Marilyn Monroe

by Michelle Morgan

  But it wasn’t all bad news for the respected vocal coach, as not long after he met the woman who was to become the love of his life: ‘I was extremely happy with my wife, Brenda – who shared the same birthday as Marilyn. Brenda was the best thing that ever happened to me. She was a remarkable woman.’

  Chapter 14

  New York, New Marilyn

  When Marilyn arrived in New York she was met by Milton and Amy Greene and taken immediately to their large sixteen-room farmhouse in Weston, Connecticut. She was rundown, suffering from anaemia and in desperate need of a rest, which she received during the festive season with the Greenes, their baby son, Joshua, and their maid, Kitty Owens.

  For Marilyn, this must surely have been a strange time: unwell; living with a family she did not know particularly well; and in an environment very different from the one she’d known in California. But despite that, she busied herself with everyday life; babysitting Joshua, talking to Kitty in the kitchen and sharing housework with Amy. She also talked excitedly with Milton about their future venture, Marilyn Monroe Productions, for which she planned to produce films and television, along with a book to showcase Milton’s photos of her. In her spare time she would read, speak to Joe DiMaggio on the telephone and take walks in the woods near the Greenes’ home, content to be by herself for the first time in many months.

  Meanwhile, virtually no one knew where Marilyn was living; Fox insisted that she was still living in California, while reporters wondered where she was and continued to run stories of affairs with Frank Sinatra and Clark Gable. Marilyn had no intention of giving herself up just yet, and instead transferred all her business affairs to New York. She dropped Inez Melson as her business manager (although she continued to handle all affairs related to Gladys Baker); fired Charles Feldman as her agent; and neglected to contact Natasha Lytess, who was at a loss as to what was going on with her star pupil.

  On 3 January 1955 Marilyn attended a meeting with the new board of directors for Marilyn Monroe Productions, including Milton Greene, Joe Carr and Frank Delaney. Delaney had found several ‘holes’ in her contract with Fox and, much to her joy, declared Marilyn a free agent. With that in mind, on 7 January the ‘new Marilyn Monroe’ appeared at the home of Delaney, where she announced her intention to take the female lead in The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky, and also raised eyebrows by claiming she no longer had a contract with Fox.

  This news came as quite a shock to the studio, and by the time Marilyn arrived at Fox on 9 January for retakes on The Seven Year Itch, the executives were in no mood to discuss it. While they declared they would use ‘very legal means’ to enforce the agreement, Marilyn was forced to admit she was still under contract but hoped that they could reach an understanding. Delaney was not so accepting, however, and reaffirmed that her contract had been terminated and abandoned.

  All this resulted in media frenzy, with newspapers predicting that if she were kept off-screen until her contract expired, she might end up a has-been. So-called friends also came out of the woodwork to pronounce Marilyn ‘stubborn and impatient’, while even Natasha Lytess got in on the act by commenting, ‘nobody’s indispensable’. Marilyn herself saw it in quite a different way: ‘I never tried to be independent just to show my independence. It wasn’t so much that I objected to doing one kind of role. I merely wanted the freedom to do other kinds of roles too.’

  She tried to forget her business problems and instead busied herself with improving not only her talents, but her social life too. She moved into New York’s Gladstone Hotel on 19 January, and began going to museums and attending the theatre on a regular basis. ‘People often recognize me in museums,’ she said, ‘but they seem to leave me alone there. They don’t come up to me unless they’re children.’ She began mixing with theatre actors such as Dame Edith Sitwell, and authors like Elsa Maxwell, who described Marilyn as, ‘The most exciting girl in all the world,’ whilst also observing that she seemed like a child, ‘who was trying to appear sophisticated and grown-up’.

  Marilyn began acting lessons with Constance Collier in early 1955, and shortly after, Broadway producer Cheryl Crawford encouraged her to take lessons with Lee and Paula Strasberg, who ran the Actors Studio, which Crawford had helped found. The studio taught the ‘Method’, a technique derived from the teachings of Constantin Stanislavski, which was considered controversial due to its requirement that the actors completely immerse themselves in the characters they played. ‘I feel that I can learn many things about acting in New York,’ she said. ‘What I want is to apply in Hollywood what I learn in New York. I think it will bring the best result.’

