden-as he put it, "the cancer just took over." He hadn"t been aware of how long Grace had been battling the disease. "Grace"s death seemed terribly sad and needless to Marilyn and me," said Berniece years later, "and we never really got over it."
Of course, the funeral, on October 1, was very difficult for Marilyn. "I feel an anchor is gone," she told Berniece in a tearful telephone call after the funeral. She said that it seemed that "life is just one loss after another."
Berniece said she hoped Joe DiMaggio could be of some comfort. Marilyn told her that without a doubt, he was more important to her now than ever before.
After the funeral Marilyn had a warm telephone call from Ida Bolender. It had been many years since the two last spoke. Marilyn"s life had taken so many twists and turns, she"d actually lost touch with the Bolenders. However, Ida and Wayne were alive and well, and still living in Hawthorne. In speaking to Marilyn, Ida explained that she and her husband had moved next door to the house in which Marilyn was raised. They had turned the old residence into a boarding house for employees of a nearby factory. With that income, she said, they were doing quite well. "I hope you know that if you need anything at all, money or anything, I would love for you to call me," Marilyn told her, according to what Ida later recalled to her foster daughter Nancy Jeffrey. "You did so much for me. I would love to help you." Ida said she appreciated the offer but they were doing just fine. "I wanted you to know how sorry I am about your Aunt Grace," Ida told her. Ida then acknowledged the long-smoldering grievances between her and Grace and said, "Truly, I don"t know, to this day, why she disliked me so much. I don"t know what I ever did to her. Do you know?" Marilyn said that it was probably best for them to not even try to figure it out all of these years later. "I know that you both loved me, and that"s what"s important," she concluded. Ida also told Marilyn that she was unhappy about the way Marilyn"s life at the Bolenders" had been recently depicted in the press. "They are saying that we were mean to you and that we were poor," Ida said. "I don"t understand that, Norma Jeane." Ida said that she had read somewhere that Marilyn recalled Grace bringing her a birthday card with fifty cents in it. Apparently, Marilyn told the reporter that Ida took the money from her because she had dirtied her clothing. "But that never happened, Norma Jeane," Ida said. "You know that never happened, don"t you?" Ida said she would never have done such a thing and that it broke her heart to read about it. Marilyn then tried to explain show business public relations to her foster mother, telling her that she shouldn"t believe anything she read, "especially," she said, "when it comes to Marilyn Monroe," referring to herself in the third person. In truth, though, Marilyn constantly fed the flames of controversy about her times with the Bolenders by painting a more dismal picture than was true, and she also never did anything to rectify any falsehoods. The phone call ended with both women expressing their love for each other and promising to stay in touch.
After speaking to Ida, Marilyn apparently called Gladys to tell her that her old friend Grace had died. Gladys said that it was probably for the best. According to a later recollection, she said that Grace had been being followed for years and that if she hadn"t died when she did, "someone was going to kill her." Marilyn listened patiently, trying not to become upset. By now, she thought, she should be used to hearing these kinds of upsetting proclamations from her mother. She"d hoped that Gladys would be upset by her friend"s pa.s.sing. Maybe such sadness would have suggested a bit of a healing on Gladys"s part, but that was not the case. Marilyn told her mother that she intended to visit her very soon. "I"ll believe it when I see it," Gladys said. Then she hung up.
Many years later, long after even Marilyn"s death, it would be revealed that Grace G.o.ddard had actually committed suicide. The death certificate reads, "Death by barbiturate poisoning-ingestion of phen.o.barbital." Apparently, Grace, a woman who always had the solution to everyone"s problems, had finally come up against one for which she could not find a solution-cancer. At the very end of her life, the biggest dilemma she faced was how to end the suffering her family would experience by watching her slowly waste away. So she ended her life quickly to save others from continued sadness, in the same selfless fashion as she had lived.
After the funeral, Marilyn Monroe was taken by limousine back to her apartment. She was once again alone in the place where she had attempted to nurse Grace back to health and had failed. Her Aunt Grace was gone forever. The one woman Marilyn could always depend upon had receded into the family history. Now it seemed that all that remained of Grace G.o.ddard in Marilyn"s home was what might make the loss just a little easier to handle: bottles and bottles of pills.
