Marilyn Monroe

by Michelle Morgan

  Writer Wolf Mankowitz remembered that he visited the set during a hiatus in shooting, which had been caused, ‘because the relationship between Olivier and Marilyn was very, very bad. He couldn’t stand her at all and found her acting – her way of setting about acting – and Mrs Strasberg’s presence, absolutely unbearable.’

  Many of the actors who worked on The Prince and the Showgirl have passed away, but the few who remain remember the influence Paula Strasberg had on the set of the film. Strasberg was witnessed telling Marilyn she was the greatest woman living, and that she was more popular than Jesus. Marilyn endured this kind of flattery, but the crew found it amusing if not a bit irritating, and as a result most of them didn’t attempt to befriend Marilyn, finding her inaccessible and remote.

  Daphne Anderson, who played Fanny, remembered that she was often unable to speak to Marilyn because she was reserved and spent so much time with Strasberg; while Vera Day recalled there weren’t many amusing incidents on the set, as Marilyn was always surrounded by her group and kept strictly to herself. This sort of behaviour led many of the actors and crew to think of her as aloof, and it won her no points when it came to popularity.

  But Paula Strasberg wasn’t the only person invading the set of The Prince and the Showgirl: Marilyn constantly telephoned Lee Strasberg (running up a bill that was still being discussed months after she’d gone home); Vivien Leigh popped in occasionally and even watched the rushes; and Arthur Miller visited on a regular basis, giving Marilyn a perfect excuse to stop everything and walk off set.

  As happened on most film sets, Marilyn had difficulty remembering her lines, and her scenes often required many takes as it was discovered she never said a line the same way twice. One cast member commented that Laurence Olivier aged about fifteen years during the making of the film, and Marilyn’s continuing reliance on Paula Strasberg caused considerable irritation. All this soon gained Marilyn bad press among many of her colleagues: Jean Kent, who played Maisie Springfield, remembered that she was more concerned with the bust line of her dress than anything else, while Esmond Knight, who played Colonel Hoffman, described Marilyn as ‘an absolute cretin’, such was the level of his discord.

  For the sake of everyone working on the film, Laurence Olivier ordered a closed set and banned all members of the press. Despite this, however, one eager fan dressed as a window cleaner and climbed on to the roof to try and catch a glimpse of Marilyn in her dressing room. He failed, but several others succeeded, such as the Daily Mail reporter who bumped into her in the corridor. His colleague, Edwin Sampson, took the opportunity to snap the star and although his camera was quickly confiscated, it did lead Laurence Olivier to release two photographs in a bid to calm the reporters. It wasn’t enough though, and several months later, reporter Marcus Milne gatecrashed the studio and spent several hours pretending to be an extra before being removed by one of the third assistant directors.

  The banning of the press both at home and at work just succeeded in making them even more determined to ‘dig the dirt’ and write whatever they could about Marilyn. When the Oliviers sent her a large bouquet of flowers, the press chastised her for not sending a thank you letter, but this particular rumour was unfair and untrue, as she certainly did write a note of thanks, which Olivier kept in his personal files until his death in 1989.

  Still, few journalists were concerned with reporting on Marilyn’s grace and kindness and in August 1956 they were more concerned that the butler was the only person seen riding the bicycle presented to Marilyn at the Savoy press conference. When she was eventually spotted cycling, on 12 August, journalists were so pleased to see ‘that girl’ on ‘that bike’ that they failed to notice she was riding a completely different cycle to the one she’d been given by the press.

  One person who spotted Marilyn on her bike was Gerald Searle, as he cycled home towards Egham one evening. As he arrived at the junction with Wick Lane, he was surprised to see the Millers turning on to the A30 road on their bicycles. Searle noticed that they were not accompanied by bodyguards or entourage, and both looked extremely happy together.

