Ep.56: Marilyn Monroe - Top 8 Movies
Intro
Hello and Welcome to this episode of the podcast, "The Mnemonic Tree", where we add a single mnemonic leaf to our Tree of Knowledge.
Today's episode is on another one of those people, that died at an extraordinarily young age. Marilyn Monroe was in her mid-thirties when she tragically died, and it leaves you thinking; firstly, how did she fit so much, into such a short life and secondly what could have been possible if she lived to an average age?
Coming from a disjointed childhood in foster homes and an orphanage, Monroe went from, being a factory worker, modelling, then on to acting, where she became one of the biggest and most marketable stars of her era.
Today’s mnemonic is on her Top 8 Movies.
So, with no further ado, we will begin with a summary from Wikipedia.
Wikipedia Summary
Marilyn Monroe (/ˈmærəlɪn mənˈroʊ/; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 – August 4, 1962) was an American actress, model, and singer. Known for playing comic "blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as well as an emblem of the era's sexual revolution. She was a top-billed actress for a decade, and her films grossed $200 million (equivalent to $2 billion in 2022) by the time of her death in 1962.[3] Long after her death, Monroe remains a pop culture icon.[4] In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked her as the sixth-greatest female screen legend from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Monroe spent most of her childhood in a total of 12 foster homes and an orphanage[5] before marrying James Dougherty at age sixteen. She was working in a factory during World War II when she met a photographer from the First Motion Picture Unit and began a successful pin-up modeling career, which led to short-lived film contracts with 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures. After a series of minor film roles, she signed a new contract with Fox in late 1950. Over the next two years, she became a popular actress with roles in several comedies, including As Young as You Feel and Monkey Business, and in the dramas Clash by Night and Don't Bother to Knock. Monroe faced a scandal when it was revealed that she had posed for nude photographs prior to becoming a star, but the story did not damage her career and instead resulted in increased interest in her films.
By 1953, Monroe was one of the most marketable Hollywood stars. She had leading roles in the film noir Niagara, which overtly relied on her sex appeal, and the comedies Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire, which established her star image as a "dumb blonde". The same year, her nude images were used as the centerfold and cover of the first issue of Playboy magazine. Monroe played a significant role in the creation and management of her public image throughout her career, but felt disappointed when typecast and underpaid by the studio. She was briefly suspended in early 1954 for refusing a film project but returned to star in The Seven Year Itch (1955), one of the biggest box office successes of her career.
When the studio was still reluctant to change Monroe's contract, she founded her own film production company in 1954. She dedicated 1955 to building the company and began studying method acting under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. Later that year, Fox awarded her a new contract, which gave her more control and a larger salary. Her subsequent roles included a critically acclaimed performance in Bus Stop (1956) and her first independent production in The Prince and the Showgirl (1957). She won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for her role in Some Like It Hot (1959), a critical and commercial success. Her last completed film was the drama The Misfits (1961).
Monroe's troubled private life received much attention. She struggled with addiction and mood disorders. Her marriages to retired baseball star Joe DiMaggio and to playwright Arthur Miller were highly publicized, but ended in divorce. On August 4, 1962, she died at age 36 from an overdose of barbiturates at her Los Angeles home. Her death was ruled a probable suicide.
Extracted from: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Monroe]
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marilyn_Monroe_photo_pose_Seven_Year_Itch.jpg
Mnemonic
Marilyn Monroe – Top 8 Movies Mnemonic – THe BeST GiRL
(Simply picture Marilyn Munroe as the best girl in movies in the 1950’s)
1. The Misfits
2. How to Marry a Millionaire
3. Bus Stop
4. Some Like It Hot
5. The Seven Year Itch
6. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
7. River of No Return
8. Let’s Make Love
Five Fun Facts
1. Norma Jean Baker was married at age 16. It wasn’t your standard marriage though, as it was an arranged marriage to James Dougherty the 20-year-old boy next door.
