The Girl

by Michelle Morgan

  Marilyn’s being cast in The Seven Year Itch as a reward for returning to the studio has been widely documented in biographies. Her fight with Feldman when it looked as though he would take Itch to another studio was told in Barbara Leaming’s Marilyn Monroe.

  “Marilyn Monroe told me.” Mike Connolly, “Hollywood—As I See It,” Screenland, July 1954.

  “This was her first triumph.” Jack Wade, “The Two Worlds of Marilyn Monroe,” Modern Screen, November 1954.

  Chapter One: The Girl

  The Seven Year Itch play. Theatre World, September 1953; New York Times, November 21, 1952; Tatler and Bystander, June 3, 1953; The Stage, January 22, 1953.

  Making of The Seven Year Itch. Hedda Hopper, “Deborah Kerr Held Right for ‘Maverick,’” Los Angeles Times, August 3, 1954; Herbert Mitgang, “Tom Ewell’s Twenty-Year Itch,” New York Times, September 19, 1954; “Marilyn Monroe Ill After Windy Scene,” Los Angeles Times, September 19, 1954; Fergus Falls (MN) Daily Journal, September 20, 1954; Hedda Hopper, “Tom Ewell Feels Director of ‘Itch’ Up to Scratch,” Los Angeles Times, December 12, 1954.

  “She should take about fifteen pounds off her fanny.” Earl Wilson, “On Again, Off Again,” Motion Picture, January 1955.

  “I never worked with her.” Randall Riese and Neal Hitchens, The Unabridged Marilyn.

  “Everybody worships this gal.” Hedda Hopper, “Powell, Heflin, Sought for ‘Darling Jenny,’” Los Angeles Times, September 24, 1954.

  “Marilyn Monroe is here.” Walter Winchell column, Logansport (IN) Pharos-Tribune, September 10, 1954.

  “Howled, whistled and applauded” and “Oh, I love it!” Long Beach Press-Telegram, September 18, 1954.

  “One of those two is correct.” Pete Martin, “Confessions of Marilyn Monroe: Part Three,” Daily Sketch, June 27, 1956.

  “Why should it?” Earl Wilson, “On Again, Off Again,” Motion Picture, January 1955.

  “She would slink off by herself.” Richard L. Cox, “The Strange Truth About Marilyn Monroe,” Reynold’s News (UK), October 30, 1955.

  “Alive for the first time in days.” “Marilyn, Joe Forget with Work and Golf,” Los Angeles Times, October 8, 1954.

  “There was no suggestion,” the comment from Reno Barsocchini, and “A-Bomb. There was no hint.” “Marilyn Seeks Divorce from Joe,” Bridgeport (CT) Telegram, October 5, 1954.

  “Often morose baseball-star-with-muscles.” Natasha Lytess, “Marilyn Monroe: Her Secret Life: Part 4,” Sunday People, August 5, 1962.

  Tips and expectations of a 1950s housewife. The Doc, “A Little Thought Can Save Your Wife No End of Trouble,” Sunday Post, February 5, 1950.

  Qualities of an ideal wife and mother competition. Australian Women’s Weekly, March 23–May 4, 1955.

  “Christmas morning she’ll be happier.” “Didn’t I Warn You About Serving Me Bad Coffee?” Daily Mail, December 30, 2012.

  Coronet Instructional Films’ Marriage Is a Partnership, 1951. “First Year of Marriage—Learning to Live Together—Love & Marriage, Husband & Wife 1950s,” YouTube video, 16:16, posted by Historia-Bel99TV, August 20, 2014, https://youtu.be/UdFNUlRqDnU.

  Survey of 143 newspaper and magazine editors. Gay Pauley, “Readers Want More Hints on Household,” Los Angeles Times, November 10, 1954.

