Marilyn Monroe

by Michelle Morgan

  This must have been good news for Fox, but it was a red herring, as instead of returning to Hollywood, the couple headed to a mountain hideaway in Idyllwild, close to Palm Springs. Marilyn’s attorney, Loyd Wright, loaned the honeymoon house to them and they were assured complete privacy, with only the tight-lipped Wright and his caretaker Harry Gibbons knowing anything of their whereabouts.

  On 16 January, Fox reinstated Marilyn and instructed her to report to work on 20 January. When that day came and went, another letter was written, this time demanding she report to the office of producer Sol Siegel at 12 noon on 25 January, for the purpose of rendering her services in connection with the much hyped (and much loathed) Pink Tights. They also reminded their rebellious star that her portrayal of Jenny in the aforementioned film was all in accordance with the terms and provisions of her contract, which she had signed on 11 April 1951. Marilyn may now be Mrs Joe DiMaggio, but for the studio, she was still just the girl who couldn’t get a dressing room.

  It is highly unlikely that Marilyn made it to the office of Mr Siegel on 25 January, but after her honeymoon she did slip quietly into Los Angeles for a meeting with her business manager, before heading back to San Francisco. By this time many presents had been delivered from friends, family and fans: vases, linens and silverware all arrived, but notably absent was anything from Twentieth Century Fox. Marilyn was very upset at the snub and later told Sidney Skolsky, ‘I didn’t get a present from anybody at the studio or from any player.’

  On 28 January Marilyn was vaccinated by Dr Clifton Bennett, in order that she could travel with DiMaggio to Japan for his coaching trip. That evening she somehow broke her thumb, the cause of which has never been fully known. When the couple left San Francisco International Airport the following day, they were almost late as Marilyn was having the thumb bandaged and splinted. When reporters caught sight of it as she tried to hide it in her coat, they immediately asked what happened. ‘I just bumped it against the door,’ she said. ‘Joe was there. He heard it crack.’ This could be the truth, but over the years many writers have blamed DiMaggio for it, claiming that he had become violent towards his wife from early in their marriage. Certainly, a relative of Joe’s first wife, Dorothy Arnold, believed this story: ‘Joe was extremely possessive of Dorothy; also Marilyn. He once broke Marilyn’s finger [sic] on their trip to Japan – it is very clear in some of the Korean tour pictures.’

  After a quick stopover in Honolulu, the couple were flown to Tokyo, where they were greeted by literally thousands of fans and reporters, so much so that they were unable to leave the plane by the main exit. Instead, they had to leave via the baggage door on the side of the plane, although even that didn’t stop a stampede, with some enterprising fans climbing on top of their car for a better look.

  Although Marilyn had been surrounded by fans in the past, this was the first time she had ever been mobbed in such a way and she was terrified. ‘These people, they’re mad!’ she was heard to cry, as she was hustled into the car, en route to the Imperial Hotel, along with Joe’s friend and fellow baseball expert Frank ‘Lefty’ O’Doul and his wife. When they reached the hotel there were even more riots, with people falling into the hotel pond, trying to break down the doors and even scaling the walls. Finally, the police dragged fans away and the honeymooning couple were able to enter the hotel, where they held a press conference in the Treasure Room.

  Once the fans and media had calmed down somewhat, the couple were able to spend some of their time visiting quiet areas such as Kawana, a fishing village where they were photographed meeting the locals. Shortly after, DiMaggio headed south to fulfil his coaching job, along with Lefty O’Doul. Meanwhile, Mrs O’Doul stayed in Japan to keep Marilyn company, and on 7 February they both visited the US Army Hospital in Tokyo.

  During the visit Marilyn met countless injured GIs, signed autographs and posed for photographs. One of the soldiers, Corporal Donald Wakehouse, had his cast signed by the star, but later insisted that his wife back home looked better to him than Marilyn did. However, another GI, Corporate Allison Ittel was thrilled to meet the visiting film star, as he remembered fifty-seven years later: ‘I found out what time she was to be on the sunroof and went up. We all lined up and she was late as usual, but when Marilyn came in through the doorway she was just beautiful. She did a little skip – kind of a dance – with quick motions and a little song and came down the line to greet us.