Marilyn"s Rebellion.
The end of 1953 saw Marilyn Monroe close to total collapse. She had been working hard, the relationship with Joe DiMaggio was draining (though she would never think to leave him), she was still upset about Grace"s death, worried about Gladys, and now she was also having tremendous problems with 20th Century-Fox. The studio announced that her next movie was to be The Girl in Pink Tights The Girl in Pink Tights. From the t.i.tle alone, Marilyn felt that she was in for another dumb-blonde role, and she didn"t want to do it. If she had looked beyond the t.i.tle, she would have discovered that it was a movie based on a recently closed Broadway musical of the same name starring French singer/dancer Zizi Jeanmaire. "Directors think all I have to do is wiggle a little, not act," she complained to one reporter. To another, she was even more specific about her unhappiness. "I"m really eager to do something else," she said. "Squeezing yourself to ooze out the last ounce of s.e.x allure is terribly hard. I"d like to do roles like Julie in Bury the Dead Bury the Dead, Gretchen in Faust Faust and Teresa in and Teresa in Cradle Song Cradle Song. I don"t want to be a comedienne forever."
Ever since the advent of sound movies, studio contractees were forced to take part in whatever movie was thrown at them by their studio, and they had to be happy about it. When it came to The Girl in Pink Tights The Girl in Pink Tights, Marilyn displayed nerve and shrewdness unheard of at the time-she demanded to see the script. Darryl Zanuck, who had never made a secret of the fact that he didn"t like and, even more unfortunately, didn"t respect Marilyn, said that there was absolutely no way he would consider giving her script approval. She didn"t actually want "approval," though-she just wanted to see the script. Of course, if she didn"t like it, she would then not want to do the movie. Zanuck said that the production was going to cost Fox more than two million dollars and that the role was "written and designed" for Marilyn. He couldn"t understand her problem. The Girl in Pink Tights The Girl in Pink Tights obviously had not been "written and designed" for Marilyn, because the property had tried and failed on Broadway. obviously had not been "written and designed" for Marilyn, because the property had tried and failed on Broadway.
It got worse. When Marilyn found out that Frank Sinatra was making $5,000 a week to her $1,500, she became even more dissatisfied with Fox. "I"ve been in this business a long time, and I know what"s good for you," one executive told her. Her response was, "I"ve been in this business a very short time, but I know what"s better for me than you do."
Later, she would say of River of No Return River of No Return and (the soon-to-be-filmed) and (the soon-to-be-filmed) There"s No Business Like Show Business There"s No Business Like Show Business, "I was put into these movies without being consulted at all, much against my wishes. I had no choice in the matter. Is that fair? I work hard, I take pride in my work, and I"m a human being like the rest of them. If I keep on with parts like the ones Fox has been giving me, the public will soon tire of me."
At this same time, Marilyn began confiding in a very good friend, the excellent photographer Milton Greene (who would go on to take many of the most amazing photographs of her). She told him that she was very unhappy about the ridiculous amount of money Fox was paying her at this time-$1,500 a week. She said that the roles she was playing "are all the same, all dumb-blonde types with s.e.x appeal," and "it"s too much tedium. I"m sick of it." Greene suggested that perhaps the two of them should start their own production company. She could then choose her own roles, select her own films, and work in tandem with the studio system instead of strictly for for the system. Today, of course, major actors and actresses develop their own projects or, at the very least, cherry-pick their roles carefully to suit not only their tastes but also whatever image they have cultivated to present to their public. Most major stars have their own production companies through which such projects are developed and even financed. While the biggest male stars of that time did in fact have their own production companies-Jimmy Stewart, Kirk Douglas, John Wayne, and Burt Lancaster, to name a few-and thus exerted creative and financial control over their careers, that was not the case with female stars. But Marilyn Monroe was about to change that. This was the only way to go, and Marilyn and Milton had decided their goal would be to create their own company. They began discussing the matter with her attorneys. It was definitely one way to avoid the "dumb blonde" kind of movie. the system. Today, of course, major actors and actresses develop their own projects or, at the very least, cherry-pick their roles carefully to suit not only their tastes but also whatever image they have cultivated to present to their public. Most major stars have their own production companies through which such projects are developed and even financed. While the biggest male stars of that time did in fact have their own production companies-Jimmy Stewart, Kirk Douglas, John Wayne, and Burt Lancaster, to name a few-and thus exerted creative and financial control over their careers, that was not the case with female stars. But Marilyn Monroe was about to change that. This was the only way to go, and Marilyn and Milton had decided their goal would be to create their own company. They began discussing the matter with her attorneys. It was definitely one way to avoid the "dumb blonde" kind of movie.
