Authors: Adela Gregory
Crypt 33 (12 page)
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In 1955 William Inge's Bus
Stop
had been breaking Broadway box-office records while Arthur Miller's
A View from the Bridge
also began its short run. Ernest Borgnine, as
Marty
, won Oscars for Best Actor and Best Picture, and Italian actress Anna Magnani won for her performance in
The Rose Tattoo
. Sam Giancana placed contracts with Milwaukee Phil to eliminate a few of his enemies while John F Kennedy was speculating with his father about the senator's prospects as a vice-presidential candidate.
Stop
had been breaking Broadway box-office records while Arthur Miller's
A View from the Bridge
also began its short run. Ernest Borgnine, as
Marty
, won Oscars for Best Actor and Best Picture, and Italian actress Anna Magnani won for her performance in
The Rose Tattoo
. Sam Giancana placed contracts with Milwaukee Phil to eliminate a few of his enemies while John F Kennedy was speculating with his father about the senator's prospects as a vice-presidential candidate.
On her birthday, June 1, Marilyn Monroe attended the premiere of
The Seven-Year Itch
in New York's Loew's Theater with her estranged husband Joe DiMaggio, who was intent on repairing their failed marriage. The studio embarrassed the actress again by not inviting her directly, instead sending a pair of tickets to magazine photographer Sam Shaw, who recently had been Marilyn's escort around town. The Yankee Clipper planned to host a birthday party for Marilyn at his friend Toot Shor's after the show.
The Seven-Year Itch
in New York's Loew's Theater with her estranged husband Joe DiMaggio, who was intent on repairing their failed marriage. The studio embarrassed the actress again by not inviting her directly, instead sending a pair of tickets to magazine photographer Sam Shaw, who recently had been Marilyn's escort around town. The Yankee Clipper planned to host a birthday party for Marilyn at his friend Toot Shor's after the show.
Marilyn Monroe arrived at the theater late with Joe, interrupting her costar's (Ewell) soliloquy twenty minutes into the film. In a white, off-the-shoulder evening gown and a white fox stole, a jubilant Marilyn, posing for flashing photographers, disturbed the lighting and viewing in the theater. Although reviewers ignored Marilyn's acting, they reported on the beauty that had overwhelmed the audience. Billy Wilder retorted to the press that Marilyn surely understood comedy, as her sense of timing was uncanny.
In the film, Marilyn had exhibited her warm, tender side. As the awkward Ewell made feeble advances, instead of being offended, her character innocently attributes his attention to kindness and loneliness. Her character's loving acceptance of his homely appearance and unappealing approach made unattractive men in the audience feel wanted and loved, not matter how clumsy or gimpy they might appear to be. Wilder added, “She gives this poor âschlump' a sense of his own value as a man.” Wilder was disappointed by the mixed reviews, but not by the box-office revenues. The cost of $1.8 million turned at least a 1,000 percent profit for Twentieth.
Marilyn had put her career on the fast track again, but she got into a spat with DiMaggio at the birthday party. After exchanging harsh words, in reaction to his disapproving glares from across the room, she stalked out in anger with her friend Shaw. The stress between the couple was obvious to everyone at the function. DiMaggio had still not learned to avoid bullying the actress and she needed him most to treat her with respect and approval for earning her newfound prestige as an actress. If New York, Hollywood, and the world would finally recognize her as a serious actress, why couldn't Joe? To her he was still unable or unwilling to accept her on her own expanding terms out of spiteful pride.
Once again on the rebound and committed to surrounding herself with only supportive people, she made the reacquaintance of playwright Arthur Miller at a cocktail party. Making the rounds within the New York theater circuit, the native Californian was invited to numerous soirees given by various directors, actors, and playwrights. Miller, whose marriage was ailing, socialized about town as a single man looking for brighter horizons. Miller was socially awkward and shy, but Marilyn was attracted to introspective men.
Arthur Miller lived a close-knit life with his three friends, director Elia Kazan, poet and playwright Norman Rosten, and publicist James Proctor. Miller had personal problems with Kazan after Kazan testified before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Although not card-carrying Communists, writers and intellectuals of the thirties like Ernest Hemingway, Sidney Hook, and James T. Farrell had been attracted to Communism's ideals. Most later turned their back on the party, but Miller signed up in 1940. During and after World War II he continued to actively align himself with various fronts and causes. Originally a sympathizer, Miller remained unaware of the censorship that Communists in fact practiced. Only as late as 1957 did he ultimately realize the deceit of the Communist Party when, at the request of the Russians at the celebration of a Dostoevsky anniversary, he wrote a scathing essay about censorship and the politicalization of the work of Soviet artists.