  When Marilyn first began studying with the Strasbergs, she attended lessons with Lee, and later became an observer at the Actors Studio itself. She enjoyed the experience, although worried that she felt so much older than the other students there: ‘I guess I’m not a lot older than they are, but I feel like it,’ she said.

  Meanwhile, her arrival at both the Actors Studio and the private lessons was treated with curiosity by many of the students there, although reports of a hostile reception were perhaps exaggerated. Fellow student Stefan Gierasch was witness to Marilyn’s early days at the school and remembered: ‘I was surprised to see someone like Marilyn in the Studio. We were like a club, but we tried to welcome her; I don’t believe we were unkind to her at all. Strasberg was her mentor and he and Paula were always around her. After class the students would sometimes dine together for lunch; Lee and Paula would escort Marilyn and she would be quite giggly. She was quite retiring and quiet, but that depended on circumstances. She sat at the back, blended into the crowd, and didn’t draw any attention to herself. She came to be more relaxed in the restaurant as time went on, and she was always tended to by Paula.’

  Another student, Mark Weston, remembered Marilyn being known as ‘The Golden Girl’: ‘Before Marilyn arrived in Lee’s private class, he asked us all to treat her like just another student. My introduction to Marilyn was abrupt and painful; she would attend class and just take up space. She’d wear mink coats in the summer and different coloured shoes on each foot. Well, I had arrived late to class while a scene was in progress. My usual seat was on the middle aisle three rows behind where Lee sat. I groped myself across the aisle and accidentally stepped on the Golden Girl’s open-toed high-heeled shoes. I sat and watched the scene being performed. I eyed the Golden Girl then turned away . . . on my third viewing of her I realized it was Marilyn! Ms Monroe never again wore make-up, dresses, furs, and heels!

  ‘My first impression and sympathy towards Marilyn, who sat next to me, was when something humorous happened on the stage all would laugh, including Marilyn. However, instead of an instantaneous laugh she would look at someone then laugh, stop, and repeat the action again and again. My feelings were that the studio had created a robot. She was aware of her every response.’

  While she seemed quite unapproachable at first, Marilyn longed to make friends and later said that the greatest thrill of her life came one morning when she arrived late to class. ‘Most of the other students were already there,’ she said. ‘A couple of them looked up, waved and said casually, “Hi Marilyn.” It was a simple thing, but it meant they had accepted me. I was one of them.’

  Away from the lessons, she was happy to take part in charity and publicity functions such as acting as an usherette at the premiere of the James Dean movie, East of Eden, and riding on a pink elephant at Madison Square Garden. Despite being away from Hollywood, for the first time ever her fan mail at Fox hit 8,000 – the highest of any star in the entire history of Fox studios. She had finally arrived, but despite being one of the world’s most famous women, she never stopped caring about the man on the street, as witnessed by Richard Shepherd, who handled her PR for a short time during 1955. His friend and client Steve Hayes later remembered: ‘My agent Richard Shepherd [who would later co-produce Breakfast at Tiffany’s] was in his New York hotel waiting to escort Marilyn to an awards dinner, when after being two ho
urs late she showed up with a sailor who was battered and bleeding. He’d had an accident of some kind and Marilyn, on seeing his condition, picked him up and insisted Dick help her get the unfortunate man to an emergency hospital.’

  On 8 April Marilyn appeared on Edward R. Murrow’s television show, Person to Person, during which she answered questions with the help of Milton and Amy Greene. Shortly after she was interviewed by Dave Garroway for his radio show, and then by Peer J. Oppenheimer, who was working at the time as editor-in-chief of Family Weekly, a Sunday supplement which is now USA Weekend. He met Marilyn on several occasions, but the first was in 1955, while she was living at the Waldorf Towers. He remembered: ‘I took her out to dinner for a story in “Family Weekly”. I found her totally helpless in the presence of a man. I was willing to do anything for her although I had a slight suspicion that maybe it was partly an act. Nevertheless, she gave a great interview. While there were hundreds of people I interviewed for “Family Weekly”, and later for a television series I created and produced for NBC, the two hours with her were the most memorable I spent with a star.’

