Well, she died 50 years ago today! When she died, she was the most desired woman of her time. Many mysteries remain about her, even 50 years later. 'She', of course is and was Marilyn Munroe. She was a fascinating complication and our paper published '40 things you didn't know about Marilyn Munroe' in the Arts & Life section last week. She was not well paid in her lifetime: In Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Jane Russell made 10 times as much as Marilyn. Her salary for her final, unfinished film, Somethings Got to Give was $100,000.00. At the time, Elizabeth Taylor got $1 million for Cleopatra. Her co-star, Dean Martin was paid $500,000.00. She died however, having become a million-dollar movie star, as Fox had just offered her $1 million for a two-picture deal. She was Playboy's first Sweetheart of the Month, later called Playmate of the Month. She was, however, only the second woman in Hollywood to do something......huh, what would 'this' be? As with much of her life, 'this' may or may not be surprising. There are a few clues that don't give it away, but maybe you could have fun guessing, but maybe we could play the Warmer/Colder game. Sound like fun??

Nancy.

TM

Annette

Cynthia

Nancy.

TM

Annette

Nancy.

Annette

Marilyn was married to Arthur Miller at the time of the Prince and the Showgirl. She was showing her more serious, businesslike face, and wanted to be taken seriously as an actor - something near impossible with Olivier directing.

Nancy.

Annette

Would it help if I told you all that the first woman was Mary Pickford??

Nancy.

Nancy - who can hear her photography mentor saying, focus focus focus. In my defense, I was in a small boat going fast!!

Cynthia

Thanks for the photo, Nancy.

TM

Annette

In December 1954, shortly after the completion of The Seven Year Itch, Marilyn formed Marilyn Monroe Productions, Inc., with photographer Milton Greene.
Marilyn had met Greene the previous year on the Fox lot when he had traveled to Hollywood to photograph her for Look magazine. The photographer and the former model hit it off instantly, and when they met again at a party a few days later, the two began discussing a possible partnership.
Throughout 1954, Greene conferred periodically with Marilyn about his partnership proposal. During the production of The Seven Year Itch, negotiations began in earnest, and the company was formed a few weeks later.
Marilyn Monroe Productions was established with 101 shares of stock; Marilyn controlled 51 shares, while Greene retained the remaining 50. Marilyn's function was to star in the films selected by the company, while Greene was to conduct all of the business and pay the bills. And pay the bills he did, even mortgaging his home when she stopped working in the dispute with Fox. This was her 'New York' period, when she took acting lessons from the Strasbourgs, and met Arthur Miller, her future husband.
She complained about the dumb blonde roles she had been assigned at Fox and, after some prompting by reporters, announced she would like to tackle something as challenging as Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov.
The press seized on that comment to ridicule her ambitions, snidely inquiring which of the brothers she wanted to play. She patiently replied that she would like to play Grushenka, the leading female character.
Marilyn's remarks about The Brothers Karamazov would be widely misquoted in print over the next few months, with the result (probably deliberate) of making Marilyn look quite foolish. Reporters questioned whether she could spell "Grushenka," let alone play the role.

Anyway, as Annette pointed out, the Prince and the Showgirl was their first production. Lawrence Olivier was tapped at leading man and director, even though he had only directed filmed versions of Shakespearean plays previously. Though he had been warned not to yell at or belittle Marilyn, he apparently needed to, and drove her to her insecurities, and barbiturates. Miller became her caretaker; she was late to the set everyday. After filming, she apologized to the entire cast and crew for her behaviour. Olivier never directed a film again. The film proved less than impressive, both critically and financially. It recorded a profit, but many critics panned it for being slow-moving. It was awarded for 5 BAFTA awards, but not even nominated for any Oscars.

So, for Annette, Cyn, Bobbie and Chuck:

Thanks to all for playing. On a happy note here, it cooled off considerably overnight, and the temps are now in the low 20s. I started watching The Forsyte Saga last night. It's a tad slow, but I see some potential in it. I'm only 2 episodes into it. I got rid of cable one month ago, and haven't looked back. Quite frankly, it was costing way more than the entertainment value I was getting. I replaced cable with Netflix, and am very impressed. I was watching TV on the internet before, but this is a very robust platform, no lags and high def is standard!

Cheers to all till next week. Nancy.

Thanks for the education.

TM

Cynthia