Marilyn was supposed to report to work on December 15. She didn"t. When the studio sent executives to her home on Doheny to try to convince her to change her mind, they were met by an enraged Joe DiMaggio, who ordered them off the premises.
Joe and Marilyn were having their own problems at this time. He was still unhappy about the demands of her career. In his view, she wasn"t even the same woman he had met a year earlier. She was constantly distraught, run-down, anxious. She could not sleep without pills. Then she would be lethargic for much of the next day. He felt she needed a break-a long break. However, there was no chance of that happening anytime in the near future. She had a tight schedule of TV appearances, photo shoots, rehearsals, and, of course, movies.
"Joe was sick and tired of Marilyn"s career," said Stacy Edwards, who was a sportswriter at the time in Philadelphia and knew Joe well. "I know he went with her to Canada when she made River of No Return River of No Return. He called me from there to do an interview. "I hate it up here," he told me. "They treat her like she"s a princess and if you want to know my opinion," he said, "I think she"s getting to be too spoiled. She expects everyone to treat her like these people on these movie sets, and this ain"t real life." He said he wanted to get her out of the movies. "We"ll buy a nice home in San Francisco and just live a simpler life," he told me. I said, "Joe, are we talking about the same Marilyn Monroe-I mean, the movie star? Because she ain"t quittin" the movies. She looks like she loves it too much for that." He said, "Yeah, well, we"ll see about that."
"I knew Joe and I knew what he was about deep down, and it wasn"t just Marilyn"s career. The attention she got, he was used to getting. When he walked into a room with her, he disappeared. He wasn"t used to that at all. He was used to being the center of attention. But with Marilyn, no man could ever be the center of attention. She drew focus wherever she went. Joe couldn"t accept that."
Natasha Continues Her Dual Purpose.
Of course, Natasha Lytess was still a permanent fixture in Marilyn Monroe"s life. Most observers felt that she was determined to keep Marilyn under her control by reinforcing the notion that she was indispensable to her. "She is not a natural actress," Natasha said in an interview in 1953. "She has to learn to have a free voice and a free body to act. Luckily, Marilyn has a wonderful instinct for the right timing. I think she will eventually be a good actress."
"There wasn"t a single moment on the set of any film Marilyn made during this time that Natasha wasn"t there," said Jane Russell, Marilyn"s costar in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. "I felt that Marilyn was using her too much as a crutch. After she would do a scene she would look over to one side or another to see Natasha"s reaction. Directors didn"t like it, I can tell you that much. At one point, [Natasha] was removed from the set of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Gentlemen Prefer Blondes because the director just had enough of her presence." because the director just had enough of her presence."
Only a select few people, however, knew that Natasha had a dual purpose in Marilyn"s life-she was her acting teacher, certainly, but she was also the one person who could calm Marilyn when "the voices" became too loud in her head.
In Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Marilyn had a scene with Charles Coburn in which his character, "Piggy," was reciting to Monroe"s character, Lorelei, a line in Swahili. "The actor was speaking gibberish, of course, and in each take Coburn read the line a bit differently," Natasha wrote in a letter to her former student Helena Albert. For some reason, his pattern of speech was something Marilyn could not get out of her head, Natasha wrote. Apparently, days after the shooting of this scene, Marilyn locked herself in her dressing room and refused to speak to anyone but Natasha. The director, Howard Hawks, adjusted the shooting schedule and then sent for the acting coach, who arrived quickly. According to Natasha"s memory of events, Marilyn explained to her that she couldn"t stop her mind from playing and replaying Coburn"s Swahili impression. "It was as if she had become haunted by it," Natasha wrote. "Marilyn told me she couldn"t even bear to look at Charles Coburn. Prior to this time, she had adored him. They had appeared in Monkey Business Monkey Business together." together."
