Personal articrafts and belongings from the life and career of the US star Marilyn Monroe have gone on display in Beverly Hills, Hollywood (California).
Among the items on display, is an oversized portrait featuring the late star dedicated to the 20th Century Fox studio executive, Ben Lyon, Reuters reported. The portrait reads: “Dear Ben, You found me, named me and believed in me when no one else did. My thanks and love forever. Marilyn.”
The photos displayed in the exhibition are some of the most important in the history of Hollywood and were captured during the filming of "The Seven Year Itch" movie. The exhibition also features a large number of personal photos from Monroe's childhood, and 15 garments worn in her famous films, including “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and” The Prince and the Showgirl." The event will run from August 18 to September 30, before the items go on auction in late October.
In her incomplete recently-released memoirs “My Story” - written by Monroe herself before her death, and edited by the prominent scenarist Ben Hecht - the late star Marilyn Monroe, or Norma Jean Baker, who died at the age of 36 after taking a large dose of sleeping pills, reveals some details about her miserable childhood, and her journey to success and fame.
In these memoirs, we were shocked by many facts that we did not know before and which we share with you today.
Marilyn Monroe never knew her real father, and her mother did not have the time and money to take care of her. Monroe moved between nursing homes and orphanages. She had one simple blue dress given for orphans at that time and spent most of her time washing dishes.
Marilyn Monroe's family has a history of inherited mental illness. Her mother was admitted to a mental health center after a sudden collapse, although her situation had stabilized financially and practically. The mother bought a large house and set it up to live with her daughter, but she didn’t have much time, because she collapsed on the stairs of the new house, and Marilyn returned again to the nursing homes.
Marilyn was physically abused by one of her two alternative parents at the age of eight, but no one believed her.
She got married to James Dougherty at the age of 16 to escape the control of social affairs, orphanages and nursing homes. However, the marriage failed, the couple split and Doherty became a security forces investigator in Los Angeles.
In her beginnings in cinema studios, Marilyn Monroe faced many difficulties and producers told her she was not photogenic. They gave her roles only after receiving thousands of daily messages from fans demanding to see her more on screen. Although everyone was dealing with her as a shallow blonde girl, Marilyn read a lot and did not stop studying and learning. She studied literature and arts at the University of California and hated people who dealt with her as if she was ignorant.
Aiming at taking revenge from all those who had long underestimated her, Marilyn Monroe used to deliberately delay her appointments, especially for parties organized to honor her. She would rather sit in the bathtub and immerse herself in perfume for hours.
Marilyn later got married again to the US baseball legend Joe DiMaggio after his retirement, but the marriage ended after only 8 months for a very weird reason. The baseball player got angry at Marilyn's iconic image in her white dress flying over the air vents, so he refused to stay with her.
The late star’s third and last husband was the famous playwright Arthur Miller, whom she loved, but he didn’t have the same feelings for her. Among his papers, she found a note reading that he was ashamed of her, so she decided to leave him.
A few weeks before her death, Marilyn told the press that she has many film projects and that she wished to play a role in Shakespeare's work. She also confirmed that she would marry Joe DiMaggio again, which raised doubts about her death and whether it was a suicide or if it was the US intelligence that killed her.