  However, not everyone recalled Marilyn’s cycling outings with such warmth. Joyce Jackson was walking through Windsor Park with her husband, their three-year-old toddler and twelveyear-old nephew, when Marilyn and Arthur cycled up behind them. According to Mrs Jackson, her nephew was trailing a long stick behind him, and this made Arthur Miller angry that his wife could somehow be knocked off her bicycle. Unconvinced, Mrs Jackson aired her concerns that the couple shouldn’t be riding in the park, to which Miller allegedly said, ‘But this is Marilyn Monroe, and I am her husband.’ The couple then went on their way, leaving Mrs Jackson very unimpressed with her ‘Marilyn encounter’.

  Shooting continued until 22 August, when Marilyn was suddenly struck down with a mystery illness and was unable to work. Newspapers reported that she was suffering from a stomach illness and this led to rumours that she could be pregnant. The pregnancy rumour would not die down for the remainder of her stay, and indeed there is still discussion now as to whether or not she lost a baby whilst in England.

  The idea of Marilyn miscarrying during the making of The Prince and the Showgirl seems unlikely. The actress was very open about subsequent miscarriages, and the official announcement of a lost baby would have won her a great deal of sympathy both on and off the set. But no official announcement ever came, and both Amy Greene and the daughter of the Strasbergs, Susan, denied any knowledge of her being pregnant. Arthur Miller rubbished all reports of a pregnancy at the time, made no mention of it in his autobiography and declined to comment when asked about it some fifty years later.

  Furthermore, aside from the third assistant director, Colin Clark, no one on the set seems to have heard about any such pregnancy. There is no record or mention of a miscarriage in any of Olivier’s production files and the first Dolly Stiles, Marilyn’s housekeeper, heard of it was when she read Colin Clark’s book. It seems surprising that household staff wouldn’t have had at least some inkling of such an intense situation.

  What seems more likely is that Marilyn was suffering once again from endometriosis, since many of her absences occurred around the same time each month. Susan Strasberg remembered Marilyn requiring special pills to get her through a bad menstrual attack, while Esmond Knight later wrote that Marilyn didn’t come to the set one day because of menstrual problems. This seems to have been the case on several occasions.

  Adding to the pressure surrounding this bout of poor health was the discovery that the Millers’ cook and butler had been trying to sell their stories to the press. This came as a huge shock to everyone involved, and on 24 August it was announced that the couple had been relieved of their duties. What is surprising about this incident is that before the Millers moved into the house, there were no meetings to discuss confidentiality; it was just expected that the staff would not talk. Added to that, although PC Hunt was in charge of Marilyn’s safekeeping, he had very little to do with the staff, which lead to there being gaping holes in her security. Thankfully for Marilyn, Dolly Stiles fiercely guarded her confidentiality, and when she too was approached to sell her story, she adamantly refused.

  As if all this wasn’t enough, Marilyn’s world fell apart when two weeks into the production she apparently found a notebook that Miller had left open on a table at Parkside. In the notebook, Miller had poured out his thoughts of what was happening during the making of The Prince and the Showgirl, detailing problems between Olivier and Marilyn, and saying how disappointed he felt with his wife and how he was ashamed of her.

  Marilyn read the notebook in disbelief, and later broke down to the Strasbergs, who were concerned as to how Miller could write such things about his new wife. Although they tried to console her, Marilyn was convinced the notebook had been left open on purpose and took it to mean that her husband was now siding with Olivier. The incident could not have come at a worse time and no amount of comfort could convince her that perhaps what he wr
ote was just in the heat of the moment. Things were made worse when Marilyn’s staff – as well as the film’s crew – somehow found out about the incident, and although they were unsure of the exact details, they were fully aware that Marilyn was completely distraught by what she saw as her husband’s betrayal.

  Alan, Marilyn’s pianist, remembers how the couple behaved around each other during this time: ‘I didn’t like [Miller] and found him very arrogant. He would look at me in a way that seemed like he wanted me to apologize for breathing. That wasn’t Marilyn’s way. She saw how he reacted to other people and this could have been the start of the rot. Marilyn was lovely with kids and old folk; in fact she was nice to everybody but had times when she could be “off” and then people just remember that. Arthur sized you up – you didn’t count if you weren’t in his group.

