The Blonde Bookshelf | Marilyn Monroe Tribute

_{^{Notice! This list is a work in progress. I am continuously updating it and will add more information as I uncover more. Be sure to check back regularly for updates.}}

✦The Thinking Body by Mabel Elsworth Todd

_{⟢"I take it with me wherever I go. Just to know that it is with me, that I can open it and find something new. Something that I've read dozens of times, but which, at a certain moment, registers."}_{^{(Source: "Mimosa: Memories of Marilyn & The Making of "The Misfits" - Ralph L. Roberts with Chris Jacobs & Hap Roberts)}}

✦Letters to A Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

_{⟢"Well, I guess I've read Rilke's 'Letter to a Young Poet' oftener than any other book in recent years.""}_{^{(Source: "It Pays To Be Dumb" by William Leonard, The Miami News - May 17th, 1959)}}

_{⟢"Soaking up art and literature, Marilyn spends free evenings reading scripts and books--recent favorites: Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina and Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet.}_{^{(Source: "Marilyn Monroe: A Serious Blonde Who Can Act" by Rupert Allan, Look Magazine - October 23rd, 1951)}}

✦A Lost Lady by Willa Cather

_{⟢"'Ralph, do you know an author named Willa Cather?"}
_{Giving an inward jump, I replied, 'She's my favorite author. Why?'}_{'One of my favorite books of all time is her Lost Lady,' she said. 'I'd love to do a movie of it, and I've even investigated the possibility. It seems that a silent movie had been made of it, and Miss Cather so loathed it that she would never let anything of hers ever be done again. She left such instructions in her will.'}_{I mentioned perhaps the statue of limitations had run out.}_{'Oh, I wouldn't do anything like that, not if she felt so strongly,' Marilyn said."}_{^{(Source: "Mimosa: Memories of Marilyn & The Making of "The Misfits" - Ralph L. Roberts with Chris Jacobs & Hap Roberts)}}

✦Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

"I Wake and Feel the Fell of Dark, Not Day" by Gerard Manley Hopkins✦

_{⟢"Then she murmured, "I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day.'}
_{I asked, 'Is that one of your poems?'}_{'No, it's a line from one of my favorite poems, by Gerard Manley Hopkins. He must have known the feeling.'"}_{^{(Source: "Mimosa: Memories of Marilyn & The Making of "The Misfits" - Ralph L. Roberts with Chris Jacobs & Hap Roberts)}}

✦Goya

_{⟢"She confided to a guest that she was searching for a book on Goya.
“She had seen the Goya etching at the Metropolitan Museum and she said she loved Goya. Also she loved El Greco."}_{^{(Source: "Marilyn Shuns Hollywood,seeks Culture", Mirror-News, Los Angeles Mirror - October 5th, 1955)}}

_{⟢"I’m in love practically with Picasso, but Goya’s No. 1 jazz I’m insane about."}_{^{(Source: "The New Marilyn Tells Her Views On Life, Love and Art" by Earl Wilson, Los Angeles Mirror - October 6th, 1955)}}

✦El Greco

✦Picasso

_{⟢"Dostoyevski, J.D. Salinger. George Bernard Shaw. I liked 'Stanislavsky Directs,' a new book. Poetry–'The Pain and the Shadow,' by Norman Rosten. Then I love Keats. Also I like Walt Whitman. I keep Walt Whitman next to my bed. I keep going back to him all the time. I’m reading G. B. Shaw little by little."}_{^{(Source: "The New Marilyn Tells Her Views On Life, Love and Art" by Earl Wilson, Los Angeles Mirror - October 6th, 1955)}}

✦Her Books

_{⟢"[Marilyn, if the house you have caught on fire, what material thing would you run for to save first?]}
_{"Some books."}_{[Which books?]}
_{"I'd rather not say. It's very personal...it's more than one book."}_{^{(Source: "June 12th, 1955 Radio Interview with Dave Garroway, "What's Going On?" by Ben Gross, Daily News June 11th, 1955)}}

✦An Alarm Clock

_{⟢“Marilyn was admitted to Cedars of Lebanon for female trouble. I was to pick her up the next afternoon and sign her out. I met her in her room on the 5th floor, pushed her in an unneeded wheelchair, down the elevator to the admittance office, and signed her out. When we got to the car, she had forgotten her alarm clock. It had sentimental attachments, so I went back to pick it up. It somehow had gotten broken, and she wanted me to take it to the jeweler to have it fixed. It was very cheap, and wasn't worth repairing.}
_{‘It's been with me through good and bad,’ she said.}_{^{(Source: "Mimosa: Memories of Marilyn & The Making of "The Misfits" - Ralph L. Roberts with Chris Jacobs & Hap Roberts)}}

✦Letters from Joe DiMaggio, Arthur Miller, Isidore Miller, Carl Sandberg

_{⟢"As I remember, she had no luggage, just her makeup box and purse. The funny thing is that the makeup box had no makeup-only her collection of very private, personal, special letters written to her through the years: Joe, Arthur, Arthur's father (Isidore), Carl Sandburg, and her passport. The makeup box was her security blanket-she took it with her almost everywhere."}_{^{(Source: "Mimosa: Memories of Marilyn & The Making of "The Misfits" - Ralph L. Roberts with Chris Jacobs & Hap Roberts)}}

✦Carl Sandburg Bust

_{⟢"Marilyn takes Berniece’s hand, leading her down the hall to the second bedroom. Before nightfall, however, Marilyn changes her mind, moving Berniece from the second bedroom into the den. On the floor is a bust.}_{'Oh,' Berniece says, 'Paris told me about this.'}_{'Yes! It's Carl Sandburg-isn't he wonderful? But I can see why your father-in-law's Lincoln kept moving from place to place. What do you think-should you meet him as you come in, or should he be near his poetry?'}_{Berniece studies the situation and decides, 'I think he'd be good anywhere.'}_{"Thank goodness he's not too heavy. I keep carrying him from room to room. I want him everywhere!' Marilyn laughs."}_{^{(Source: "My Sister Marilyn: A Memoir of Marilyn Monroe" - Berniece Baker Miracle and Mona Rae Miracle)}}

✦White Piano

_{⟢One day a grand piano arrived at my home. It was out of condition. My mother had bought it second hand. It was for me. I was going to be given piano lessons on it. It was a very important piano, despite being a little banged. It had belonged to the movie star Fredric March."}
_...
_{"I have it in my home now in Hollywood. It's been painted a lovely white, and it has new strings and plays as wonderfully as any piano in the world."}_{^{(Source: "My Story" - Marilyn Monroe with Ben Hecht)}}

Ginger Rogers✦

_{⟢"In junior high school, I was completely movie-struck. I used to go see movies I liked three or four times when I could afford it. Ginger Rogers was my favorite star. A girl who lived across the street subscribed to several of the fan magazines and she would give me all of the pictures of Ginger. I had several dozen of her portraits pinned up around my room."}_{^{(Source: "I Was An Orphan" - Marilyn Monroe, Modern Screen - February 1951)}}_{⟢"I've loved seeing Ginger Rogers in movies ever since I was a little girl!"}_{^{(Source: "Hollywood Report" - Mike Connolly, Modern Screen - February 1953)}}

Jean Harlow✦

_{⟢"Favorite star: Jean Harlow"}_{^{(Source: "Mimosa: Memories of Marilyn & The Making of "The Misfits" - Ralph L. Roberts with Chris Jacobs & Hap Roberts)}}_{⟢"Oddly enough, however, her models are not the accomplished practitioners of the Actors Studio in New York, where she still goes to work on occasional weekends, but the film stars of her childhood. She recalls in a dreamy tone the distant celluloid images of Jean Harlow, Will Rogers and Marie Dressler, who once were more real to her than the people whom she encountered every day..."I remember the day when I was a kid that Will Rogers died in a plane crash. It was very meaningful to me. Or when Jean Harlow died. It was all over the schoolyard."[...]Jean Harlow, the platinum blonde sex goddess of the 1930s, is the actress with whom Marilyn has identified most closely...Jean Harlow died at 26, when she was only beginning to be recognized as a gifted actress. Marilyn wants to venture in the direction that Harlow might have taken."}_{^{(Source: “Marilyn Monroe: ‘A Good Long Look At Myself” by Alan Levy, Redbook August 1962)}}

Lawrence Olivier✦

_{⟢"He is a fantastic actor. I'm sorry that 'Prince and the Showgirl' didn't turn out the way we'd all hoped."}_{^{(Source: "Mimosa: Memories of Marilyn & The Making of "The Misfits" - Ralph L. Roberts with Chris Jacobs & Hap Roberts)}}_{⟢"Laurence Olivier and Joan Crawford are her favorite actors."}_{^{(Source: Holding a Good Thought for Marilyn: 1926-1954 The Hollywood Years - Stacy Eubank)}}

_{⟢[On her favorite actors] Gable, Brando, Sinatra, Charles Laughton–I’d love to work with Sir Laurence Olivier sometime. There are so many French actors, and then there’s DeSica…you see how many favorite actors I have."}_{^{(Source: "The New Marilyn Tells Her Views on Life, Love and Art' by Earl Wilson, Los Angeles Mirror, October 6th, 1955)}}

_{⟢About Sir Laurence Olivier, with whom she co-starred in "The Prince and the Showgirl," which he was he directed: "I think he's a great actor," Marilyn said. "It's what you get up there on the screen…he wasn't my choice as a director, but he wanted to direct it."}_{^{(Source: "Above All Else, MM Wanted to Act' by Theo Wilson, Daily News - August 17th, 1962)}}

Marie Dressler✦

_{⟢"When the senior Millers visited Marilyn and Arthur in their East 57th Street Manhattan apartment they often met people like actor Montgomery Clift and actress Maureen Stapleton.}_{'There was good talk there,' Mr. Miller reminisces, 'about books and plays. Everybody sat on the floor. Marilyn often talked of the late Marie Dressler, whom she remembered from her youth, and whom she admired more than any other actress.'"}_{^{(Source: "Remembrance of Marilyn" - Flora Rheta Schreiber, Good Housekeeping - January 1963)}}_{⟢"I'm looking forward to eventually becoming a marvelous—excuse the word marvelous—character actress. Like Marie Dressler, like Will Rogers. I think they've left this kind of appeal out of the movies today. The emphasis is on spring love. But people like Will Rogers and Marie Dressler were people who, as soon as you looked at them, you paid attention because you knew: They've lived; they've learned."}_{^{(Source: “Marilyn Monroe: ‘A Good Long Look At Myself” by Alan Levy, Redbook August 1962)}}

Joan Crawford✦

_{⟢"Laurence Olivier and Joan Crawford are her favorite actors."}_{^{(Source: Holding a Good Thought for Marilyn: 1926-1954 The Hollywood Years - Stacy Eubank)}}

Clark Gable✦

_{⟢"When she met Clark Gable, Marilyn was as thrilled as any teenager. They were seated together at the same table, the King and the new princess. Her biggest thrill was asking for and getting Gable’s autograph, ‘the autograph I wanted since I was twelve years old,’ she told him."}_{^{(Source: Marilyn Among Friends - Sam Shaw and Norman Rosten)}}

Will Rogers✦

_{⟢"I'm looking forward to eventually becoming a marvelous—excuse the word marvelous—character actress. Like Marie Dressler, like Will Rogers. I think they've left this kind of appeal out of the movies today. The emphasis is on spring love. But people like Will Rogers and Marie Dressler were people who, as soon as you looked at them,you paid attention because you knew: They've lived; they've learned."}
_{^{(Source: “Marilyn Monroe: ‘A Good Long Look At Myself” by Alan Levy, Redbook August 1962)}}_{⟢"Oddly enough, however, her models are not the accomplished practitioners of the Actors Studio in New York, where she still goes to work on occasional weekends, but the film stars of her childhood. She recalls in a dreamy tone the distant celluloid images of Jean Harlow, Will Rogers and Marie Dressler, who once were more real to her than the people whom she encountered every day..."I remember the day when I was a kid that Will Rogers died in a plane crash. It was very meaningful to me. Or when Jean Harlow died. It was all over the schoolyard.'"}_{^{(Source: “Marilyn Monroe: ‘A Good Long Look At Myself” by Alan Levy, Redbook August 1962)}}

Eleanora Duse✦

_{⟢"Marilyn, whose current reading matter includes Thomas Wolfe's Letters to His Mother and biographical works on her favorite actresses of yesteryear, Eleanora Duse, is a little more articulate than most."}_{^{(Source: "Marilyn Doesn't Believe in Hiding Things" by Michael Sheridan, Screenland - August 1952)}}

_{⟢"She admires famous theatrical greats of the past, has a snap of Eleanor Duse."}_{^{(Source: "Mmmm-- It's Marilyn" by Michael Sheridan, Filmland - April 1952)}}

_{⟢Portrait of Duse is seen in Marilyn's Beverly Carlton Hotel apartment in 1952.}_{^{(Source: "Marilyn Doesn't Believe in Hiding Things" by Michael Sheridan, Screenland - August 1952)}}

Marlon Brando✦

_{⟢"I read recently that, before I met Joe, I had had a secret romance with Marlon Brando. That's not true either. I have met Marlon and I like him both as a person and as an actor. I think he is one of the finest actors on the screen. I have been receiving letters from teen-agers who adore Marlon, suggesting that I play in a picture with him. Maybe I'll forward these to Mr. Zanuck."}_{^{(Source: "The Truth About Me" by Marilyn Monroe as told to Liza Wilson, The San Francisco Examiner - November 23rd, 1952)}}

_{⟢"My favorite actor of all is Marlon Brando," Marilyn said. "I think it would be interesting combination. I’ve been saying this for years about Marlon, but it hasn't worked out. I think of something contemporary, but here I go dreaming again…"}_{^{(Source: "Above All Else, MM Wanted to Act' by Theo Wilson, Daily News - August 17th, 1962)}}

Frank Sinatra✦

Charles Laughton✦

Vittorio De Sica✦

Greta Garbo✦

_{⟢"She thought Greta Garbo was the greatest actress in the world. Garbo was her idol, but they had never met, and when Barris told her he would try to set up a a meeting for them in New York, he remembered that Marilyn became speechless and wide-eyed with excitement."}_{^{(Source: "Above All Else, MM Wanted to Act' by Theo Wilson, Daily News - August 17th, 1962)}}

✦Frank Sinatra

_{⟢"I play his records, as you certainly know, constantly on the set. He helps me get in the mood for acting. Frees me."}_{^{(Source: "Mimosa: Memories of Marilyn & The Making of "The Misfits" - Ralph L. Roberts with Chris Jacobs & Hap Roberts)}}_{⟢Well, frankly...I'll just say Frank. However, he didn't used to be. It's the way he sings now. I know when I was a kid in, you know, junior high school and high school, and he was sort of a Bobby Sox idol. Even though I was in Bobby Sox, he wasn't my idol. It isn't until recently. I think his whole style and... I don't know. There's something that's changed drastically... Well, it's his style. To me, it's his style.}_{When it comes to sound, I like Sammy Davis, too. But Frank's style, you can't beat it."}_{^{(Source: "June 12th, 1955 Radio Interview with Dave Garroway, "What's Going On?" by Ben Gross, Daily News June 11th, 1955)}}

✦Claudia Muzio

_{⟢"We spent hours listening to symphonies and her favorite singer, Claudia Muzio."}_{^{(Source: "Mimosa: Memories of Marilyn & The Making of "The Misfits" - Ralph L. Roberts with Chris Jacobs & Hap Roberts)}}

✦Sammy Davis Jr.

