Marilyn Monroe
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as temperamental as her reputation: Thurston Clarke, Ask Not: The Inauguration of John F. Kennedy and the Speech That Changed America (New York: Penguin, 2010).
“It doesn’t seem feminine”: Margaret Parton, “A Revealing Last Interview with Marilyn Monroe,” Look, February 9, 1979.
“not happy with the film”: Charles Casillo interview with Curtice Taylor, October 19, 2015.
“very exciting or interesting”: “Gable and Monroe Star in Script by Miller,” The New York Times, February 2, 1961.
snapped her out of the fantasy of jumping: Fred Lawrence Guiles, Legend: The Life and Death of Marilyn Monroe (New York: Stein & Day, 1984).
22. Nightmare
“I just am”: Marilyn Monroe. Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010).
“you have been for a very long time”: Monroe, Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters.
trancelike sleep for three days: George Carpozi, Jr., “Crack-Up: Tragic Report on Marilyn’s Nervous Breakdown,” Motion Picture, April 1961.
“kind of thing”: Although I quoted from Anthony Summers interview with Romanoff tapes for the book Goddess at the Margaret Herrick Library, Romanoff told me essentially the same story when I interviewed her in 1999 for my novel The Marilyn Diaries.
“poor nutty people”: Monroe, Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters.
“on the very next plane”: J. Randy Taraborrelli, The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe (New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2009).
“I didn’t mean to but I did”: Strasberg, Marilyn and Me.
“my warmest affections”: www.lettersofnote.com, published July 19, 2010 (along with a scan of the typewritten letter).
“but deeply disturbing”: Charles Casillo interview with Denis Ferrara, January 27, 2016.
“view of mental illness and treatment for it”: Time, February 17, 1961.
“it did something to her”: Donald Spoto interview with Ralph Roberts, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library. See also Charles Casillo interview with Hap Roberts, March 16, 2016.
“unselfish in bed”: Monroe, Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters.
“to be afraid anymore”: Look, April 1961.
23. Manic-Depressive
became obsessed with Marilyn: Donald Spoto interviews with Rupert Allan and Ralph Roberts, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library. See also Casillo interview with Selsman, July 21, 2015; interviews with Jeanne Martin, Arthur James, and Susan Strasberg, in 1998.
than she was prepared to give: Newcomb’s alleged lesbian relationships are mentioned in Richard Burton, The Richard Burton Diaries, ed. Chris Williams (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2013). Donald Spoto interview with Rupert Allan, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library. See also Charles Casillo interview with Michael Selsman, July 21, 2015; also several anonymous sources.
“it was just too much”: Donald Spoto interview with Patricia Newcomb, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library.
gifted her with a mink coat: Donald Spoto interview with Lois Banner, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library.
Sinatra had given her: George Masters, The Master’s Way to Beauty (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1977).
“as a person”: Spoto interview with Newcomb, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library.
long time: Donald Spoto interview with Rupert Allan, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library.
“worked with her”: Charles Casillo interview with Michael Selsman, July 21, 2015.
“caged animal”: Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days (documentary), Prometheus Entertainment, 2001.
“something into it”: Donald Spoto interview with Milt Ebbins, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library.
lesbian relationship: Lois Banner notes on her interview with Patricia Newcomb, Lois Banner Collection, Margaret Herrick Library.
“somewhat sexualized”: Charles Casillo interview with Susan Strasberg, 1998.
“sibling rivalry”: Anthony Summers, Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe (New York: Macmillan, 1985).
“anything homosexual”: Dr. Ralph Greenson letter to a colleague shortly after Marilyn’s death. In private hands.
“could be quite mean”: Spoto interview with Newcomb, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library.
“screaming at her”: Spoto interview with Ebbins, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library.
“when she lost control”: Susan Strasberg, Marilyn and Me: Sisters, Rivals, Friends (New York: Time Warner Paperbacks, 1992).
her bra cups: Whitey Snyder told this to Abbott, who was a mortician, as Marilyn’s body was being prepared for the funeral. Charles Casillo interview with Allan Abbott, October 9, 2015.