Somehow, after less than an hour with her star client, Natasha managed to get Marilyn back in action. It was as if nothing had ever happened. Natasha knew how to bring Marilyn out of these kinds of episodes. "Whenever Marilyn works herself into a panic about something, only I have the cure," Natasha wrote, rather cryptically.
Similarly, during the making of How to Marry a Millionaire How to Marry a Millionaire, Natasha was ordered off the set. The next day, Marilyn didn"t show up for work, claiming she had bronchitis. Marilyn would often cloak her mental breakdowns with excuses of physical illnesses. When the studio sent a doctor to her home, which was the procedure at that time, she insisted on speaking to Natasha. Not surprisingly, Marilyn soon returned to work, and Natasha was brought back in-at an even higher salary. Nunnally Johnson, who worked with Marilyn on that film (in March 1953), recalled, "Natasha was really advising her badly by this time, justifying her own presence on the set by requiring take after take and simply feeding on Marilyn"s insecurity. "Well, that was all right, dear," she often said to Marilyn, "but maybe we should do it one more time."
"I"m not sure, but I think Joe felt that Natasha was more important to Marilyn than he was-and he may have been right."
"If it were up to me, Morticia would take a long walk off a short pier," Joe DiMaggio told Stacy Edwards. "Maybe I could get through to Marilyn if I didn"t have this broad to deal with. This broad is gonna ruin her, I"m telling you."
Mrs. DiMaggio.
Marilyn Monroe knew that she would be put on suspension by Fox for not showing up for work on the set of The Girl in Pink Tights. The Girl in Pink Tights. She didn"t care. She was exhausted by the last year. It had been one drama after another. What was done was done, she decided. She had taken a firm stand against the studio and wasn"t going to now look back with regret. She knew that her Aunt Grace would have wholeheartedly approved of the way she"d handled Darryl Zanuck. Grace would not have wanted Marilyn to stand by and just allow Zanuck to walk all over her, "I don"t care who he is." She didn"t care. She was exhausted by the last year. It had been one drama after another. What was done was done, she decided. She had taken a firm stand against the studio and wasn"t going to now look back with regret. She knew that her Aunt Grace would have wholeheartedly approved of the way she"d handled Darryl Zanuck. Grace would not have wanted Marilyn to stand by and just allow Zanuck to walk all over her, "I don"t care who he is."
Marilyn would later say she felt sure that she needed a new beginning, a fresh start in the new year of 1954. Was it to be with Joe? She felt that he was all she had, now that Grace was gone. That night, at 11:45, Marilyn took a plane to San Francisco-to Joe.
Once safely ensconced in San Francisco, Marilyn stayed with Joe and his sister, Marie DiMaggio, in Joe"s home. She fit in well with the family, eager to help out around the house-washing dishes, cleaning up with Marie after Joe and his brother Dom; whatever was necessary was what she wanted to do. Indeed, whenever a family environment presented itself to Marilyn and she was asked to join in, she was eager to do it. One morning, she prepared a big breakfast for Joe and his family members and friends-and it was good, too. Marie had given her a lot of a.s.sistance. This was the Marilyn Joe DiMaggio wanted her to be-domesticated, calm, and at peace with her household ch.o.r.es and wifely duties. Of course, this was just a fantasy life for Marilyn. She may have been unhappy with the way her career had been unfolding lately, but there was no possibility of giving it up. Still, this was a good time and there was no point in her reminding Joe that it was all just temporary. She enjoyed seeing him happy and noticed that when she was relaxed, he was as well. They went fishing together, washed his car, took long walks. It was a wonderful week. Then, on New Year"s Eve 1953, Joe asked her to marry him. It was easy for both of them to forget their differences in the idyllic world they had created that week. It must have felt to them that they were completely compatible. It was all an illusion, though. In the romantic moment, of course Marilyn said yes, she would marry him. They decided to keep the news of their engagement a secret from the media for the time being and just enjoy their private time with Joe"s family, all of whom were delighted by the news.
