My Story

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In April 1954, Otto Preminger's western River of No Return, the last film that Monroe had filmed prior to the suspension, was released. She called it a " Z-grade cowboy movie in which the acting finished second to the scenery and the CinemaScope process", but it was popular with audiences. [173] The first film she made after the suspension was the musical There's No Business Like Show Business, which she strongly disliked but the studio required her to do for dropping The Girl in Pink Tights. [172] It was unsuccessful upon its release in late 1954, with Monroe's performance considered vulgar by many critics. [174] Monroe posing for photographers in The Seven Year Itch (1955)

Monroe continued her relationship with DiMaggio despite the ongoing divorce process; she also dated actor Marlon Brando and playwright Arthur Miller. [190] She had first been introduced to Miller by Elia Kazan in the early 1950s. [190] The affair between Monroe and Miller became increasingly serious after October 1955, when her divorce was finalized and he separated from his wife. [191] The studio urged her to end it, as Miller was being investigated by the FBI for allegations of communism and had been subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee, but Monroe refused. [192] The relationship led to the FBI opening a file on her. [191] She didn't know her father, and her mother was sent to a mental institution when Marilyn was little! Her only family was her aunt Grace. ERNIE MAXWELL: Idyllwild 'old-timer' remembers much of mountain town's history". The Desert Sun. Palm Springs, California. September 1, 1984 . Retrieved June 12, 2022– via California Digital Newspaper Collection. This autobiography, which was written at the height of Marilyn’s fame but only published over a decade after her death, recounts her early years as a troubled, unwanted foster child and her rise in the film industry, as well as her marriage to Joe DiMaggio. My Storyreveals what we now know to be true about Marilyn Monroe: she was a woman far more complex and intelligent than the blond bombshells she portrayed onscreen. Marilyn: Norma Jeane by Gloria Steinem At seven years old, Monroe returned to a life in foster homes, where she endured sexual assault on several occasions; she later said that she had been raped when she was 11 years old. She dropped out of high school by age 15.

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The story behind My Story, the only book credited to Marilyn Monroe, is beguiling as almost everything that has orbited the screen sex goddess since her death in 1962 at the age of 36. Published in 1974 by Stein and Day under the title The Unfinished Biography of Marilyn Monroe, the book is a collection of anecdotes by Monroe and Hollywood columnist Sidney Skolsky in 1954 to acclaimed screenwriter Ben Hecht, who'd been hired as ghostwriter on a Marilyn autobiography. Hecht's abandoned work was later revised and published by photographer Milton Greene, who established rights to the manuscript and whose photos of Monroe are included in the book. Moments later, President Kennedy appeared on stage, saying, "I can now retire from politics after having had 'Happy Birthday' sung to me in such a sweet, wholesome way." Before Our Time: Idyllwild's SMASH!". Idyllwild Town Crier. June 6, 2012 . Retrieved June 12, 2022. Hoppe, Art (January 15, 1954). "Joe Di Maggio Marries Marilyn Monroe at San Francisco City Hall". San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco . Retrieved June 12, 2022. Di Maggio said he didn't know where they would spend their honeymoon but they would 'probably just get in the car and go' tonight.

Although Monroe's screen persona as a dim-witted but sexually attractive blonde was a carefully crafted act, audiences and film critics believed it to be her real personality. This became a hindrance when she wanted to pursue other kinds of roles, or to be respected as a businesswoman. [308] The academic Sarah Churchwell studied narratives about Monroe and wrote: When I bought this illustrated tome a couple of years ago, I was hoping to find information not previously known to the public. Perhaps a peek into her world through her own eyes. Hearing the story in her words (if they are her words) satisfied some of that curiosity; she came across as a wounded, but spirited woman who always dreamed big, despite the odds. She conveyed that famously described depth often belied by the surface exterior.

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I also struggle to harbour any warm feelings for a woman who perceives all other women as bitches who just aren’t good enough to satisfy their husbands. And that “women’s friendships with each other are based on a gush of lies and pretty speeches that mean nothing. You’d think they were all wolves trying to seduce each other the way they flatter and flirt when they’re together.” Crowther, Bosley (July 16, 1953). "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015 . Retrieved October 18, 2015. Marilyn Monroe, (Left Center), and Jean O'Doul, the wife "Lefty" O'Doul, (Right Center), are shown posing with pretty Japanese Geisha Girls after a "Sukiyaki" Dinner in Kobe. The dinner was given by the Central League, one of Japan's professional baseball organizations. Husbands DiMaggio and O'Doul were among the diners. Miss Monroe and DiMaggio are flying home today". Getty Images . Retrieved September 10, 2022.

By 1953, Monroe was one of the most marketable Hollywood stars. She had leading roles in the film noir Niagara, which overtly relied on her sex appeal, and the comedies Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire, which established her star image as a "dumb blonde". The same year, her nude images were used as the centerfold and cover of the first issue of Playboy magazine. Monroe played a significant role in the creation and management of her public image throughout her career, but felt disappointed when typecast and underpaid by the studio. She was briefly suspended in early 1954 for refusing a film project but returned to star in The Seven Year Itch (1955), one of the biggest box office successes of her career. But there was no bitterness in my aunt. Her heart remained tender, and she believed in God. Nearly everybody I knew talked to me about God. They always warned me not to offend Him. But when Grace talked about God, she touched my cheek and said that He loved me and watched over me. Remembering what Grace had said I lay in bed at night crying to myself. The only One who loved me and watched over me was Someone I couldn’t see or hear or touch”Hopper, Hedda (August 25, 1960). "Hedda Finds Marilyn's Film 'Most Vulgar' ". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016 . Retrieved October 18, 2015. Yank USA 1945". Wartime Press. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017 . Retrieved January 13, 2012. Twentieth Century-Fox further profited from Monroe's popularity by cultivating several lookalike actresses, such as Jayne Mansfield and Sheree North. [327] Other studios also attempted to create their own Monroes: Universal Pictures with Mamie Van Doren, [328] Columbia Pictures with Kim Novak, [329] and The Rank Organisation with Diana Dors. [330]