“want to know about him”: Marilyn Monroe audiotape interview with Richard Meryman for Life, August 1962. In private hands.
“floor most of us”: Julian Scheer interview with Carl Sandburg for Cavalier, 1963.
“who glowed”: Charles Casillo interview with Nancy Sinatra, July 22, 2016.
“get over it”: J. Randy Taraborrelli, The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe (New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2009).
“in the balcony”: Spoto interview with Ebbins, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library.
“so drunk”: Eddie Fisher, Eddie: My Life, My Loves (New York: HarperCollins, 1984).
“the show”: James Kaplan, Sinatra: The Chairman (New York: Doubleday, 2015).
“pissed him off”: Taraborrelli, The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe.
look for her: Milt Ebbins told this anecdote to J. Randy Taraborrelli, which is used in The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe. Ebbins also told the same anecdote to James Spada (as told to Charles Casillo in an August 9, 2016, interview), and to Donald Spoto, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library. Ebbins also told the story directly to Charles Casillo in 1998.
“Is it a fling? Or is it a thing?”: Photoplay, September 1961.
24. Age Three Five
“didn’t help it any”: Marilyn Monroe audiotape interview with Richard Meryman for Life magazine, August 1962. In private hands.
“massaging her feet”: Marilyn Monroe: 10 Years On, Documentary, 1972.
“gave off light”: Charles Casillo interview with Hap Roberts, March 16, 2016. See also, Donald Spoto interview with Ralph Roberts, Donald Spoto Collection at The Martha Herrick Library.
“gave me a roar”: Joan Greenson’s unpublished memoir (in private hands).
“infatuated” with Marilyn: Taraborrelli, The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe. Jeanne Martin told this author the same, as did Michael Selsman, July 21, 2015.
Marilyn’s “best friend”: Anthony Summers interview with Eunice Murray, Anthony Summers Collection, Margaret Herrick Library.
“They were friends of mine”: In Newcomb’s interviews with Donald Spoto and Anthony Summer. Both interviews are in their respective collections at The Margaret Herrick Library.
Newcomb or Peter Lawford: Roberts states this in interviews with Donald Spoto and Anthony Summers. Both interviews are in their respective collections at The Margaret Herrick Library.
“smitten”: George Smathers, The Many Loves of Marilyn Monroe, E! True Hollywood Story documentary, 2001.
“like a lady”: Ibid.
“anyone like my brother”: Taraborrelli, The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe.
“she was pretty close”: Donald Spoto interview with Edwin Guthman, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library.
very sweet and very sad: Barbara Leaming, Marilyn Monroe (New York: Three Rivers Press, 2000).
Prowse’s name recognition: James Kaplan, Sinatra: The Chairman (New York: Doubleday, 2015).
“paranoid undertones to it”: Dr. Ralph Greenson letter to Dr. Marianne Kris, August 20, 1962 (in private hands).
25. Doctor-Patient Relations
sick borderline paranoid addict, as well as an actress: A copy
of this letter is in the Anna Freud Papers at the Library of Congress.
day-to-day basis: I consulted Dr. Ralph Greenson, “Errors in Technique: Detection, Source, and Management” (in private hands). Hildi Greenson confirmed it in interviews with Donald Spoto and Anthony Summers, in their respective collections at The Margaret Herrick Library.
“and she could be delightful”: Dr. Ralph Greenson letter to Dr. Marianne Kris, August 20, 1962 (in private hands).
“you become especially attached to”: Lois Banner notes on an interview with Dr. Richard Litman, Lois Banner Collection, Margaret Herrick Library.
“and put herself in his hands”: Donald Spoto interview with Ralph Roberts, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library.
“the right Ralph”: Donald Spoto interview with Patricia Newcomb, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library.
“Whatever will she do?”: Spoto interview with Roberts, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library.
“if not insights just kindness”: Greenson letter to Kris, August 20, 1962 (in private hands).
“respect or trust me”: This can be found in a draft of Dr. Ralph Greenson’s essay “Special Problems in Psychiatry with the Rich and Famous.” Hildi Greenson told the story to several journalists including Anthony Summers and Donald Spoto, in their respective collections at The Margaret Herrick Library.
