Will Acting Spoil Marilyn Monroe? By Pete Martin (1956 Doubleday & Company, Inc.)
Marilyn’s last words to the press, in the person of LIFE magazine interviewer Richard Meryman, were a plea not to make her a joke. What strikes me is that even then, in what would be her last interview, she had to ask to be taken seriously. Although to those reading this it is nearly impossible to take her any other way, there are still thousands, hundreds of thousands, who continue to blithely write her off as a poster image of another era and certainly no one of true substance. These are the people who have not read anything about her life or character, who don’t realize that she now appears in history books as well as movie star bios, that nearly thirty years ago Gloria Steinem pointed to her as one of the first feminists and others have credited with a pivotal role in both the sexual revolution as well as the Women’s Movement. Over the past forty years Marilyn Monroe has surpassed her icon status; as to her talent, the verdict is now that not only could she act, she was one of the best actresses of her century. The sad part, as that request to Meryman reflects, is that not many realized it at the time.
Last year we did the white daisy with delphinium and everyone really liked them. So this year I thought staying with the same idea, with daisies in color and delphinium again (said to be Marilyn’s favorite flower) would be wonderful. I hope you all agree!
Thank you to each and every one of you who contributed to making Marilyn’s 90th birthday flowers and a $550 gift to Animal Haven possible.
- Rudy and Diane Tisdale
- Alberto Fernandez
- Mary Sims
- Mary Farver
- Bruce Maki
- Ashlee Davies
- Alice Frangos
- Club Passion Marilyn, Christine Mas
- Lucinda Burton
- Lorraine Nicol
- Suzie Kennedy
- Kristie & Lora Scott
- Sirkku Aaltonen
- Charlotte Daborn
- Brandi Wakeley
- Grant Discombe
- Melissa Campo
- Pedro Alcalde Jr
- George Lane
- Ana Janet
- Cora Morano
- Lea McNary Childress
- Megan Monroe
- Nancy Jones Cook
- Melissa Murphy
- Leslie Kasperowicz
- Sami Bobowski
- Vanessa Roden
- Marisa Vanderpest
- Gina Gugliuzza Scott
- Kati Iluk
- Johan Grimmius
- Camille Green
- Deborah Bakker
- Shaney Evans
- Eric Patry
- Rico Vorpagel
- Donna Monroe Silver
- Dionne Abraham
- Donna Shields
- Shana Cannavaro
- Sandy Fitzsimons
- Jackie Craig
- Nathalie Terhorst-Lensink
- Veronica McCoy
- Tina Garland
- Billy Krzemien
- Peter Lo
- Lisa Pridemore and Fallon Slone
- Gianandrea Colombo
- Emily Louise Finch
- Andrea Lee-Kelsey Winkler
- Dawn Jones
- Marco van der Munnik
- Debra Holden
- Claudia Memory Monroe
- Marcelline Block
- Deb Hoyle
Thank you too to Ashlee Davis for creating the beautiful birthday card for us.
Dr. Timothy Bywater is a respected professor at Dixie State University with a PH.D. in English and Film. He was kind enough to sit down with staff writer, April VeVea, to discuss Marilyn’s impact on the film industry and her quest for an Oscar.
Q – Marilyn was very much put in the box of typecasting. How do you think this affected her career?
A – Let me say this, I think more than typecasting in film she was typecast as a human being. It destroyed her life. It’s beyond her career. I don’t think (typecasting) destroyed her career, it destroyed her life. She was typecast in her life. I think her roles are brilliant. I think as nasty as Hollywood was, the roles they gave her, she did a wonderful job.
How did other actresses overcome typecasting?
I don’t think any of them overcame it in the 50’s. I think in the 60’s when the studio system began to be destroyed, it changed, but I think up until then there were brilliant roles and brilliant women doing them but I think the whole system was pretty well typecast.
Do you think Marilyn’s reliance on “The Method” affected her career?
I think the whole system of dealing with her was so cynical. I think it was just people who were hangers-on, including The Actor’s Studio. I think she was above that. I think she was just brilliant as an actress. I think she affected The Method more than The Method affected her.
What would you have handled her career differently?
No. I think she mesmerized men. I think men tried to control her and I don’t think they could.
Bette Davis famously lost her contract dispute with Warner Brothers in 1937, while Olivia De Havilland won her case in 1943 which led to actresses not being able to sign for more than seven years. Marilyn fought with Fox from 1953-1956 and won director, co-star, and picture approval. How do you think this affected other actresses?
I think the times and the studio system affected them. I think the best thing an actor or actress can do is choose a good director and choose a good product. Some of them act like big shots but I don’t think Marilyn used it that way. Marilyn used it (to get) roles that exactly fit what she was good at. Marilyn was dumb as a fox. The studio system was trying to gain power but ended up losing it.
Do you think this hurt Marilyn’s career?
Yes, no doubt about it.
There are three performances that tend to stand out to Marilyn Monroe fans as being Oscar worthy. They are Bus Stop, Some Like It Hot, and The Misfits. What is your opinion on her chances of winning compared to the nominees and winners from those years?