_{⟢"When it comes to sound, I like Sammy Davis, too. But Frank's style, you can't beat it."}_{^{(Source: "June 12th, 1955 Radio Interview with Dave Garroway, "What's Going On?" by Ben Gross, Daily News June 11th, 1955)}}

✦Ella Fitzgerald

_{⟢"Marilyn Monroe's favorite singer bar none, is Ella Fitzgerald. The Monroe has Fitzgerald records on tap at home and in her dressing room..."}_{^{(Source: "That's Hollywood For You" by Sidney Skolsky, Photoplay - February 1955)}}_{⟢"Her behavior as the 'New Monroe' in New York leaves little doubt about the fact that she is reveling in this new-found freedom. She has searched for and found an apartment high over Manhattan with a breathtaking view of the East River. At this writing, she has taken a long lease on the apartment. She is busy furnishing and filling it with hundreds of books and literally hundreds of recordings ranging from her favorite vocalist, Ella Fitzgerald, to the finest classical albums available."}_{^{(Source: "More Marvelous Than Ever" , Movieland - July 1955)}}

✦Louis Armstrong

_{⟢[On her favorite music] "Louis Armstrong and Earl Bostick–it just gets stronger all the time."}_{^{(Source: "The New Marilyn Tells Her Views On Life, Love and Art" by Earl Wilson, Los Angeles Mirror - October 6th, 1955)}}

✦Earl Bostic

_{⟢[On her favorite music] "Louis Armstrong and Earl Bostic–it just gets stronger all the time."}_{^{(Source: "The New Marilyn Tells Her Views On Life, Love and Art" by Earl Wilson, Los Angeles Mirror - October 6th, 1955)}}

✦Beethoven

_{⟢"I guess my favorite composer is Beethoven."}_{^{(Source: "The New Marilyn Tells Her Views On Life, Love and Art" by Earl Wilson, Los Angeles Mirror - October 6th, 1955)}}

_{⟢"It was Johnny, too, who started me reading. Now I have to restrain myself from buying out Pickwick's Book Store on Hollywood Boulevard! There's a beautiful set of Michelangelos paintings reproduced in book form I'd like to own as soon as I can. I'd also like to own all the Beethoven recordings."}_{^{(Source: Movieland Magazine - May 1951)}}

_{⟢"She likes to talk about such cultural big-wigs as writers Thomas Wolfe and Walt Whitman, musicians Mozart, Beethoven."}_{^{(Source: "The Fact about Cheesecake: Marilyn is Two Girls!" , Press-Telegram, June 10th, 1951)}}~

Miasma, Mimosa✦

_{⟢"Miasma reminds of Monty and those evenings in New York. I love word games, but not being able to spell anything, I'm not at all good at them. Once during a game, I thought of a combination of words, two of my favorite words, incidentally. Miasma and Mimosa - both are lovely sounding, but one meaning such a terrible thing and the other such a lovely thing. To myself, I fooled around with them and came up with 'mimosa gives miasma.' I couldn't tell them what had made me giggle."}_{^{(Source: "Mimosa: Memories of Marilyn & The Making of "The Misfits" - Ralph L. Roberts with Chris Jacobs & Hap Roberts)}}

✦White Flowers

_{⟢Recalled as a favorite from Ralph Roberts.}_{"Marilyn was alone in the living room when I arrived. The room was filled with the heavy scent from a huge vase of Stock White Flowers. They're refined and graceful, with leafy blooms adorning tall, leafy stocks-the perfect flower for Marilyn."}_{"Marilyn preferred a white living room, with big vase of fresh flowers, always. Usually Stock White. I can smell them still."}_{^{(Source: "Mimosa: Memories of Marilyn & The Making of "The Misfits" - Ralph L. Roberts with Chris Jacobs & Hap Roberts)}}_{⟢"I didn't know at the time why she was making such a big deal of this occasion. She went to the empty lot next door (which is still there on Holloway Drive west of La Cienega; I think Hollywood has forgotten who owns it) and collected lots of white wildflowers, which she put in glasses on our little TV tables out on our little balcony."}_{^{(Source: "Shelley II : The Middle of My Century" by Shelley Winters)}}

_{⟢"A bank of tropical plants, and vases filled with white flowers, are Marilyn's favorites for decorating her living room."}_{^{(Source: "Home Life of a Hollywood Bachelor Girl" - Television and Screen Guide - August 1951)}}

✦Red Anthuriums

_{⟢"Marilyn stops at the piano. 'Aren't these gorgeous?' Sitting atop is a vase of bright red anthuriums, the gift of a friend. 'I bought them home from the hospital. They're my favorite flower.'"}_{^{(Source: "My Sister Marilyn: A Memoir of Marilyn Monroe" - Berniece Baker Miracle and Mona Rae Miracle)}}

Chanel No. 5✦

_{⟢"She sleeps in the raw, or as she has been quoted: 'I wear nothing but Chanel No. 5 to bed.' She claims she wears it to bed because 'it makes sleeping dreamy.'"}_{^{(Source: "I Love Marilyn!" Modern Screen - October 1953)}}

Floris Rose Geranium✦

_{⟢While Marilyn was in England filming ‘The Prince and the Showgirl’ she would purchase ‘Floris Rose Geranium’. She would later purchase the perfume again in 1959, ordering 6 bottles to be shipped to her in the US.}_{^{(Source: "When Marilyn Met the Queen" by Michelle Morgan & :Property From The Estate Of Lee Strasberg", Julien's Auctions, Lot #556)}}

Arpège✦

_{⟢‘I like to wear something different once in a while. Now and then I switch to Arpège."}_{^{(Source: Interview with Earl Wilson, Los Angeles Mirror - October 6th, 1955)}}

Floral Fragrances✦

_{⟢"Personally, I like to seek out a fragrance that isn't too popular but which is flower-like.'"}_{^{(Source: "My Beauty Secrets" Photoplay - October 1953)}}

✦Brooklyn

_{⟢"When I retire, I'm going to retire to Brooklyn.}
...
_{"It's my favorite place in the world, so far, that've seen. I haven't travel much but I don't think I'll find anything to replace Brooklyn.}
...
_{"I haven't traveled much, but I don't think I'll find anything to replace Brooklyn. You're going to help our rating in Brooklyn by 9 points.}_{[Why is it Brooklyn? What happens there with you?]}
_{Well, almost everything. I just like walking around. I think the view is better from Brooklyn. You know, you can look back over and see Manhattan…That's the best view, but it isn't only the view. It's the people. It's...I like the streets. I guess the people and the streets and the atmosphere. I just like it."}_{^{(Source: "June 12th, 1955 Radio Interview with Dave Garroway, "What's Going On?" by Ben Gross, Daily News June 11t, 1955)}}

_{⟢'Q. I heard you love Brooklyn.
A. – Oh, I do. Sometimes I just take one little section like along the water, and I walk. I like how the storekeepers sort of stand out on the sidewalks and watch life go by. They don’t do that on this side of the bridge. Things are more hectic."}_{^{(Source: "The New Marilyn Tells Her Views on Life, Love and Art" by Earl Wilson for Mirror-News, Los Angeles Mirror - October 6th, 1955)}}

Reading✦

_{⟢"My favorite activity is reading!"}_{^{(Source: Modern Screen - May 1953)}}_{⟢"(On her favorite activity) Reading. I prefer classical literature. If you’re ignorant, books won’t laugh at you."}_{^{(Source: "Marilyn Monroe Answers 33 Intimate Questions" Stag Magazine- August 1953)}}

Running Along The Beach✦

_{⟢"'But, Rafe, let's start driving out to the beach to run alongside the ocean. It's the best exercise. There's something about the ocean that is calming - at the same time, exciting.'}_{My answer was, 'I would like that. I feel about the ocean as I do about the desert and about the mountains - a constant movement of energy and force that penetrates one's own body and soul.'}_{She congratulated me. 'Very well put - that's how I feel, too.'"}_{^{(Source: Mimosa: Memories of Marilyn & The Making of "The Misfits" - Ralph L. Roberts with Chris Jacobs & Hap Roberts)}}

Biking✦

_{⟢"Marilyn told me she often bicycled in Central Park and on Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn."}_{^{(Source: "Marilyn Monroe" - Maurice Zolotow)}}

✦Champagne

_{⟢"These were her champagne days. Champagne was all she drank..."}_{^{(Source: "Here's MM, Barefoot and Bubbly" by Theo Wilson, Daily News - August 14th, 1962)}}

_{⟢"I love champagne and food with flavor."}_{^{(Source: "Here's MM, Barefoot and Bubbly" by Theo Wilson, Daily News - August 14th, 1962)}}

✦Marsala

_{⟢"At eleven-forty-five, she concocted milk punch for us. Chocolate syrup, milk, and a slug of Marsala—a heavy-bodied Italian sweet wine, rather like sherry. She said she had developed a taste for Marsala during her relationship with DiMaggio"}_{^{(Source: "Marilyn Monroe" Maurice Zolotow)}}

"Don't Bother To Knock"✦

_{⟢"To Hedda Rosten, Monroe declared that Don’t Bother to Knock was one of her favorite films. She believed that in it she had given one of her strongest performances."}_{^{(Source: "Marilyn Monroe: A Life Of The Actress" - Carl E. Rollyson)}}

"The Asphalt Jungle"✦

_{⟢"She thought that her best performance had been in 'The Asphalt Jungle,' although others had told her they liked her better in 'Bus Stop' and 'Some Like It Hot.'"}_{^{(Source: "Twilight of a Star: Above All Else, MM Wanted to Act" Theo Wilson, Daily News - August 17th 1962)}}

_{⟢"Of all the roles I’ve had I’ve really liked two. “Asphalt Jungle,” Joe Manckiewicz directing, and “The Seven-Year Itch,”with William Wilder directing. "}_{^{(Source: "The New Marilyn Tells Her Views On Life, Love and Art" by Earl Wilson, Los Angeles Mirror - October 6th, 1955)}}

_{⟢"She thought that her best performance had been in "The Asphalt Jungle," although others had told her they liked her better in "Bus Stop" and "Some Like It Hot."}_{^{(Source: "Above All Else, MM Wanted To Act" by Theo Wilson, Daily News - August 17th, 1962)}}

"The Seven Year Itch""✦

✦Korea

_{⟢"Marilyn embraced her fame as her greatest love. After her return from her Korean honeymoon with Joe DiMaggio, I asked her, 'What's the happiest time you've ever had?'}_{'It was the time last month when I sang to the soldiers in Korea,' she answered. 'There was thousands of them. It was a very cold afternoon, and it was snowing. All the soldiers sat in their winter uniforms. I appeared in a décolleté evening gown, bare back, bare arms. And I was so happy and so excited that I didn't know it was cold or snowing. In fact, the snow never fell on me. It melted away almost before it touched my skin. That was my happiest time-when the thousands of soldiers all yelled my name over and over.'"}_{^{(Source: "The Myth About Marilyn Monroe’s Death" by Ben Hecht, Family Weekly September 30th, 1962)}}

_{⟢"But when I went to Korea it didn't make any difference. No one asked me there if I felt different because I was married. And they didn't care. All they knew was that I was there and they were happy about it. And I'm so happy I went. All those men–it was the biggest thrill of my life. They didn't care if I was hot or cold, married or single just so long as they could see me."}_{^{(Source: "Marilyn Talks About Joe and Babies" by Sheilah Graham, Modern Screen, September 1954)}}

_{⟢"Korea was different. That was the best thing I ever did. But most of the time people expect so much, not just out there’”-she waved at the passing streets of New York-‘in private'."}_{^{(Source: "Marilyn and Me: Sisters, Rivals, Friends" by Susan Strasberg)}}

_{⟢"I guess my favorite plays were 'Streetcar Named Desire' and 'Death of a Salesman.'"}_{^{(Source: "The New Marilyn Tells Her Views On Life, Love and Art" by Earl Wilson, Los Angeles Mirror - October 6th, 1955)}}

✦Arthur Miller

_{⟢"My favorite playwrights: Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams.'"}_{^{(Source: "The New Marilyn Tells Her Views On Life, Love and Art" by Earl Wilson, Los Angeles Mirror - October 6th, 1955)}}

✦Tennessee Williams

_{⟢"My favorite playwrights: Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams.'"}_{^{(Source: "The New Marilyn Tells Her Views On Life, Love and Art" by Earl Wilson, Los Angeles Mirror - October 6th, 1955)}}

_{⟢"Black, white and red are her favorite colors.""}_{^{(Source: "Posture Important to Marilyn Monroe", Quad-City Times" - June 23rd, 1956)}}

_{⟢"Soft shades of gray or subdued blue, combined with white, are Marilyn's favorite colors."}_{^{(Source: "Home Life of a Hollywood Bachelor Girl", Television & Screen Guide - August 1951)}}