Fox finally relented and sent Marilyn the script to The Girl in Pink Tights. The Girl in Pink Tights. This was a little victory for her. It was probably the first time she"d gotten her way with Darryl Zanuck. However, as expected, when she took a look at the script, she realized that her instincts were right. It was ridiculous and cliche-ridden and she didn"t want to do it. As soon as she informed Fox of her decision, the studio put her on suspension, meaning she would not be getting her salary. She could live with that; it wasn"t as if they were paying her a mint, anyway. This was a little victory for her. It was probably the first time she"d gotten her way with Darryl Zanuck. However, as expected, when she took a look at the script, she realized that her instincts were right. It was ridiculous and cliche-ridden and she didn"t want to do it. As soon as she informed Fox of her decision, the studio put her on suspension, meaning she would not be getting her salary. She could live with that; it wasn"t as if they were paying her a mint, anyway.
Meanwhile, Marilyn began work on a three-part magazine article with writer Ben Hecht. Hecht went to San Francisco to interview the star over a period of four days for a piece about her life-or, really, the story of her life as she wanted to present it at the time-for Ladies" Home Journal Ladies" Home Journal. Eventually, Hecht"s notes would end up in book form and be touted as Marilyn"s memoir, My Story My Story, published many years after her death (and in fact, after Hecht"s death).
My Story is not a terrible book, though it"s disjointed and filled with inaccuracies. The reader gets the sense, however, that Marilyn wanted to be thought of as a victim, and she framed her stories with an eye toward that goal. One anecdote that was excised from the book upon its release was that Marilyn said she had tried to commit suicide twice-both times over relationships with men. One episode may have been a reference to the incident with Johnny Hyde when she was saved by Natasha Lytess. The other remains mysterious to this day, although she told Hecht that she was very angry when she was saved the second time because she definitely wanted to die. "But now I"m glad it happened the way it did. I"m glad I"m alive. I hope to stay glad for a long time." is not a terrible book, though it"s disjointed and filled with inaccuracies. The reader gets the sense, however, that Marilyn wanted to be thought of as a victim, and she framed her stories with an eye toward that goal. One anecdote that was excised from the book upon its release was that Marilyn said she had tried to commit suicide twice-both times over relationships with men. One episode may have been a reference to the incident with Johnny Hyde when she was saved by Natasha Lytess. The other remains mysterious to this day, although she told Hecht that she was very angry when she was saved the second time because she definitely wanted to die. "But now I"m glad it happened the way it did. I"m glad I"m alive. I hope to stay glad for a long time."
Some people in Marilyn"s life completely disavow this book-like her half-sister Berniece, who calls it "half-baked." It"s not known where the money goes from proceeds of this book, but likely not to any family members. What must irk Marilyn"s intimates even more is that a doc.u.ment does exist that memorializes an agreement Marilyn made with Ben Hecht-dated March 16, 1954-which clearly states that the material "shall not be put into book form by you and you shall have no right to the use of the material for anything except one magazine article to be published in the Ladies" Home Journal Ladies" Home Journal magazine." Like it or not, magazine." Like it or not, My Story My Story is the book of record-ostensibly, Marilyn"s own words about her life. Reading it today, it does seem accurate, it just doesn"t seem complete. is the book of record-ostensibly, Marilyn"s own words about her life. Reading it today, it does seem accurate, it just doesn"t seem complete.
On January 14, 1954, Marilyn and Joe were wed in a quick civil ceremony before a judge in San Francisco. Much of her public, and the media, felt the marriage to be somewhat anticlimactic, that a star like Marilyn (in a dark brown suit with an ermine collar on this day) should have had a grander affair. However, there were hundreds of fans and reporters at City Hall waiting for them to arrive, because Fox had put out the word, unbeknownst to Marilyn, who had been considerate enough to inform the studio but asked for confidentiality. An affair any bigger would have been more than Marilyn could have handled at this intense time in her life. She made a strange request of Joe, though. If she died before him, would he promise to place flowers at her grave every week? He promised, giving her the same vow that William Powell had once given Jean Harlow.
The DiMaggios honeymooned in the small seaside town of Paso Robles-not much of a honeymoon. The couple then left for a vacation/business trip (for Joe) to j.a.pan in early February. At the airport, the press noticed that Marilyn"s finger was bandaged and in a splint. It appeared to have been broken. She said that she "b.u.mped it" and that Joe was a witness. "He heard it crack." It seemed suspicious.
