Do you know of anyone ever having met Marilyn Monroe??

loveloveXloveloveX Posts: 4,177
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What to say about her that hasn't been said, what could I possibly add more than that she means a lot me but what I'd like to know is that have you ever known anyone who ever personally met her or know of any stories and anecdotes of having met her?

Also does anyone here still have the recollection of what it was like when she died, the atmosphere, the shock, the reactions etc?

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  • Walter NeffWalter Neff Posts: 9,148
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    loveloveX wrote: »
    What to say about her that hasn't been said, what could I possibly add more than that she means a lot me but what I'd like to know is that have you ever known anyone who ever personally met her or know of any stories and anecdotes of having met her?

    Also does anyone here still have the recollection of what it was like when she died, the atmosphere, the shock, the reactions etc?

    I never met her, but I do have a newsreel of me in the crowd waving to her outside the Savoy Hotel when she gave a Press Reception in 1956, and she was even more ravishing in the flesh.

    I can remember the announcement of her death as if it were yesterday. It was a Sunday afternoon, and Michael Aspel who was the BBC newsreader at the time, announced coldly,

    "Marilyn Monroe is dead.!"

    Most young people seemed to be in a state of shock, it just seemed such a terrible waste. Maybe it wasn't so important to the older generation at the time, but to those of us who grew up in the 1950's, she was a big part of our lives, especially regular cinemagoers.
  • MissCultureMissCulture Posts: 704
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    I have been collecting film star bios/auto-bios since 1979 and no longer bother with any book written by anyone whose main claim to fame is that they were her secret lover/husband. If Marilyn slept with half the people who claim to have had a relationship with her I doubt she'd have had time to make any films at all. Poor girl, she has been abused more so since she died. The worst book I ever read was written by a woman who had been her housekeeper for two years...back then I'd have bought anything about Marilyn though.
    I know some nice anecdotes about her gleened from many of the books I have though...non-exploitative too and by people who loved and cared abut her.

    When Marilyn was first dating Arthur Miller he took her to the small tenament apartment where his mother lived to introduce the two women. It was a very small dwelling and the bathroom joined the kitchen where they were to eat dinner. The family was sat around the table and several times during the evening Marilyn needed to pee but inside the small bathroom she was self-conscious about the family sitting right outside the bathroom door and so each time she would run the basin tap while she peed to mask the sound.....
    On her third visit to the loo Marilyn said she heard Miller's mother say 'Nothing wrong with that girl's pipes then!'......:p
  • loveloveXloveloveX Posts: 4,177
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    I never met her, but I do have a newsreel of me in the crowd waving to her outside the Savoy Hotel when she gave a Press Reception in 1956, and she was even more ravishing in the flesh.

    I can remember the announcement of her death as if it were yesterday. It was a Sunday afternoon, and Michael Aspel who was the BBC newsreader at the time, announced coldly,

    "Marilyn Monroe is dead.!"

    Most young people seemed to be in a state of shock, it just seemed such a terrible waste. Maybe it wasn't so important to the older generation at the time, but to those of us who grew up in the 1950's, she was a big part of our lives, especially regular cinemagoers.

    Wow Walter you're so lucky!! I'd give anything to swap places with you to have seen for for that brief moment!:(
  • Walter NeffWalter Neff Posts: 9,148
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    loveloveX wrote: »
    Wow Walter you're so lucky!! I'd give anything to swap places with you to have seen for for that brief moment!:(

    Well, that is one consolation of being old. I really do believe that I grew up in the Golden Age of the cinema. I wouldn't walk to the end of the road to catch a glimpse of todays so called "stars."
  • Mr TeacakeMr Teacake Posts: 6,593
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    What exactly was so "special" about her? Granted she was way before my time but I can't associate her with any notable film or song.
  • ironjadeironjade Posts: 10,001
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    No, but I know someone who spoke to Mae West on the phone and someone who tripped over Mary Millington while she was asleep on the floor.:)
  • Walter NeffWalter Neff Posts: 9,148
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    Mr Teacake wrote: »
    What exactly was so "special" about her? Granted she was way before my time but I can't associate her with any notable film or song.

    What about Some Like it Hot as just one example? recently voted the greatest comedy of all time. If you can't associate her with any notable film it is probably because you have never seen Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire, Niagara, The Seven Year Itch, and Bus Stop.

    Marilyn had real star quality and puts most of todays so called sex symbols to shame.
  • RebelScumRebelScum Posts: 16,008
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    What about Some Like it Hot as just one example? recently voted the greatest comedy of all time. If you can't associate her with any notable film it is probably because you have never seen Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire, Niagara, The Seven Year Itch, and Bus Stop.

    Marilyn had real star quality and puts most of todays so called sex symbols to shame.