  ‘When she got to me I congratulated her on her marriage to Joe DiMaggio and then I went through the doors back into the hospital. Someone grabbed me and told me to go with them, and then suddenly Marilyn was there and linked arms with me. There were photographers everywhere, and Marilyn asked me what my name was and where I was from. I told her I was from Minnesota, twenty-five miles away from Indianapolis and she said, “Oh I went to visit my best friend Jane Russell up there and it was beautiful.” We talked for a while and I asked where Joe was. She told me he was playing baseball and seemed disgusted by that. I got the feeling she felt he should have been up there with her.’

  Later that day, having cheered up the patients at the hospital, Marilyn was sent to bed with a stomach bug. However, that didn’t stop her making plans to travel to Korea to entertain the thousands of US troops that were stationed there, a surprising decision that had been made on the way to Japan: ‘I hadn’t expected this. I didn’t bring the right clothes,’ she was heard to say.

  On 16 February, Marilyn began her Korea tour, which involved singing a set of songs, accompanied by a band called Anything Goes, who had already been touring the Far East for three months. One member, Don Obermeyer, remembered the experience well: ‘Since I was the show manager, I was introduced to Marilyn Monroe and Joe, and was told that our group was going back to Korea, after a week’s rehearsal in Osaka, Japan. My first impression of Marilyn and Joe was very pleasant. They were both very friendly. At the rehearsal, Marilyn was so very cooperative. She had never seen an upright mike, as she was used to “boom” mikes in Hollywood. It was pretty funny, but we got her trained on the PA system. She was so easy to get along with!! Marilyn never really mentioned her private life but on the way from Osaka to Korea, she excused herself from the “brass” in the front of the plane, and sat down with each one in the show group and asked about where we lived before going into service and about our lives growing up! She was very personable and [it was] a surprising move on her part. We all appreciated her interest in “us”.’

  By the time Marilyn began the first show in Korea, it was snowing, but even so she appeared in a purple evening gown, and later claimed that she didn’t even notice the snow falling around her. ‘In fact,’ she said, ‘it melted away almost before it touched my skin. That was the happiest time – when the thousands of soldiers all yelled my name over and over.’

  Marilyn performed several songs, including ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend’ and ‘Kiss Me Again’, and joked and talked with the GIs in the crowd. One of them, Don Loraine, remembered: ‘I was a young Marine in Korea. Marilyn came out dressed in a heavy parka. She started to sing; suddenly stopped and said, “This is not what you came to see,” and took off the parka. She was dressed in a low-cut purple cocktail dress. She was so beautiful, we all went wild, and I might add it was colder than hell that day. She brought a lot of joy to a group of combat-weary Marines and I for one will never forget her.’

  The shows were a huge success, and on at least one occasion Marilyn created such a stir that the troops caused a near riot. She gave it her all, as Don Obermeyer remembered: ‘Marilyn did not appear to be nervous before or after each performance, except a few times she messed up some of the lyrics, but recovered! She was always greeted by a wildly energetic bunch of GIs, and time permitting she would stand in front of the stage, talk to them and let them take snapshots. At the end of each day of performances, she was swept off to the Officers Club. From the very first day on tour, she insisted that her “bunch of guys” would go with her!’

  Despite bein
g exhausted from appearing before 100,000 servicemen in just four days, Marilyn found time on the last day to give a heartfelt speech, declaring that she had never felt like a movie star before, until her trip to Korea. She added, ‘Now I’m flying back to the most important thing in my life – Joe. And I want to start a family. A family comes before a career.’

  On her return to Japan, Marilyn excitedly told DiMaggio, ‘Joe, you never heard such cheering,’ to which he replied, ‘Yes I have.’ This cutting put-down was made worse by the fact that the freezing conditions had given her not just a bronchial condition but pneumonia too. By the time they arrived in the United States, Marilyn wearily told reporters, ‘I’m ill and just want to go to bed.’ The tour had ended; she was back to reality.

