Marilyn Monroe

by Michelle Morgan

Although Marilyn didn’t open up to many people on the set of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, she did confide to Hal Schaefer that she believed one day she might be a good actress. Unfortunately, she had no such confidence in her ability to be a good singer, and it was this that Schaefer had to work on above anything else: ‘The essence of singing is confidence because you don’t have any other instrument – no trumpet, violin, etc. I tried to get her to be more confident, as singing is no rocket science; it isn’t such a profound thing. I gave Marilyn help with her confidence and enjoyment of singing – I didn’t want her to feel that she had to prove herself.’

  While most people on the set were intent on helping Marilyn, one constant presence caused problems with director Howard Hawks and choreographer Jack Cole. Drama coach Natasha Lytess may have wanted to help Marilyn, but in doing so seemed to cause stress to everyone around her: ‘One day Lytess was on the set,’ remembered George Chakiris. ‘Jack Cole was facing Marilyn, talking to her; but behind him and unknown to him was Lytess. I think Cole must have been giving direction to Marilyn, but there was Lytess, shaking her head to Marilyn, in response to what Cole was saying. Jack had no idea what was going on. I think this showed a real sweetness in Marilyn, as she was being courteous to both Lytess and Cole – she was in the middle of the situation, being polite to both. I thought the way she handled it was very sweet.’

  A reporter, on set during a scene where Jane Russell and Marilyn were reading through the ship’s passenger list, remembered watching Lytess looking as though she was ‘quietly having a stroke’, as she reflected every expression and word coming from Marilyn’s direction. The scene was shot three times before Hawks called ‘Cut’ and Lytess hurried over to Marilyn, dragging her away in order to lecture her on her performance.

  Elliott Reid played Ernie Malone in the film, and he worked extensively with both Jane Russell and Marilyn. He remembered: ‘I thought she was lovely-looking, beautiful and charming. She was quiet and shy but we didn’t really get to know each other during the shoot because as soon as the scene was finished Marilyn would go to her dressing room to work with her drama coach.’

  Once again her lateness became legendary on the set, but by now the other actors and actresses were becoming used to it, as Reid remembered: ‘She was often late – sometimes ten minutes or so, but not extreme; her lateness was well known and it was just how she was. She was charming and everyone understood her lateness and nobody got mad. There were no problems during the making of the film because she was so sweet; she was never aggressive – she just wanted to do her best.’

  Jane Russell sympathized with the nerves that caused Marilyn to be late, and made a point of trotting past her dressing room in order to walk her to the set each day. This helped with her punctuality, but not her nerves, and she would visibly shake between scenes, as George Chakiris observed on the first day of shooting the ‘Diamonds’ number: ‘Marilyn was sitting on the round sofa used during the song, and I noticed the muscles in her back quivering from nerves,’ he later recalled.

  She may have been terrified but she was absolutely determined to do her best, and took to writing little notes to herself on her script such as ‘Know the lines, go over it intelligently.’ She was anxious to think about what was going on inside, rather than outside, as Chakiris remembered: ‘Marilyn would do the take, and if it was not right, the director would shout “Cut”. She would not go to her dressing room or a mirror; instead she would go back to her starting position and just wait for it all to start again. I never saw her look in a mirror.’

  With the filming eventually finished, everyone went back to their normal lives, but the experience left many happy memories, as recalled by George Chakiris: ‘I am so glad that I got to be in the chorus, it was a wonderful thing to be behind Marilyn and Jack Cole. I was there and it was a wonderful, wonderful time. It was a feather in my cap!’

  In February 1953 rumours circulated that Niagara was not doing as well at the box office as had been hoped. Meanwhile, Marilyn attended the Photoplay Awards dinner, dressed in the gold gown briefly glimpsed in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. When she got up to receive her award, the audience yelled and shouted, and Jerry Lewis stood on a table to whistle. Marilyn, loving the attention she was receiving, gave it her all, and the result was electrifying; but one person not impressed was actress Joan Crawford, who couldn’t believe her eyes.

  A few days later, according to Crawford, columnist Bob Thomas interviewed her and, afterwards, asked, ‘Don’t you think that dress Marilyn Monroe wore at the awards dinner was disgusting?’