  But one thing Marilyn wouldn’t have discussed was her decision to begin taking therapy with Milton Greene’s ex-therapist, Margaret Hohenberg, which led her further down the road of psychoanalysis. She declared Freud her hero, but due to the technique of continually going back to childhood problems and situations, the therapy sessions were not easy for her. ‘It is the biggest waste of anyone’s time to keep looking back,’ she said in 1953, but by 1955 she was willing to give it a try, though time would tell if it was doing her any good at all.

  One friend who disliked both the journey into psychoanalysis and the Strasbergs was Arthur Miller, to whom Marilyn had been reintroduced in 1955. Although he was still married to his wife, Mary, he began to fall in love with the actress, and the two spent many stolen hours together in her apartment at the Waldorf Towers.

  Obviously Marilyn was keen to play down any talk of a romance between Miller and herself, and probably didn’t worry when rumours began circulating that she was secretly dating Actors Studio actor, Eli Wallach. Stefan Gierasch once witnessed the two actors together: ‘I followed her up Broadway, while she was walking with Eli Wallach. She had grease on her face and was dressed down, but everyone still recognized her. Everyone always wondered if she was dating Eli, but they never knew for sure.’

  The rumours reached the newspapers and also Eli’s wife, Anne Jackson, but after persuading her that he was merely a stand-in for real-life boyfriend, Arthur Miller, Anne laughed at the stories and the four became friends.

  Another friend at this time was Norman Rosten, who knew Arthur Miller and was introduced to Marilyn through her friend, photographer Sam Shaw. They first met on a rainy afternoon when Shaw took her to dry out at the home Rosten shared with his wife, Hedda, and his daughter, Patricia. Wearing no make-up and wet through, Marilyn was completely unrecognizable and by the time the Rostens finally realized they had Marilyn Monroe sitting in their living room, they had accepted her as a person, not a superstar, and a lifelong friendship soon developed.

  However, her relationship with the Rostens was not always an easy one: she would call in the middle of the night, giving bulletins on the health of her pregnant cat; or ask if anyone wanted to meet up for coffee. Then during one visit to the beach, she almost got herself and Norman drowned when fans clambered around them, forcing the couple to go deeper and deeper into the sea, until a passing boat was able to save them from a grizzly end.

  Another trip to the beach – this time with Milton Greene – was slightly more light-hearted, as described by John Thorndike, son of Joe Thorndike, the managing editor of Life magazine: ‘My father had long been friends with Milton Greene . . . Marilyn was spending the weekend in Connecticut with Milton and his wife, and mentioned to them that she wanted to try out the new sport of waterskiing, so Milton called my dad. We lived on Long Island and had a little boat, though the motor was barely strong enough to pull a skinny twelve-year-old out of the water. I was twelve and, disastrously, had gone off with a friend for the day, but Dad knew someone with a bigger boat. Charlie Goit leapt at the chance, and Milton, Marilyn and a small retinue drove over to our place . . . All I really know is that someone had to get into the chest-deep water with Marilyn and help with her skis and keep her from tipping over until the line drew taut. And that was my father.

  ‘Up she surged, then crashed. Charlie circled around, Dad held Marilyn, and off she went again. On the third try she skied for a hundred yards, and Charlie got to haul her into the boat. But when I came home that evening the detail I heard from friends, neighbours and family, over and over, was how Charlie had to drive while my father stood in the water with his arms around Marilyn Monroe. I think everyone liked the irony of that, because Charlie was kind of lascivious, and my father more of a gentleman.’

  Long Island was also where Norman Rosten had a home, and Marilyn would often visit at weekends, helping to cook, playing badminton and walking in the woods with the cat. The friendship was also extended to the Rostens’ daughter, Patricia, who was thrilled when she found herself amidst Marilyn’s make-up, several years later: ‘She plunked me down at her vanity mirror and said that since I was so intrigued by the art of make-up, she would show me how to do the job right.’