_{⟢"My favorite dress, however, is an off-the-shoulder cocktail dress, made of beige lace over coffee-colored silk. It has sort of a tail effect in the back."}_{^{(Source: "Am I Too Daring?" - Marilyn Monroe, Modern Screen - July 1952)}}_{⟢"...But I have always felt comfortable in blue jeans-they're my favorite informal attire. I have found it interesting, however, that people whistle at jeans, too. I have to admit that I like mine to fit. There's nothing I hate worse than baggy blue jeans."}_{^{(Source: "Am I Too Daring?" - Marilyn Monroe, Modern Screen - July 1952)}}_{⟢"My favorite clothes are something out-and-out sliky or else just plain blue jeans. But the blue jeans have to be body-hugging."}_{^{(Source: "Impertinent Interview" - Mike Connolly, Photoplay - June 1952)}}_{⟢"I like bare-looking shoes for both formal and informal occasions. I believe, like the classic Greeks, that a woman's feet are an important part of her beauty."}_{^{(Source: "Am I Too Daring?" - Marilyn Monroe, Modern Screen - July 1952)}}_{⟢"I love nude colored shoes and stockings...I love nude colored shoes because they make me feel like I'm walking on my toes."}_{^{(Source: "Impertinent Interview" - Mike Connolly, Photoplay - June 1952)}}_{⟢"“When I was about four, I used to dream of the day when I’d be rich enough to go up to a shop, look at the window display of clothes and then go inside and say, ‘I’ll take that and that and that and that and that–in all different colors!’ Now, when I could afford to do it, not just dream it, clothes are unimportant to me–except for evening clothes, which I love."}_{^{(Source: "The Empty Crib In The Nursery" - Radie Harris, Photoplay - December 1958)}}_{⟢"I don't like 'in-between' clothes. I want want mine to be either causal and comfortable day things, or really 'all out' evening things. They have to be really slinky."}_{^{(Source: "Home Life of a Hollywood Bachelor Girl" - Television and Screen Guide - August 1951)}}_{⟢"She likes polo coats 'which I can wear over anything.'"}_{^{(Source: "Home Life of a Hollywood Bachelor Girl" - Television and Screen Guide - August 1951)}}_{⟢"Her favorite just now is a strapless black velve evening gown which, expect for a slightly flared peplum about the hips, clings as tightly as a dress can cling and still let a girl get around. With this she wears long, gleaming rhinstone earrings and black velvet gloves which reach nearly to her shoulders. That outfit, she doesn't mind telling you, does something perfectly wonderful for her-mentally as well as outwardly. It's really 'special.'"}_{^{(Source: "Home Life of a Hollywood Bachelor Girl" - Television and Screen Guide - August 1951)}}

_{⟢"Intimate Tidbits About That Delectable Dish, Marilyn Monroe: She would rather eat hors d'oeuvres than dinner — her favorites being tiny tomatoes stuffed with cream cheese and caviar..."}
_{^{(Source: "Louella Parsons' Good News" Modern Screen - February 1953)}}_{⟢"I’m what you might call an erratic eater. There are times when I just can’t eat meat–and then I suddenly get a craving for steak. I hate olives–but I love olive oil. I used to have a terribly sweet tooth for chocolates–but once I had a bad dream that I couldn’t eat anything with a chocolate taste, and ever since I’ve completely lost my taste for it. But I do enjoy eating."}
_{^{(Source: "The Empty Crib In The Nursery" Photoplay - December 1958)}}_{⟢"One of Marilyn's first stops that afternoon when I followed her was the "400 Cake Shop" around the corner on First Avenue. It's a small shop with glass cases full of tempting, sugar-smelling goodies.}_{When I talked with Alma, one of the white-uniformed waitresses, she told me Marilyn had a passion for poppyseed rolls and rye bread. 'Oh, she likes desserts, too,' Alma added, 'but she doesn't like anything chocolate. I heard her say once she finally got over her craving for chocolate. And was she glad! Now, she likes cheesecake and macaroons, strawberry tarts, and layer cakes. She doesn't ask for us to deliever-most times she'll carry the cake-boxes home herself.'"}
_{^{(Source: "What was Marilyn Monroe Doing at 685 Third Avenue?" By Evan Michaels, Photoplay - August 1959)}}_{⟢"I love food as long as it's got flavor," Marilyn said. "I skip dessert unless it's fruit. I don't like the taste of pastries. As a kid I did, but now I hate it. I love champagne and food with flavor."}_{^{(Source: "Here's MM, Barefoot and Bubbly" by Theo Wilson, Daily News - August 14th, 1962)}}

The Blonde Bookshelf is a non-profit website that is not affiliate with the official Marilyn Monroe Estate. All digital properties such as images, audios, and video footages are copyright to their respective owners, no copyright infringement is intended.

_{^{Notice! This list is a work in progress. I am continuously updating it and will add more information as I uncover more. Be sure to check back regularly for updates.}}

Life Goals ✦

_{⟢"Once I wouldn't have dared to hope for what I wanted most. Now I want to work towards being a really fine actress. Being a good actress won't quite do. I want to be a fine actress, and I'd hate to settle for less. As a matter of fact, and for the record, I won't."}_{^{(Sources: "I Was An Orphan" by Marilyn Monroe, Modern Screen - February 1951)}}

_{⟢‘I’m trying to find myself now, to be a good actress and good person,’ she said. ‘Sometimes I feel strong inside, but I have to reach in and pull it up. You have to be strong inside, way deep inside of you. It isn’t easy. Nothing easy, as long as you go on living.’”}_{^{(Sources: Aline Mosby (U.P.) - November 24th, 1952)}}

_{⟢"It has been said before that I'm trying to "find myself." I guess that's true. The usual goal is to achieve as much happiness as possible and for a woman, the worthwhile goal is marriage and children."}_{^{(Sources: "Marilyn Monroe Takes good Look At - Marilyn" - Marilyn Monroe, Des Moines Register - August 6th, 1953)}}

_{⟢"I want to be a good actress, more than anything else in the world. And one day, I'm going to be good enough. People made fun of me when I said I wanted to play The Brothers Karamazov. People did funny imitations of me – and, incidentally, I’m flattered that anybody would imitate me – but it's still my dream role to play the part of Grushenka."}_{^{(Sources: “I’m no has-been!” Liberty Magazine - July 1955)}}

_{⟢"I'm trying to find myself as a person. Sometimes that's not easy to do. Millions of people live their entire lives without finding themselves. But it is something I must do, The best way for me to find myself as a person is to prove to myself that I'm an actress."}_{^{(Sources: "“Marilyn Monroe: ‘A Good Long Look At Myself” by Alan Levy, Redbook, August 1962)}}

✦ Awareness of Public Perception & Expectation

_{⟢"I don't mind if people think I'm a dumb blonde, but I dread the thought of being a dumb blonde."}_{^{(Source: "Too Hot To Handle" - Jack Wade, Modern Screen - March 1952)}}

_{⟢“When you’re an obscure bit player or starlet, nobody cares whether you can act. But when your name is up in lights, it’s different…”}_{“I do a picture like ‘Don’t Bother to Knock’ and some people say, ‘Leave the dramatics to Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland. Keep Marilyn Monroe in a tight dress and let her drip sex.’}_{“It kind of gets me…”}_{^{(Source: "How Marilyn Monroe Sees Herself" - Sid Ross, Independent, October 12th, 1952)}}_{⟢"Sam, you don't understand the public. This make-up is for my fans, those people waiting inside the movie houses, or outside in the street waiting in the crowd at an opening. They are the people the studios won't let close to the theatre unless they pay to get in. When I arrive there I'll turn and wave to them and they'll see me and won't be disappointed. My fans want me to be glamorous. I won't let them down."}_{^{(Source: "Marilyn Among Friends" - Sam Shaw and Norman Rosten)}}

_{⟢Sheilah Graham: "Does it bother you when someone refers to you as a dumb blonde?"}_{Marilyn: It never has, Sheilah. You see, I've always known I wasn't. Things go on in my mind that no one knows about. I've always figured things out and done them according to plan. Oh no, I'm not calculating or tricky. But I know what I want."}_{^{(Source: "Marilyn Talks About Joe and Babies" - Sheilah Graham, September 1954)}}

_{⟢"I always felt towards the slightest scene–even if all I had to do in a scene was just to come in and say, “Hi,” that the people ought to get their money’s worth and that this is an obligation of mine, to give them the best you can get from me. I do have feelings some days when there are some scenes with a lot of responsibility towards the meaning, and I’ll wish, gee, if only i would have been a cleaning woman. On the way to the studio I would see somebody cleaning and I’d say, “That’s what I’d like to be. That’s my ambition in life.” But I think all actors go through this. We not only want to be good; we have to be."}_{^{(Source: "Marilyn Let's Her Hair Down About Being Famous" - Richard Meryman, LIFE Magazine, August 3rd, 1962)}}

_{⟢"I never quite understood it—this sex symbol—I always thought symbols were those things you clash together! That’s the trouble, a sex symbol becomes a thing. I just hate to be a thing. But if I’m going to be a symbol of something I’d rather have it sex than some other things they’ve got symbols of!"}_{^{(Source: "Marilyn Let's Her Hair Down About Being Famous" - Richard Meryman, LIFE Magazine, August 3rd, 1962)}}

The Price of Fame ✦

_{⟢“The fact is that I’m lonely – in spite of the fastest ride to popularity that any girl ever had. Too much publicity makes you lonely. Suddenly you see people speaking to you and being nice to you. But they never did before, and you feel it’s happening only because you’re now a ‘personality.’”}_{^{(Source: "How Marilyn Monroe Sees Herself" - Sid Ross, Independent, October 12th, 1952)}}

_{⟢“But one thing about fame is the bigger the people are or the simpler the people are, the more they are not awed by you! They don’t feel they have to be offensive, they don’t feel they have to insult you. You can meet Carl Sandburg and he is so pleased to meet you. He wants to know about you and you want to know about him, Not in any way has he ever let me down.}_{Or else you can meet working people who want to know what is it like. You try to explain to them. I don’t like to disillusion them and tell them it’s sometimes nearly impossible. They kind of look toward you for something that’s away from their everyday life, I guess you call that entertainment, a world to escape into, a fantasy.}_{Sometimes it makes you a little bit sad because you’d like to meet somebody kind of on face value. It’s nice to be included in people’s fantasies but you also like to be accepted for your own sake.}_{I don’t look at myself as a commodity, but I’m sure a lot of people have. Including, well, one corporation in particular which shall be nameless. If I’m sounding picked on or something, I think I am. I’ll think I have a few wonderful friends and all of a sudden, oooh, here it comes. They do a lot of things-they talk about you to the press, to their friends, tell stories, and you know, it’s disappointing. These are the ones you aren’t interested in seeing every day of your life.}_{Of course, it does depend on the people, but sometimes I’m invited places to kind of brighten up a dinner table-like a musician who’ll play the piano after dinner, and I know you’re not really invited for yourself. You’re just an ornament.’”}_{^{(Source: "Marilyn Let's Her Hair Down About Being Famous" - Richard Meryman, LIFE Magazine, August 3rd, 1962)}}

_{⟢“But everybody is always tugging at you. They’d all like sort of a chunk of you. They kind of like take pieces out of you. I don’t think they realize it, but it’s like “rrrr, do this, rrrr do that.” But you do want to stay intact–intact and on two feet."}_{^{(Source: "Marilyn Let's Her Hair Down About Being Famous" - Richard Meryman, LIFE Magazine, August 3rd, 1962)}}

_{⟢“Fame has a special burden, which I might as well state here and now. I don’t mind being burdened with being glamorous and sexual. But what goes with it can be a burden..."}_{^{(Source: "Marilyn Let's Her Hair Down About Being Famous" - Richard Meryman, LIFE Magazine, August 3rd, 1962)}}

✦Her Career

_{⟢"My career comes out of my life. My life doesn't come out of my career."}_{^{(Source: "Too Hot To Handle" - Jack Wade, Modern Screen - March 1952)}}

_{⟢"As a person, my work is important to me. My work is the only ground I've ever had to stand on. Acting is very important. To put it bluntly, I seem to have a whole superstructure with no foundation. But I'm working on the foundation."}_{^{(Source: “Marilyn Monroe: ‘A Good Long Look At Myself” by Alan Levy - August 1962)}}

_{⟢"Love and work are the two most important things in the world."}_{^{(Source: "A Revealing Last Interview with Marilyn Monroe" by Margaret Parton, Look Magazine - Feburary 1979)}}

Career Security ✦

_{⟢According to Milton H. Greene’s wife, Amy Greene, Marilyn was a very career-minded woman, she was afraid of aging due to less role opportunities for older actresses. “She understood youth. She used youth. She could not handle old age,” Amy recalled.}_{^{(Source: Suzie Kennedy: Living with Marilyn Monroe’s “We lived with Marilyn: Amy and Joshua Greene)}}

_{⟢“"'Wise foresight it is, too,' a friend said this week. 'Marilyn knows better than anyone that Hollywood sees in just one light–sex appeal is a polite word for it. She knows that, as long as it can, Hollywood will exploit biology for all it’s worth.}_{'And when the males in the audience stop whistling she’ll stop working–unless she can prove she has more to offer than a beautiful bust and a wiggle.'"}_{^{(Source: "Marilyn Shuns Hollywood, Seeks Culture", Mirror-News, Los Angeles Mirror - October 5th, 1955)}}

✦ People & The Public

_{⟢"Fame was thrust upon me by the public. The studios did not build it for me. My image caught the imagination of the public. They caused it."}_{^{(Source: "Mimosa: Memories of Marilyn and the Making of 'The Misfits'" - Ralph L. Roberts with Chris Jacobs & Hap Roberts)}}

_{⟢"People have always interested me and I have been equally interested in what was happening to myself."}_{^{(Source: "Curves VS Character" - Marilyn Monroe, "The Seventh Hollywood Album" Edited by Ivy Crane Wilson - 1953)}}

Authenticity ✦

_{⟢"I'm not completely immune to gossip even now. But I've found that gossip doesn't alter facts. It's more likely to expose the fears and frustrations of the name callers."}_{^{(Source: "Big Stories From Little Rumors Grow" by Beverly Ott, Photoplay - October 1955)}}

_{⟢"I'm convinced that principles and behavior are matters for the personal conscience. And there are at least two sides to every story."}_{^{(Source: "Big Stories From Little Rumors Grow" by Beverly Ott, Photoplay - October 1955)}}

_{⟢“I refuse to let articles appear in movie magazines signed ‘By Marilyn Monroe,' I might never see that article and it might be O.K.’d by somebody in the studio. This is wrong, because when I was a little girl, I read signed stories in fan magazines and I believed every word of them. Then I tried to model my life after the lives of the stars I read about. If I’m going to have that kind of influence, I want to be sure it’s because of something I’ve actually said or written."}_{^{(Source: "Blonde, Incorporated" By Pete Martin, The Saturday Evening Post - May 19th, 1956)}}

