![]() The first reason is three-fold: once Marilyn hit the big-time, she was often cast in comedies, and comedies do not typically play as well with jaded Oscar voters. There are probably two important reasons why she never scored with the Academy. The truth is, she was a top box office draw with both the public and the press following her every move. There’s enough evidence to dispute that cynical claim. That noted, most of us surely already know that MM never earned a single Oscar nomination even though she was one of the biggest stars of her era–and I pity the fools who like to argue that, while popular, she only became a superstar in death. I’ll probably write about a few of the movies more in depth, individually, at a later time when the mood strikes me. This piece won’t be a film by film tribute to MM–it would be a bit much, and many of us already know how great she was, and we all have our favorites. I recall reading one time in a book someone working with her on a movie watching MM go through her script, making notes and saying stuff like, “Marilyn wouldn’t say that she wouldn’t do that.” Trippy, huh? At some point, I think managing Marilyn became even too much for her creator, and that’s probably one factor in her rollercoaster adult life with its extreme highs and lows: Norma Jean was never secure enough to handle all that Marilyn was. There is at least one account–awkwardly recreated in last year’s My Week with Marilyn–in which Norma could turn “Marilyn” off and on at will, going from being a regular Jane in a crowd to creating a frenzy just by rechanneling her energy, smiling, and striking a Marilynesque pose. ( Note: The story might be apocryphal in that a similar quote has also been attributed to sultry Rita Hayworth: “Men go to bed with Gilda and wake up with Rita.) Yes, Marilyn Monroe was Norman Jean’s greatest creation: almost everything about her was calculated for effect. She could never live up to their expectations, and she suffered because of it. Her act was so great that it only confused the men in her life, and she even said as much, I believe, explaining the dilemma of men going to bed with Marilyn Monroe and waking up with Norma Jean. Marilyn Monroe, of course, was that flirtatious, larger-than-life sex kitten with a creamy complexion, silky soft hair, dreamy bedroom eyes, a dazzling mega-watt smile, a knock-out figure, of course, and a voice that cooed sweetly yet hinted at even more delicious possibilities. That’s the backstory of the damaged young woman who willed herself to be a star in the guise of Marilyn Monroe, Norma Jean’s greatest creation. We all know that MM was born Norma Jean Mortensen–though later commonly known as Norma Jean Baker–and that she had a miserably unhappy childhood: no relationship with her father, a troubled relationship with her mother, a stint in an orphanage, passed around from one well-intentioned do-gooder to another, etc. ![]() One of the thing that keeps us fascinated about Marilyn is trying to reconcile the two halves of a complex whole. If she had lived, she could have written a tell-all book and promoted it on, say, the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson or with Oprah on her own show, but there’s more. ![]() That’s because Marilyn died so young (36, to clarify), because her death occurred under such mysterious circumstances (was it suicide, an accidental drug overdose, or something much more sinister), and because, to be just a tad obvious, Marilyn is no longer here to explain herself to us. We seem to know everything about her, yet we still know almost nothing. At this point, there does not seem to be anything left to write about regarding Marilyn though, of course, the opposite is actually closer to the truth. There’s not a doubt in my mind that no other American film star has been written about as exhaustively as Marilyn Monroe (though Judy Garland and Elizabeth Taylor probably come close). Had she lived, she would have turned 86 this past June. Today marks 50 years since the passing of Marilyn Monroe. Decades later, when Princess Diana died in a devastating car crash, John and Taupin insulted MM’s memory by rewriting the song as a memorial to the late beloved British royal. Goodbye, Norma Jean: In 1973, Elton John and Bernie Taupin collaborated on “Candle in the Wind,” a moving, humanizing, tribute to Marilyn Monroe that depicted her as burning brightly yet also living vulnerably and uncertainly.
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