Marilyn Monroe

Born:

June 1, 1926

Born as:

Norma Jean Mortensen¹

Died:

August 5, 1962

A career is wonderful, but you can't curl up with it on a cold night

Biography:

Norma Jean's mother (Gladys Baker), widowed and insane, abandoned her. She was was eventually committed to a mental institution. Norma Jean spent most of her childhood in foster homes and orphanages². She married in 1942, aged 16.

In the 1940s Norma Jean was asked to model to illustrate an article in Yank magazine and in 1946, she went to Hollywood to try to become an actress. Marilyn was barely visible in Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! (1948) but with two supporting roles (as mistresses) in All about Eve (1950) and The Asphalt Jungle (1950) she reaped a mountain of fan mail.

Niagara (1953) and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) launched her as a love goddess. In 1954 she began to grow discontented with her career, so she began to study at Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio. A new contract³ offered her more creative control which gave her roles in The Seven-Year Itch (1955), Bus Stop (1956) and Some like it hot (1959).

In 1954, Marilyn married baseball superstar Joe DiMaggio. Unfortunately, her fame and sexual image became a problem. Nine months later Marilyn and Joe divorced.

In the early sixties she was bothered by many rumors of affairs, including with the President, John F. Kennedy, and his brother, Robert F. Kennedy. In 1962 beset by depression and illness, Monroe died in her Los Angeles home, having taken an overdose of sleeping pills.⁴

Selected Movies:

All about Eve (1950)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
The Misfits (1961)
The Seven Year Itch (1955)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
Bus Stop (1956)

Bibliography » Books:

Bibliography » Web:

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ABC - Marilyn on a amateur film
ABC News - New Photos of Marilyn Monroe up for Sale
Associated Press - Marilyn for sale
CNN - Marilyn chest X-rays auctioned
CNN - A Marilyn home movie
E-Bay - Another chance to buy THE crypt
Forbes - Crypt above Marilyn doesn't sell
L.A. Times - Want to be buried next to Marilyn?
L.A. Times - Crypt above Marilyn Monroe not sold
Life - Never-Before-Seen Marilyn Monroe Photos
Los Angeles Times - Marilyn's house will be sold
New York Times - Another book on Marilyn
The first playboy magazine - Marilyn in the Playboy
Twirlit - Two new Marilyn films

News

This week 59 years ago As Young as You Feel premiered (August 02, 1951)

-July 25, 2010
This week 48 years ago in 1962 (August 5) Marilyn Monroe died (36). Her death was a suicide from an overdose of sleeping pills. Her funeral was arranged by her ex-husband Joe DiMaggio (1914-1999)

-July 13, 2010
The Brentwood home where Marilyn Monroe passed away is on the market for $3.6 million. The star had purchased the home in 1962 for $75,000. The actress was proud of her kidney-shaped pool even though she never got around to swimming in it; the home had only been in her possession for about six months before she passed.
Source / More (Web)

-June 28, 2010
A set of three X-rays of Marilyn Monroe's chest taken during a 1954 hospital visit have sold for $45,000 (&Euro;36,470) in Las Vegas. The value of the chest X-ray taken two weeks after her divorce from baseball great Joe DiMaggio was originally estimated to be between $800 and $1,200.
Source / More (Web)

More news!

Trivia

1. Marilyn's mother gave Norma Jean the name of Baker, a previous suitor before Mortenson. Her mother also said that the real father was Stan Gifford instead of Edward Mortenson / Mortensen.
--Source: The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe, Page 22

1. She started using the name Marilyn Monroe (her grandmother's last name) in 1946, but did not legally change it until 1956.

2. According to Norma's autobiography, she was almost smothered to death at two, nearly raped at six and reared by 12 successive sets of foster parents. However, there is no evidence that this really happened; some people think Marilyn exaggerated the sadness of her youth.
--Source: My Story, Page 0

3. In 1956, Marilyn started her own motion picture company, Marilyn Monroe Productions. The company produced Bus Stop and The Prince and the Showgirl.

4. Conspiracy theories have sprung up around the circumstances of her death. Nearly all involving allegations that she was murdered due to her involvement with the Kennedy family.
--Source: Was It Murder?: Surprising Facts about 22 Famous Deaths, Page 66

4. After her death, former husband Joe DiMaggio (1914-1999) continued to send flowers to her grave regularly until 1984. Marilyn early in their relationship: “If I die, Joe, promise me you will put roses on my grave.”
--Source: Dimaggio: Setting the Record Straight, Page 285

Billy Wilder: “She was the meanest woman of Hollywood. She was plastic with breasts like granite and a brain like Swiss cheese, full of holes”. But he also said: “She was an absolute genius as a comic actress, with an extraordinary sense of comic dialogue”.
--Source: The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe, Page 49

Marilyn appeared on the first cover of Playboy in 1953.
Source / More (Web)

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Marilyn Monroe

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Marilyn Monroe

Born:

Born as:

Died:

Biography:

Selected Movies:

Bibliography » Books:

Bibliography » Web:

News

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