  Crawford presumed that the question was ‘off the record’ and answered, ‘It was like a burlesque show. Someone should make her see the light; she should be told that the public likes provocative feminine personalities; but it also likes to know that underneath it all the actresses are ladies.’

  On 24 February, Marilyn appeared on Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis’s radio show, performing a short skit entitled ‘So Who Needs Friends’, before picking up another award, this time for the Redbook award for Best Young Box Office Personality. She should have been happy, but on 3 March, when Bob Thomas published Crawford’s comments in his column, Marilyn was devastated. She couldn’t understand why Crawford had attacked her in such a way, and was unsure what to do when reporters from around the country kept ringing to ask for her comments.

  Louella Parsons spoke to Marilyn and observed that she had been crying all night long, to such an extent that she sounded as though she had a bad cold. ‘I don’t believe Miss Crawford said those things about me,’ Marilyn told Parsons, before deciding that possibly she had been speaking impulsively, without thinking.

  Meanwhile, Crawford herself was thoroughly embarrassed by the whole episode. She told Parsons, ‘I wish I could say I didn’t say those things but I did say them! I was not misquoted! But believe me, in the future I will think twice before I talk so openly.’ She started receiving scathing letters from Marilyn’s fans, and through Parsons released a statement apologizing to the actress but projecting her opinion that ‘for this thing to go on and on, as though someone has been murdered, is ridiculous.’

  Marilyn too began receiving letters, albeit of a more positive nature than the ones Crawford was getting. GIs were bombarding her with support, and even Betty Grable, her idol and co-star on her next picture, How to Marry a Millionaire, took her to lunch in order to advise her to ‘Just keep on plugging’. Finally, Marilyn decided to draw a line under the whole sordid affair, declaring, ‘I’m beginning to look at it as a blessing in disguise. If it had never been printed, I might never have realized how many friends I have, even ones I have never met.’

  Back in the summer of 1952 Marilyn had been concerned to discover that her mother, Gladys Baker, had unexpectedly turned up at Grace Goddard’s home. Unpredictable as usual, Gladys announced that she’d recently married a mysterious man called Colonel John Eley, who had turned out to be a bigamist. She then told Grace that she had started divorce proceedings only for him to die before it was all complete, and then proceeded to move herself and her belongings into the Goddard home.

  The entire family were so confused by her half-baked stories that many rumours swirled around for years, with some even believing that the mysterious Mr Eley was actually just a figment of Gladys’ overactive imagination. In truth, however, he most certainly did exist.

  Born on 13 June 1889, John Stewart Eley was a retired Colonel in the Signal Corps and had lived in Los Angeles for six years before his death on 23 April 1952. Despite Gladys turning up at the Knebelkamp home to declare her intention to live with Eley in a tent, in reality they actually lived together at 10538 Santa Monica Boulevard. Eley had most certainly been married before though no records can be found to support Gladys’ claim that he was a bigamist. Indeed, when his obituary was printed in the 26 April edition of the Los Angeles Times, there were only two relatives mentioned: his sister Helen and his widow Gladys.

  Whilst living with Grace Goddard, Gladys’ behaviour
became so erratic that Grace started to note down the disturbing things she was saying. According to her notes, Gladys felt that she was now ‘confused’ because she had once taken an aspirin during her marriage to Eley; felt she was being punished because during prohibition she had taken a drink of liquor; kept a photo of Marilyn in her bedroom, but slept at the foot of her bed so she didn’t have to look at it; and had a fear of Catholics, thinking that they were out to harm her.

  Grace had suffered from depression for many years, and soon became exhausted with her new lodger, particularly when Gladys started to accuse her of stealing or moving items that she herself had misplaced. Grace suffered a stroke, and Gladys ended up moving in with the Bolender family, who had looked after Norma Jeane all those years before. Mrs Bolender, who had never seen any of Marilyn’s movies, later recalled: ‘I talked to Norma Jeane on the phone when her mother was staying with me. On the phone I said, “Norma Jeane why don’t you come to see me?” She said, “I always thought because I’m in the movies you might not like me anymore.” I said, “Because you’re in the movies don’t make any difference, you come to see me,” but she didn’t.’