“atheist Jew”: Anthony Summers interview with Joan Greenson, in the Anthony Summers Collection, Margaret Herrick Library. See also Greenson’s unpublished memoir (in private hands).
“She wasn’t really prepared”: Donald Spoto interview with Mickey Rudin, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library.
26. Compartmentalization
“Talk about temptation”: Milt Ebbins interview with J. Randy Taraborrelli for The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe (New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2009). Ebbins said similar things to Donald Spoto, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library, and also in an interview with this author in 1998.
“She was magic to watch”: Les Harding, They Knew Marilyn Monroe, Famous Persons in the Life of the Hollywood Icon (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2012).
the food was ruined: This story was told, with little variation, to Donald Spoto, in the Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library. Also see Taraborrelli, The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe. I used these sources as well as a conversation I had with Milt Ebbins, who told me the story in 1998.
“Somehow I’m always overdrawn”: Radie Harris, “The Empty Crib in the Nursery,” Photoplay, December 1958.
to attend a Stanislavsky Festival: Patricia Bosworth, Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman (Wilmington, MA: Mariner Books, 2012).
fascinated with Marilyn for years: Larry Tye, Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon (New York: Random House, 2016).
“innocent and wide-eyed but supersexy”: George Masters, The Master’s Way to Beauty (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1977).
“very political talk”: Anthony Summers, Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe (New York: Macmillan, 1985).
“Not just to the kids but to her”: Tye, Bobby Kennedy.
“about Civil Rights”: Carl Rollyson, Marilyn Monroe Day by Day: A Timeline of People, Places, and Events (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014).
Marilyn seemed to enjoy the intrigue: Joan Greenson’s unpublished memoir (in private hands).
27. “Negated Sex Symbol”
“home of PETER LAWFORD in Hollywood”: Marilyn Monroe’s FBI files can be found on the internet. Also see Tim Coates, Marilyn Monroe: The FBI Files (Tim Coates Books, 2003).
“all her curves showing”: George Masters, The Master’s Way to Beauty (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1977).
“helped out of her chair onto the stage”: James Bacon syndicated column, August 5, 1962. My reference is The Burlington Free Press.
“naturally with her”: Charles Casillo interview with Stefanie Powers, July 29, 2016.
“worth more than this”: Susan Strasberg, Marilyn and Me: Sisters, Rivals, Friends (New York: Time Warner Paperbacks, 1992).
“probably just as well”: Charlton Heston, Charlton Heston: The Actor’s Life: Journals, 1956–1976 (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1978).
“like an aura”: Strasberg, Marilyn and Me.
“together for the night”: J. Randy Taraborrelli, The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe (New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2009).
“Who wants to know saints?”: Donald Spoto interview with Patricia Newcomb, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library.
“never told anybody everything”: Gloria Steinem, Marilyn (New York: Fine Communications, 1997).
“knew everything”: Donald Spoto interview with Patricia Newcomb, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library.
“known and accepted”: Charles Casillo interview with anonymous source.
“that you wouldn’t cover”: Charles Casillo interview with Murray Garrett, July 30, 2016.
John F. Kennedy and then with Bobby: Charles Casillo interview with Susan Strasberg, 1998.
28. Starting Something
“they affect each other”: Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days (documentary), Prometheus Entertainment, 2001.
“if it was necessary”: Dr. Ralph Greenson letter to Dr. Marianne Kris, August 20, 1962 (in private hands).
29. Mass Seduction
“and do a good job”: Joan Greenson interview with Joel Siegel on 20/20, 1999.
a talisman: Ibid.
“over and over again”: Donald Spoto interview with Ralph Roberts, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library. See also Charles Casillo interview with Hap Roberts March 16, 2016.
“lacquered onto the body”: Diahann Carroll interview with Joel Siegel, 20/20, 1999.
“Come sit on my lap, little girl”: Susan Strasberg, Marilyn and Me: Sisters, Rivals, Friends (New York: Time Warner Paperbacks, 1992).
