Why Marilyn Monroe Is My Idol
Hmm where do I even start? There are many hot takes on how bad “Blonde” is, I personally think it was horrible and Andrew tried to diminish Marilyn’s legacy and career. As a huge fan of Marilyn, I will do my best to protect her legacy just how a lot of her other fans do. I refuse to go into details about the horrible biopic made about her and the disgusting fetish heterosexual men have over women in pain and suffering from trauma. After watching Blonde, you could see that Andrew gets off on women suffering! I decided to write a blog post about Marilyn’s accomplishments and how she changed the acting game and why she is such a huge reason why I act! Thank you Marilyn, now let’s see why she is one of the most amazing artist to have ever walked this planet!
Creating The Marilyn Monroe Image
We all know Norma Jean had an abrupt and abusive childhood, being a survivor of sexual abuse in her early twenties and having a marriage at the age of 16, she knew it was time to live her dreams. She signed with a model agency in the 40's, ditched her first husband, dyed her hair and took on the name Marilyn Monroe with the help of 20th Century Fox executive, Ben Lyon, which Marilyn did say she wanted to add Monroe to her name to pay tribute to her mothers maiden name! She was a woman with a big mission and needed no ones permission! I recently found out that in 1947, Marilyn posed for photos of her reading children books and changing diapers to sell a “G Rated” version of herself as an orphan, good girl, chasing her dreams. She knew what she had to do to make it big!
Breaking Her Contract & Knowing Her Worth
I think the most iconic thing Marilyn did was, challenging Fox Studios and breaking her contract in 1954! She was ahead of her time and started a change, she challenged the studio system when back then the studios had full control over their stars, it was a male dominant environment & Marilyn was the first to challenge! Marilyn felt that the roles that were given to her were beneath her as an actress and she wanted to do better and bigger projects, she also wanted to get paid better! After the success of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” in 1953 and after finishing “The Seven Year Itch” in 1954 , Marilyn moved to NYC and stayed with her good friend Milton Greene and his family. They refined her image with amazing photos and new acting classes… Marilyn went on to study method acting with Lee Strasberg at The Actors Studio in 1955. Marilyn wanted to put her all into her craft and as an artist, that inspires me so much! Monroe and Greene decided to create “Marilyn Monroe Productions” and finally challenged the studio system. Marilyn was ahead of her time and isn’t celebrated enough on how she fought back when these studios tried to control her. In 1957 her new production company produced their first movie, “The Prince And The Showgirl”.
Higher Pay!
So before Marilyn started her own production company, what lead to this decision was what happened in 1954 after Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Marilyn was starring in “Girl In Pink Tights” with Frank Sinatra. Marilyn one day found out that Frank was making three times her salary, so in iconic fashion, Marilyn walked off set and refused to return! Fox studio suspended Marilyn, so what does the queen do?… She went on and married Dimaggio that year, had shoots with paparazzi and photographers, made it the vacation she deserved! To top it off, Marilyn did her own press in Korea for the troops, I mean she had Fox by their neck, the publicity this woman was creating, would make Fox realize they can not mess with Miss Monroe. The studio dropped the requirement of her being in “Girl In Pink Tights” and placed her in the iconic “The Seven Year Itch” with a pay bonus to go with it ;).
The Casting Couch
So in Hollywood ( back then and even now) we know about those stories of starlets being forced to preform sexual actions for big film bosses to get their career started. This was primarily huge back in the 50’s! There was an article called “Wolves I Have Known” that was co-written by Marilyn Monroe where she writes: “The first real wolf I encountered should have been ashamed of himself, because he was trying to take advantage of a mere kid.… He gave me a script to read and told me how to pose while reading it. All the poses had to be reclining, although the words I was reading didn’t seem to call for that position.” Marilyn didn’t state any names, but she was a part of this culture and was able to get out of some situations, but to also state this when she was on a rise and could’ve risked her career, was an amazing moment for women in that era, she was ready to speak up and state the behavior of these perverts! Read more of her article here: http://www.marilynrememberedfanclub.com/article-marilyn-monroe-wolves-i-have-known/
Owning Her Nude Photos
In 1953, Playboy published Marilyn’s nudes without her permission! Marilyn could’ve lost her career but she turned around the narrative, on 03/13/52 Marilyn decided to have an interview about her nudes with Aline Mosby before they were leaked to the public. *These photos were from a photoshoot in 1949 where Marilyn needed money to pay rent and eat*. Here is the iconic and open response about her leaked shoot: “I was broke and needed the money” — Marilyn Monroe response in 1949 from her interview with Aline Mosby. I recommend reading the image above to see exactly what Marilyn said. Talk about owning your narrative and being honest at the same time. Marilyn yet again demonstrates how she was ahead of her time and was not afraid to challenge these men that tried to shame her.
The Original Influencer
Marilyn was known for creating this uber, sexy, enigma aura of hers whenever she went to parties and networked. She realized people wanted to take photos of her, so she would conjure up different themes and ideas, especially with Milton Greene to play up her brand. I mean do I even have to explain the iconic moment in “The Seven Year Itch”?! She created this sexy, movie star character to match her characters she was playing and really blurred the lines of Kayfabe! Showing up late to parties and leaving early when needed, created this amazing enigma for her, people wanted more! One of her best examples of making the most out of the moment was in 1949 during her summer promo tour for “Love Happy”, Marilyn visited NYC for the first time ever, thinking it would be cooler outside, so she wore a wool jacket and hat. She was sweating, instead of buying cooler clothing, she made a whole shoot based on this outfit, she posed with an ice cream cone, fanning herself and showed that she is the hottest and smartest baddie in the game. People started flocking and the photoshoot went viral, well what viral would be in the 40’s and 50’s. She is/was the original influencer!
Marilyn and Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald was an American jazz singer and super talented, one of the most popular music venues in the 50’s in Hollywood, Mocambo wouldn’t let Ella Fitzgerald sing. Marilyn took it upon herself to call the owner of Mocambo, Charlie and informed him that Ella is to play for a week. Marilyn also stated that if Ella were to sing, she would attend every day and sit at the front table which would bring in major press! This was crucial for Ella, having a huge club on her resume would do wonders. Once Charlie said yes, Marilyn kept her promise and was there every night at the front table! Here is a famous quote about Marilyn from Ella, “I owe Marilyn Monroe a real debt … she personally called the owner of the Mocambo, and told him she wanted me booked immediately, and if he would do it, she would take a front table every night. She told him — and it was true, due to Marilyn’s superstar status — that the press would go wild. The owner said yes, and Marilyn was there, front table, every night. The press went overboard. After that, I never had to play a small jazz club again. She was an unusual woman — a little ahead of her times. And she didn’t know it.” — Ella Fitzgerald. We love women supporting women especially back then! This is another example of how Marilyn was ahead of here time!
Finale
I hope this article shines some light on how amazing Marilyn is/was. She truly changed Hollywood and challenged a lot of higher ups. She was ahead of her time and it is sad that she went way too soon. But she will forever be iconic… Diamonds are a girls best friend and she is the shiniest one ❤!
Amazing Marilyn Sources:
An amazing autobiography read that Marilyn wrote herself: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/182230.My_Story#:~:text=My%20Story%20is%20an%20unfinished,her%20marriage%20to%20Joe%20DiMaggio.
Marilyn news article about her nude photoshoot: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=151567941608687&set=a.143671705731644.28271.135565249875623
The Wolves I Have Known: http://www.marilynrememberedfanclub.com/article-marilyn-monroe-wolves-i-have-known/
Love, Antonio
✍🏽 Page: https://www.amazon.com/Antonio-Liranzo/e/B08RCCBNF6%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share