  ‘At Parkside I stayed in a corner and tried to blend in with the wallpaper; my mum said it was very vulgar to be seen. Marilyn was certainly ill, I could tell. She was miserable and puffy and her temper was short. She had a temper towards Arthur mainly – it was hot and strong [and] I couldn’t help overhearing stuff. There were rows but there were equally nice times too. I can’t remember the specific diary incident but tensions would blow due to something on the set.’

  Marilyn felt betrayed by all sides: in her eyes her husband had been disloyal; Olivier was becoming more and more condescending; the press was turning against her; and even peacekeeping Milton Greene felt Marilyn’s wrath when he was accused of being on Olivier’s side. For Marilyn, her only allies were the Strasbergs and Hedda Rosten, but even that didn’t last long, since Lee only visited briefly and Hedda returned to New York just weeks into production, deciding she didn’t want to risk her friendship by staying in a situation that was quickly reaching boiling point.

  Marilyn’s temper was witnessed by pianist Alan during a particularly stressful time at Parkside: ‘One day I wasn’t there when I was supposed to be, and Marilyn exploded at me. I was very careful after that. She seemed very lonely – like she was on her own in a little bubble. Marilyn was often full of fun but at times it was like talking to a black hole.’

  Marilyn decided to take her mind off her problems by going on a shopping trip. Alan remembers: ‘The first time she went shopping in London, Marilyn asked Colin Clark where would be a good place to go. He said Bond Street and of course she was mobbed.’ Indeed, by the time she reached Regent Street she was surrounded by hundreds of fans and the police had to be called.

  But while the first trip to London was something of a disaster, it didn’t put her off and soon Alan found himself executing various escapes into the city. ‘We used to get out of Parkside through the service route at the back,’ recalled Alan. ‘We’d go under trees and through the property to next door – the Gardener’s Lodge. Marilyn would wear various disguises – hats, overcoat and floppy hat with a shoulder bag. She always had a book or a poetry volume in the bag. Her bottom didn’t wiggle – she used nothing to associate herself with being Marilyn. Sometimes people would look to see who she was but they didn’t recognize her.’

  Once in London, Marilyn would behave just like any other tourist. She squealed with delight when she heard Big Ben chime, declaring it ‘Just like the movies,’ and also made a point of visiting the National Gallery, Piccadilly Circus and Charing Cross. She also took the chance to extend her book collection, as confirmed by pianist Alan: ‘Marilyn would make a beeline for Foyle’s bookshop and once you got her in there, you would have to drag her out.’

  One day Marilyn took a ‘sicky’ and she escaped into the city with Alan. Once there they did some sightseeing in Trafalgar Square, where she got much more than she bargained for, as Alan recalls: ‘A pigeon went “splat” on the brim of her hat and she didn’t want to take it off because it was part of her disguise. We had to use a hanky and nail brush to scrub most of it off using water from the fountain. Many years later that same hat came up at auction and it still had the stains on the brim!’

  But pigeons weren’t the only ones to give Marilyn unwanted attention, as witnessed by Alan. ‘We were in Trafalgar Square and an old lady came up to her. She was about five foot tall, all in black, wearing a hat with fruit and carrying a shopping bag. She stood right in front of Marilyn, poked her between her ribs and said, “Ere, you’re that Marilyn Monroe tart ain’t ya?” She actually winded Marilyn with the poke. Marilyn looked down and in her “Queen” voice said, “Oh thank you, you’re so kind. I’m often being compared to her.” “Snotty cow,” said the old woman and stormed off. Marilyn was in hysterics laughing.’

  Another escape came one evening when she wanted to get away from the stifling security at Parkside House. ‘I asked where she would like to go,’ recalls Alan, ‘and she said she’d seen a print of Salisbury Cathedral and had always wanted to see it. Off we went and we toured the cathedral and sat for quite a while. When we left she told me she was hungry and I panicked because I hadn’t thought about what we’d have to eat. We walked past a “chippy” and she said, “That smells good,” so she kept her head down, and we bought some chips and sat on a bench to eat them. She had never had fish and chips before but she wasn’t proud.’