_{⟢"We stood on Fifty-seventh Street for a moment. I told Marilyn she didn't seem very much like the articles I'd read about her.}'Maybe I shouldn't say this,' she said, 'but I've always felt those articles somehow reveal more about the writers than they do about me.'_{^{(Source: ‘The Dreams and The Dreamers’ by Hollis Alpert)}}

_{⟢"I can't understand why some of them print just the opposite of what I say. I think some of the things they write tell me more about them than they tell other people about me."}_{^{(Source: “I’m no has-been!” Liberty Magazine - July 1955)}}

_{⟢"It doesn't really matter what people say about you. If it's wrong, it's bound to hurt a bit, but it won't alter things. You know, yourself, how things really are.”}_{^{(Source: “I’m no has-been!” Liberty Magazine - July 1955)}}

_{⟢"Those who know me, know me better."}_{^{(Source: “Twilight of A Star” by Theo Wilson, Daily News - August 18th, 1962)}}

_{⟢"All I know, it's their problem," Marilyn said. "Those people I don't know, or if we have met, it's been brief.”}_{Do the knocks bother you, Marilyn?}_{"Are you kidding?" Marilyn said. "I can take it. Let me put it this way... I'm used to it and there's that old saying-consider the source."}_{^{(Source: “Twilight of A Star” by Theo Wilson, Daily News - August 14th, 1962)}}

On-set Nerves ✦

_{⟢"Marilyn suffers from an inferiority complex, all her great success and popularity. Once, when she was to be on a radio show with me she became violently ill because she was so frightened.”}_{^{(Source: "Monroe-DiMaggio Discord Rumors Persist" Louella Parsons, News-Journal, September 12th, 1954)}}

_{⟢Marilyn always had serious on-set jitters and insecurities of disappointing cast and crew. Sometimes she would be late or call in sick, especially when her directors like Billy Wilder and Laurence Olivier would harshly scold her. Friend and co-star, Jane Russell, was compassionate towards Marilyn and made her experience filming Gentlemen Prefer Blondes an easier one. Jane recollected, “When I worked with Marilyn, it was really only her second starring role. And she was shy about going on those sets, but her make-up man told my make-up man that she was already here – she has been in way before I had. So, I said I’ll just go in by and get her. And I go in by and say, ‘C’mon baby, it’s time.’ And you know, she’ll go, ‘Oh! Okay!’ And she’ll get up and throttle on.”}_{^{(Source: Larry King Live, 75th Birthday Special, June 1st 2001)}}

Beauty & Fashion✦

_{⟢"I never take a sunbath. I want to feel blonde all over."}_{^{(Sources: "Hollywood Report" by Mike Connolly, Modern Screen - October 1952)}}

_{⟢"I don't like makeup and don't use it except for work or dress, although my skin is too pale without it."}_{^{(Sources: "Marilyn Monroe Takes good Look At - Marilyn" - Marilyn Monroe, Des Moines Register - August 6th, 1953)}}

_{⟢She once told photographer and friend, Sam Shaw, that she has a “bulbous nose” and would spend three hours before call time to do her own makeup before Whitney Snyder does the rest.
”}_{^{("Marilyn Among Friends" - Sam Shaw and Norman Rosten)}}

_{⟢“I have two favorite suits. One is black Christian Dior; but instead of wearing a blouse or gilet, I wear fresh red roses at the plunged neckline. I like to wear flowers; I even have some artificial ones for times when fresh ones aren’t handy. The other suit is a brown, very fine-checked, with which I wear yellow roses at the neckline. This one is scooped out, so sometimes I substitute a white pique collar. Or I like to wind scarves around and let one end fly over the shoulder; that leaves half scarf, half flesh in the neckline.”}_{^{(Source: "I Dress For Men" Marilyn Monroe, Movieland Magazine, July 1952)}
”*}_{^{("Marilyn Among Friends" - Sam Shaw and Norman Rosten)}}

✦ Unmaterialistic

_{⟢As a young starlet, Marilyn would borrow clothes from the wardrobe department at 20th-Century Fox when she had a date or a dance to attend to.}_{^{("Marilyn Among Friends" - Sam Shaw and Norman Rosten)}}

_{⟢"I live very simply, I'm not extravagant, I don't think I own a diamond."}_{^{("Above All Else, MM Wanted To Act" - By Theo Wilson, Daily News, August 17th, 1962)}}

Role Models ✦

_{⟢Abraham Lincoln was a favorite of Marilyn’s; she was pictured carrying Lincoln: A Picture Story of his Life and visiting his museum in Bement, Illinois, 1955. It all started when she wrote to Arthur Miller, “Most people can admire their fathers, but I never had one. I need someone to admire.” And Miller replied, "If you want someone to admire, why not Abraham Lincoln?" He recommended Carl Sandburg’s award-winning biography of Honest Abe; years later, Marilyn befriended the author.}_{^{(Sources: "Lincoln: A Picture Story of His Life" was photographed with Marilyn by Eve Arnold in 1955; Norma Jean: The Life of Marilyn Monroe - Fred Lawrence Guiles; "Impertinent Interview" - Mike Connolly, Photoplay - June 1952; "The Love Letters That Could have Saved Marilyn's Life" - Ed DeBlasio, Photoplay - June 1963)}}

✦Her Famous Walk

_{⟢“People say I walk all wiggly and wobbly, but I don’t know what they mean. I just walk. I’ve never wiggled deliberately in my life, but all my life I’ve had trouble with people who say I do. In high school the other girls asked me, ‘Why do you walk down the hall that way?’ I guess the boys must have been watching me and it made the other girls jealous or something, but I said, ‘I learned to walk when I was ten months old, and I’ve been walking this way ever since.”}_{^{(Source: "Blonde, Incorporated" Pete Martin, Saturday Evening Post - May 19th, 1956)}}

_{⟢“When I walk I always think up in front and down in back. But the way you carry yourself is influenced by the way you feel inside. You must FEEL attractive to be attractive.”}_{^{(“Girls Urged to Learn Make-Up” By Lydia Lane for The Los Angeles Times - June 24th, 1956)}}

Timeline of Cultural References to Marilyn

✦1950s

⟢The Jack Benny Show
_{Sept 13, 1953}_{^{Marilyn Monroe's comedic television segment parodying herself in the Honolulu Trip episode. Watch the clip.}}

⟢What's My Line?
_{Sep 12, 1954}_{^{Alfred Hitchcock matched Marilyn's wit when the blindfolded panelist hoped that it was her. Watch the clip.}}

⟢Merrie Melodies
_{Oct 1, 1955}_{^{Bugs Bunny in the Knight-mare Hare episode, where he visits a warlock named Merlin of Monroe, a pun on Marilyn's name.}}

✦1960s

⟢The Apartment
_{June 15, 1960}_{^{Dobisch tells Baxter that the girl he is seeing looks like Marilyn.}}

⟢Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage ~Blue Marilyn
₁₉₆₄_{^{A silkscreen painting measuring 40 inches square. In 2022, it sold for $195 million at Christie's. Watch the clip.}}

✦1970s

⟢David Bowie’s “The Jean Genie”
_{Nov 24, 1972}_{^{The song contains the lyric “Talking ‘bout Monroe,” which references her as well as the concept of the music video, which Bowie described as “a concert of the Marilyn brand.”}}

⟢Elton John's “Candle in the Wind”
_{Feb 22, 1974}_{^{The song opens with the line "Goodbye Norma Jeane" and how the legend of Marilyn made a lasting impression on him. Watch the clip.}}

✦1980s

⟢Def Leppard’s "Photograph"
_{Jan 1983}_{^{"She’s [Marilyn] always been my dream. I used to stare at a poster of her in a shop for hours and I’ve got her film Some Like It Hot,’ and I can watch it over and over again," said Joe Elliot, the lead singer who co-wrote and conceptualized the song. Watch the clip.}}

⟢Madonna’s "Material Girl"
_{Jan 23, 1985}_{^{Madonna channels Marilyn's "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" segment from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Watch the clip.}}

⟢ Vanessa Paradis's "Marilyn & John"
_{July 1988}_{^{Lyrics reference Marilyn painting her famous red lips.}}

✦1990s

⟢Madonna’s "Vogue"
_{March 20, 1990}_{^{Lyrics mentions Monroe among the iconic stars of the Hollywood era. Watch the clip.}}

⟢Hercules
_{June 13, 1997}_{^{Marilyn in her Seven Year Itch dress as a constellation star.}}

⟢Mariah Carey’s "I Still Believe"
_{Feb 8, 1999}_{^{Carey channels Monroe from her 1953 showcase in Korea. Watch the clip.}}

✦2000s

⟢Moulin Rouge!
_{June 1, 2001}_{^{Nicole Kidman's Sparkling Diamonds number contains lyrics from "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend."}}

⟢Shrek 2
_{May 19, 2004}_{^{Princess Fiona's dress flew up, referencing The Seven Year Itch.}}

⟢Mean Girls
_{April 30, 2004}_{^{“It was sort of like, channeling a little bit of Some Like It Hot, Marilyn Monroe." Amanda Seyfried shared her inspiration of Karen Smith. "I held onto that so tight because I felt like that was the reason I got the role, and I didn’t trust my instincts so much as having a clear idea of who I thought this person was.”}}

⟢Mariah Carey’s "Don’t Forget About Us"
_{Oct 10, 2005}_{^{“That shot was totally and completely inspired by 'Something's Got to Give,' Marilyn Monroe's last movie that never got finished. It's an homage to her, because I've never seen anyone re-create it. So many people have emulated so many of Marilyn's classic moments, but it's just that I'm a big fan of hers, and I thought it was really pretty at night with the pool. No one could ever be as fabulous as Marilyn was, but it's in honor and homage to her," Mariah explaining the video's main concept. Watch the clip.}}

⟢Lindsay Lohan's New York Magazine Cover
_{Feb 25, 2008}_{^{Lindsay Lohan recreates 'The Last Sitting' photographed by Bert Stern.}}

⟢Mad Men's "Six Month Leave"
_{Sep 28, 2008}_{^{The episode focuses on the passing of Marilyn, and how her death affected the office workers, especially the secretaries. Watch the clip.}}

✦2010s

⟢My Week with Marilyn
_{Nov 23, 2011}_{^{Michelle Williams portrays Marilyn during her time filming The Prince and the Showgirl in England. She was awarded the Golden Globe for "Best Actress—Motion Picture Comedy or Musical" for her role.}}

⟢Willcom
₂₀₁₁_{^{Model and actress Nozomi Sasaki posing as Marilyn from her infamous subway grate scene as she sang the beginning notes from Some Like It Hot's "I Wanna Be Loved By You." Watch the clip.}}

⟢Lana Del Rey’s "National Anthem"
_{June 15, 2012}_{^{Lana Del Rey opens the introduction with her reenactment of "Happy Birthday, Mr. President." Watch the clip.}}

⟢Rihanna's "Love Without Tragedy"
_{Nov 19, 2012}_{^{The lyric opening and hook reference mention her. "Red lipstick, rose petals, heartbreak—I was his Marilyn Monroe."}}

⟢Pharrell Williams' "Marilyn Monroe"
_{March 3, 2014}_{^{"I called the song 'Marilyn Monroe' because she was beautiful. Then the lyrics name check Joan of Arc because she was heroic, and Cleopatra was wise. Women don't have to be any of that to be beautiful. You can just be your own thing." Watch the clip.}}

⟢Guardians of the Galaxy
_{Aug 1, 2014}_{^{"He [James Gunn] was like, ‘Do an impression of Marilyn Monroe and Clint Eastwood because they’re the same voice.’ And I listen to them, and I’m like, oh, they are sort of that under-the-breath American husky voice." Karen Gillan explained the character development. "And I was like, Oh, and that formed my whole character, and it’s got me moving in a different way—I started slinking around.” Watch the clip.}}

✦2020s

⟢Birds of Prey
_{Feb 7, 2020}_{^{Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn pays homage to Marilyn's "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" number in the interrogation scene. Watch the clip.}}

⟢(G)I-DLE’s "Nxde"
_{Oct 17, 2022}_{^{The lyrics and video pays homage to Marilyn Monroe. Watch the clip.}}

⟢Sabrina Carpenter's Vogue Cover
_{March 2025 Issue}_{^{The cover and editorial pays homage to iconic Marilyn's look and style.}}

_{^{Here are some of Marilyn's milestones. This is not a complete list, but rather some highlights.
Be sure to check back regularly for further additions to the list.}}

✦1940s

⟢Discovered at Radioplane
_{November 1944}_{^{While working at Radioplane, Norma Jeane is discovered by Army photographer, David Conover. This will set her on her path to modeling.}}⟢Joins The Blue Book Modeling Agency
_{August 2nd, 1945}_{^{Norma Jeane signs with The Blue Book Modeling Agency and becomes one of it's most successful and hardworking models.}}⟢First Solo Magazine Cover
_{January 1946}_{^{Marilyn is featured on Leader Magazine, photographed by André de Dienes and is depicted as "The Flower Picker."}}⟢Signs First Contract with 20th Century Fox
_{August 1946}_{^{She signed her first studio contract with 20th Century Fox, officially beginning her Hollywood career.}}⟢Begins Studying at Actor's Lab
_{January 1947}_{^{Originally sent by Fox to attend, Marilyn would continue her lessons even after being dropped by Fox to further deepen her craft.}}⟢Films Her First Movie, "Scudda Hoo, Scudda Hay."
_{Spring 1947}_{^{Marilyn films her first on-screen role, though she appears briefly and speaks only two words.}}

✦1950s

⟢First Life Magazine Cover
_{April 7th, 1952}_{^{Marilyn would appear on the cover of Life Magazine for the first time, calling her "The Talk of Hollywood."}}⟢Meets Dame Edith Sitwell
_{January 1953}_{^{Arranged by Life Magazine, Marilyn meets the renowned poet Dame Edith Sitwell. Sitwell remarked on Marilyn, stating "She was very quiet, had great natural dignity...and was extremely intelligent. She was also exceedingly sensitive."}}⟢Performed for U.S. Troops in South Korea
_{February 14th-16th, 1954}_{^{Taking time off from her honeymoon, Marilyn performed for thousands of U.S. servicemen stationed in Korea.}}⟢Begins Attending Classes at the Actor's Studio
_{Early 1955}_{^{She began studying under Lee Strasberg at The Actor’s Studio in New York, deepening her commitment to serious acting.}}⟢Established Marilyn Monroe Productions
_{December 31st, 1955}_{^{Alongside with Milton Greene, Marilyn would form the production company to assert more creative control in her career.}}⟢Time Magazine Cover
_{May 14th, 1956}_{^{Marilyn graces the cover of Time Magazine, with a cover story that details her troubled childhood to her Hollywood success and desire to become a "real actress".}}⟢Meets Queen Elizabeth II
_{October 1956}_{^{Marilyn meets Queen Elizabeth at the Empire Theatre in London's Leicester Square, they chat together for several minutes.}}⟢Wins David di Donatello Award
₁₉₅₉_{^{Marilyn win's Italy’s David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress for her performance in "Some Like It Hot"}}

