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Authors: Adela Gregory

Crypt 33 (11 page)

BOOK: Crypt 33
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9
The Valley Girl and the Big Apple
D
iMaggio's estranged wife shrouded her pain and returned to the studio, where she did some of her finest work for Billy Wilder in The
Seven Year Itch.
Wilder was adept at interplaying her sexual nuances with her natural comedic timing. George Axelrod's screenplay was sophisticated, subtle, and tapped the actress's innate talents. Marilyn pushed herself more than ever before and it showed. The daily rushes proved she could steal every scene. Wilder and coproducer Charles Feldman gloated over the results. The time taken up by Marilyn's marital problems during the filming increased the cost by a mere $150,000, but the finished product improved enormously.
The still fresh memory of her poor performance in
Show Business
also drove the actress to push herself to new heights. Never had she received such scathing reviews as when
Business
was released. Her dance sequences were considered crude. Though even derogatory gossip usually helps a picture, the film bombed. Marilyn had vowed never again to endure that kind of devastating experience.
But now Marilyn was beaming on film as never before, and the studio was beaming confidently that
Itch
would be a hit. Ironically, after helping to destroy to her marriage, Twentieth became Marilyn's haven; she felt at home and secure with the studio that wanted her the most. Zanuck even spoke to her at rushes, for the first time clearly displaying deference to her. Stability was what she needed more than ever since her separation, and Twentieth was opportunistically there to provide for her. Even screenwriter Nunnally Johnson showed respect for her talent, busily creating another vehicle for the actress in
How to Be Very Very Popular.
Marilyn embedded herself in her work in Los Angeles rather than New York. She rented a duplex apartment on Harper off Sunset Boulevard, one of her favorite haunts. The freedom to stroll down the street as she had done before her marriage to Joe, soaking up the vibrations of the city, made the actress feel liberated and alive. With easy access to Sunset, she would chat with friends at Schwabs whenever lonely for companionship.
The employment contract with Twentieth was cemented as Zanuck went out of his way to show his appreciation. The day after filming was complete, Zanuck arranged a special soiree for his new darling. Instead of a traditional wrap party, the executive producer put on a chic dinner party at Romanoff's. In attendance were producers Jack Warner, Sam Goldwyn, and Zanuck proudly displaying his trophy, as well as other A-list guests paying homage to Hollywood's new queen, including Jimmy Stewart, Claudette Colbert, Doris Day, William Holden, and Humphrey Bogart. Even idol Clark Gable, the King, was there to dance the night away in the arms of the Queen, Marilyn Monroe. It was a dream come true for the “orphan” girl who had fantasies of Gable so many years earlier. She had indeed finally arrived.
Looking ravishing, she had chosen to wear a subtly suggestive, simple gown that did not reveal her bustline. Marilyn did not have to prove herself anymore, or so she thought. Everyone recognized her gifts.” Miss Monroe was in her glory when Gable, succumbing to her charisma, whispered into her ear he would like to someday costar with her. The dance floor was not without spies, and Zanuck could not have been more gratified.
The following day, in stark contrast to the night before, she was taken by Joe DiMaggio to the Cedars of Lebanon Hospital for another gynecological surgery. The press was told that Miss Monroe was having an operation to make it more possible for her to give birth. That sounded plausible to most, but the truth was that Marilyn and Joe had been expecting a baby.
DiMaggio was still angry with Marilyn for her “bad” choices and Marilyn was hurt by his inability to forgive. But he waited patiently with her after recovery from the D&C, and he spent the next few days wining and dining her.
 
The abortion left Marilyn open to make her deal with Milton Greene more solid than before. He harangued her about the passing opportunity to branch out while Twentieth was banking on her as its most valued possession. Greene doggedly pitched the benefits of their arrangement. Marilyn had taken the position that she feared for her livelihood. With another divorce under her belt, and no marital settlement with DiMaggio, her trepidation was clear. She had a binding contract with Twentieth for the next three and a half years assuring her she would not be released, especially after the success of
The Seven-Year Itch
. With her as its hottest property, the studio would fight harder now to keep her. Greene made his final plea with the promise that he would support her during the time she would break the contract. Promising more than he could actually deliver, he was desperately attempting to lure the actress once again away from the safe but restrictive clutches of the studio.
