History
Born Norma Jean Miller in 1926,
Marilyn achieved some notoriety for
posing nude in an early Playboy issue.
Partly from this publicity, she later
starred in roles such as “Niagara”,
“River of No Return”, and then
“Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” with
Jane Russell.
The film, “Some Like it Hot”, is
probably her best known role, where
she played Sugar Kowalcyk, the
beautiful, but alcoholic 1920s singer
in a girl’s band. As Marilyn developed
a reputation for being difficult to
work with and for perennial tardiness
to shoots, her final starring role was
with Clark Gable in “The Misfits.”
In her private life, it seemed that
Marilyn Monroe was searching for a
father figure. Her 1954 marriage to
Joe DiMaggio, twelve years her
senior, lasted only a short time. He
may have wanted her to give up or
curtail her career, to coincide with
the decline of his own. In any event,
she seemed to have feelings for
DiMaggio that continued after their
divorce. There were even rumors that
they would reconcile.
Her next marriage, to playwright
Arthur Miller, seems to have stemmed
from her attraction to his intellect.
But after their divorce, Marilyn
appeared more disturbed than ever
and, possibly, drug-dependent.
In the early 1960s, Monroe seems to
have carried on some sort of affair
with President Kennedy and, later,
with his younger brother, Robert. Her
1961 rendition of “Happy birthday,
Mr. President,” is still remembered,
but not positively.
The unexpected 1962 death of
Marilyn Monroe has never been
completely explained. Joe DiMaggio
showed special grief over the death
of his ex-wife and
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