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The Truth Behind Marilyn & Ella Fitzgerald

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RACE RELATIONS

August 1972 article in MS magazine: “I owe Marilyn Monroe a real debt. It was because of her that I played the Mocambo, a very popular nightclub in the ’50s. She personally called the owner of the Mocambo (who had refused to book Fitzgerald because she was black), and told him she wanted me booked immediately, and if he would do it, she would take a front table every night. She told him – and it was true, due to Marilyn’s superstar status – that the press would go wild. The owner said yes, and Marilyn was there, front table, every night. The press went overboard… After that, I never had to play a small jazz club again. She was an unusual woman – a little ahead of her times. And she didn’t know it.” – Ella Fitzgerald

This is a common story that has been floating around for quite some time. A talented performer denied because of her skin color. Tragic? Yes. Did it happen? Absolutely. At The Mocambo? No. Huh?

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BOOK REVIEW: Will Acting Spoil Marilyn Monroe? By Pete Martin

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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.

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Birthday Flowers 2016

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Screen Shot 2016-05-29 at 11.13.44 AM

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.