✦1960s

⟢Purchases First Home
_{Early 1962}_{^{Marilyn bought her first home in Brentwood, Los Angeles for $77,500.}}⟢Wins Golden Globe
_{March 1960}_{^{Marilyn wins the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical for "Some Like It Hot."}}⟢Wins Henrietta Award
₁₉₆₂_{^{Marilyn wins the Henrietta Award for "World Film Favorite: Female" at the Golden Globes.}}

_{^{(Sources: "Marilyn Monroe: A Day in The Life" by April Vevea-Chambers; "Before Marilyn: The Blue Book Modeling Years" by Michelle Morgan; "The first Marilyn Monroe magazine cover" Sworder's Auctions, Lot #69; "Marilyn Monroe: The Biography" by Donald Spoto; "When Marilyn Met The Queen" by Michelle Morgan; "Marilyn Monroe Get's Italy's Film Oscar" Buffalo Courier Express - May 14th, 1959; The Marion Star - March 10th, 1960; "Marilyn's Near Speechlessness Steals '62 Golden Globe Show" by Ali Sar, The Van Nuys News and Valley Green Sheet; March 8th, 1962)}}

Marilyn's Address Book

_{^{Marilyn Monroe’s address books provide an intimate glimpse into her personal and professional life.
Below is a combined list of known names from her address books, dating from 1955-1962 - this is not a complete list.}}_{^{You can explore more of Marilyn’s address books, part of The Marilyn Monroe Collection, which gives additional names, context, and photos here.}}

Updated: 5/19/2025

✦A
_{^{Dr. Grace McLean Abbate (Psychiatrist)}}
_{^{Actors Studio}}
_{^{Don Adamo (Painter)}}
_{^{All-Nite Pharmacy}}
_{^{Christopher Allan}}
_{^{Rupert Allan (Marilyn's Publicist)}}
_{^{Ambassador Hotel}}
_{^{American Airlines}}
_{^{Hattie Amos (AKA Hattie Stevenson, Marilyn's Cook)}}
_{^{Anchor Carpet & Linoleum}}
_{^{Dr. C. Russell Anderson (Dermatologist)}}
_^Angelo
_{^{Ann (Maid)}}
_{^{Anna's Housewares}}
_{^{Answering Service}}
_{^{T. Anthony (Luggage)}}
_{^{Elizabeth Arden}}
_{^{Desi Arnaz (Actor & Musician)}}
_{^{Eve Arnold (Photographer)}}
_{^{Irving Aronoff}}
_{^{Artcraft Lithography}}
_{^{Arrow Photo Service (Fan Mail Photos)}}
_{^{Arthur Young & Co. (Accounting Service)}}
_{^{Richard Avedon (Photographer)}}
_{^{George Axelrod (Screenwriter for "The Seven Year Itch" & "Bus Stop")}}

✦B
_{^{Bankers Trust Co.}}
_{^{Maggie Banks (Assistant Choreographer for "Let's Make Love")}}
_{^{Oscar Barshak}}
_{^{Kenneth Battelle (Hairdresser)}}
_{^{José Bolaños - Mexico City}}
_{^{Beekman Shade Co.}}
_{^{Bel Air Hotel}}
_{^{Belgian Shoes, Inc.}}
_{^{Bell TV Service}}
_{^{Saul Bellow (Writer)}}
_{^{Julius Bengtsson (Hairdresser)}}
_{^{Jack Benny (Entertainer)}}
_{^{Benzer Corp. (Plate Glass)}}
_{^{Bergdorf-Goodman Department Store}}
_{^{Bernard Berglas M.D. (Gynecologist)}}
_{^{Bernard Bergler}}
_{^{Berkley Square Cleaners}}
_{^{Beverly Hills Hotel}}
_{^{Beverly Wilshire Hotel}}
_{^{Biltmore Hotel}}
_{^{Dorothy Blass}}
_{^{Marc Blitzstein (Composer & Lyricist)}}
_{^{Kermit Bloomgarden (Theatrical Producer)}}
_{^{Bloomingdale's}}
_{^{Jack Boyle (Choreographer for "Ladies of The Chorus")}}
_{^{Marlon Brando (Actor)}}
_{^{Brandon Films}}
_{^{John Bryson (Photographer)}}
_{^{George & Marsha Braziller}}
_{^{Burton A. Bugbee}}
_{^{Harold Burchall}}
_{^{Perry M. Burr}}
_{^{Benny Burt (Actor)}}
_{^{Sam Buzin (for the New York Times)}}

✦C
_{^{Camera, Radio TV Discount Store}}
_{^{Camille (Manicurist)}}
_{^{Jack Cardiff (Cinematographer, Director, Photographer, and Cinematographer for "The Prince and The Show Girl")}}
_{^{Julius Caruso (Hairdresser)}}
_{^{Century Messenger}}
_{^{Carey (Limousine Service)}}
_{^{Rita Cerny}}
_{^{Chambers-Eaton (Rug Cleaning)}}
_{^{Charles R. Gracie & Son (Wallpaper)}}
_{^{George Chasin (Talent Agent)}}
_{^{Chateau Marmont}}
_{^{Michael Chekhov (Actor/Director)}}
_{^{Mrs. Michael Chekhov (Wife of Michael Chekhov)}}
_{^{Chemical Bank}}
_{^{Chevy Chase (Cleaners)}}
_{^{City Center}}
_{^{Barbara Clark}}
_{^{Montgomery Clift (Actor)}}
_{^{Mark Cohen}}
_{^{Jack Cole (Choreographer for Multiple of Marilyn's Films)}}
_{^{Colonial Carpet Co.}}
_{^{Colonial Trust Co.}}
_{^{Columbia Studios}}
_{^{Controlled Weather Corp.}}
_^Contoure
_{^{Joan Copeland (Actress & Arthur Miller’s Sister)}}
_{^{Betty Corbin (Joe DiMaggio's Niece)}}
_{^{Elizabeth Courtney (Jean Louis' Assistant)}}
_{^{Courtyard Kennels}}
_{^{Pascal Covici (Book Publisher & Editor)}}
_{^{Cecile Cox (Manicurist)}}
_{^{Wally Cox (Actor, Acted in "Something's Got To Give")}}
_{^{Dr. Arthur Cracovaner (Physician)}}
_{^{Cheryle Crawford (Producer & Director)}}
_{^{Dr. James P. Croce}}
_{^{Irene Crosby (Marilyn's Stand-In for "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes")}}
_{^{George Cukor (Director of "Let's Make Love" and "Something's Got To Give")}}

✦D
_{^{Lily Dache}}
_{^{Clifford David (Actor & Singer)}}
_{^{Guido De Angelis}}
_{^{Henry DeAngelis (Upholstery)}}
_{^{Thomas De Angelis (Upholstery)}}
_{^{Denihan's (Cleaners)}}
_{^{Jeanne Descollonges}}
_^Desilu
_{^{Richard Diebold}}
_{^{Kurt S. Dietrich}}
_{^{Joe DiMaggio}}
_{^{Joe DiMaggio Jr.}}
_{^{Marie DiMaggio (Joe DiMaggio's Sister)}}
_{^{Jay Dorf, Inc.}}
_{^{Isadore Dretzin}}

✦E
_{^{Ebenstein & Company (Insurance)}}
_{^{Electric Vacuum Service}}
_{^{Dr. Ruth B. Ellwell}}
_{^{Camille Emerancienne (Manicurist and Pedicurist)}}
_{^{Empire Moving and Storage}}
_{^{Empire State Laundry}}
_{^{Essex Productions (Frank Sintra's Production Company)}}
_{^{Hyman Engelberg M.D. (Marilyn's Personal Physician)}}
_{^{C. O. Erickson (Doctor)}}
_{^{Lisa Erickson (Massage Therapist?)}}
_{^{Exec-U-Car (Limousine Service)}}

✦F
_{^{Max Factor}}
_{^{Farm and Garden Nursery}}
_{^{Mike Fayer (Physician - Read More Here)}}
_^Ferragamo
_{^{Miss Amelia Filenschmidt (Nurse)}}
_{^{Louis Finger M.D. (Physician)}}
_{^{Fitz (Butcher)}}
_{^{Agnes Flanagan (Hairdresser)}}
_{^{Suzanne Flon (Actress)}}
_^Floris
_{^{Floyd (Cleaning Man)}}
_{^{Henry Fonda (Actor)}}
_{^{Kimon Friar (Poet & Translator)}}
_{^{First National City Bank}}
_{^{Aaron Frosch – (Marilyn's New York Attorney)}}

✦G
_{^{Kay Gable (Actress & Wife of Clark Gable)}}
_{^{David Gahr (Photographer)}}
_{^{Jack Garfind}}
_{^{Romain Gary (Novelist, Diplomat & Film director)}}
_{^{Ben Gazzara (Actor & Director)}}
_{^{Gilman & Marks (Law Firm)}}
_{^{Henri W. Gine (Frank Sintra's Personal Representative)}}
_{^{Glass (Plate)}}
_{^{R. Gold (Painter)}}
_{^{Goldfarb (Florist)}}
_{^{Jennifer & Sam Goldwyn Jr. (Actress & Producer Respectively)}}
_{^{Goody's Records}}
_{^{R. Gordon & Co (Newspapers)}}
_{^{Lotte Goslar (Mime Artist)}}
_{^{Phil Gersh (Talent & Literary Agent)}}
_{^{Dr. Frederick Gerstal}}
_{^{Grand Central Information}}
_{^{William Greenburg (Dessert Shop)}}
_{^{Barney Greengrass (Restaurant)}}
_{^{Danny Greenson (Ralph Greenson's Son)}}
_{^{Ralph Greenson M.D. (Marilyn's Psychiatrist)}}
_{^{Gristede (Supermarket)}}
_{^{George H. Hanna & Co.}}
_{^{Sidney Guilaroff (Hairstylist)}}
_{^{S. Gutman (Clock Repairman)}}
_{^{Dr. Loren P. Guy (Optometrist)}}

✦H
_{^{Jack M. Haber (Lock Smith)}}
_{^{Buck Hall (Assistant Director for "Something's Got to Give")}}
_{^{Lois Hammerschlag}}
_{^{Dr. John Hammett (Surgeon)}}
_{^{Hampshire House Hotel}}
_{^{George Hanna (MM Productions Stationary)}}
_{^{Elizabeth Hannum}}
_{^{Mr. Harris (Hairdresser)}}
_{^{Mr. Harrison (Electrician)}}
_{^{Ben Harrison}}
_{^{Rex Harrison (Actor)}}
_{^{Leland Hayward (Talent Agent)}}
_^Herberte
_{^{Jimmy Van Heusen (Composer & Co-wrote "Specialization" and "Let's Make Love" for "Let's Make Love")}}
_{^{Hole in the Wall (Delicatessen)}}
_{^{Hilton Hotel (California)}}
_{^{S. Hoffman (Plumber)}}
_{^{Judy Holiday (Actress, Singer, & Comedienne)}}
_{^{Dr, Hollenbeck (Dentisit)}}
_{^{Hedda Hopper (Gossip Columnist)}}
_{^{Dr. William Horwitz}}
_{^{Hunter's Book Store}}
_{^{John Huston (Director of "The Asphalt Jungle" & "The Misfits")}}
_{^{Eliot Hyman}}
_{^{Joe Hyams (Columnist)}}

✦I
_{^{I. Magnin (Department Store)}}
_{^{Marie Irvine (Makeup)}}
_{^{Irving Trust Co. (Bank)}}
_{^{Elizabeth Irwin Highschool}}

✦J
_{^{Arthur P. Jacobs (Marilyn's Press Relations Manager)}}
_{^{Jax (Clothing Brand)}}
_{^{Nunnally Johnson *(Screenwriter for "Let's Make Love" & "Something's Got To Give")}}
_{^{Hank Jones (Pianist)}}
_{^{Jennifer Jones (Actress)}}
_{^{Judith's Garden, Inc}}
_^Jurgensen's
_{^{Martin Jurow (Producer)}}

✦K
_{^{Jay and Judy Kanter (Agent to Marilyn)}}
_{^{Anne Karger (Fred Karger's Mother)}}
_{^{Rudy Kautzky (Chauffeur)}}
_{^{Gene Kelly (Actor & Dancer)}}
_{^{Dr. Rex Kennamer (General Practitioner)}}
_{^{Dr. Morley Kert (Physician)}}
_{^{James R. Kinney (Maf-Honey’s Veterinarian)}}
_^Knize
_{^{Paul Kohner (Talent Agent)}}
_{^{Dr. Leon (Red) Krohn (Gynecologist)}}
_{^{Dr. Marianne Kris (Marilyn's Psychiatrist)}}
_{^{Ernie Kovacs (Actor & Comedian)}}
_{^{Joan and George Kupchik (Actress & Sister of Arthur Miller)}}

✦L
_{^{Ann Landers (Advice Columnist)}}
_{^{Mary Jane Lane (Dogsitter from "Canine Companions")}}
_{^{Tom Lane}}
_{^{Charles Lang Jr. (Cinematographer for "Some Like It Hot")}}
_{^{LaScala (Restaurant)}}
_{^{Erno Laszlo M.D. (Dermatologist)}}
_{^{Peter and Patricia Lawford (Actor)}}
_{^{J. Lawrence}}
_{^{Al Lee (Jewerly)}}
_{^{Jack Lemmon (Actor, Co-Star of "Some Like It Hot")}}
_{^{Max Lenrer (Piano Tuner)}}
_{^{Oscar Levant (Composer & Talk Show Host)}}
_{^{Robert Lewis (Broadcaster & Host)}}
_{^{Lillian's Bakery(?)}}
_^Lindy
_{^{Dr. Mack Lipkin}}
_{^{Harry Lipton (Agent)}}
_{^{Litchfield Pros.}}
_{^{Dr. Rudolph M. Loewenstein (Psychoanalyst)}}
_{^{Jean Louis (Costume Designer)}}
_{^{Gloria Lovell (Frank Sintra's Secretary)}}