1957 Oscar – Bus Stop
Ingrid Bergman (Anastasia)
Carroll Baker (Baby Doll)
Katherine Hepburn (The Rain Maker)
Nancy Kelly (The Bad Seed)
Deborah Kerr (The King and I)
That’s a tough group. That’s a really tough group. It almost seems to me that Bus Stop wasn’t in the same category as some of these, Baby Doll for example. It should have been Marilyn in Baby Doll. She could have had that part, potentially, but she was too seasoned for that part. Ingrid Bergman should have won every year. If Marilyn could have been Ingrid with how Bergman dealt with things she would have been Ingrid as an actress. She would have had a lot of roles. (Note – The 1957 Oscars were Bergman’s return to Hollywood after being ostracized for having an affair. This was considered her glorious return to Hollywood and there was little to no chance of any nominee beating Bergman)
Conclusion: Wouldn’t have won based off of the other nominees but gave a glorious performance.
1960 Oscar – Some Like It Hot
Simone Signoret (Room on Top)
Doris Day (Pillow Talk)
Audrey Hepburn (The Nun’s Story)
Katherine Hepburn and Liz Taylor (Suddenly Last Summer)
She wasn’t nominated for Some Like It Hot at all? That should have been “Best Actress” for sure. That’s ridiculous. That’s a travesty that Marilyn wasn’t nominated.
Conclusion: Marilyn should have been nominated and should have won.
1961 Oscar – The Misfits
Sophia Loren (Two Women)
Audrey Hepburn (Breakfast at Tiffany’s)
Piper Laurie (The Hustler)
Geraldine Page (Summer and Smoke)
Natalie Wood (Splendor in the Grass)
Breakfast at Tiffany’s should have been Marilyn Monroe. I don’t know The Misfits so I can’t make that decision but I can’t believe she wasn’t nominated for that either. I think she should have been nominated every year. She was in that category of actresses.
Conclusion: Undetermined
In 1955 Marilyn followed in the footsteps of Alice Guy-Blanche, Lois Weber, Mary Pickford, Marion Fairfax, Dorothy Azner, and other trailblazing women and started her own production company. Do you think this ended up adversely affecting her career?
The only thing I can think of is that it alienated Marilyn Monroe more from the acting community, from standard Hollywood.
Marilyn frequently worked with “A” list leading men, notable Clark Gable and Laurence Olivier. Gable demanded to do his own stunts while Olivier thought “The Method” was unnecessary yet Marilyn is labeled as the difficult one. What do you think her co stars aren’t held to the same scrutiny?
Why don’t women make as much money as men in the marketplace? It’s just treatment of women across the board. Men are afraid of women. Men run the system, men are afraid of women, so they keep them in their place.
Marilyn’s legacy continues with stars today citing her as an influence. Why do you think her legacy has endured?
None of them can hold her hem. What they’ve done is caricatured her and that’s taking away from her. She’s different than most great actresses. I think her legacy has endured for the wrong reasons. (Other actresses) are allowed to let their true value shine through but Marilyn isn’t allowed to do that.
Immortal Marilyn is proud to share our birthday card to Marilyn! Thanks to everyone who participated in our 90th birthday tribute video…and Happy Birthday Marilyn!
In celebration of Marilyn Monroe’s 90th birthday, Immortal Marilyn presents our favorite 90 Marilyn Moments! From the well-known to those that are less publicized….here are 90 moments that made Marilyn….Marilyn.
- That time her Travilla dress flew up as the subway went by and made history.
- The time she performed Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend so well Darryl Zanuck had to convince people it really was her singing.
- The time she performed nearly a dozen shows for troops in Korea, rendering her own self ill with pneumonia as a result of performing in the cold in a spaghetti strap dress.
- The time she married one of America’s greatest sports stars…Joe DiMaggio
- That time she refused to be embarrassed by the calendar scandal, when the world found out she’d posed nude, and simply said “I needed the money”.
- That time she become one of a few women in history up until then to form her own production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions
- When she made history for the longest scene of a woman walking away up until that moment, as she strolled away from the camera in Niagara.
- That time she starred in one of the top-rated movies of all time, Some Like It Hot
- When she hilariously toasted President Taft in The Prince and the Showgirl.
- When she started a Heat Wave by performing it in There’s No Business Like Show Business.
- That time she sang Happy Birthday, Mr. President and made history (again).
- When she rode into Madison Square Garden on a pink elephant for charity.
- When she returned to Hollywood triumphant to film Bus Stop, a movie she actually wanted to make.
- The time she married one of America’s greatest playwrights, Arthur Miller.
- The time she won Best Actress at the Golden Globes for Some Like It Hot.
- The time she won World Film Favorite at the 1962 Golden Globes.
- When she arrived in England to film a movie and set off a press frenzy.
- That time she was the Miss Universe parade Grand Marshall.
- When she arrived looking like the most glamorous movie star ever at the How To Marry a Millionaire premiere
- When she showed up sick and exhausted to smile for a charity event on her 36th birthday, June 1, 1962, at Dodger Stadium.
- The time she filmed a nude swimming pool scene for Something’s Got to Give and made headlines.