  DiMaggio relationship and divorce. “The Cerfboard: Marilyn, We Roll Along,” Los Angeles Times, September 26, 1954; “Marilyn Monroe,” Belfast News-Letter, October 5, 1954; “Marilyn Monroe Ill,” Belfast News-Letter, October 9, 1954; “Marilyn Monroe Seeks Divorce,” Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, October 5, 1954; Hedda Hopper, “Marilyn Monroe Will Divorce Joe DiMaggio,” Los Angeles Times, October 5, 1954; “Marilyn Monroe to Divorce DiMaggio, She Cites ‘Conflicting Career Demands,’” New York Times, October 5, 1954; “Miss Monroe Files Suit,” New York Times, October 6, 1954; “Ailing Marilyn Monroe Files Suit for Divorce,” Los Angeles Times, October 6, 1954; Edwin Schallert column, Los Angeles Times, October 7, 1954; “DiMaggio Leaves, Marilyn Unable to Work on Film,” Los Angeles Times, October 7, 1954; “Marilyn Monroe Given Divorce from DiMaggio,” Los Angeles Times, October 28, 1954.

  Death of Selma Silbert. “Divorce Case Spectator Plunges to Her Death,” Los Angeles Times, October 28, 1954; e-mail from Sandi Silbert, April 13, 2017.

  Divorce of Mr. and Mrs. Parks. “Mate Wanted Another Marilyn,” Los Angeles Times, July 3, 1957.

  Scene with Marilyn and Victor Moore. Hedda Hopper, “Chosen Few Witness Marilyn’s Bath Scene,” Los Angeles Times, November 9, 1954. The scene was eventually shown in Backstory: The Seven Year Itch, the August 26, 2000, episode of American Movie Channel’s documentary series.

  “Working with Marilyn is not.” Steve Cronin, “The Storm About Monroe,” Modern Screen, May 1955.

  “I wish to grow as an actress and a person.” “Top Stars’ 1955 Resolutions,” Oakland Tribune, January 2, 1955.

  “Marilyn has a brassy smile.” Elizabeth Toomey, “Glamour Is Rare Outside Hollywood, Photo Man Says,” Vidette (IN) Messenger, November 16, 1954.

  “Although she is personally shy and reserved.” Cox, “The Strange Truth About Marilyn Monroe.”

  Romanoff’s party and Gable romance rumors. Hedda Hopper, “Marilyn and Gable Will Be Costarred,” Los Angeles Times, October 6, 1954; “The Gaze of the Charm,” Los Angeles Times, November 20, 1954; “No Romance Says Gable,” Sunderland Echo (UK), November 22, 1954.

  “She was an absolutely perfect.” “You Don’t Really Know Marilyn Monroe: Clifton Webb in an Interview with Ernie Player,” Picturegoer, June 11, 1955.

  “I looked like the back.” Hedda Hopper column, Los Angeles Times, November 13, 1954.

  Chapter Two: No Dumb Blonde

  “People identify me personally.” Hal Boyle, “The Symbol of Success,” Lowell (MA) Sun, June 10, 1957.

  “Marilyn is very sweet.” “You Don’t Really Know Marilyn Monroe.”

  “Back when we were close.” E-mail from Bill Pursel, December 3, 2016.

  Memories of Marilyn’s time at the Twentieth Century Fox lessons. E-mails from David and Cathy Sandrich, March 3 and 5, 2017.

  “Marilyn’s a great reader.” Earl Wilson, “On Again, Off Again,” Motion Picture, January 1955.

  “Himself in the role” and “feared the rehearsals.” “Memories of Stanislavsky [sic] by People’s Artist of the R.S.F.S.R. Mikhail Yanshin,” Theatre World, September 1953.

  “First of all, he’s a rare human being.” “The Men Who Interest Me… by Mrs. Joe DiMaggio,” Pageant, April 1954.

  Chekhov’s teachings. Monroe with Hecht, My Story; e-mail from Ian Bevins, administrator, Michael Chekhov Studio London.

  “I know (painfully so).” Riese and Hitchens, The Unabridged Marilyn.

  “Marilyn said she was thinking about shedding.” E-mail from Bill Pursel, December 3, 2016.

  “This young fellow” and subsequent comments about Milton Greene. “The Men Who Interest Me…”

  Marilyn’s letter to Twentieth Century Fox was dated December 11, 1954, and was addressed to Lew Schreiber, Executive Manager. The document was located in the Fox archive, Los Angeles, in 2006.