  Eventually Gladys took off to Florida in search of her daughter, Berniece, but was soon back in California, banging on the door of Grace and Doc Goddard in such a frenzy that the police were called. Gladys was admitted to the Metropolitan State Hospital and Grace was left with the unenviable task of travelling to 2713 Honolulu Ave, Los Angeles, to make arrangements for her to be placed permanently in Rockhaven Sanitarium.

  Rockhaven was established in 1923 by a nurse called Agnes Richards, who wanted to improve the treatment of mentally ill women. Set in 3.5 acres of gardens, the establishment grew to include fourteen different buildings and housed around a hundred patients – or residents as the staff liked to call them.

  On 9 February 1953, Gladys became a resident there, and on 1 March Marilyn sent a cheque to Grace for $851.04 to cover her mother’s expenses. It was to be the first of many cheques written to pay for her mother’s care, though Marilyn herself would have very little to do with Gladys’ day-to-day life at the institution.

  There has been a great deal of mystery regarding Gladys’ time at Rockhaven, with stories becoming wilder and more exaggerated as time goes on. However, in 2010 biographer Lois Banner interviewed Agnes Richards’ granddaughter Pat Traviss about life at Rockhaven and found that Gladys’ time there was not the horror story one has been led to believe. Pat worked at the institution herself, and became the administrator after her grandmother had retired. According to Banner, Traviss relayed to her that contrary to what previous biographers have reported, Marilyn absolutely never visited her mother. In fact Agnes remembered only one telephone call from the star, in which she asked Gladys if there was anything she could buy for her. The answer? A bar of ivory soap.

  Gladys’ life at Rockhaven was a relatively solitary one. She was quiet, kept herself to herself and never talked about intimate or private matters with anyone – especially the medical staff. In fact, she especially disliked anyone who was considered a ‘nurse’ and it was only because Traviss wasn’t in the medical profession that she was able to become friendly with Gladys. The two would often go out for ice cream and at one point Gladys even knitted socks for a member of Traviss’ family.

  Traviss disputed recent stories that Gladys Baker could hear voices in her head. She told Lois Banner that Gladys believed there was nothing wrong with her and would never have said she was hearing voices. ‘She didn’t really think she was ill,’ recalled Traviss. This would tie in with a letter Grace once wrote to a friend back in the 1930s, when Gladys was first admitted to a mental institution. In it she explained that Gladys didn’t know she was ill and even thought she would soon return to work. That she believed herself to be absolutely sane is also confirmed in a remark Gladys made to Grace that she believed she had only been sent to the institution because she was working as a nurse there. At no time did Gladys believe herself to be ill and, if there were voices in her head, she would never have dreamed of making them public.

  There has been talk of many traumatic events while Gladys was confined, including staff selling their stories, but actually it seems that nobody ever gave any information for money, even when offered a large amount. There was one incident, however, that did stand out in Traviss’ mind, as she remembered: ‘I left Gladys alone in my office and I came back to find my furniture overturned and there was red ink spilled. I never left her alone again.’

  Keeping thoughts of her mother to a minimum, on 18 March 1953 Marilyn moved into a three-roomed apartment at 882 North Doheny Drive, which Jane Russell and interior designer Thomas Lane helped her to decorate. The comfortable home was furnished with thick carpets, white and beige furnishings, and, of course, her book collection. She also collected her black piano from storage, painted it white and installed it in the home, where she was to stay for almost all of 1953.

  A new friend came into Marilyn’s life at this time, when she met actor and author John Gilmore during a party at neighbour John Hodiak’s house. Gilmore and Marilyn had much in common and spoke easily with each other. He remembered: ‘Marilyn told me she’d dreamed of waltzing through movies as another Jean Harlow. Even then she didn’t know she’d someday eclipse Harlow and emerge from a kind of imposed, personal cocoon as the most beautiful and important movie star in the world.