Marilyn was attracted to the playwright for his Lincolnesque looks and his affinity to the world of the mind. Though Monroe had preferred tall, large, more physically active, outdoor types like Dougherty and DiMaggio, as a coming-out-of-the closet intellectual she was hungry for the knowledge she thought Miller possessed. He interested himself in writing his thoughts and emotions into the fabric of his characters' lives. She read plays as her consuming interest. Both appeared to be searching for truth in their lives. His marriage purportedly having gone stale, Miller was living the life of a recluse. He was ready to transform his existence, and Marilyn appeared to be the one who could help him. He had lost favor with the American public after his unpopular association with the Communist Party, and he was looking to be restored to his pedestal. After his Pulitzer Prize for
Death of a Salesman,
his success had been limited. Yearning for a fresh start as a writer, Miller decided to try screenwriting. A writer who attached himself to a star like Marilyn would enjoy unlimited access to talent.
Death of a Salesman,
his success had been limited. Yearning for a fresh start as a writer, Miller decided to try screenwriting. A writer who attached himself to a star like Marilyn would enjoy unlimited access to talent.
At forty years old, Miller was experiencing a midlife crisis. His wife, Mary Grace Slattery, was a literate political woman who had been the driving intellectual force in his career. As his surrogate mother, she supported his creative endeavors by sponsoring his writing career, first by working as a waitress and then as an editor for Harper and Brothers. A Catholic, Mary Slattery bore him two children, a daughter, Joan Ellen, and a son, Robert, and both by then were in their teens. Miller's own mother drove a wedge between husband and wife by criticizing them for not raising their offspring in the Jewish faith and thus depriving them of half their heritage.
Miller used his mother and father's life experiences as fodder for two of his best known plays. His father's career as an insurance salesman served as the model for the central character in
Death of a Salesman,
and his mother was honored by his portrayal of her in
All My
Sons.
Death of a Salesman,
and his mother was honored by his portrayal of her in
All My
Sons.
Arthur was consumed by guilt about his wife and his marriage. He had owed Mary a great debt for carrying the emotional and financial burden those many years and did not want the responsibility of repayment. Like a child, he took, then wanted freedom to run and play. Though he preferred seeing himself as a self-made man, Miller clearly was not. He resented his wife for giving him the “guilts” and being a mother to him, not a mistress. In his attraction to Marilyn the ultimate was possible: she could be both mistress and maker.
Referring to Miller's play
The Crucible,
fellow playwright Clifford Odets remarked that a man would never write such a conflicted, convoluted story about a marriage unless his own was in pieces. Miller was not astute enough to realize how much he exposed himself in his work. The story revolved around a husband, a wife, and a former live-in maid Abigail, who accused the wife of being a witch. The husband proceeds to have an illicit affair with the maid.
The Crucible,
fellow playwright Clifford Odets remarked that a man would never write such a conflicted, convoluted story about a marriage unless his own was in pieces. Miller was not astute enough to realize how much he exposed himself in his work. The story revolved around a husband, a wife, and a former live-in maid Abigail, who accused the wife of being a witch. The husband proceeds to have an illicit affair with the maid.
The answer to Millers current life crisis instantly materialized in the form of Marilyn Monroe. With her he could break through his personal guilt, if only temporarily.
The stage was set for the Millers' divorce. Choosing a woman like Marilyn Monroe meant relief for Arthur. Nobody could blame him for falling in love with America's sex goddess, every red-blooded American male's dream! Not even the intellectual community would be repulsed by his infidelity.
At the party Marilyn stood alone, nervously sipping her drink when Miller approached and leaned over her. They spoke at length of the theater and Lee Strasberg. The actress was aroused, later claiming that she got goose bumps the closer he came to her. Miss Monroe was flattered that such a well-known and respected intellectual would see beyond her attractiveness and respond so much to her intelligence, the way she wished the public would do. The attraction was obviously mutual. She began fantasizing that Miller would someday write a Pulitzer Prize play with a principal role for her.
Known as a free thinker, Miller was impressed by Marilyn's mind as well as her body. But Monroe remained cool toward his advances that evening, leaving with her escorts, Eli Wallach and his wife, Anne Jackson. Marilyn enjoyed Wallach's company immensely, but rarely involved herself with actors, ironically finding them too self-absorbed and insecure. She observed many a Hollywood marriage breakup, and realized that competition between fragile egos breeds unresolvable conflict. She was still suffering from the hardship of her own superstar divorce.
After Paula Strasberg gave him Marilyn's unlisted phone number, Miller took almost two weeks to muster the courage to call her. Obviously Paula had given her blessing to the relationship, so Arthur arranged for dinner in the home of his friends, Hedda and Norman Rosten. Miller discreetly used the Rostens as a convenient cover to shield the developing relationship from the world.
Instead of renting an apartment or a hotel room for their trysts, all summer long Miller met surreptitiously to make love with Marilyn at the Rostens', the Greenes' in Weston, and with the Strasbergs' on Fire Island. But by fall, Marilyn had moved from the Waldorf-Astoria into an apartment on 2 Sutton Place. Marilyn and Arthur managed to continue seeing each other while keeping the publicity hounds at bay with “beard” Wallach. Earl Wilson tried unsuccessfully to break their code, but Marilyn railroaded his intentions by innocently toying with his questions, replying, “Why, Earl, you know Arthur is a married man.” The rumors persisted, but Marilyn resisted telling the truth.