  Publicity campaign for There’s No Business Like Show Business. “Fox ‘Show Business’ Tie-In,” Film Bulletin, December 13, 1954.

  “Most assuredly and unreservedly.” “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” Motion Picture Daily, December 8, 1954.

  “Leave Monroe out of this.” “What the Picture Did for Me,” Motion Picture Herald, April 23, 1955.

  “The one in There’s No Business Like Show Business.” Bill Foster, “Marilyn Monroe,” Sunday Graphic, March 29, 1959.

  “‘Heat Wave’ frankly is dirty.” “Ed Sullivan’s ‘Toast,’” Exhibitors Forum, January 24, 1955.

  Donald O’Connor’s thoughts on working with Marilyn. Hedda Hopper, “Donald’s Had Downs in Past but Now It’s All Up and Up,” Los Angeles Times, November 7, 1954.

  Marilyn’s false name has been reported to
be Zelda Zonk for many years. Amy Greene, in conversation with interviewer Scott Feinberg in 2012, remembered it to be Zelda Schnook. “Marilyn Monroe’s Best Friend Amy Greene Interviewed by Scott Feinberg,” YouTube video, 40:24, posted by “Scott,” November 9, 2012, https://youtu.be/Uc_3SYInn9g.

  “I would adore to meet Marilyn.” “You Don’t Really Know Monroe.”

  Bertha Spafford Vester’s memories of Christmas 1954 and Marilyn. Bertha Spafford Vester diary, 1954, Box II: 25, Folder 1, American Colony in Jerusalem Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Reproduced with permission from the Library of Congress. For more information about Vester’s children’s center, and to support their cause, please visit: http://www.spaffordcenter.org.

  Fleur Cowles’s memories of Marilyn. Cowles, Friends and Memories.

  “We’d discuss everything.” Helen Bolstad, “Marilyn in the House,” Photoplay, September 1955.

  “I think Marilyn knows exactly where she’s going.” Earl Wilson, “In Defense of Marilyn Monroe,” Modern Screen, June 1955.

  The “New Marilyn” press conference. “New Role for Marilyn Monroe,” New York Times, January 8, 1955; “New Marilyn Monroe Has Yen to Produce Her Own Movies,” Galveston (TX) Daily News, January 8, 1955; “New Marilyn Same as Old and That’s Plenty,” Los Angeles Times, January 8, 1955; “Studio Claims Marilyn Is Still Under Contract,” Los Angeles Times, January 9, 1955; “Marilyn Forms Her Own Film Company,” Great Bend (KS) Daily Tribune, January 10, 1955; Hedda Hopper, “Marilyn Stirs Storm with Latest Attitude,” Los Angeles Times, January 12, 1955; Philip K. Scheuer, “Frenke Receptive to Monroe Wish to Play in Karamazov,” Los Angeles Times, January 16, 1955.

  “There has been a change in her public relations.” No title, Independent Film Journal, January 22, 1955.

  “Milton Greene has been a disturbing influence.” Jim Henaghan, “My Love Affair with Marilyn,” Motion Picture, January 1955.

  “She is one of the most talented actresses.” Aline Mosby, “Marilyn May Lose Her Public by Holding Out,” Great Bend (KS) Daily Tribune, January 23, 1955.

  “I realized that just as I had once fought to get into the movies.” Monroe with Hecht, My Story.

  “I was born under the sign.” “Skyrocket a Star Is Born,” Screen Fan, October 1952.

  “You don’t seem to get the idea.” Elsa Maxwell, “Marilyn Confesses to Elsa Maxwell: I’ll Never Be the Same,” Modern Screen, July 1956.

  “It didn’t take any courage.” Ibid.

  “That, brother, was criticism.” Thomas M. Pryor, “Hollywood Canvas,” Los Angeles Times, January 16, 1955.

  “The studio will use every legal means.” “Monroe Contract Still in Force,” Motion Picture Daily, January 11, 1955.