When they got to Tokyo, they were surprised by the absolute mob that awaited them there-thousands of fans in what was the most chaotic scene Marilyn had ever seen built around her. Her international appeal was obvious, if not also a little frightening. As for Joe, he wasn"t happy about it at all. It was clear that her popularity eclipsed his, even in a foreign country. The realization just made him more surly and disagreeable. At a press conference that had been arranged in his honor to promote the exhibition games for which he had traveled there, matters got worse. Practically every question was directed to Marilyn. He sat at her side looking more than a little peeved.
While the couple were in the Far East, an invitation came from General John E. Hull"s Far East Command headquarters for Marilyn to entertain the troops in Korea. She wanted to do it, but Joe was against it. The two had a heated discussion which ended with him saying, "It"s your honeymoon. Go if you want to go." She did.
The brief tour began on February 16. Of course, the servicemen went wild for Marilyn everywhere she appeared as she sang songs such as "Kiss Me Again" and "Diamonds Are a Girl"s Best Friend." Appearing before more than one hundred thousand military men in just four days, she was a smashing success. What was interesting about this brief series of concerts is that she was on her own-there was no Natasha Lytess in the wings telling her what to do, no Darryl Zanuck over her shoulder telling her how to be, and no Joe DiMaggio at her side telling her she couldn"t do it. She proved to herself that she could stand before an audience and entertain using her own instincts and judgment-and while singing, too, which she was never really comfortable doing, let alone in front of people. It was a big win for her, and she had never felt better about herself. She wasn"t the least bit nervous, either. It was as if when left to her own devices she knew she could soar, and she did. "I felt I belonged," she would later say. "For the first time in my life, I had the feeling that the people seeing me were accepting me and liking me. This is what I"ve always wanted."
"And now I"m flying back to the most important thing in my life-Joe," she told the troops at the end of her last show. "And I want to start a family. A family comes before a career."
When the DiMaggios returned to America on February 24, 1954, it was business as usual-meaning one problem after another. It hadn"t been going that well between them. There was still a sense that DiMaggio could not reconcile himself to Monroe"s stardom. For instance, when talking about her tour of Korea, she exclaimed, "You"ve never heard applause like that!" He responded, "Yes, I have." He seemed to always want to remind her that she wasn"t the only star in the family. He definitely didn"t want her to become any bigger a celebrity than she already was, he said, because he didn"t believe she could handle it. So they fought about their future-about her career and how it fit into their plans as a married couple. Still, Marilyn tried to stay optimistic. "I love you till my heart could burst," she wrote in a love note to Joe in March 1954. "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.)"
At around this time, during a trip to Los Angeles, Joe telephoned his friend the agent Norman Brokaw who had first introduced him to Marilyn in 1950. Joe said he needed to see him. They met at the Polo Lounge of the Beverly Hills Hotel. As the two took a back booth, DiMaggio seemed very unhappy. "I don"t know what to do, Norm," he said, according to the agent"s memory of the conversation. "I love her. But I can"t accept her career. I want her to quit, but she won"t do it."
Norman mulled over his friend"s problem for a moment and said, "Joe, let me explain something to you, as an agent in this town. There"s no actress in this business who is going to give up Clark Gable or Tyrone Power or Spencer Tracy for any man. In fact, I don"t know any actress who would be willing to give up her career when she"s on her way to the top any more than you would have given up your baseball career before its time." He continued, "What if when you were shooting to break the record of fifty-seven hits, a girl came into your life and said, "No, you need to stop at fifty-six. You can"t go for fifty-seven because I won"t allow it." How would you have handled it?"
DiMaggio thought about it for a second. "I never looked at it that way," he said. "That makes sense to me."
"Well, that"s the way it is, Joe," Norman concluded. "That"s the field you"re playing on, my friend. She"s not going to give up her career any more than you would have before you were ready to do it. So you have to get used to it, Joe. Or, honest to G.o.d, you"re going to lose her."
