Marilyn Monroe went down in history as an international sex bomb. The photo of her billowing dress is world famous, but Monroe was more than a fashion icon. The actress starred in thirty films, won several awards and completely changed the film landscape in Hollywood. But it was not made easy for her.
By Esther VilleriusNorma Jean Baker (marilyn Monroe’s real name) had a life full of setbacks and therapy. Friday it will be sixty years since she died and with the upcoming film about her turbulent life she is the subject of discussion again.
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Monroe spent her childhood in orphanages and foster homes and was sexually abused. She dropped out of school at a young age and was briefly an employee in a factory. During this job she met a photographer, for whom she became a pin-up model. That formed the basis for her legendary acting career.
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Actors in 1950s Hollywood were heavily contracted. Monroe, who signed with 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures, just had to do as she was told. In the first years of her acting career, Monroe therefore played the role of superficial characters, who said little or nothing. The blonde actress was not given the space to be more than beautiful.
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‘Breasts like granite, brains like Swiss cheese’
Because she could be beautiful. And director Billy Wilder fully agreed. “The question is whether Marilyn is a person at all, or one of the greatest products ever. She has breasts like granite, she defies gravity. And a brain like Swiss cheese, full of holes.”
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It didn’t do her confidence any good. The actress, who struggled with mental issues, was extremely insecure about her acting performance. Due to her nerves, she was regularly late on set and had to vomit before shooting.
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She also often forgot her lyrics. During the shooting of Some Like It Hot (1959) came up phrases like “Where’s that bourbon?” in “It’s me, Sugar” not fluent from her mouth, much to the frustration of director Wilder. Laurence Olivier, her opponent in The Prince and the Showgirl (1957), said Monroe could have been a better model.
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Monroe wanted depth
Author Truman Capote was happy that Monroe continued to act after all. “What she has is so subtle that it can only be captured with the video camera.” The dance of Monroe and Jane Russell in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) is a well-known example of this.
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The film was a huge success and Monroe rose to superstardom at the age of 27. Even so, she was still the “property” of 20th Century Fox and was only given superficial roles. Monroe was at his wits’ end. “An actress is not a machine, but they do treat you that way,” she told writer Richard Meryman.
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The actress tried to challenge herself and hoped to play Grushenka in Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov. She also wanted Emile Zola’s novel Nana film. The successful actress called every director she knew, but no one trusted them.
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Monroe ends monopoly of large manufacturing companies
When 20th Century Fox gave her yet another bimbo roll, Monroe decided not to show up and a lawsuit ensued. In a black wig and under the pseudonym Zelda Zonk, Monroe boarded the plane to New York. There she took acting classes at the prestigious Actors Studio. And she started her own production company: Marilyn Monroe Productions.
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The actress was praised for her accent and emotional range in Bus Stop (1956). Her role as Chérie is still called one of her best acting performances. She grew into a real sex bomb with a sultry voice – with which she was definitely not born. Out of all the prejudice that existed about her, Monroe managed to make her strength. And that determination eventually got her far.
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Fox followed Monroe’s success from the sidelines and surrendered. The production company dropped all lawsuits against her and increased her salary. Shortly after Monroe, Frank Sinatra and Gary Cooper also started their own production company. It marked the end of the monopoly of the big production companies in Hollywood.
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‘No one could match her’
Monroe seemed to have found her niche and enjoying the success. But in the shooting of her last film, Something’s Got to Give (1962), she was constantly late. The actress was fired and the film was never finished. Four months after shooting began, Monroe was found dead in her Los Angeles home at the age of 36.
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After her death, director Wilder went back on his harsh words about Monroe. “She was a true genius, with an exceptional sense of comedic dialogue. Over the past fifteen years, there have been ten projects where I thought: This movie needs Marilyn. No one could match her.”
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“If Marilyn were still here today, I’d be on my knees begging her: Please let’s all do it again!”
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