  Attempts to replace Marilyn with Sheree North. “Dorothy Kilgallen’s Exclusive Movie Gossip,” Screenland, May 1954; Motion Picture Daily, March 23, 1955; Motion Picture Herald, June 11, 1955; Motion Picture Daily, December 7, 1955.

  Information about the Oakland Seven Year Itch audience appeared in a memo from Zanuck to Skouras sent on January 29, 1955. Found in the Spyros Skouras Collection, Special Collections, Stanford University Library.

  Stockholder who claimed he wanted Marilyn fired. Hedda Hopper, “Group Seeks Removal of Marilyn at 20th,” Los Angeles Times, February 18, 1955.

  “I thought the audience would.” Hedda Hopper, “Lancaster Seeking Bogart as Costar,” Los Angeles Times, February 21, 1955.

  “There is a small shrewd group that insists.” Alice Finletter, “Don’t Call Me a Dumb Blonde,” Modern Screen, April 1955.

  “More than anything else.” Ibid.

  Marilyn was reading a biography on Albert Schweitzer. “New Pin-Up Queen Book Reading Type,” Ironwood (MI) Daily Globe, January 6, 1951.

  Marilyn’s favorite authors in 1951. List entitled “Wolfson Notes on Monroe,” Maurice Zolotow Collection, Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, University of Texas at Austin. It would appear from the document that the original list came from Collier’s, September 8, 1951.

  “Please get this straight.” Florence Epstein, “Paar for the Course,” Screenland, January 1958.

  “A girl can get along for quite a while.” “Marilyn Monroe Has Problem Too,” Cedar Rapids (IA) Gazette, July 15, 1951.

  “I’d like to be smart and chic.” Michael Ruddy, “Is This the End of Marilyn?” Sunday Chronicle, February 28, 1954.

  “I’m beginning to understand Shakespeare.” Logan Gourlay, “I’ve Not Begun to Earn Much Yet,” Sunday Express, November 8, 1953.

  “I’ve just discovered Tolstoy.” Elizabeth Frank, “Fall Girl,” The People, circa August 17, 1953.

  “I’m trying to find myself.” Aline Mosby, “Marilyn Monroe Has Her Eye on Movie Oscar,” Lowell (MA) Sun, November 24, 1952.

  Philippe Halsman’s thoughts. Ralph Hattersley, “Marilyn Monroe: The Image and Her Photographers” in Edward Wagenknecht’s Marilyn Monroe: A Composite View. Note: the article was originally published in Popular Photography, January 1966.

  “I don’t know whether.” Earl Wilson, “Film Husband Tells All About Marilyn,” Lima (OH) News, June 24, 1956.

  “Marilyn thought of herself.” Earl Leaf, “The Marilyn I Used to Know,” Movie Time, December 1954.

  “I was afraid to talk about what I wanted.” Tex Parks, “Lessons I’ve Learned in Hollywood,” unidentified magazine, 1951.

  “I once thought that this girl” and “I’ve been on a lot of pictures.” Cronin, “The Storm About Monroe.”

  “I would listen to his advice.” Milton Schulman, “Will Mr. M. Rewrite the Monroe Story?” Aberdeen Evening Express, July 18, 1956.

  “I have no doubt.” Ibid.

  Chapter Three: Behind the Tinsel

  “The day of the ‘Casting Couch.’” Irving Wallace, “All This Is Hollywood Too!” Modern Screen, February 1941.

  “I didn’t have much trouble brushing them off.” Florabel Muir, “Wolves I Have Known,” Los Angeles Mirror, September 22, 1952, in Riese and Hitchins’s The Unabridged Marilyn.

  “I beg your pardon?” Earl Wilson, “MM Invited to Pose Nude for Calendar,” Long Beach Independent Press-Telegram, August 23, 1959.

  “I never did sleep with anyone.” E-mail interview with anonymous actress, March 23, 2017.

  “When I come to look back.” E-mail interview with anonymous photographer, May 11, 2017.

  “But look at you.” Earl Wilson, “MM Invited to Pose Nude for Calendar.”