Joe thanked Norman for his advice. He would try to follow it... but it wouldn"t be easy. Not long after this meeting with Norman, Joe wrote in his personal journal about Marilyn, "No jealousy.... Don"t forget how lonesome and unhappy you are-especially without her."
There"s No Business Like Show Business.
In March 1954, Marilyn Monroe"s victory against Fox seemed complete when the studio decided that she didn"t have to appear in Pink Tights Pink Tights. Instead, they offered her a supporting role in There"s No Business Like Show Business. There"s No Business Like Show Business. She was also scheduled to appear in a more major role in She was also scheduled to appear in a more major role in The Seven Year Itch The Seven Year Itch. Plus, the studio promised to give her a new contract in August and a huge $100,000 bonus. It definitely seemed as if Darryl Zanuck had blinked-or, at the very least, realized that he had a good thing in Marilyn Monroe and didn"t want to lose her.
Marilyn began work on There"s No Business like Show Busine There"s No Business like Show Business in May. This big, splashy musical all dressed up in CinemaScope, stereophonic sound, and color by Technicolor, with its star-heavy cast, cla.s.sic tunes from the Irving Berlin songbook, and Oscar-nominated costumes, had "blockbuster" written all over it. After all, it would star Ethel Merman, Donald O"Connor, Dan Dailey, Mitzi Gaynor, and pop singer Johnnie Ray. In these waning days of the big studio musical, Fox"s decision makers knew it lacked the one ingredient that would send moviegoers stampeding through the nation"s theater turnstiles: Marilyn Monroe. And though the part was not even yet written into the script, it was added with Marilyn specifically in mind after the Pink Tights Pink Tights debacle. debacle.
To lift a line from the film"s t.i.tle song in describing the movie, "Everything about it is appealing." It clocks in at 117 minutes and with sixteen musical numbers, at least half of them so elaborately staged, it"s hard to imagine that anything comparable would be possible today-even with CGI (computer graphics and imaging). The film chronicles the saga of the Donahue family, both on and off the stage, from 1919 to 1942. As evidenced by a whole slew of successful movie musicals, from Hollywood"s Golden Age up to the mid-sixties, stories about s...o...b..z families were audience favorites-from the Cohans and the Foys to Gypsy Rose Lee and the von Trapps-and it didn"t seem to matter if the stories were true or not.
Terry and Molly Donahue (Dailey and Merman), vaudeville headliners, incorporate their three kids, one by one, into their act from toddlerhood to teenager. The first time we see all five Donahues performing together is at the New York Hippodrome in an overwrought and overlong production of "Alexander"s Ragtime Band." We are soon treated to the sight of Marilyn in an abbreviated French maid"s costume as she makes her first appearance-as Victoria Hoffman, a nightclub hat checker. Two minutes later, she is auditioning for producer Lew Harris, singing and dancing to "After You Get What You Want (You Don"t Want It)." Dressed in a white, see-through, skin-revealing gossamer gown, with embroidered, jewel-studded appliques strategically placed on the slit-to-the-hip, formfitting costume, and wearing a crown of snowy egret hackle feathers, Marilyn is breathtakingly beautiful.
The film unfolds as complex relationships evolve between Victoria and the Donahues. Tears and heartbreak give way to reconciliation and apologies all around-and then a big number for the Five Donahues, "Alexander"s Ragtime Band." That number segues into "There"s No Business like Show Business," with the Five Donahues and Vicky descending an imposing staircase, marching in unison and singing in harmony. Merman is in a draped, strapless white evening gown. Gaynor is gorgeous in a slinky red floor-length gown. And Monroe is elegant in a silver-sequin-spangled, powder blue number with a modest decolletage. Of course, she is-as always on film-dazzling. There is much to admire in this film, with Marilyn more than holding her own with old pros Ethel Merman, Dan Dailey, and Donald O"Connor.
However, the shoot was fraught with problems, mostly from Marilyn. She was ill with bronchitis for part of it and was also diagnosed with anemia. Moreover, her growing addiction to sleeping pills and barbiturates had become a real issue in her life, affecting her performance. She was sluggish and unhappy most of the time. Naturally, she was also late very often.