✦M
_{^{Mac's Liquors}^}
_{^{Madison Avenue Florist}}
_{^{Magum Pictures}}
_{^{Malone Studio Service (Cleaners)}}
_{^{M.C.A. (Management Company)}}
_{^{Mapes Hotel}}
_{^{Marilyn Monroe Productions}}
_{^{Lester Markel (Journalist)}}
_{^{Chateau Marmont}}
_{^{Dean Martin}}
_{^{Martindale's Book Store}}
_{^{Alice Mason (Real Estate Broker)}}
_{^{Massey's Manuscript Service}}
_{^{George Masters (Hairdresser & Make-up Artist)}}
_{^{Maximillian (Furs)}}
_{^{Irma May (Florist)}}
_{^{Frank McCarty (Film Producer )}}
_{^{Frank McFadden (Artist)}}
_{^{Meadowview Nursery}}
_{^{Matty Melnick (Jazz violinist and Composer for "Some Like It Hot")}}
_{^{Inez Melson (Business Manager and Caretaker of Marilyn's Mother, Gladys Baker)}}
_{^{Metropolis Garage}}
_{^{Rusell Metty (Cinematographer for "The Misfits")}}
_{^{Arthur Miller}}
_{^{Isadore Miller (Arthur Miller's Father)}}
_{^{Jane and Robert Miller (Arthur Miller's Children)}}
_{^{Kermit & Frances Miller (Arthur Miller's Brother and Wife)}}
_{^{Morton Miller (Arthur Miller's Cousin)}}
_{^{Milton H. Greene Corp}}
_{^{Bernice Miracle (Marilyn's Half-Sister)}}
_{^{Harold & Lottie Mirisch (Film Production Company Executive)}}
_{^{Jack Monroe}}
_{^{Yves Montand (Actor & Co-star of "Let's Make Love")}}
_{^{Dinah Shore Montgomery (Actress, Wife of George Montgomery)}}
_{^{Robert Montgomery (Actor)}}
_{^{John Moore (Designer)}}
_{^{Ward Morehouse (Writer, Playwright, & Columnist)}}
_{^{Evelyn Moriarty (Marilyn's Movie Stand-In)}}
_{^{Mr. Moss (Typewriter)}}
_^Munfre's
_{^{Eunice Murray (Marilyn's Housekeeper)}}
_{^{Churchill Murray (Eunice Murray's Brother-in-law)}}

✦N
_^NBC
_{^{Jean Negulesco (Director of "How to Marry a Millionaire")}}
_{^{Sam and Blanche Neubardt (Arthur Miller's Uncle and Aunt)}}
_{^{Patricia Newcomb (Marilyn's Publicist)}}
_{^{Arnold Newman (Photographer)}}
_{^{Lionel Newman (Musical Director for many of Marilyn's Films)}}
_{^{Dr. Leroy Nisson (Dentist)}}
_{^{Norman Norell (Fashion Designer)}}
_{^{Alex North (Composer for "The Misfits")}}

✦O
_{^{Sean O'Casey (Playwright)}}
_{^{Clifford Odets (Playwright of "Clash By Night")}}
_{^{David Orgell}}

✦P
_{^{Edward Parone (Assistant Producer for "The Misfits")}}
_{^{Louella Parsons (Columnist)}}
_{^{Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison (Law Firm)}}
_{^{Bill Pearson}}
_{^{Lena Pepitone (Marilyn's Seamstress & Maid)}}
_{^{Peter Juley & Son (Photography Studio)}}
_{^{Phoenix Theatre}}
_{^{Pierre Hotel}}
_{^{Plaza Hotel}}
_{^{Pearl Porter (Marilyn's Hairdresser)}}
_{^{Pinto Winokur and Pagano (Theatrical Accounting Firm)}}
_{^{Chase Press (MM Stationery)}}
_{^{Pollock-Bailey (Drug Store)}}
_{^{Portofino (Cleaners)}}
_{^{Post Office (New York)}}
_{^{Prescription Center}}
_{^{Don Prince (Jerry Wald)}}
_{^{Myron Prinzmetal (Cardiologist)}}
_{^{James Proctor}}

✦Q

✦R
_{^{Joseph L. Rauh Jr. (Lawyer)}}
_{^{Cherie Redmond (Secretary)}}
_{^{Reilly Limousine}}
_{^{Paul Reilly (Driver for Reilly Limousine)}}
_{^{May Reis (Marilyn's Personal Secretary)}}
_{^{Ettore and Jesse Rella (Playwright)}}
_{^{Madame Renna (Aesthetician)}}
_{^{Charliene Reveal (Clothes)}}
_{^{Repair Masters}}
_{^{Rex, Inc.}}
_{^{J. Rickey (Ricconono)}}
_{^{Ricor Sales, Inc.}}
_{^{Thelma Ritter (Actress)}}
_{^{Ralph Roberts (Marilyn's Personal Masseur)}}
_{^{Jerome Robbins (Dancer & Choreographer)}}
_{^{Dr. Mortinmer Rodgers (Gynecologist)}}
_{^{Dr. Victor Rosen}}
_{^{Dr. Rosenfeld}}
_{^{Henry Rosenfeld (Dress Manufacturer)}}
_{^{Norman and Hedda Rosten (Poet & Close Friends)}}
_{^{Pattie Rosten}}
_{^{Dr. Lawrence Rothfield (Physician)}}
_{^{Joseph Rottenberger}}
_{^{Rovins & West (Insurance)}}
_{^{Jimmy Rowles (Jazz Pianist)}}
_{^{Dr. Philip N. Rubin (Ear, Nose, Throat)}}
_{^{Milton Rudin (Marilyn's Attorney)}}
_{^{Jane Russell (Actress & Co-Star of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes")}}

✦S
_{^{Henry Sabini (Driver for Exec-U-Car)}}
_{^{San Vicente Pharmacy}}
_{^{Carl Sandburg (Poet, Journalist, & Biographer)}}
_{^{Eva Marie Saint (Actress)}}
_{^{Saks (Saks Fifth Avenue)}}
_{^{Sardi's East/Sardi's West (Restaurant)}}
_{^{Oscar Saul (Screen Writer)}}
_{^{Savory-Hilton Hotel}}
_{^{Scalamandre (Drapes)}}
_{^{Dan Scariano (Travel - Beverly Hills)}}
_{^{Joseph Schenck (Film Studio Executive & Cofounded Twentieth Century)}}
_{^{Isadore and Helen Schnieder (Poet & Novelist)}}
_{^{M. Lincoln Schuster (Editor & Publisher)}}
_{^{Scribner Book Store}}
_{^{Dr. Ed Shapiro}}
_{^{Dr. Boaz Shattan (Dentist)}}
_{^{Sam Shaw (Photographer)}}
_{^{Anna Marie Short}}
_{^{Kelly Seamus (Drama Critic For "The Irish Times")}}
_{^{Dr. Maurice Seligan (Ear-Nose-Throat Doctor)}}
_{^{David & Jennifer Selznick (Film Producer & Screenwriter)}}
_{^{Mrs. (Theresa) Bernice Senters}}
_{^{Shaprio M.D.}}
_{^{Dick and Judy Shepard (AKA Richard Shepard, Producer)}}
_{^{Louis Shima (Frames)}}
_{^{Mary Short (One of Marilyn's witnesses in her suit for divorce from Joe DiMaggio)}}
_{^{Lee Siegel (20th Century Fox Staff Doctor)}}
_{^{Edward Simon M.D. (California, Optometrist)}}
_{^{Frank Sinatra (Singer & Actor)}}
_{^{Sidney Skolsky (Columnist)}}
_{^{Spyros Skouras (President of 20th Century-Fox from 1942 to 1962)}}
_{^{Delos Smith (AKA 'Delos Smith, Jr.' Actor)}}
_{^{Floyd Smith (Cleaning Man)}}
_{^{Jean Kennedy Smith (John F. Kennedy's Sister)}}
_{^{R. Smith}}
_{^{S. Lewis Smith}}
_{^{Allan Snyder (Marilyn's Personal Makeup Artist)}}
_{^{George Solitaire (Broadway Ticket Broker & Friend of Joe DiMaggio)}}
_{^{Southdown Kennel}}
_{^{Joe Wolhandler and John Springer (NY Press Agent)}}
_{^{St. Regis Hotel}}
_{^{Maureen Stapleton (Actress)}}
_{^{Irving Stein (Attorney)}}
_{^{Lillian Stein (Kermit Bloomgarden Casting Director)}}
_{^{Julie Stein}}
_{^{Marjorie Stengel (Secretary)}}
_{^{Mrs. Eliz. S. Stevenson "Betsy" (Nurse)}}
_{^{David Stewart}}
_{^{John Stix (Director)}}
_{^{Lee and Paula Strasberg (Acting Coach & Mentors)}}
_{^{Susan Strasberg (Lee and Paula Strasberg's Daughter)}}
_{^{Marion B. Sulzberger (Dermatologist)}}
_{^{Sunset Towers West}}
_{^{Superintendent: Mr. Deckers}}
_{^{Sutton Mirrors}}

✦T
_{^{Taxi (Beverly Hills)}}
_{^{Taxi (West Los Angeles)}}
_{^{Frank Taylor (Producer & Produced "The Misfits")}}
_{^{Mark Taylor (Frank Taylor's Son?)}}
_{^{Joe Terry}}
_{^{Benny Thau (Casting Director)}}
_{^{Helein Tilly}}
_{^{TV Repair}}
_^TWA
_{^{20th Century Fox}}
_{^{Kenneth Tynan (Theater Critic & Writer)}}

✦U
_^Ultrasol
_{^{United Artists}}
_{^{Louis Untermeyer (Poet)}}

✦V
_{^{Vendome Liquer, Inc.}}
_{^{Vendome Table Delicacies}}
_{^{Robert Vernier}}
_{^{Sylvan Veronie (Carpenter)}}
_{^{Viking Press}}
_{^{Mort Viner (Marilyn's Agent at MCA)}}

✦W
_{^{Jerry Wald (Producer of "Clash by Night" & "Let's Make Love")}}
_{^{Waldorf Astoria}}
_{^{Eli Wallach (Actor)}}
_{^{Minna Wallis (Talent Agent)}}
_{^{Warwick Hotel}}
_{^{Hazel Washington (Marilyn's Studio Maid in 20th Century Fox)}}
_{^{Watling, Lerchen & Co.}}
_{^{W. J. Weatherby (Bill) (Journalist)}}
_{^{Clifton Webb (Actor, Singer, & Dancer)}}
_{^{Dr. Harry Wechsler}}
_{^{Kate Weile (Physical Therapist)}}
_{^{Sandra Weiner (Photographer)}}
_{^{Henry Weinstein (Producer of "Something’s Got to Give")}}
_{^{Western Costume Co.}}
_{^{Westrn Union}}
_{^{Dr. Milton Wexler (Psychologist)}}
_{^{John Wharton}}
_{^{John Wheeler (Reporter)}}
_{^{Jon Whitcomb (Illustrator)}}
_{^{Robert Whitehead (Producer)}}
_{^{Jerry Wiggens (Pianist)}}
_{^{Williams & Whibley (Travel - New York)}}
_{^{Bob Willoughby (Photographer)}}
_{^{Wilshire Shoe Repair}}
_{^{Carl Wilson}}
_{^{Earl Wilson (Columnist)}}
_{^{Fredrick Winfield}}
_{^{Julius Winokur (Of Pinto Winokur and Pagano)}}
_{^{Shelley Winters (Actress & Once a Roommate With Marilyn)}}
_{^{Women's Haberdasher}}
_{^{Dr. M. Joel Wolf (Dentist)}}
_{^{Joe Wolhandler (Press Agent)}}
_{^{Woodson, Inc. (Wallpaper)}}
_{^{World Publishing Co.}}
_{^{John Wrabel}}
_{^{Augusta Wyler (Dressmaker)}}

✦X

✦Y
_{^{Yellow Cab}}

✦Z
_{^{Mrs. Jane Ziegler (Doheny Drive Apartment Building Property Owner)}}

_{^{(Sources: "Property From The Estate of Lee Strasberg", Lot #574 & #187, Julien's Auction; "Property From The Estate of Marilyn Monroe", Lot #195, Julien's Auction; "Film and Entertainment including a collection of Andy Warhol Memorabilia", Lot #176, Christie's Auction; "Legends", Lot#196, Julien's Auction; "Icon and Idols: Hollywood", Lot #289, Julien's Auction; "Marilyn Monroe's Personal Phonebook", 2009 June Signature Music & Entertainment Memorabilia Auction #7006, Lot#49177, Heritage Auctions; "Marilyn Monroe's Personal Address and Telephone Book, Circa 1960-1962", "Film and Entertainment Including A Collection of Andy Warhol Memorabilia", Lot #174, Christie's Auction; Marilyn Monroe exhibition to display memorabilia from introduction to late Queen", Charlotte McLaughlin, The Standard; "Never Before Seen Marilyn Monroe Memorabilia On Display On Board The Queen Mary 2", Getty Images, #91831626 & #91830983; "Juliens Auctions Prepares The Marilyn Monroe Estate Sale", Getty Images, #53006819AE007_marilyn; "Icon: The Life, Times, and Films of Marilyn Monroe Volume 2: 1956 to 1962 & Beyond" by Gary Vitacco-Robles; Silver Technicolor, Instragram: @Silver_Technicolor, https://www.silvertechnicolor.com/)}}

✦ Meeting Marilyn

_{The usual Canada import gifts would be maple syrup and autumn leaf-shaped cookies; however, my mother much preferred a collection of Marilyn Monroe VHS tapes to the iconic confections. The pint-sized eight-year-old me dug through her bags and found a series of The Marilyn Collection that included Niagara, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Seven Year Itch, Let’s Make Love, and Some Like It Hot.}_{“Why her, Mom?” I asked.}_{“Because she’s cute,” she replied with a wink.}_{Enchanted by the cover of Marilyn with a matching pink dress and long sleeve gloves, I took the plastic wrap off and inserted the tape into the VCR. It’s hard not to love the two female leads: the independent and level-headed Dorothy Shaw and the adorable and slightly simple-minded Lorelai Lee— My mother was right; there is something adorable about Marilyn as Lorelai; she knows the value of diamonds but does not know what a tiara is, her fiancée had to explain what a letter of credit is, and she thinks coupons are like money in an upper-class mindset. What a heavy contrast from her femme fatale role as Rose Loomis in Niagara. Not only was this lady talented, but she was also beautiful and cute, the little me thought to herself.}