  But while these adventures were fun, working in a strange country was still daunting, and made worse on 26 August when Arthur Miller returned to the United States in order to see his children. Still feeling betrayed after finding his notebook, Marilyn went with him to the airport, and the couple sat quietly together in the back of their car, saying their goodbyes. The following day, on 27 August, she was back on the set, but it didn’t last long; on 31 August, she was once again unavailable for work, and shooting had to be rearranged to make allowances for her absence.

  Reports surfaced that she was suffering from gastritis, and various doctors were called to her bedside. ‘While she often went out when she was supposed to be ill, there were times when she was actually ill, there was no mistake about that,’ remembered pianist Alan. For the next week Marilyn remained at home, and housekeeper Dolly Stiles recalled that she spent all her time either alone in her bedroom, or pottering around the garden. Finally, on 4 September, Arthur Miller cut short his trip to the United States and returned to England.

  Although Olivier had problems of his own when Vivien Leigh miscarried his baby, on the surface at least he appeared calm during Marilyn’s absence. In a letter to his friend Radie Harris, he said they had been able to fill the time perfectly well with scenes Marilyn was not involved with. However, the full extent of her absence was later revealed when it was estimated she had cost the film approximately £38,305 and it could have been finished three weeks earlier if she had been on set, and on time.

  The stress of the England trip was certainly taking its toll on Marilyn: she was drinking and her reliance on sleeping pills was growing; she became hysterical when the pills didn’t work or wore off. Her New York analyst was flown in to help and finally she received treatment from Anna Freud, the daughter of her hero, Sigmund Freud.

  Added to her misery was the increased security at Parkside House, overseen by PC Hunt, or Plod as he was known. According to pianist Alan, ‘Security was beyond all reason and she resented it. Curtains were drawn in the car; no waving allowed; police at the gate, on the drive and the porch . . . it was far too much and far in excess of reason.’

  Disturbingly for Marilyn, she found out that PC Hunt was keeping a diary of her comings and goings at Parkside and then reporting them back to Olivier. ‘She reacted badly,’ remembered Alan. ‘There was no more politeness with Plod. He would go hopping mad – he was in cahoots with [Colin] Clark and Marilyn would like baiting them. One day Plod caught me coming back into the house with Marilyn and it was very unpleasant. “Where have you been?” he shouted at me. “Sorry, what do you mean?” I asked. “I’ve been out.” “Don’t be cheeky young man,” Plod said. I told him that I worked for Marilyn – to Plod she was always Mrs Miller – and that if he wanted to know, he should ask her. Plod got very worked up an
d Marilyn overheard. She came out and told him that he was very much out of order and what I did was none of his business. She told me to go with her into the drawing room, and closed the door. “Never mind him,” she said and gave me a kiss on the cheak. He had started out being an old uncle but there was more to him than that.’

  But PC Hunt wasn’t the only one on Marilyn’s blacklist. She now considered peacekeeper Milton Greene as untrustworthy, and Miller found himself drawn into the business side of Marilyn Monroe Productions. Marilyn accepted Miller’s help until he tried to get her on set, which she considered as him once again taking sides, and subsequently began to resent his involvement. Additionally, she believed that Greene was buying English antique furniture and charging it to Marilyn Monroe Productions, which caused more mistrust between the business partners, and in turn resulted in her relationship with Miller becoming even tenser.

  Still, during quieter moments Marilyn continued to share her dreams with her husband, detailing her plans to study history and literature; and her determination to have a quieter, calmer life in New York. They spent time travelling around the countryside, visited Brighton beach and ate at the Shelleys Hotel in Lewes, as remembered by receptionist Peggy Heriot: ‘One afternoon I was in reception at the Shelleys Hotel and in walked Marilyn with her husband Arthur Miller. She wore no makeup but looked really beautiful; they were both very casually dressed. They asked to look around the hotel then came back to reception saying they were hungry and wondered if I could give them something to eat. I telephoned our then chef who was resting in his room, saying that Marilyn Monroe would like some food. He thought I was joking but, once convinced, came down and talked to the couple. They ate in the drawing room and when they left they thanked the chef and me profusely and went on their way.’