  Twenty minutes later the job was finished, and Marilyn then showed Patricia off to the Rostens, proud of her handiwork on their daughter. Patricia wasn’t the only one to experience Marilyn’s affinity with young people; Lee Strasberg’s daughter, Susan, became close to her, and Sam Shaw’s daughters, Meta and Edith, were friends too. For Edith, who shared a birthday with the actress, Marilyn was just a friend of her parents, not a celebrity, and on one occasion, she even accompanied her to the circus as a celebration of their joint birthday.

  Halfway through their big-top excursion, somebody in the crowd recognized Marilyn, but she was adamant that nothing was going to interfere with the birthday trip. She denied her identity, pretended to be someone else, then took Edith to get some cotton candy. ‘As we went down the escalator,’ remembered Edith, ‘Marilyn turned to me and said in quite a soft voice, “When you talk to me, don’t call me by my name. Say: Hey you, Hey there, or Haystack.” She laughed. I thought she was so funny and I will always remember these words to me.’

  Meanwhile, Marilyn continued her acting lessons, attending private sessions with Strasberg and observing studio classes five times a week. She worked hard but found the lessons challenging, as often her mind was elsewhere, and that made it difficult to concentrate. She also found the regular Marilyn Monroe Productions meetings taxing, as witnessed by a friend who saw her getting ‘pretty bored after a while. It’s hard to keep her attention after an hour, even on matters that concern her vitally. She sort of stops listening and stops absorbing.’

  Despite having moved across country to begin a new life, Marilyn still kept in touch with Joe DiMaggio, who was even now hoping to win his ex-wife back. He kept a journal during 1955, in which he wrote notes to himself to stop being jealous and try to be patient. He knew his behaviour in the past had made Marilyn unhappy, and was determined to make it up to her; he spoke to her on the telephone, sent her letters and telegrams, and they met occasionally when he was in New York.

  Marilyn even found time to travel to Boston with Joe in late January 1955, and he accompanied her to the premiere of The Seven Year Itch in June. His hopes were definitely raised but he was confused by her signals; when asked if they had reconciled, he answered, ‘I couldn’t answer that question if I wanted to, or even if I had the answer. Marilyn is the only person who can do that.’ But his hopes were dashed when Marilyn was asked the same question in front of him, ‘No,’ she answered, ‘Let’s just call it a visit.’

  In early August 1955, Arthur Miller went to Cape Cod with his family and the cast and crew of A View from the Bridge, while Marilyn travelled to Bement, where she was to take part in the town’s centennial celebrations. Although
feeling the effects of a kidney complaint and limping as a result, Marilyn travelled with photographer Eve Arnold, who was to record the event for posterity. It has been said that Marilyn was tricked into thinking the event would purely be about Abraham Lincoln and had no idea she would have to perform duties such as judging a beard contest, but this is not true. Before she left New York, she told reporters that she was ‘going to Bement to see the lovely men with the beards; they are so powerful and masterful.’

  As well as giving a speech on her idol Abraham Lincoln, Marilyn also travelled to a local nursing home where she met the eldest resident, 100-year-old Clara. Albert Winer’s mother was proprietor of the residence, and he took great pleasure in meeting Marilyn. He remembered: ‘I thought Marilyn was a very beautiful lady. She had an injured ankle and was hobbling around – walking with a noticeable limp – but seemed happy to be there; enjoyed being there.’

  Back in New York, Marilyn was becoming an avid fan of Arthur Miller’s work, and attended three performances of A View from the Bridge. The press picked up on her new-found interest, but to try and quash any unwanted attention, after a performance on 29 September she went to the El Morocco with composer Harold Arlen. She was also rumoured to be dating Marlon Brando, but in reality she was very much involved with Miller, and by October, his marriage had finally imploded. He moved into a hotel just as Marilyn received her final divorce from Joe DiMaggio and moved into an apartment at 2 Sutton Place. There both Marilyn and Arthur spent many evenings together, looking out over the city and planning their future.