Natasha Lytess-who was on the set with Marilyn every day, of course-later claimed that Joe was beating Marilyn during this period and that Marilyn had confided in her details of the terrible confrontations. It would be difficult to trust Lytess"s word given her animosity toward DiMaggio, but others close to Marilyn concur-and even some close to Joe. "He was smacking her around, yes," said one of his closest friends. "He didn"t seem too ashamed of it, either. He said that she brought the worst out in him, that he wasn"t usually that kind of man. He said she was spoiled and very self-centered and it drove him crazy. He told me he was sick of coddling her, tired of her "woe is me stories," as he put it. I said, "Joe, maybe you two should get divorced." He looked at me as if I was crazy. "I ain"t letting her go," he said. "h.e.l.l if I"m letting her go." "
In marrying Joe DiMaggio, Marilyn may have repeated a pattern in her life of becoming fixated on a man who would not support her desires or her ambitions. The concensus is that he was physically abusive to her. He also could be insensitive and dense. For instance, Marilyn once gave him a gold medal as a gift that she"d had inscribed with a quote from The Little Prince The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery: "True love is visible not to the eyes, but to the heart, for eyes may be deceived." He took one look at it and said, "What the h.e.l.l does by Antoine de Saint-Exupery: "True love is visible not to the eyes, but to the heart, for eyes may be deceived." He took one look at it and said, "What the h.e.l.l does this this mean?" mean?"
"When he came onto the set of Show Business Show Business, it happened to be the day we were doing Marilyn"s big "Heat Wave" number. She had worked so hard on it with [her vocal coach] Hal Schaeffer, and I know she was proud of it. He just stood there, a big lug of a man, so unpleasant and unsupportive," said one person who worked on the movie"s production team. "She would come in with bruises here and there that they would cover with makeup. If you cared about Marilyn, and I think everyone there really did, you wanted to say to her, "Dump this guy. Now!" You just wanted to hold her and keep her safe, that"s the way she affected you."
The Seven Year Itch.
In August, Marilyn began work on The Seven Year Itch The Seven Year Itch in New York. Like no other of her films before or after, in New York. Like no other of her films before or after, The Seven Year Itch The Seven Year Itch established Marilyn"s iconography as the world"s number one s.e.x symbol and burnished her image as a contemporary love G.o.ddess, much as Rita Hayworth had been a dozen years earlier. established Marilyn"s iconography as the world"s number one s.e.x symbol and burnished her image as a contemporary love G.o.ddess, much as Rita Hayworth had been a dozen years earlier.
The film"s roots were planted on the Broadway stage at the Fulton Theatre on November 20, 1952, and flourished for 1,141 packed-house performances. The play was written by George Axelrod and starred Tom Ewell, who won the year"s Best Actor Tony Award. It was originally acquired by Paramount as a Billy Wilder project, but when Wilder left the studio he took the screenplay with him to 20th Century-Fox, where he became the picture"s director, cowriter, and coproducer.
In the movie, Ewell is Richard Sherman, a thirty-eight-year-old publishing executive, left alone in his New York apartment while his wife of seven years and son spend the summer in Maine. Subleasing the upstairs, non-air-conditioned apartment is a gorgeous blonde, a television pitchwoman identified only as "The Girl" (Monroe), who soon becomes the object of Sherman"s fantasies. A couple of brief encounters with her is enough to set Sherman off on a Walter Mittyish, wild-goose chase in which he imagines himself romantically involved with The Girl in a series of improbable situations. The "relationship" becomes so serious in Sherman"s mind that he becomes paranoid that his vacationing wife, Helen (Evelyn Keyes), is aware of his imagined infidelity. The rest of the plot doesn"t really matter-the movie falls apart halfway through. Suffice it to say, Marilyn is stunning in every scene.
Filming commenced on September 1, 1954, at Fox"s L.A. studio. The first location scene in New York was the "flying-dress sequence" on September 15, at 1 a.m. The shot of Monroe in the Travilla-designed ecru halter-top dress, standing on a subway grate, the accordion-pleated skirt a-flying as she gleefully but vainly tries to anchor it, is firmly imprinted on the collective cerebral cortex of moviegoers for all time. Five thousand onlookers watched the filming of it at 52nd and Lexington near the Trans-Lux Theatre. Unfortunately, Joe DiMaggio was one of them.