Who was the woman who became Marilyn Monroe and where did she come from? To say that the girl was named Norma Jeane Baker means nothing at all. To say she was brought up in Los Angeles in the lower middle class and that she was born into the motion picture business says something rather more, but still does not say tell much about the woman.
The story of Marilyn Monroe did not begin with her birth or her childhood or at any time prior to the summer of 1945 – although her past was to haunt her later. The story began one day in June 1945 when the young woman walked into the office of Emmaline Snively of the Blue Book Model Agency. Presented as a wholesome girl next-door type, Marilyn did not prosper in this period as she might have if she had begun to peddle sex as a personal commodity.
She did not wish to do so. It was understandable, because Marilyn, the real woman, was not a sexy creature. The still photographers who worked with her noticed this, just as others in Hollywood were to notice later. She was able to turn sexiness on and off. The allure, the charm, the appeal were turned on and off at will. She knew what appealed to men. She learnt quickly from her photographer friends.One day in that summer of 1945, a 19 year old Norma Jeane was sent by Emmaline Snively to meet with photographer Andre De Dienes. They struck up an immediate rapport and the two began an affair.
Although Norma Jeane was married at the time, she confessed that she didn’t love her husband. The marriage had been arranged for her and was a marriage of convenience as her foster family she was living with were moving away and couldn’t take her with them so she would have ended up back in the orphanage because of her age at that time and this seemed a solution to that problem.
Andre and Norma Jeane decided they were in love. They went north on a tour of the West Coast for a month together, a trip that was to be a combination of business and pleasure. Andre was astonished at Norma Jeane’s resilience and her willingness to work. She was always on time, always ready to take photographs and usually she was ready earlier than he. And yet her found her fragile in an odd way.
As soon as she was finished with the model’s task, she would curl up in the front seat of the car and fall asleep.He soon built up a huge portfolio of stunning photographs of the smiling brunette which helped to launch her model career and, a few years later, a film career that was to make her a legend. His entire relationship with the star, including many private moments shared only between the two, is detailed in Andre’s secret memoirs.
The memoirs tell a beautiful story of love and friendship from the point of view of someone who knew Norma Jeane intimately; describing the transformation from Norma Jeane to Marilyn Monroe – the evolution of a sensitive, ambitious girl into a deeply troubled megastar – from an inside perspective, they shed light on a little-known side of the world’s favourite movie star.
This stunning, two-volume slip-cased set, is like two books, one on the photos from their work together which lasted over an eight year period, and the other is like a private diary, has much more of the photos but in a smaller format and in black and white. Andre recounts all of the emotional moments they shared. The combination makes for an unprecedented, personal exploration into the psychology, history, and iconography that is Marilyn Monroe!
By Fraser Penney