To prove to Marilyn that he could make good on his word to keep her in style, he dazzled her with a round of plush private parties where only the Hollywood elite congregated. Miss Monroe actually enjoyed the appearances, as Greene was not only a handsome escort, but was never jealous of all the attention she drew from male admirers. Marilyn was amused over rumors about an affair as she had not publicly dated anyone since her separation from Joe. Milton continued to remind Marilyn of the golden opportunity that their production company could avail her, often mentioning the failure of
Show Business
and the humiliation of that experience. Suddenly she would gain renewed resolve to bypass the studio pitfalls and embark on their future plans with Marilyn Monroe Productions. Marilyn was aware that if
Itch
had failed at the box office, her new friend Zanuck would undoubtedly have turned into her foe again, forcing her into more ridiculous roles. With Greene's constant prodding and Joe's still recent advice, she ensconced herself in New York City, where she could hone her acting skills and try to become that elusive serious actress.
She moved into a remodeled barn near Weston, Connecticut, with Greene, his pretty young wife, Amy, and their son Josh. The hideout was uncomfortable, but it served a purpose. She and Greene were still in the throes of negotiating the tenets of their corporation with attorney Frank Delaney. They remained at home without giving the studio notice. When contracts were signed, Delaney promised a press conference with Hollywood's reigning sex queen. The “New Marilyn,” as he called her, would be revealed. Dressed in her now infamous decolletage, the star announced to an anxious press that Marilyn Monroe Productions was incorporated and that, as its president, she held controlling interest of fifty-one shares. Tired of only sexy roles, the actress insisted on expanding her choices.
After returning to the Wilder set at Twentieth, Marilyn proclaimed that
The Seven-Year
Itch was her last for the studio. In response, an emphatic Zanuck declared that she had a three-year-and-four-month contract still in effect, and that she most definitely would fulfill her obligation for Twentieth. Behind the scenes, Zanuck had Fox's attorneys feverishly negotiating with hers in regard to raising her salary and giving her the latitude to create independent productions. Nothing was settled between the feuding powers, so Marilyn returned to Greene's quiet Connecticut home for consolation. Having set the wheels of change in motion, Monroe was now following through on her threats. Joe DiMaggio had taught her well.
By March 1955, Greene had arranged with television journalist Edward R. Murrow for a fifteen-minute interview on “Person to Person,” a nationally televised production. CBS set up cameras in the Greene home, but Milton, the photographer, adjusted the lighting for Marilyn from the conventional flat to a softer look, thereby enhancing her youth and beauty. But Marilyn's performance as president of her production company did not come off as assertively as Greene had wanted. Attempting to mask her drive and power, as “real women” were expected to do, and afraid of rejection, she shrouded herself with an air of helplessness. Appearing exceptionally demure, she tried not to seem defiant. She was merely stating the facts about her professional desires. She made inoffensive declarations that came off as uncertain and insincere.
Next, producer Mike Todd, as head of the Arthritis and Rheumatism Foundation, requested that Marilyn attend a gala affair to be held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Monroe and Greene thought it would be a perfect photo opportunity, so she obliged the producer and made a sensational appearance, emerging resplendent in pink. The actress fortuitously showed Twentieth how popular a star she was and gave the studio more reason to up the odds for its prodigal daughter.