    By who? Did a quick google search but the closest thing was the AFI list. That was back in 2000 and it's a list of the 100 greatest american comedies, don't really count that as "recently voted the greatest comedy of all time". There are various lists of greatest comedies ever online, each shows different results depending on who voted. I'm sure SLIH is many people's favourite comedy, but I can't see a definitive list of voting results to show it has been voted as THE best comedy of all time.
  • Walter NeffWalter Neff Posts: 9,148
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    RebelScum wrote: »
    By who? Did a quick google search but the closest thing was the AFI list. That was back in 2000 and it's a list of the 100 greatest american comedies, don't really count that as "recently voted the greatest comedy of all time". There are various lists of greatest comedies ever online, each shows different results depending on who voted. I'm sure SLIH is many people's favourite comedy, but I can't see a definitive list of voting results to show it has been voted as THE best comedy of all time.

    Maybe it wasn't so recently, but Wikepedia says that in the year 2000 the American Film Institute listed Some Like it Hot as the greatest American Comedy of all time, and I mentioned that as an example of just one of the several memorable films that Marilyn appeared in.

    Form me The Lady Eve is the greatest American Comedy of al time, but like everything else, favourite anything is a purely personal choice.
  • TassiumTassium Posts: 31,639
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    I imagine "oldsters" in the fifties thought MM was nothing compared to Bette Davies or Garbo.

    Who is the stand out today? Possibly Jennifer Lawrence.

    Not suggesting there is any comparison in terms of the the "type", just in terms of the legacy.

    I suggest J Lawrence because she really has something whereas others of her era like Emma Stone/Emma Watson/Megan Fox just have youth.
  • goldberry1goldberry1 Posts: 2,699
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    loveloveX wrote: »
    What to say about her that hasn't been said, what could I possibly add more than that she means a lot me but what I'd like to know is that have you ever known anyone who ever personally met her or know of any stories and anecdotes of having met her?

    Also does anyone here still have the recollection of what it was like when she died, the atmosphere, the shock, the reactions etc?

    I love Marilyn - I got interested in her when I started reading books about the life stories of successful women (which she was) and I've been hooked ever since. I think she was a charming woman and good actress - a lot of people don't realise that she herself looked on Marilyn as a character and would say things like 'you've got Marilyn Monroe here' or 'do you want to see me be her?'. She was a comic actress and a lot of times she just played a parody of herself on purpose but she did dramatic parts too like in 'Don't Bother To Knock.'
    Sadly I don't know anyone that met her or remembers how the news was received when she died.

    (Strangely enough I had an old psychology tutor who remembers seeing her copycat Jayne Mansfield in cabaret in England (I think) or in a club and he said she looked a bit rough!)
  • LMLM Posts: 63,327
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    Marilyn is just special in many ways. She came across as such a lovely genuine person. I know she was difficult to work with in her later films, but you never hear bad words said about her. She was kind to those around, but those around her just used her

    What i find rather sad with Marilyn is that her life and death seems to overshadow what a terrific actress she is. You hear a lot of people who say they love Marilyn but it's not the films they love, it's her image, her life and the conspiracy abut her death. Ok, she was no Katherine Hepburn or Bette Davis, but this girl could act. She played a lot of the same "dumb blonde" roles throughout her career but she was a very comedic young woman. The way she delivered a comedic line was something rare, that even i don't see be mirrored in today's actresses who do comedy.
  • Walter NeffWalter Neff Posts: 9,148
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    Marilyn is just special in many ways. She came across as such a lovely genuine person. I know she was difficult to work with in her later films, but you never hear bad words said about her. She was kind to those around, but those around her just used her

    What i find rather sad with Marilyn is that her life and death seems to overshadow what a terrific actress she is. You hear a lot of people who say they love Marilyn but it's not the films they love, it's her image, her life and the conspiracy abut her death. Ok, she was no Katherine Hepburn or Bette Davis, but this girl could act. She played a lot of the same "dumb blonde" roles throughout her career but she was a very comedic young woman. The way she delivered a comedic line was something rare, that even i don't see be mirrored in today's actresses who do comedy.

    You have summed her up perfectly, and I could not agree more. :)
  • goldberry1goldberry1 Posts: 2,699
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    Was it Billy Wilder who said (and he had many a disagreement with her) that there are many blondes, many actresses that would learn their lines and turn up on time - but they didn't come close to comparing with Marilyn - she was a true star.
  • CMCM Posts: 33,235
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    loveloveX wrote: »
    What to say about her that hasn't been said, what could I possibly add more than that she means a lot me but what I'd like to know is that have you ever known anyone who ever personally met her or know of any stories and anecdotes of having met her?

    Also does anyone here still have the recollection of what it was like when she died, the atmosphere, the shock, the reactions etc?

    President Kennedy. :cool:
  • goldberry1goldberry1 Posts: 2,699
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    I still can't decide if her death was an accident, murder or suicide. I agree with the quote on Marilyn by Frank A. Capell though, "She came under the influence of many,whom she allowed in childish trust to chart the course of her life and who led her to a premature grave."
  • lorrie152lorrie152 Posts: 69
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    I know of a dear, wonderful sweet man who has been a fan off Marilyn since she was alive and he wrote off to her several times and recieved several signed photos and letters back from her. Marilyn was always so grateful and appreciative to her fans.

    I am a die hard Marilyn fan, she is eternal.
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