Why you ask? Because the family friend that was looking after her, Grace Goddard was moving to West Virginia and could not take her unless she was married. And so, it was. She was married to James from 1943 to 1944.
2. Marilyn Monroe and Albert Einstein may have had a thing. Shelley Winters a veteran actress from films such as The Diary of Anne Frank and The Poseidon Adventure was Munroe’s roommate at one stage and claims Monroe hinted about a dalliance with Einstein.
3. Monroe was the first pick by Truman Capote to play the role of Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. In the end she rejected the role mainly due to her adviser and acting coach not believing the role was appropriate for Monroe.
The role eventually went to Audrey Hepburn which she made her own, in one of her best movies.
4. Both Monroe’s mother and grandmother had mental illness. The grandmother killed herself, whilst her mother was hospitalised in Rockhaven, California as a paranoid schizophrenic.
5. Apart from the FBI having a file on Monroe, she was also being listened to. This was discovered years after Monroe’s death when actors Michael Irving and Veronica Hamel remodelled the house that was previously Monroe’s and discovered a sophisticated, government-grade phone tapping system throughout the house.
6. Bonus Fact: In 1954 both Joe DiMaggio and Frank Sinatra raided a house with an assembled crowd to catch Marilyn Monroe cheating. They were tipped off by DiMaggio’s hired private investigator who gave them the exact address.
After breaking in and storming the place they realised that it wasn’t the place, rather the home of secretary Florence Kotz, who in the end sued and was awarded $7,500 for her trauma.
7. Bonus Fact: According to sources Monroe was a mediocre student but enjoyed writing and helping with the school newspaper.
But apparently, one of Munroe’s junior school teachers was suitably impressed with her astuteness noting, that when she asked the young Munroe to name two pronouns, Marilyn precociously replied “Who, me?”
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marilyn_Monroe_1953_crop.jpg
Three Question Quiz
Q.1. Marilyn Munroe’s first choice of stage name was what? Options are Jean Adair, Mon Grell or Jean Jeanie
Q.2. Which Marilyn Monroe co-star said, "Kissing her is like kissing Hitler?" Options are Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis or Clark Gable
Q.3. In 1958 who did Marilyn Monroe have a brief affair with? Options are Mickey Rooney, Joseph Cotten or Oliver Hardy
Bonus Q. How old was Monroe when she died? And what year did she die? Options are 1952 or 1962
Mnemonic Recap
Marilyn Monroe – Top 8 Movies Mnemonic – THe BeST GiRL
(Simply picture Marilyn Munroe as the best girl in movies in the 1950’s)
1. The Misfits
2. How to Marry a Millionaire
3. Bus Stop
4. Some Like It Hot
5. The Seven Year Itch
6. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
7. River of No Return
8. Let’s Make Love
Three Question Quiz Answers
Q.1. Marilyn Munroe’s first choice of stage name was what? Options are Jean Adair, Mon Grell or Jean Jeanie
A. Jean Adair, and I hope no one fell for the first option mongrel!
Q.2. Which Marilyn Monroe co-star said, "Kissing her is like kissing Hitler?" Options are Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis or Clark Gable
A. Tony Curtis
Q.3. In 1958 who did Marilyn Monroe have a brief affair with? Options are Mickey Rooney, Joseph Cotten or Oliver Hardy
A. Mickey Rooney
Bonus Q. How old was Monroe when she died? And what year did she die? Options are 1952 or 1962
A. 36 years old. The year was 1962
Word of the Week
prevaricate
[ pri-var-i-keyt ]
verb (used without object)
to speak falsely or misleadingly; deliberately misstate or create an incorrect impression; lie.
Example
Deceit and prevarication were commonplace in regards to Marilyn Munroe, whether it be the media, the public or the CIA.
Extracted from: [https://www.dictionary.com/]
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References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Monroe
https://www.glamour.com/story/5-things-you-dont-know-about-m
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/19268/14-breathless-facts-about-marilyn-monroe