✦ The Inspiration

_{Marilyn feared disappointing people, so coming to the set on time was a huge challenge for her—though she was battling herself internally, Marilyn still fought to improve herself and wrote many to-do lists on enhancing her habits; she even sought after professionals to figure herself out and even fought back at the Payne Whitney when they put her in the psych ward. I find courage in Marilyn to carry on despite what’s weighing her down; she's resilient and persevered when under pressure.}

✦ The Influence

_{Interestingly, my home only had Marilyn films; there were no biographies, no coffee table books, and no articles that would open the door for me to understand her life; it was only through the medium of movies. The Pandora box burst open when I was in college; Marilyn was everywhere: through the news, the release of My Week with Marilyn, the CGI Marilyn in a Christian Dior ad, the unveiling of a giant 26-foot-tall Marilyn sculpture in Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, the passing of the great Jane Russell, and Mariah Carey naming her daughter after Marilyn. That year, it was mandatory to write a paper for the marketing program for my major at university, and I was accepted for my thesis on Marilyn Monroe’s cultural impact in society and the arts.}_{My 2012 agenda detailed my life happenings, college assignments, a collage of my favorite subjects and people, and it substitutes as a yearbook for my professors, classmates, and friends to pen their farewell to me as a graduate that year. I haven’t opened the book in a long time, and lo and behold, a few Marilyn Monroe images I cut out were pasted throughout my diary.}_{Refreshing my current state of mind as I closed my 2012 diary, I realized what an enormous impact she had on my life—in the most wondrous way possible. Where possibilities lead to another.}

✦ The Collector

_{Throughout the years, The Blonde Bookshelf was able to accumulate several of Marilyn’s personally owned belongings with impeccable provenance from Christie’s and Julien’s. You can find our collection here.}

My Marilyn Favorites

_Film: _{Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Some Like It Hot}

_{Underrated Film:} _Niagara

_{Understated Gem:} _{Ladies of the Chorus}

_Performance: _{Elsie Marina}

_Co-Star: _{Jane Russell, Jack Lemmon}

_{Photographer:} _{Sam Shaw, Eve Arnold}

_{Sitting Series:} _Black

_Song: _{Kiss from Niagara}

_{Short Story:} _{A Beautiful Child by Truman Capote}

_Book: _{Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters}

✦ Meeting Marilyn

_{I still can recall the clear memory of being introduced to Marilyn as a young child. My grandmother was reorganizing her Barbie doll collection as I layed lazily on the bed, admiring the beauty of each doll. She would then pull out one of her dolls and pause for a moment. As she grasped the 1997 ‘Barbie as Marilyn’, I could see her mind actively recalling her memories of Marilyn. I remember her telling me that Marilyn was her favorite actress and was proud to carry the same name as her growing up. In her childhood, she played ‘movie stars’, her best friend being Ginger Rogers and herself would always be Marilyn Monroe. You could see her face brighten, flashing back to her adolescence.}_{As she would continue telling me stories about her younger years of looking up to the actress, I found myself drawn to Marilyn’s picture on the box. I was completely lost in awe and puzzlement. "How could someone be that beautiful?" I would think to myself over and over. Her beauty was like nothing I had ever seen before. I never felt beauty in such a strong essence from a mere picture. Still fresh in wonderment, I asked my Grandmother, "Is she still alive?". Then, a feeling of sorrow would slowly reflect over her face. You could feel the sadness in her voice as she softly said, "No. She was very, very sad." and would further allude to her tragic early death. In complete shock, I replied, "Why?! She was so beautiful! Why was she so sad?". I almost felt anger in frustration over how a woman so beautiful could be so deeply unhappy.}_{Once I got older, I would find myself more and more drawn to Marilyn. Something about her image spoke to me. Whether it was her expressive eyes or her glamorous smile, I felt an unexpected comfort. So my fixation on her started small, with collecting pictures, small trinkets, and magazines, then eventually to books. Engrossing myself in one book after another, it was then I felt it was possible I could find the answers to my younger self’s question. Although I could find reasons for Marilyn's sorrow, I could also find her moments of joy. Page by page, I would become more and more enamored with the life of the legend.}

✦ The Inspiration

_{As an introverted bookworm, it was an unexpected delight to find how much Marilyn was as well. I used to feel shame in my personality and interests, but knowing one of the most beloved stars was similar to myself made me feel capable of love and acceptance. Learning her hunger for advancement through all vessels, such as reading or acting, only made me more excited for the possibilities of what I could learn and grow in my own life. Her unwavering dedication to constant self-development was, and continues to be, an inspiration to me.}

✦ The Influence

_{When I was younger and going through the undoubtedly hardest period of my life, I found solace in Marilyn. As Marilyn once said, ‘I didn't like the world around me because it was kind of grim…” and escaped it through playing pretend. I would instead escape my grim world by reading about her. Her life was the guiding hope of a brighter future for myself. Through her, I was able to escape the dim life I thought was once destined for me. From her I learned true perseverance, never to settle, and to fight for what I want.}_{Marilyn's influence on me gave me the courage to ultimately leave everything behind and move to Korea at such a young age. Whenever I faced difficulty in Korea, Marilyn found her way back to me every time. She would be that needed boost of motivation to get me through.}

✦ The Collector

My Marilyn Favorites

_Film: _{Bus Stop}

_{Underrated Film:} _{The Asphalt Jungle}

_{Understated Gem:} _{The Prince and The Showgirl}

_Performance: _{Roslyn Tabor}

_Co-Star: _{Betty Grable, Tom Ewell}

_{Photographer:} _{Eve Arnold, John Florea}

_{Sitting Series:} _{Leif-Erik Nygards's Bel Air Hotel}

_Song: _{A Fine Romance}

_{Short Story:} _{Please Don't Kill Anything by Arthur Miller}

_Book: _{Marilyn: An Untold Story by Norman Rosten}

✦ Cece’s POV

_{^{𖡡 NYC, USA}}

_{Though I have an digital tribute dedicated to my favorite actress, Audrey Hepburn, I am also immensely fond of Marilyn. (You can’t make me choose between the two!) I am also a collector, so it’s paramount that I keep educating myself on my favorite icons and particular franchises. While researching Marilyn, I came across an Instagram handle named “MarilyninKorea”; the grid was refreshingly original and incredibly personal, with the content creator, Rina, posting trips in Asia related to Marilyn as well as old Korean clippings. From the written descriptions per post, I realized that she is an American living in Korea! I DM-ed Rina and expressed how much I admired her beautiful post.}_{From the get-go, we were immediately taken with one another; we don’t compete or size ourselves up with who knows Marilyn more; we just get excited when we come across something new, like never-before-seen photographs and lost interviews! I noticed how respectful Rina is to Marilyn; her assessment is fair and always provides solid ‘evidentiary support’ (a la Elle Woods), such as clippings and articles. An educational lesson she taught me was to always provide the source; there were many times I did not provide the article/date/author to my Audrey post, but Rina showed me that without bibliographic context, how can the reader determine if the information is truthful?}_{Ever since then, it has become a habit for me to always source the material, whether it’s textual or visuals. Over time, we developed a genuine, sisterly friendship. On a personal level, through Rina, I learned to let go of past resentment towards my mother. It’s not the most perfect motherly/daughter relationship, but I am more understanding and communicative towards her. Rina is truly a rare person, and I’m truly thankful for her kindness, support, and unwavering sense of humor and wisdom. I always say that she is the Marilyn to my Audrey, and I’m the Audrey to her Marilyn.}

Rina's POV✦

_{^{Seoul, South Korea 𖡡}}

_{Growing up with my grandparents, I guess you could say their tastes and interests rubbed off on me. The biggest one was an appreciation for all things Old Hollywood-especially Marilyn Monroe. It was an unusual interest for a young girl, so I found it hard to relate my passion to my peers. Over the years, I became more and more reluctant to express my love for it. It wasn’t until I moved to Korea that I felt a noticeable absence of appreciation for American cinema, let alone Marilyn. That’s when I decided to create an Instagram page to share Marilyn, authentically, on the platform. Even though I posted publicly, it still felt like my own little private outlet.}_{That was until Cece found her way into my DMs! Honestly, before her message, I thought my posts barely reached anyone-let alone a fellow American! I still remember being in awe of her Instagram page: elegantly curated and bursting with respect and love for Audrey-and she was my age! I can still recall us chatting nonstop right away, as if we had known each other for years. Almost instantly after meeting her, she brought so much unexpected joy into my life.}_{She was the first person who truly recognized my passion for researching and sharing Marilyn authentically. Not only recognizing it, but encouraging it. She showed me how to be unapologetically myself. Her care and support went beyond our shared love for Audrey and Marilyn; she truly became the big sister I had always longed for. Being the eldest of five younger siblings, I had never had someone to look up to, since I was always the one others looked to. Cece gave me the warmth and guidance of a big sister. She found me when I needed her most. It’s no surprise she fell in love with Marilyn and Audrey-she’s just as generous and loving as they were. I always call her ‘lovely,’ because she truly embodies the meaning of the word. Without her, there would be no "Blonde Bookshelf" and honestly, I wouldn’t be the woman I am today.}

Skira's "Renior"
^{Denis Rouart}

_{^{Owner: Rina}}

_{^{Of the books I own, I was immediately drawn to Albert Skira’s ‘Renior’. When I turned the pages, I noticed just how many bookplates were missing. Marilyn was a known lover of the arts, owning many books relating to the subject (viewable here). I knew Marilyn often taped Art to her walls in her apartment, as seen in photographs by John Florea and Dave Cicero. It was further confirmed by her press agent, Rupert Allan, “There was never any change in Marilyn. When I first met her she was reading Dostoyevsky and she had pictures on her wall which she had got from a fine art magazine and had put up with scotch tape…She hadn’t enough money to put frames on them all…She had catholic tastes…[was] highly intelligent and self-educated…” Although I have never seen one of the missing bookplates from the ‘Renior’ book in any photographs of Marilyn’s homes, it’s safe to assume she used some as makeshift home decor at some point.}}

_{^{I knew immediately I would have to buy a duplicate of the book to see which paintings she was drawn to. Once I got a copy, I was able to compare side by side and be able to share with you the missing bookplates:}}_{^{Roses (1917)}}
_{^{Lighters On The Seine (1869)}}
_{^{Anna (1876)}}
_{^{Woman Reading (1876)}}
_{^{Luncheon of the Boating Party٭ (1881)}}
_{^{Bather (1881)}}
_{^{Little Girl In A Park (1883)}}
_{^{Bather Seated On A Rock٭ (1892)}}
_{^{Girls At The Edge of The Sea (1894)}}
_{^{Girl Reading (1892-1895)}}
_{^{Strawberries (1908)}}
_{^{Roses٭٭ (1917)}}_{^{٭A bookplate that is a part of the full painting.}}
_{^{٭٭An additional bookplate copy of the painting is missing.}}

_{^{Seeing the book for the first time, I immediately got flashbacks of the ‘Renior Girl Sitting’ by Jack Cardiff. In July 1956, while Marilyn was filming in England for “The Prince and The Showgirl,” she took the time to have a photo session with Jack Cardiff, the cinematographer for the film.}}_{^{Cardiff reflected on this session in his memoir “Magic Hour: The Life of a Cameraman”.}}_{^{“In those fairly calm days - not exactly halcyon, but before the stormier weather - I had decided to take some private pictures of Marilyn dressed as a Renoir girl. I already had a collection of Renior. clothes which I use for models for my paintings. The time agreed was 9:30 on a Sunday morning - a bit optimistic since Marilyn rarely appeared on the set before 11:00 a.m., but I duly turned up at Miller's house at Egham with my still camera and a couple of lights; Marilyn's ever faithful makeup man Whitey was also there…}}_{^{…She had finally made an appearance at 7:30 in the evening looking like a radiantly beautiful child, smiling shyly - and not a word about being nine hours late. I dressed her in the Renior clothes. The black silk blouse was a problem. The Victorian maiden who had originally worn it didn't have Marilyn's prodigious ‘pair of lungs’, but a large safety-pin at the back did the trick. I took several pictures in colour and also some normal black and white pictures - well, hardly 'normal', as I used a wind machine to blow her hair across her face, and spread Vaseline over a piece of glass in front of the lens. It was one of those black and white pictures which became Arthur Miller's favorite, out of many thousands of pictures of her, and it hung in his study until it was abandoned, much later when Marilyn and Arthur parted. She signed one of the windswept pictures to me:}}_{^{‘Dearest Jack, if only I could be the way you created me I love you. Marilyn.””}}_{^{I wondered if the ‘Renior’ bookplates flashed across her mind during the session. Or the book reminded her of the session instead. Either way, the photos are a beautiful rendition of another cultural icon’s work.}}

_{^{(Sources: The Personal Property of Marilyn Monroe by Christie’s, Lot #533; “Magic Hour: The Life of a Cameraman” by Jack Cardiff; "The Marilyn Scandal" by Sandra Shevey)}}

_{^{Some of my brightest childhood memories seem to both center around Marilyn and books-sometimes even at the same time. My most cherished memories were with my Dad at bookstores. I would look forward to our book shop "daddy-daughter dates" every month, He was the first person who encouraged my love of reading. I still remember the feeling of walking into a bookstore alongside him and the feeling of possibilies of knowelege being thrust upon me.}}_{^{However, one memory sticks out to me. It was when I was just starting to crave more knowledge about Marilyn. I asked my Dad if there were any "Marilyn books". He looked and searched high and low for me until he found one. The image of him pulling the book from the high shelf for me is still crystal clear in my mind. I remember seeing how thick the book was (in case you are curious, it was "Marilyn Monroe" by Barbara Leaming) in my little hands and the rush it gave me. "All this is about 'her'! I'm finally going to learn everything," I thought. It was then I began my obsession with reading on her.}}_{^{The more I began to learn about her, the more I wanted to feel connected to her in some way. Quickly enough, I learned just how much we both loved books-especially nonfiction. Knowing that was all I needed to feel that connection. I felt less alone and a sense of validation in my interest. As long as I loved books, a piece of Marilyn was always with me.}}_{^{Nevertheless, when I was a little girl, I would imagine what it would be like to own something of Marilyn's. Lipstick? I wasn't into make-up quite yet. Clothes? I never cared much about fashion. But a book? That's what I dreamt of. But...that was what it was...a dream, a fun, imaginative fantasy to escape to in hard times.}}_{^{It wasn't until one heartwarming day I was presented with the opportunity to fulfil that little girl dream of mine...}}_{^{After purchasing, it didn't feel real. I remember just lying in my bed, "It happened. The dream came true," over and over in my mind. "Maybe because it was shipped to my U.S. address, it wasn't feeling real...maybe when it's in Korea with me, it will. Yeah...then it will!"}}_{^{I waited months for its arrival. The excitement and pure shock never wore off. I'd sit and think on what it will feel like when I hold it in my hands for the first time a million times over.}}_{^{Finally it came. Just like my childhood memory, it was my Dad who presented me with the book for the first time. It was like I was a little girl again.}}_{^{I remember the emotions overwhelming me and my hands shaking and tears building up in my eyes. "If only, the same little girl could know this moment was waiting for her," I thought. Turning the same pages she once touched brought an endorphin rush I had never felt before. I kept saying to my husband, "Can you believe it?" over and over. However, it was I who couldn't believe it. Truly, I still don't believe it...}}_{^{To have us both love books is one great joy, but to both own the same book, although at different times, is an incredible one. Having the opportunity and chance to own not only one but two of Marilyn’s books has been a wonderful and exciting experience.}}