  ‘Marilyn was shadowed and strange; diffident yet vivacious, determined while fearful. She was intense and funny at the same time, and was very, very far from being “dumb”. I remember my conversation with her verbatim; how she looked, what she wore and how she smelled; what her hand felt like and how the aroma of her lingered on my hand after shaking hers. From that time on, Marilyn and I ran separately in and out and backwards and forwards through the Hollywood milieu ad nauseam, her career skyrocketing. We caught up again, encountering the same people, the same spots on the Strip; Mocambo, Ciros, etc.’

  Marilyn’s next film was a comedy entitled How to Marry a Millionaire, in which she played opposite Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall. The filming followed an altogether familiar pattern: the press tried to create a feud between the stars (they failed); Natasha’s direction caused friction on the set; and Marilyn was continuously late, leading love interest David Wayne to describe the experience as, ‘One of the worst times I’ve ever had in my life.’

  While Lauren Bacall could hardly disguise her impatience and irritation with the fledgling star, idol Betty Grable could not have been more patient and understanding. Knowing that Twentieth Century Fox expected her to resent Marilyn’s new popularity, Grable went out of her way to give advice and help her successor. She encouraged her ambitions and the two became firm friends, especially when Grable commented, ‘Honey I’ve had mine; go get yours,’ to the excited young star. The two got along famously and Grable always remembered her time on the set with particular fondness.

  Another person who was happy to be there was a young man called Jim Gough, whose father worked at the studio, giving him the opportunity to meet Marilyn and Betty: ‘Meeting these two fabulous women was a teenager’s dream come true and it changed my life. Marilyn and Betty were not only beautiful, but also very kind and down to earth – without an ounce of pretension. One day, they invited me to have lunch in the “Commissary”. They were both made up and were in costume with dressing gowns over their costumes to protect them. My entrance into the restaurant, between these two women, was the answer to a young man’s prayers! During the meal, we chatted about school matters, friendships, and, most of all, about pets. Marilyn loved dogs especially. After the filming of How to Marry a Millionaire, I occasionally met Marilyn, who always seemed to remember me.’

  The beginning of April 1953 was a busy time for Marilyn. On 7 April she attended a birthday party with Betty Grable in honour of columnist Walter Winchell, and then she signed a new agency contract, this time with the Famous Artists Agency. But by 14 April she was in hospital being treated for her on
going endometriosis problem, which unfortunately would never be resolved.

  Coming out of hospital, Marilyn rested at home on Doheny Drive, reading her books and talking to friends. Grace Goddard was still a big part of her life, especially now that Gladys had been re-institutionalized, and the two would speak on the telephone every day. ‘It used to drive me crazy!’ remembered Bebe Goddard. ‘It’s because she confided every minute of her night and day to Grace. Totally. Everything. And Grace would sympathize and advise, and believe me, Marilyn never took her for granted.’

  However, although Grace was more than happy to listen to Marilyn’s problems, she had many of her own, including a dependency on alcohol and a heart problem, for which she was taking phenobarbital. In May Marilyn invited her to rest at the Doheny Drive apartment and the two enjoyed many hours in each other’s company.

  Tragedy soon struck Marilyn’s life while she and Joe were away for a short break. He received news that his brother, Mike, had been killed in a fishing accident off the coast of Bodega Bay. A devastated DiMaggio went straight to San Francisco, while Marilyn returned to Los Angeles and spent her birthday quietly with Grace, Bebe and Bebe’s brother Fritz. She then travelled up to San Francisco to be with DiMaggio and his family during the mourning period and offering her support to the devastated Joe. She made a good impression on his entire family, and it was during this period that DiMaggio realized how much he was in love with her, while Marilyn confessed to friends that she knew at that time that she really did want to marry him.

  On 26 June Marilyn received the recognition she had craved since a child, when she placed her hands and feet into the wet cement outside Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. Together with Jane Russell, she stood in the very spot where she had admired the prints as a child. She later remembered: ‘I did have a funny feeling when I finally put my foot down into that wet cement. I sure knew what it really meant to me – anything’s possible, almost.’ Two days later, she walked to the theatre in the middle of the night to see how her footprints really looked. ‘It was like hearing all the applause in the world,’ friend Sidney Skolsky later observed.