Meanwhile, Marilyn's career continued to be blessed with good timing and luck. Greene was at the end of his rope financially, out of cash reserves, and both he and Marilyn were praying for a miracle. Had Twentieth known, it probably would not have relented. Fortunately for Monroe, Zanuck had resigned and been replaced by Buddy Adler, and the studio purchased the rights to William Inge's
Bus Stop
with Marilyn in mind. By year's end her attorney, Frank Delaney, would renegotiate a new contract for Marilyn Monroe with the studio. The last day of 1955 brought Marilyn unprecedented luck as she received her biggest paycheck ever from Fox. Monroe's agent and
Itch
producer Charles K. Feldman had negotiated for her without the benefit of the film's release. With the extra money, Monroe Productions purchased the rights to
The Sleeping Prince,
the Terrence Rattigan comedy that Greene had been eying. Without even reading it, Marilyn bought the comedy on Greene's recommendation alone.
Bus Stop
with Marilyn in mind. By year's end her attorney, Frank Delaney, would renegotiate a new contract for Marilyn Monroe with the studio. The last day of 1955 brought Marilyn unprecedented luck as she received her biggest paycheck ever from Fox. Monroe's agent and
Itch
producer Charles K. Feldman had negotiated for her without the benefit of the film's release. With the extra money, Monroe Productions purchased the rights to
The Sleeping Prince,
the Terrence Rattigan comedy that Greene had been eying. Without even reading it, Marilyn bought the comedy on Greene's recommendation alone.
The complex, eighty-five-page document was the most lucrative contract ever signed by an actress. The seven-year contract limited her to completing four class “A” films at a salary of $100,000 per film (although Miller claims it was $150,000 per picture), a personal maid, $500 a week for petty cash, plus the privilege of making one independent film yearly and a total of six television appearances over the next seven years. In addition, the agreement gave the actress director approval. She sanctioned sixteen directors: George Stevens, Fred Zinnemann, Billy Wilder, William Wyler, Alfred Hitchcock, Vittorio de Sica, Joseph Mankiewicz, George Cukor, Elia Kazan, Carol Reed, David Lean, John Huston, Joshua Logan, Lee Strasberg, John Ford, and for musicals Vincente Minnelli. Cinematographers, important to a woman's physical conception of herself, would be narrowed to Harry Stradling, Jr., Hal Rossen, James Wong Howe, and Milton Krasner. Marilyn Monroe wrote her own ticket more precisely than had anyone before her. Empowered by her new self-image, she was projecting more autonomy and strength than ever before.
One month later at a press conference in New York in February 1956, Miss Monroe rose to what she considered the pinnacle of her acting career, announcing that she would be collaborating with the greatest actor of our times, the master of the classics, Sir Laurence Olivier.
The Sleeping Prince
was the vehicle that Olivier hoped would rejuvenate
his
sagging career. The worldwide publicity resulting from working with a star of Monroe's magnitude would undoubtedly send his box-office revenues soaring, or so he thought.
The Sleeping Prince
was the vehicle that Olivier hoped would rejuvenate
his
sagging career. The worldwide publicity resulting from working with a star of Monroe's magnitude would undoubtedly send his box-office revenues soaring, or so he thought.
The press that usually kowtowed to the actress now opposed her, making insidious remarks about her new image, which projected confidence, intelligence, strength, and power. They much preferred the insecure innocent turned dumb sexy blonde. So the press attacked her. After a press conference at which the spaghetti straps on her dress broke and had to be pinned together, they thrashed her suggestive sexuality. They laughed about her wish to play Grushenka, a character created by Dostoyevsky. They quizzed her spelling, and she flunked. They no longer felt sorry for the woman who wanted success. Now that she was finally successful and attempting to assert her independence and self-assurance, they treated her like any adversary on the field of battle. She emerged from the conference visibly shaken and feeling defeated and betrayed.
Fortunately, she was on the heels of
Bus Stop
, and Joshua Logan, who had followed the Stanislavsky teachings, was her amiable director. The Broadway director of
South Pacific
and
Mister Roberts,
Logan patiently watched and waited for the actor's moment of truth; in effect, allowing his performers to inwardly direct themselves through a scene. Logan believed Marilyn was as near a genius as any actress he knew. Her approach to her
Bus Stop
character Cherie was her own conception, inspiring other actors and even writer George Axelrod to change dialogue to fit her suggestions.
Bus Stop
, and Joshua Logan, who had followed the Stanislavsky teachings, was her amiable director. The Broadway director of
South Pacific
and
Mister Roberts,
Logan patiently watched and waited for the actor's moment of truth; in effect, allowing his performers to inwardly direct themselves through a scene. Logan believed Marilyn was as near a genius as any actress he knew. Her approach to her
Bus Stop
character Cherie was her own conception, inspiring other actors and even writer George Axelrod to change dialogue to fit her suggestions.
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