  “I think women collectively are much to blame.” “This Week’s Best Letter,” Australian Women’s Weekly, March 23, 1955.

  “[Marilyn] just never wants to get out.” Sidney Skolsky, “Sidney Skolsky Gives the Lowdown on Hollywood Women,” Modern Screen, March 1954.

  “Marilyn looked upon New York as a shrine of culture.” William Barbour, “The Very Private Life of Marilyn Monroe,” Modern Screen, October 1955.

  “I met Marilyn about a year and a half ago.” Alice Finletter, “Don’t Call Me a Dumb Blonde,” Modern Screen, April 1955.

  “This book will show the new Marilyn.” “‘New Monroe’ to Come Out of 2-Weeks’ Rest,” Chronicle-Telegram, January 6, 1955.

  “Please let me tell you why I formed my own company.” Louella Parsons, “Louella Parsons in Hollywood,” Modern Screen, April 1955.

  “Technically, I’m not under contract.” Finletter, “Don’t Call Me a Dumb Blonde.”

  “Bunch of bunk.” Ibid.

  “Absolutely wonderful in the role.” “You Don’t Really Know Monroe.”

  “Considering the architecture with which.” “Coulter Column,” Film Bulletin, January 24, 1955.

  Richard Avedon on photo shoots. Hattersley, “Marilyn Monroe: The Image and Her Photographers.”

  “I act when I’m posing.” Skolsky, “Sidney Skolsky Gives the Lowdown on Hollywood Women.”

  Marilyn’s notes about directing lectures and The Misfits. Stanley Buchthal and Bernard Comment, Fragments: Poems, Inti
mate Notes, Letters by Marilyn Monroe.

  Female film directors and producers. “A Tour of Today’s Talkies,” Modern Screen, December 1936; Alma Whitaker, “Woman Film Director Needs Tact,” Los Angeles Times, February 21, 1937; “616 Players, 293 Writers, 129 Directors Contracted for 1938–39 Programs,” Motion Picture Herald, March 26, 1938; “They’re Doing a Man’s Job,” Dundee Evening Telegraph, March 18, 1940; “We Take Our Hat to Miss Jill Craigie,” The Sketch, August 7, 1946; Milton Bracker, “Story of a Determined Lady,” New York Times, June 7, 1953.

  Chapter Four: A Serious Actress

  “She was in a shell.” Aline Mosby, “Marilyn Monroe Learned to Talk in ‘Bedroom Voice’ After Movie Flops,” Coshocton (OH) Tribune, November 25, 1952.

  “Practically un-coachable.” Fess Parker, “Our Kids Are Hero Happy,” Los Angeles Times, October 9, 1955.

  “Her face was as wooden as a ventriloquist’s dummy.” Natasha Lytess, “Marilyn Monroe: Her Secret Life: Part 1,” Sunday People, July 15, 1962.

  “Not a peep.” Hedda Hopper, “Jane Russell Will Star in ‘Gibson Girl,’” Los Angeles Times, March 19, 1955.

  “One of the few women” and “I have come to the conclusion.” Cronin, “The Storm About Monroe.”

  “Well just call it a visit.” “DiMaggio Denies He and Marilyn Are Reconciled,” Modesto Bee and News-Herald, January 25, 1955; “Just Call It a Visit,” Aberdeen Evening Express, January 25, 1955.

  “You can bet I’ll be there.” “Jolter Tops Ballots as Lyons, Vance Hartnett Also Honored,” San Mateo Times, January 27, 1955. The Hall of Fame is also mentioned in the Northern Whig and Belfast Post, January 27, 1955.

  Details of Marilyn’s studies with Constance Collier. Truman Capote, “A Beautiful Child,” from Music for Chameleons, reprinted in Schirmer’s Visual Library’s Marilyn Monroe: Photographs 1945–1962 (Munich: Schirmer/Mosel, 1994).

  Constance Collier. “Stars’ Coach Is Dead,” Aberdeen Evening Express, April 26, 1955; “John Burrell’s Appointment,” The Stage, February 24, 1955.