My journey ends here...
1954
JANUARY
At the Fox,
it was chaos. The New York shareholders and producers were stuck on
their phone, demanding that this confrontational situation, and mostly
potentially disastrous, found a solution as soon as possible.
Friday, January 1 Marilyn received the "Award of Achievement" by the Motion Picture Herald in association with Fame
(
), for her position in the "Top ten money making star" in 1953.
Monday, January 4 the Fox suspended her for non appearance on the set of " Pink Tights".
Monday, January 11 Charles Feldman (
) informed Marilyn that she was suspended for a month.
Tuesday, January 12 during the birthday party in Tom DiMaggio's honor ( 
,
,
), Joe's brother , this one asked once again Marilyn to marry him, and this time, she agreed.
They wanted a wedding as discreet as possible, and Marilyn only warned the studio, through Harry Brand, the head of the Fox
publicity department (
), one hour before the ceremony.
Despite this, more than 100 reporters and journalists invaded the lobby
and the corridor of the town hall.
Joe wanted to marry Marilyn in church, but the San Francisco archbishop, John Mitty, refused to recognize the validity of his
divorce from his
ex-wife, Dorothy Arnolds (
).
So there was only a civil wedding, celebrated by the city officer, judge
Charles S. Perry.
The ceremony started at 1.48 PM and ended 3 minutes later.
Marilyn had no personal guest : only Joe's family and friends (Jean and Lefty O’Doul, Tom DiMaggio and his wife Lee, and George
Solotaire) attended the ceremony.
Joe's best man was Reno Barsocchini (
).
On the register, Joe wrote his age (39) and signed; Marilyn gave her legal name, Norma Jeane Mortensen Dougherty, but made
herself younger of 3
years and wrote she was aged 25 (
).
She wore a dark brown woollen suit with an ermine collar, and held 3 orchids in her hand (
,
,
).
When they left the city hall, they were plagued by a crowd of 200 photographers and reporters, and 300 fans (
,
) ; they jumped in Joe's night blue Cadillac (licensed Joe D) (
,
,
) and spent their first day of honeymoon at the Clifton
Motel (
), in Paso Robles
(California).
The next day, Marilyn called her lawyer, Lloyd Wright to have some news and her messages ; by way of compliment for this wedding, the Fox had reinstated her in her statuts of home actress.
Darryl Zanuck had no other choice than lifting her suspension. Otherwise, the press and the public wouldn't have forgive him.
She would be paid again, and she was respectfully begged to come back on January 20
(at the latest January 25) on the set of "Pink Tights" for the first rehearsals.
But Joe didn't see it that way : his wife would never appear in a movie half-dressed, where she had to embody a woman of easy virtue. Even if she hadn't sworn it when getting married, Marilyn obeyd.
Joe and Marilyn spent the 2 following weeks in a house, outside Idyllwild, near Palm Springs, in a house owed by Marilyn's lawyer, Lloyd Wright.Palm Springs was a tourist resort located in the desert, favourite escapade place of Hollywood big bosses.
They had to stay 10 days, and after, Joe had to go back to New York City in order to discharge a TV involvement.
Sunday, January 24 the DiMaggios went back to Los
Angeles. When she arrived at her Doheny Drive's
apartment, Marilyn discovered a copy of the screenplay of "Pink
Tights". Zanuck had sent it to her with his compliments, and had sent
another copy to the Famous Artists Agency.
Tuesday, January 26 when the studio noticed that she hadn't come on the set of "Pink Tights", she was suspended once
again (
).
Charles
Feldman was glad to learn that, as soon as Joe DiMaggio would be back
from New York City
(where meanwhile he had gone for his business), he planned to take
Marilyn in Japan, for the official start of the base-ball season.
Marilyn
was temporarily excluded from the studios and because her career wasn't
the point, they left for a honeymoon in Japan.
Thursday, January 28 Marilyn landed in San Francisco. Joe had arrived from New York earlier that day.
), to pick their passports up
(
;
,
,
,
), for their trip in Asia.
FEBRUARY
Monday, February 1st , Marilyn and Joe, his friend Frank "Lefty" O’Doul and his wife Jean, left San Francisco on flight 831 of
the Pan American Airlines to Tokyo, via Honolulu (
,
).
Before her wedding, Joe had agreed to accompany his friend and mentor to a base-ball game and also to a beginners training session in Japan. Marilyn being suspended by the studio, Joe had offered her to come with him.
The trip was organized by the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper (
),in Joe's honor, to celebrate the base-ball season.
They stopped over at Honolulu where a horde of fans plagued them (
,
,
,
).
Policemen had to intervene to escort them, Marilyn being on the verge of a fit of hysterics, in an isolated waiting room
(
,
).
)
where Marilyn's fans were so many that they were forced to turn back in
the plane, to get out of it much later, discreetly through the baggage
hold
(
,
).