"I Knock At The Door"
^{Sean O'Casey}

_{^{Owner: Cece}}

_{^{Over the years, the media has frequently depicted Marilyn as a victim of her circumstances, elevating her to the status of Hollywood's sex symbol. Yet, the things she left behind show a different image: she was practical—no diamonds in her jewelry box, all were paste jewelry—and sentimental—she kept many letters and mementos dear to her, and she was a well-read book nerd—having over 400 books in her illustrative library.}}_{^{I asked my husband, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to own one of her [Marilyn’s] books one day?” He smiled at the thought of it, just the idea of it that should remain a dream, not physically owning it—as if you’re asking to win the lotto ticket.}}_{^{A last-minute opportunity chimed in—Marilyn’s personal copy of I Knock at the Door was offered to me. I had no inclination of who the author was or what the book was about. The fact that it came from Christie’s 1999 catalog already sealed the transaction. After coming home with the book, I did a quick Google search that led to one page, then another, and then another—it had me spiraling for days.}}_{^{I learned that upon her arrival in England to film The Sleeping Prince, she named Edith Sitwell and Sean O’Casey as the two people she wanted to meet. She had a lovely time with poet Sitwell, but the arrangement with the Irish playwright fell through.}}_{^{"I would love to see her, and I would like to meet her husband, Arthur Miller, one of the greatest American playwrights,” O’Casey told a reporter. Marilyn found him mutually agreeable as she privately responded to journalist Leslie Markel on 29 March 1960 about an article on the playwright.}}_{^{“I love the way the Sunday piece on O’Casey was handled, and I think it was wonderful of you to tell people about his very human quality. We had to know about the few like him.”}}_{^{Flabbergasted by these discoveries, it was incredibly impressive that Marilyn had sensitive insight into what would be an authentic individual. It may seem that nothing can top this tidbit; another revelation made my jaw drop.}}_{^{Recovering from the traumatic event of being institutionalized in the Payne Whitney Clinic, Marilyn relaxed at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, letting her mind wander freely on paper with her ink instrument, which was later typed up onto six pages by her secretary to be mailed to her psychoanalyst, Dr. Ralph Greenson. The intimate letter dated 2 March 1960 reveals a couple of books that have been occupying her during treatment.}}_{^{“The book reveals (though I am not sure anyone’s love-letters should be published) that he wasn’t a stiff! I mean his gentle, sad humor and even a striving was eternal in him. I haven’t gotten very far yet because at the same time I’m reading Sean O’Casey’s first autobiography – (did I ever tell you how once he wrote a poem to me?) This book disturbs me very much in a way one should be disturbed for these things –after all…”}}_{^{I paused; I needed to find a list of works she owned by Sean O’Casey. Christie cataloged six books: five plays and one autobiography. I Knock at the Door is the only one to happen to be—in Marilyn’s own words—“Sean O’Casey’s first autobiography.” The book needed to be inspected, and lo and behold, a strand was stuck in the middle of the book. Could it be? Carefully pulling it out, it turned out to be blonde hair with the follicle intact, containing her very DNA. Being on cloud nine for the rest of the week was an understatement.}}_{^{If anyone asked me what is my favorite Marilyn artifact from my collection, no contest, it is this very book. O’Casey’s personal hardships as a child compelled her to reflect on the cruel treatment at the very clinic Dr. Marianne Kris pursued her to enter—an experience that Marilyn never truly forgave her for—eternally cemented on the pages of Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters, a curated collection of her personal writings.}}

_{^{(Sources: The Personal Property of Marilyn Monroe by Christie’s, Lot #518; "When Marilyn Met the Queen" by Michelle Morgan; "She Wants to Meet Mr. Sean O'Casey" Herald Express July 16th, 1956; "Ralph Greenson x Marilyn Monroe" Classic Blondes, viewable here)}}

1952 "Golden Dreams" & 1953 "A New Wrinkle" Calendars

_{^{Owner: Rina}}

_{^{While researching on a project, I kept finding myself circling back to the Nude Calendars, both "Golden Dreams" and "A New Wrinkle". The constant exposure to them never dimmed my fascination with them. I kept getting lost in the contrast of her pale, almost translucent, skin with the deep and rich red velvet. The twists and turns of her body felt almost poetic to me. I believe they were the first photographs that truly made me recognize and appreciate the human form.}}

_{^{So it's no surprise that I found myself dreaming of owning a calendar for myself one day. But that was it, a dream. Being in South Korea, I knew my chances were slim to none. However, it wasn't until both a 1952 "Golden Dreams" and 1953 "A New Wrinkle" would come up for sale, and not that far from my state in the States. On top of it, I was already planning to visit home-was this a sign from the universe? I jumped on the opportunity immediately.}}

_{^{I still remember seeing the calendars in person the first time, I gasped. It's one thing to know Marilyn's history but another to see it for yourself in person. It felt like I had a personal tie to the era, one I was never alive to experience-yet was completely fascinated with. I remember the first week owning it, I would just stare at the calendars in disbelief. My dream came true...twice! They are right in front of me! They are real! And they are mine! But why couldn't I believe it? To be honest, I still don't believe it...}}

_{^{Although Marilyn was working hard as an aspiring actress, she found herself in hard times financially quite often. She would skip meals to save money for her acting and speech lessons, even picking up modeling jobs to supplement extra income. Despite her dedication, Marilyn struggled to make ends meet, confessing she would often become behind on rent at the Studio Club, even up to four to five weeks behind. On top of that, she struggled to make her car payments on time. In 1949, Marilyn once again found herself in financial struggle. She sometimes even contemplated calling up millionaires she knew but "a hot angry feeling" filled her up inside, forcing herself to hang up the phone. She didn’t want "some rich old guy who might catch me in a weak moment when I was hungry and didn’t have a square meal."}}_{^{Rather than waiting for an opportunity to happen, she made one for herself. Looking through her business cards, she pulled out the card of Tom Kelley and went to his studio directly. She would ask for any modeling assignments she could fulfill. The Kelleys felt she didn’t quite match the standard image of models they usually worked with. But just before they would turn her away, Marilyn plead, “I really need the work.” She would pose professionally for a beer ad and later agree to do a nude calendar shoot, only after Kelley promised she wouldn’t be recognized. During the session, Marilyn remembered childhood impulses of wanting to be seen and dreams of standing nude without shame. A wave of sadness hit her as she realized this might be the only dream she ever had that came true. Soon, the memory faded once Marilyn fell into poses. She began to think of, in her own words, “crazy thoughts” while posing:}}_{^{“People have curious attitudes about nudity, just as they have about sex. Nudity and sex are the most commonplace things in the world. Yet people often act as if they were things that existed only on Mars.”}}_{^{In the months following the shoot, Marilyn would continue her acting lessons, land a role in "Love Happy," and eventually secure more substantial roles. Despite her growing fame, she would return to the Kelleys' studio for small modeling jobs or even just chats.
Years later, when the calendar began to surface, panic spread across the studio. Marilyn feared being recognized and blackmailed, and was even advised by the studio to deny it was her. But Marilyn didn’t want to lie. She admitted the truth in an interview with Aline Mosby, saying simply, "Because I needed the money." She refused to be ashamed of it. When someone tried to blackmail her in person with the calendar, she coolly replied, "Would you like me to autograph it for you?" She knew the calendars were everywhere and denial would be pointless.}}_{^{Her honesty, instead of hurting her, endeared her to the public. The studio was forced to adapt. Marilyn’s candidness earned her respect. She would continue to share the real reason she posed for the calendar-to pay rent, later admitting it was also for car payments. Despite the studio’s frustration, she stood by her truth, it was honest work. She would say,}}_{^{“I am not ashamed of it and I wouldn’t do it today because I don’t have to, but if I had to do it over, and it was a question of being tossed in the street, I’d do it again.”}}_{^{Marilyn’s directness and honesty, even to her joking about the calendar when asked to sign it was a refreshing spin in Hollywood. It was clear that no scandal could ever overshadow her candid integrity or her growing stardom.}}_{^{“I've been on a calendar, but never on time. I don't want to be just for the few, even though I hope they're with me. I want to be for the many-the kind of people I come from. I want a man to come home after a hard day's work, look at this picture and feel inspired to say 'Wow!'”}}

_{^{(© 2025 Marina Yoon. All rights reserved.)}}
_{^{All text on this page is the property of Marina Yoon unless otherwise stated. Unauthorized use, reproduction, or distribution of any material without permission is strictly prohibited.}}_{^{("Marilyn Admits She's the Nude Blonde on Calendar" by Aline Mosby, Brooklyn Eagle - April 6th, 1952; “My Story” by Marilyn Monroe with Ben Hecht; “I Was There When Marilyn Posed” by Natalie Kelley Grasco, Movie Star Parade - July 1953;“Am I Too Daring?” By Marilyn Monroe, Modern Screen - July 1952; “Don’t Get Me Wrong I love Hollywood” by Sidney Skolsky; "Marilyn Stops Blackmailer By Offerring her Autograph" By Hy Gardner, The Daily Report - November 19th, 1954; “Marilyn Monroe Tells The Truth To Hedda Hopper, Photoplay - January 1953; “Marilyn Monroe Answers 33 Initmate Questions” Stag Magazine - August 1953; "Marilyn Monroe Has Answers For Scribe" by Louella O. Parsons, Democrate and Chronicle - April 27th, 1952; “Four For Posterity”, Look Magazine, January 16th, 1962; 1960 Interview with George Belmont; “Marilyn Monroe” Maurice Zolotow)}}

✦The Thinking Body by Mabel Elsworth Todd

✦Letters to A Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

✦A Lost Lady by Willa Cather

✦Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

"I Wake and Feel the Fell of Dark, Not Day" by Gerard Manley Hopkins✦

✦Goya

✦El Greco

✦Picasso

✦Her Books

✦An Alarm Clock

✦Letters from Joe DiMaggio, Arthur Miller, Isidore Miller, Carl Sandberg

✦Carl Sandburg Bust

✦White Piano

Ginger Rogers✦

Jean Harlow✦

Lawrence Olivier✦

Marie Dressler✦

Joan Crawford✦

Clark Gable✦

Will Rogers✦

Eleanora Duse✦

Marlon Brando✦

Frank Sinatra✦

Charles Laughton✦

Vittorio De Sica✦

Greta Garbo✦

✦Frank Sinatra

✦Claudia Muzio

✦Sammy Davis Jr.

✦Ella Fitzgerald

✦Louis Armstrong

✦Earl Bostic

✦Beethoven

Miasma, Mimosa✦

✦White Flowers

✦Red Anthuriums

Chanel No. 5✦

Floris Rose Geranium✦

Arpège✦

Floral Fragrances✦

✦Brooklyn

Reading✦

Running Along The Beach✦

Biking✦

✦Champagne

✦Marsala

"Don't Bother To Knock"✦

"The Asphalt Jungle"✦

"The Seven Year Itch""✦

✦Korea

✦Arthur Miller

✦Tennessee Williams

Life Goals ✦

✦ Awareness of Public Perception & Expectation

The Price of Fame ✦

✦Her Career

Career Security ✦

✦ People & The Public

Authenticity ✦

On-set Nerves ✦

Beauty & Fashion✦

✦ Unmaterialistic

Role Models ✦

✦Her Famous Walk

Timeline of Cultural References to Marilyn

✦1950s

✦1960s

✦1970s

✦1980s

✦1990s

✦2000s

✦2010s

✦2020s

✦1940s

✦1950s

✦1960s

Marilyn's Address Book

✦I I. Magnin (Department Store) Marie Irvine (Makeup) Irving Trust Co. (Bank) Elizabeth Irwin Highschool

✦J Arthur P. Jacobs (Marilyn's Press Relations Manager) Jax (Clothing Brand) Nunnally Johnson *(Screenwriter for "Let's Make Love" & "Something's Got To Give") Hank Jones (Pianist) Jennifer Jones (Actress) Judith's Garden, Inc Jurgensen's Martin Jurow (Producer)

✦O Sean O'Casey (Playwright) Clifford Odets (Playwright of "Clash By Night") David Orgell

✦I
_{^{I. Magnin (Department Store)}}
_{^{Marie Irvine (Makeup)}}
_{^{Irving Trust Co. (Bank)}}
_{^{Elizabeth Irwin Highschool}}

✦O
_{^{Sean O'Casey (Playwright)}}
_{^{Clifford Odets (Playwright of "Clash By Night")}}
_{^{David Orgell}}

✦U
_^Ultrasol
_{^{United Artists}}
_{^{Louis Untermeyer (Poet)}}

✦V
_{^{Vendome Liquer, Inc.}}
_{^{Vendome Table Delicacies}}
_{^{Robert Vernier}}
_{^{Sylvan Veronie (Carpenter)}}
_{^{Viking Press}}
_{^{Mort Viner (Marilyn's Agent at MCA)}}

✦Y
_{^{Yellow Cab}}

✦Z
_{^{Mrs. Jane Ziegler (Doheny Drive Apartment Building Property Owner)}}

_{^{𖡡 NYC, USA}}

_{^{Seoul, South Korea 𖡡}}

Skira's "Renior"
^{Denis Rouart}

"I Knock At The Door"
^{Sean O'Casey}