Sunday 12 February 2012

Read in 2012 - 3: The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe

A heavy read, not only due to the sheer size and length of the book (532 pages), but just as much for its content. Let me say something in advance: I am always extremely skeptical when it comes to conspiracy theories, whether they revolve around man landing on the moon, world economics, the true nature of UFOs, the existence of Aliens or the death of someone famous. Therefore, I picked up this book (it comes from the treasure chest full of books I received in spring last year from a very kind friend) with some reservation, but also interested in learning more about the actress whose face I have known all my life without really knowing much about her.

The author, Donald H. Wolfe, had this book published in 1998, 36 years after Marilyn Monroe's death. On the book jacket, he is said to have worked in Hollywood as a screenwriter and film editor for 25 years, and met MM in 1958 during the filming of Some Like it Hot. I was not able to find an author's website for him, but numerous references on sites dealing with MM herself and elsewhere.
Mr. Wolfe certainly goes about his subject in the most meticulous manner. There are footnotes throughout the book, explaining where certain information comes from, as well as an extensive appendix of source notes, ranging from FBI documents to personal conversations with those who knew Marilyn.
All this makes the information in this book seem very well founded, and not just like another nutter adhering to a conspiracy theory.

The title is a little misleading, since we accompany MM not only on an almost minute by minute account of her last days, but learn about her grandparents, parents, her own childhood, teenage years, young adult life and her career. The picture that emerges is one that is rather painful to behold: a talented, beautiful woman for whom nearly everything in her life went terribly wrong from the very start.
There were few happy times, and somehow these must have made it possible for her to go on, and it is hardly surprising after all that she had been through that, on more than one occasion, she attempted suicide.

Excerpts of interviews with Marilyn make it obvious that she was anything but a "dumb blonde"; in fact, she sounds rather bright and would have probably done well academically, being given the chance. Take this small bit of obversation she made about the then 70-year-old Fox studio czar Joe Schenck:

I liked sitting around the fireplace with Mr. Schenck and hearing him talk about love and sex. He was full of wisdom on these subjects, like some great explorer. I also liked to look at his face. It was as much the face of a town as of a man.

This is not a "dirty old man seduces innocent young starlet" scenario, but a 21-year-old woman, still inexperienced in the whole Hollywood and film-making scene, learning from someone who, as opposed to almost everyone else she came across, never took advantage of the trust she placed in him.

Or take this statement Marilyn made about herself, about what she was like at the time (we are talking 1947 here):

My illusions didn't have anything to do with being a fine actress. I knew how third rate I was. With the arc lights on me and the camera pointed at me, I suddenly knew myself. How clumsy, empty, uncultured I was! A sullen orphan with a goose egge for a head. I could actually feel my lack of talent, as if it were cheap clothes I was wearing inside. But my God, how I wanted to learn! To change! To improve! I didn't want anything else. Not men, not money, not love, but the ability to act!"

And my God, did she learn, change, improve and become able to act! 

There is lots more in this book I could go on about, but let me end here with saying that, on top of it being a well-written, well-researched biography, it also offers a caleidoscope of the political, cultural and economical landscape of the years it spans, and not only for the U.S.
It wasn't an easy read, but it engaged my mind, taught me a lot and I am glad I didn't put it back into the treasure chest unread.

17 comments:

  1. I heard it as an audio book and found it riveting.

    SP

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  2. I have a "thing" about Marilyn Monroe. I don't know why, maybe I saw too much about her at one time. (I should say, more accurately, a "thing" against reading about her)

    I think she was probably a very interesting and intelligent and troubled woman, though. And a most gifted and interesting actress. I think I might have liked her as a person. So I should be interested in her.

    Still, the book does sound interesting so I feel I should be more open minded and give it a try.

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  3. Like many talented and famous women, MM didn't believe in herself, which led to self-destructive behaviours. Whitney Houston is another case in point. So much beauty and talent, but inside neither woman actually believed they had any value beyond the exterior trappings. A lesson in self-esteem (or lack of) from which we can all profit.

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  4. I think many actors have talents outside of acting and they are often clever and educated people. So many, though, also seem to have flawed characters. That's not unusual in the population (except, of course, for all of us reading this blog!) but it is magnified and made public in the case of those who are famous.

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  5. SP, that must have been a long audio book! It took me ages to complete reading, but that is in part also because sometimes I found it hard to concentrate on so many facts and very very detailed background information, such as an entire chapter dedicated to the childhood, youth and career of MM's psychiatrist, Dr. Greenson. Admittedly, there were times I thought "less would be more..."

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  6. Jenny, it is rare for me to be interested enough in someone with "celebrity" status for wanting to read about them, and I don't think I would have picked this book at the library, but since it happened to be in the treasure chest, I thought I can just as well read it before I sell it or give it away, and I do not regret it.

    Canadian Chickadee, I have not been watching the news in a few days and only when RJ told me yesterday I knew about Whitney Houston's death, and instantly thought of MM (although the two of them were, I guess, not very much alike).

    GB, as for character flaws - mine are manifold, and I have written about them on here (see "Cold Blood and Secrets", for instance). But you are right about the magnifying effect being a public figure has. It is sad but almost unavoidable, I suppose.

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  7. I'm always put off reading books about Hollywood stars through worrying about the person writing them. Too many chancers still wanting to make money off the backs of others.
    Mind you, having said that, I did read a really good article about about Marilyn in the Vanity Fair or Granta some time back. The point of the article being that there is a virtual industry in Marilyn memorabilia.

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    1. Macy, you are so right about that. Trying to remember now, but I am quite sure that this one is (so far) the first book about a Hollywood star I have ever read. In general, I like reading biographies, but I don't think I've ever read about an actor or actress before.

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  8. Dear Librarian,
    I like that you read books that are not necessarily books that you normally read.
    This book sounds like one that I would like to read. Marilyn Monroe has become something larger than life, but she was a real person, who truly had a difficult life. As always, your review is thoughtful and perceptive!

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    1. Yes, Kay, I loved the interesting choice of books that was presented to me with that treasure chest, it gave me the impulse to read quite a few books I would have never chosen myself, but am glad I read them. Same is when my mother-in-law sends me books; they are not always entirely my taste, but I see them as a way of broadening my literary horizon.

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  9. I'm not particularly interested in Marilyn Monroe, but sometimes we miss reading really good books because the person doesn't appeal to us. We should all be more open minded about what we read, and this is what I've been trying to do lately.

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    1. Maggie, neither was I (particularly interested in MM, I mean), and that is why I so liked the present of the book chest; it made me more open-minded about my reading material, too.

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  10. Is this any good? I've watched a 2-hour biography of her on the BIO channel and I became interested with her life. (I always thought the she was the bitchy dumb blonde until I watched the bio and realized how prejudiced I was) Anyway, I think I'll check this one out. :) Happy Valentine's Day btw :)

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    1. Thanks, Denise - we don't "do" Valentine's Day over here as much as in other countries, and to me, it was just an ordinary day :-)
      Well, the book is not an easy read, that's for sure. Whether it is any good, you'll have to decide for yourself. Like I said in my review, I do not regret having read it.

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  11. Such a tragic life. I'm sure it was a very sad read. I love the update to your blog style! How did you get the writing area so large?

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    1. It was sad, but more than that, it made me angry so often; sometimes I wanted to shake Marilyn and tell her to wake up to what was really happening in her life, and sometimes I wanted to shake the people around her and tell them to leave Marilyn alone or support them the way true friends would do.
      I don't remember in all detail how I got the writing space larger than the premade template, but it was all there in "settings" and "design".

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