Marilyn Monroe: A Hollywood Legend

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By Geoffrey Huchel

Marilyn Monroe (Born Norma Jeane Mortenson) was born on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles, California. She was an American actress, model and singer. She would go on to become one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s, and even a half a century after her death, she remains an influential figure today.

Monroe was the third child of Gladys Pearl Baker. The identity of Monroe’s father is unknown and she most often used Baker as her surname. Because Gladys was mentally and financially unprepared for a child, she placed Monroe with foster parents. After Gladys had a mental breakdown and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, she was committed to a state hospital. From that moment on, Monroe was rarely in contact with her mother.

Monroe once said in an interview that when she was 5 years old she would “play pretend”, because she didn’t like the world around her, saying her life was grim. Her interest in playing pretend or “acting” eventually led to her aspirations to become an actress.

Monroe got her first taste of stardom as a pin-up model in the 1940s, from which she enjoyed moderate success, and ultimately led to short-lived contracts with Twentieth Century Fox and Columbia Pictures. Monroe’s earliest film roles were the uncredited “blonde bombshell” type, which she played throughout the 1940s. After a string of minor roles, her popularity as an actress was rising. Some questioned Monroe’s abilities as an actress, but she was determined to be taken seriously. Soon she was winning bigger roles in several comedies and dramas.

For most of the 1950s Monroe earned several featured roles, including the drama ALL ABOUT EVE (1950), starring Bette Davis and Anne Baxter and the comedies AS YOUNG AS YOU FEEL (1951), MONKEY BUSINESS (1951) with Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers and the drama DON’T BOTHER TO KNOCK (1952). The following year, Monroe’s star status began to climb. She went from being a featured player to earning leading roles in the films HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE (1953) with Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall and GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953 and the film noir NIAGRA (1953). By the mid 1950s Monroe was one of the most marketable Hollywood stars.

In late 1954, Monroe founded a film production company. She simply named it Marilyn Monroe Productions or MMP. This business venture proved successful for Monroe as Fox awarded her a new contract, giving her control and larger salary. During the mid to late 1950s, Monroe appeared in her most recognizable films including the romantic comedies THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH (1955), her biggest box office success of her career; BUS STOP (1956) ;THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL (1957) with Laurence Olivier and SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959) opposite Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. Monroe won a Golden Globe for her role in the film, which was both a commercial and critical success.

Monroe’s final finished film was the drama THE MISFITS (1961) with Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift. Monroe’s next film was to be SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE (1962) with Dean Martin, but it was never completed due to the star’s untimely death. The 37 minutes of footage that was completed was included in the documentary: Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days (2001).

Monroe’s private life was held under much scrutiny and to her dismay, received much attention. From her struggles with substance abuse, depression and anxiety, to her marriages to retired baseball star Joe DiMaggio and playwright Arthur Miller (with whom she suffered two miscarriages), which were both highly publicized and ended in divorce. Unfortunately, these much talked about events in her life may have overshadowed the many successes that Monroe has achieved.

On August 5, 1962, Marilyn Monroe, the pin-up model turned fresh-faced ingenue turned Hollywood icon, died of a barbiturate overdose at her Los Angeles home. She was just 36 years old. Her death was surrounded by conspiracy theories, which are still discussed decades later.

Despite her much publicized sad and turbulent life, Marilyn Monroe persevered through all the turmoil and negative press to become one of the world’s most celebrated and enduring figures in Popular Culture, and is forever immortalized in American film history. I think the most important thing to remember about Ms. Monroe is that she lived her life on her own terms.

Marilyn Monroe once said….

“I am good, but not an angel. I do sin, but I am not the devil. I am just a small girl in a big world trying to find someone to love.”

“Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world.”

“If you can make a girl laugh, you can make her do anything.”

“The nicest thing for me is sleep, then at least I can dream.”

“No one ever told me I was pretty when I was a little girl. All little girls should be told they’re pretty, even if they aren’t.”

*I dedicate this tribute to the memory of my sister-in-law, Holly Jean Rodriques (1986-2018), who was the biggest Marilyn Monroe fan I’ve ever known.*

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