  Almost as soon as the couple arrived in San Francisco, DiMaggio went to work in New York, and at 11.38 p.m. on 28 February 1954, Marilyn sat down to write him a letter. In it she poured out her feelings, telling her husband how much she missed his love and cuddles; how she felt so sad and wanted to be near him. She also apologized for her continual lateness; promised to try a million times harder; and shared her hopes that he would one day be proud of her as a wife and mother of his children. The letter shows that even in the early stages of the marriage, there were troubles, and in an effort to find answers to her problems, Marilyn continued seeing therapists and was also said to have consulted psychic, Kenny Kingston. He remembered: ‘I had my large house high atop Pacific Heights in San Francisco when film great Clifton Webb telephoned me and made an appointment for a “Mrs DiMaggio” to come for a private psychic reading. The DiMaggio name is fairly common in San Francisco, so I thought nothing out of the ordinary about it. We set a time for the appointment – which I recall vividly as being 9 p.m. Clients are rarely late for appointments, thus when “Mrs DiMaggio” had not arrived by 9.15 p.m., my Philippine houseboy Modesto asked if he should extinguish the lights outdoors. (The fog was rolling in heavily). I instructed him to leave the lights on, though I told him he could retire for the evening and I would take care of it. Shortly thereafter, the doorbell chimed. When I opened the door, there she stood – in a black coat with a white ermine collar, and a kerchief on her head. Instantly I recognized the “Goddess of Love”. She was breathless.

  ‘I invited her into the library and asked if she’d like a glass of water. I also asked why she was breathless, and with a smile I was to remember forever, she replied, “I got out of the cab five blocks from your home.” I asked her why and she said, “The story broke in this morning’s paper that I was seeking psychiatric help and I didn’t want your reputation spoiled.” So you see, this was the loving type of a girl that Marilyn Monroe was . . . It was a friendship that began that night and would last until Marilyn’s final days.’

  On 8 March Marilyn won a Photoplay Award for her performance in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and officially signed with the Famous Artists Agency, although in reality, associates Charles Feldman and Hugh French had been looking after her for some time. They agreed that The Girl in Pink Tights was an unsuitable project for their client and became involved with negotiations at Fox. They did a good job and it was decided that Fox would drop the film and, instead, Marilyn would appear in the musical, There’s No Business Like Show Business.

  She was not thrilled with the prospect of a supporting role in this movie but was overjoyed when Fox offered her the role of ‘The Girl’ in Billy Wilder’s movie, The Seven Year Itch, and promised that a new contract would be drawn up in August 1954, with a $100,000 bonus for The Seven Year Itch.

  On arriving in Los Angeles, Marilyn and DiMaggio checked into the Beverly Hills Hotel, before moving into 508 North Palm Drive in Beverly Hills, which Marilyn described as, ‘A simple house. Not too big, or new, or wonderful – but it’s comfortable.’ It also happened to be just doors away from the last home of Jean Harlow, a fact Marilyn declared was just ‘too eerie for words’.

  On 9 April Marilyn met again with author Ben Hecht, who by this time had completed around seventy pages of the manuscript. He read the pages out to Marilyn and according to Hecht, she laughed and cried and was thrilled with the results, promising to go through the pages and come back to him with her amendments. When they met again several weeks later, she had edited a dozen pages of the manuscript, and promised to do more, but by 19 May he had heard nothing and was forced to write to Loyd Wright to ask what on earth was going on.

  By this time the story had been provisionally sold to Collier’s magazine, with the proviso that Marilyn had to approve the article first. It was a futile request, as shortly after, the manuscript appeared in London newspaper the Empire News, which was a shock to everyone involved. Louella Parsons contacted Hecht to ask if he was the author of the piece, which he denied, then Marilyn was quoted in the press as saying she had never seen the manuscript, which was, of course, untrue. Sadly for Hecht, he was unfairly believed to be the person who had sold the story without permission but, as it turned out, Hecht’s agent Jacques Chambrun had sold it for £1,000 without his permission, humiliating Hecht and forcing everyone to wash their hands of the whole, sorry affair. (My Story, an edited version of the book, was finally published in 1974.)