“be wholly engaged”: Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., Journals 1952–2000 (New York: Penguin, 2008).
“their rivalry”: Charles Casillo interview with Lou Harris, April 13, 2016.
“attractive to everyone”: Ibid.
“No grand farewells”: Strasberg, Marilyn and Me.
“white spun gold”: Anthony Summers, Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe (New York: Macmillan, 1985).
“Oh go to hell, Marilyn”: James Haspiel, Marilyn: The Ultimate Look at the Legend (New York: Henry Holt, 1991).
“just goes too fast and falls asleep”: Sally Bedell Smith, Grace and Power: The Private World of the Kennedy White House (New York: Random House, 2005).
“the best 20 seconds of my life”: Thomas Reeves, A Question of Character: A Life of John F. Kennedy (London: Arrow, 1992).
“the service lift”: Sarah Bradford, America’s Queen: The Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (New York: Penguin, 2001).
“the real thing could ever be”: “Marilyn Poses Nude—Again,” Photoplay, September 1962.
30. Is Marilyn Finished?
“accept that fact”: Donald Spoto interview with Mickey Rudin, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library.
“She was a beautiful shell”: Bill Shaiken, “Hit by a Bombshell,” Los Angeles Times, December 14, 1997. See also, Jim McConnell, “Pearson Definitely Stood Tall,” The San Bernardino Sun, February 7, 2012.
“He used my credibility with people I knew”: Richard Reeves, President Kennedy: Profile of Power (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994).
“It’s starting to get around too much”: J. Randy Taraborrelli, The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe (New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2009).
“worth living anymore”: Christopher Turner, “Marilyn Monroe on the Couch,” The Telegraph, June 23, 2010.
“Is she finished?”: Barbara Leaming, Marilyn Monroe (New York: Three Rivers Press, 2000).
“She had to finish that shitty picture”: Donald Spoto interview with Mickey Rudin, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library.
31. Elizabeth and Marilyn
too much time and money invested in Cleopatra and Taylor: Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood (documentary), Prometheus Entertainment, 2001.
“I will send some money to you”: Charles Casillo interview with Kimothy Crues, January 12, 2016.
“you do the same”: Ibid.
32. Last Sittings
“take all her clothes off”: Bert Stern, The Last Sitting (New York: William Morrow, 1982).
“if she wasn’t naked”: Charles Casillo interview with Bert Stern, 1998.
“What a nice thing to say”: Stern, The Last Sitting.
“That’s a good idea”: “‘I wouldn’t have taken nudes of Marilyn if she didn’t want to’: Photographer Bert Stern opens up about Monroe’s last sitting,” March 20, 2013, credited to Daily Mail reporter.
“should be talked into it”: Charles Casillo interview with Bert Stern, 1998.
“Divine,” he said: Bert Stern: Original Madman, Magic Film Productions, 2011.
“millions of women”: Casillo interview with Stern, 1998.
“smoothness of her skin”: Stern, The Last Sitting.
“Divinity. God. Living. Passion.”: Bert Stern: Original Madman.
“all those nudes”: Donald Spoto interview with Patricia Newcomb, Donald Spoto Collection, Margaret Herrick Library.
“wild during that session”: Eve & Marilyn. BBC, 1997. On June 17, 1991.
“it was a nasty scar”: Charles Casillo interview with Denis Ferrara, January 27, 2016 (Stern told this to Ferrara during an interview).
champagne and hard-boiled eggs: George Masters, The Master’s Way to Beauty (E. P. Dutton, 1977).
“a hairpin or something like that”: Eve & Marilyn.
“project her image of herself”: Bert Stern: Original Madman.
“You wanted to take a bite out of her”: Audiotape conversation between Diana Vreeland and George Plimpton, Tape 4 Side B. Courtesy of the Diana Vreeland Estate.
“fast forward to 1964 or ’65”: Charles Casillo interview with David Wills, January 12, 2017.
“turned out to be vodka”: In Vogue: The Editors Eye (HBO documentary), 2001.
“and he kept going”: Icon, interview with Leif-Erik Nygårds. Undated.