Relegated to a tiny, uncomfortable room in what had once been a barn, Marilyn soon tired of the cramped living conditions at the Greenes'. Once again she pressured Milton to own up to his promises, subsidizing her move into the luxurious Waldorf Astoria Towers on Park Avenue in Manhattan. His expenses to “keep” the actress were close to $1,000 per week, which put enormous stress on her partner's assets. Reviewing her personal expenses, Greene was aghast at what he had promised the superstar. Marilyn paid for her mother's sanitarium expenses, had her own daily visits to her psychoanalyst and exorbitant weekly beauty care costs. The actress paid generously for salon visits several times a week, which included her personal hairdresser, pedicures, manicures, and massages. She lavished on herself more than ever all the beauty expertise and products she and her partner's money could buy. Perfume costs alone shocked her partner, as she applied it like bath water when she used it. Greene never fathomed that Marilyn “needed” this kind of care. In defense she would repeat that she was used to spending this amount of money as a beauty and a movie star of her stature.
Greene and Monroe were nervously gambling that Twentieth would fold, succumbing to their demands. Marilyn was the biggest, most talked-about actress in the world. Her films were bringing in box-office revenues that accumulated a vast fortune for the studio. Marilyn Monroe Productions had better be able to hold out longer than the studio. Marilyn's worldwide image was furthered by hiring Arthur Jacobs Agency, a publicity firm that ensured continued positive exposure while confounding the studio with her apparently successful escape from captivity.
At a dinner party Marilyn met Lee Strasberg, who took an immediate liking to her. Soon the actress was taking private lessons from the controversial acting coach at his eight-room West Side apartment. Each room was filled with books, plays, and screenplays strewn carelessly about.
Born in a ghetto in Budzanow, Austria, November 17,1901, Strasberg had emerged from poverty before migrating to the United States. Feeling a common bond with her mentor, Marilyn later would pay Lee's personal expenses for pleasure vacations and even cover his stock market losses, giving him thousands of dollars. Elia Kazan and Cheryl Crawford had cofounded the Actor's Studio and Lee became its artistic director in 1948. The Studio's famous Method style of acting was similar to what Marilyn had already studied with Michael Chekhov. Her fellow students attending classes twice a week impressed the actress. Marlon Brando, her former cohort Shelley Winters, her
Itch
costar Tom Ewell, Montgomery Clift, Eli Wallach, and James Dean were among Strasberg's avid followers. In class, he would lead exercises to help the performer signal the emotion needed for the lesson. Regular practice in the sense-memory work of recalling emotions was essential, and Marilyn participated wholeheartedly. She also began a course of psychoanalysis, to break down her defenses and learn to express her deepest feelings. Soon able to layer her emotions and motivations as an actress making conscious choices, what had been an untapped, mostly unconscious process became one of creating the complexities of a performance rich in subtleties.
Miss Monroe gained the respect of the most polished performers at the Studio. Strasberg would soon place Marilyn's acting abilities alongside those of Academy Award Winner Marlon Brando. She had reached the top of her class and to her peers she had come of age as an actress. To give her more credibility as a serious one, she attended classes sloppily dressed in baggy, worn-out dungarees and tattered sweaters, not bothering to use makeup, but applying Vaseline to her face instead.
The more positive responses Marilyn received from Strasberg and Actor's Studio members, the better her retention and focus. Either Marilyn was rehearsing lines with classmates or watching the “master” at work, soaking up his “words of wisdom” as part of her growth experience. She was intrigued that Strasberg was able to pinpoint her stuttering problem and address it with clarity and understanding. Privately, Lee spoke to her about the fears of conformity and acceptance that she had been dealing with in psychotherapy. Having repressed her past, Marilyn was encouraged to deal with her gut-level feelings head on and to utilize her frailties to create a more complex and interesting character.
Within the first year Strasberg evaluated her capability: “She can call up emotionally whatever is required in a scene. Her range is infinite, and it is almost wicked that she has not used more of her range or that the films she has been in so far have not required more of her. She is highly nervous. She is more nervous than any other actress I have ever known. But nervousness for an actress is not a handicap. It is a sign of sensitivity. Marilyn had to learn how to channel her nervous, wild flow of energy into her work. For too long, she has been living for publicity. She has to live for herself and for her work. Her quality when photographed is almost of a supernatural beauty.”
BOOK: Crypt 33
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