  The book fiasco wasn’t the only upset suffered by Marilyn in spring 1954: on 21 May she accidentally crashed into the car of physical education instructor Bart Antinora, who responded by suing her, but later settled out of court for the sum of $500. Then on 29 May, There’s No Business Like Show Business began shooting, with Marilyn soon realizing that it wasn’t going to provide her greatest role. The film was a long and tedious story of a show-business family, dealing with the ups and downs of life in the business, and staring Ethel Merman as mother of the clan. Marilyn played Vicky, a supporting character who dates Tim Donahue, played by Donald O’Connor. She said, ‘I was miscast. I had to be continually taking off my shoes because of the difference in statures between Donald O’Connor and me.’

  George Chakiris, who was a dancer in Gentleman Prefer Blondes, also became involved in There’s No Business Like Show Business, and found himself working on a version of ‘Heat Wave’: ‘The choreographer for all dance numbers was Robert Alton, but Marilyn had worked with Jack Cole previously and wanted him for “Heat Wave”. Alton created the number for Marilyn, using a girl in her place, along with dancers – one of which was me. We worked on it and when it was finished Marilyn came in quietly and sweetly on her own and sat down and watched. At the end she thanked Alton and left, but she still wanted Cole, so he came in and choreographed the number. She was absolutely right to want Cole; he was right for the number and had a totally different style to Alton. Cole was brilliant with musically gifted women and Marilyn was gifted in those areas. She wasn’t a professional dancer but she knew how to move.’

  Marilyn spent a great deal of time in rehearsals for the musical numbers, and Chakiris remembered one particular day when the cast were having a small party to celebrate the end of a busy day: ‘No one was dressed up, everyone – including Marilyn – was in casual clothes and no make-up. My dance partner, Druscilla, wanted to ask Marilyn to kiss me but I absolutely didn’t want her to do it. Druscilla went over though, and Marilyn turned round, looked in my direction and said, “But I don’t know him.” I thought this was very sweet and meaningful because she knew it was inappropriate to kiss me. I wasn’t disappointed because I was shy and didn’t want Druscilla to do it in the first place!’

  More rehearsals centred on the film’s songs, and Marilyn found herself in the company of Hal Schaefer, who was once again acting as her vocal coach. Hal was a sensitive, quiet man and the two had much in common, not least of which was their desire to get the best out of her performance. For now the relationship was platonic, but it was not long before Hal had become extremely fond of his student, and when things started unravelling at home, Marilyn began to see him as someone more than a vocal coach.

  For now, filming continued in earnest, but as with all her film appearances, Marilyn began turning up la
te on a regular basis, and she was still suffering with anaemia and bronchial problems. George Chakiris was witness to her punctuality problems: ‘She was a wonderfully talented artist, but during the filming of “Lazy”, she kept Mitzi [Gaynor] and Donald [O’Connor] waiting until 3 p.m. Her lateness was never malicious – she was a truly kind human being. But nobody likes to be kept waiting, which is why certain actors have said things about her.’

  Disturbingly, she also began turning up with bruises on her arms. ‘I bite myself in my sleep,’ she joked, but no one thought it was funny. Rumours began to surface of problems at home, which were not helped when DiMaggio told Fox he would not tolerate any invasion of their privacy. Also notable was his absence from the set, but he eventually decided to visit during the filming of the ‘Heat Wave’ number, which – with Marilyn’s revealing costume and sexy performance – wasn’t the best time to arrive. DiMaggio was not pleased and refused to be photographed with his wife, which caused even more problems at home.

  Things were not helped when fans began turning up at North Palm Drive and ringing the doorbell, which Marilyn admitted bothered Joe no end. ‘Joe wanted a wife, not a star,’ his friend Mark Scott later told reporters. ‘Marilyn would come home at night too tired for anything but sleep. That would leave Joe looking at the television.’

  In a rather telling interview during the making of There’s No Business Like Show Business, Marilyn told a reporter that she’d like to make Joe proud of her. ‘He’s not proud of you?’ asked the bemused reporter. ‘I mean more so,’ she corrected. ‘Proud of me as a performer. It makes no difference to him whether I work or not. Joe knows he comes first, before everything.’