- That time she told the Marx Brothers men kept following her, and we all knew why.
- When she filmed her Oscar-worthy close-ups for Bus Stop and blew the critics away,
- That time she arrived at the Photoplay awards in the gold lame dress and the press lost their minds.
- The time her spaghetti strap broke at a press conference for The Prince and the Showgirl and the press lost their minds…again.
- The time band leader Ray Anthony threw a party for her and debuted a song about her.
- Her first Life magazine cover in 1952.
- The time she was invited to open the Lincoln museum in Bement, Illinois, and judged a beard contest.
- That time she arrived at the premiere of The Rose Tattoo and posed for pictures with the iconic Marlon Brando.
- That time she met the Queen of England.
- When she received David di Donatello Award from Italy for acting in The Prince and the Showgirl.
- …and then won the French Crystal Star for the same role.
- The time she got Ella Fitzgerald a gig at the Mocambo club in Los Angeles.
- When she posed for the Fabled Enchantresses series for Richard Avedon and Marilyn was lost in the amazing transformation into actresses past.
- The time she rocked the March of Dimes fashion show and charity event.
- When she placed her hand and footprints at Graumann’s Chinese Theatre, becoming a solid part of Hollywood history.
- That time she kicked off the ball at an Ebbets Field soccer game.
- The time she rocked a potato sack dress to show up her critics.
- When she blew everyone away at the Seven Year Itch Premiere in NYC.
- The time she presented an Oscar.
- When she appeared on the Jack Benny Show.
- When she defended her decision to leave Hollywood on the Person to Person show.
- When she appeared on the classic Charlie McCarthy show.
- When she was a part of the Oscar-winning classic film All About Eve
- When she was photographed lifting weights and once again proved she was ahead of her time.
- That time she was the first Playboy cover and centerfold and launched a dynasty..
- When she posed in a bathing suit and crutches during filming of River of No Return and proved even crutches can look good.
- When she walked into walls with perfect timing, playing the blind Pola who won’t wear glasses in How to Marry a Millionaire.
- When she starred with iconic actor Clark Gable in The Misfits.
- When she was photographed eating hot dogs and splashing in fountains in New York.
- When she won the 1952 Henrietta Award – technically her first Golden Globe.
- When she was an Usherette for Baby Doll and everyone wanted to be shown to their seats.
- When she lost her earring at The Prince and the Showgirl premiere and Ed Sullivan could not get it back on.
- That time she showed the world she was still on top at the Some Like it Hot premiere.
- The time a party was thrown for her and The Seven Year Itch at Romanoff’s, and Marilyn was officially a star.
- That time she outshone everyone at Walter Winchell’s birthday party.
- Her first starring role in Ladies of the Chorus, when she saw her name in lights.
- When she showed she was a force to be reckoned with at the Don’t Bother to Knock Premiere.
- When she posed on the USS Bennington.
- The time she supported Arthur Miller against The House Un-American Activities Committee.
- When she defied the odds and started studying at the famed Actor’s Studio
- When she refused to be forced into making How To Be Very, Very Popular, defying Fox, and winning.
- When she refused to continue to be a studio pawn and moved to New York, and won…AGAIN.
- When she spoke out for civil rights and equality in her final interview
- That time she posed with some bears in the Canadian Rockies and blew away her image.
- When she sang “I Wanna Be Loved By You” and rocked it.
- When she was named Artichoke Queen.
- The time she became the first major American star to speak out about childhood sexual abuse.
- When she defied the odds in her career and made The Misfits with Clark Gable, an artistic film featuring Hollywood greats.
- When she starred opposite one of the greatest actors in history, Sir Laurence Olivier.
- That time she wrote a $10,000 check to an orphanage in Mexico after tearing up a $1000 one.
- When she caught the press with dropped jaws by saying she sleeps in Chanel No 5, of course.
- When she happily posed with African-American children in the heart of segregation.
- When she refused to be misquoted in interviews.
- That time she tried to save the birds in New York by paying kids to set them free.
- When she wrote sweet letters in the voice of Hugo the Bassett Hound to her step-children.
- When she was among those who attended a dinner for Nikita Khrushchev at Fox, and declared it “interesting”.
- When she outshone wonder of the world Niagara Falls in movie stills.
- When she starred in the first Cinemascope production to be completed (although the Robe was released first).
- Every single time she stopped to sign an autograph for a fan, no matter what was going on.
- That time an enormous image of Marilyn rose above a New York Theatre to promote The Seven Year Itch.
- The time she wowed the Mexican press in 1962.
- When she attended Yankees Spring training like it was no big deal, just Marilyn Monroe.
- Every single iconic Milton Greene photoshoot.
- That Bert Stern Vogue photoshoot where she showed she was more than just our Marilyn Monroe.
- That time she made Emilio Pucci a household name.
- When she wore jeans before it was popular.
- When she played a deranged babysitter before anyone saw her as a dumb blonde in Don’t Bother to Knock.
- How she made the Rat Pack look even cooler than anyone thought was possible.
90. That day in 1926 when she was born….Happy Birthday Marilyn!