But this collective fury focused on Marilyn, continued at the Tokyo Imperial Hotel where they planned to stay. 200 policemen were mobilized to maintain order when Marilyn's admirers (hoping to catch sight of her or simply having a picture of her room) suddenly fell over each other, creating a real riot. The crowd piled up and chanted Marilyn's name, who
ended by giving up, with
no enthusiasm, and showed herself at the balcony of the hotel (
) adding that if she loved her public, this time, things went too far.
Everybody wanted to see Marilyn, so the couple decided to show itself only for the official outings.
According to Lefty O’Doul, it was the first time that Joe had the measure of Marilyn's fame and that he saw for himself how she surpassed his one. That made him sullen. Joe's discontent only got worse when the next day, Wednesday, February 3, during the only press conference which had been organized for him, all the questions were asked to Marilyn
(
,
,
;
,
,
,
).
,
,
,
), Kobe (
) and Yokohama (
,
;
,
).
Friday, February 5 :she also visited the injured soldiers at theTokyo Army Hospital
(
;
,
,
,
).
The Emperor of Japan offered her a string of natural pearls designed by Mikymoto (
) (she wore this necklace the day of her divorce from DiMaggio and later, offered it to Paula
Strasberg, who then gave it to her daughter Susan ; it was sold in 1999).
As Joe and Lefty had very busy timetable (base-ball during the day, meetings with the sports press at night), Marilyn found the idea excellent.
DiMaggio was very upset : he didn't want her to leave and threatened to divorce right away.
Monday, February 8 she received the service number 129278 as an Army artist with officials papers to join Seoul in Korea
(
).
,
,
,
).
Sunday, February 14 the DiMaggios made a short visit near Hiroshima
(
,
,
,
).
Tuesday, February 16
she left to Itami Airport in Japan (
,
) and arrived in
Korea (
,
,
,
,
).
From Tuesday, February 16 to Saturday 20 accompanied with Jean O’Doul (
,
,
)
and the officer in charge of the Army entertainment, Walter
Bouillet, Marilyn
travelled through the wholecountry by plane,
helicopter and in Jeep (
,
,
,
).
She visited a dozen of camps where 100 000 soldiers, plus 13 000 Marines welcomed her with deafening screams and
never-ending ovations (
,
,
,,
,
,
).
She performed a least a dozen times.
Within only 2 days, her public, enthusiastic to frenzy, gathered the 3rd, 7th, 24th and 15th US Army troops divisions, in all 60 000 men. Most of them had never seen any of Marilyn's movie (they had been enlisted before her vertiginous rise).
She won the troops over on a spangled purple dress, short and tight-fitting (
,
,
,
,
).
She sang "Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friends", "Bye, Bye, Baby", "Somebody Loves Me" and "Do it Again" (attenuated in "Kiss Me Again" to avoid overexciting a public already very enthusiastic).
Everywhere, she was very warmly welcomed.
Far
from Hollywwod, Marilyn had performed spontaneous and extremely
brilliant representations. Anyway, she had achieved this kind of
exploit on her own, without her husband critics or the inquisitive look of Natasha Lytess,
her directors or producers who, all of them, only reinforced her in
this conviction that she wasn't at grade and that she missed real
artistic talents.
Instead of being paralysed with stage fright as it
often happened on stage, on the contrary, she let her reached by the
love streams of an enthusiastic public.
Back
to Tokyo, she ran toward Joe as an excited girl, telling him how
she had been so well welcomed. But Joe, still realistic, didn't seem to
pay attention to what she was saying.
She came back from Korea ill, having caught a pneumonia. She remained at the Imperial Hotel for 4 days, with antiobiotics.
When she recovered, she kept on visiting Japan with DiMaggio (
;
,
,
).
Tuesday, February 23 leaving Tokyo (
;
,
;
,
,
,
;
,
) after another
stopover in Honolulu (
;
,
),the O’Douls and the
DiMaggios were back in San Francisco (
,
,
).
MARCH
Back to Hollywood, the couple went through serious difficulties.
Joe
went back to New York and Marilyn to Los Angeles (
,
) on Friday, March 5.
) at the prize-giving of "The Best Actress" for her roles in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and "How
to Marry a Millionaire", awarded by Photoplay magazine,
at the Beverly Hills Hotel (
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
).
Marilyn and Sidney then went and had a drink in the suite she had rented at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Tuesday, March 9,
she took part in a radio show for CBS (
,
).
During this month of March, Marilyn, still at the Beverly Hills Hotel, talked with Charles Feldman and Hugh French
(
)
(both of the Famous
Artists Agency) of a possible autobiography, a literary genre which
began to be greatly prized because it guaranteed the artist both an
excellent publicity and a substantial income.
She agreed, on condition that a major writer was hired, someone to who she could talk to about her past with trust and sincerity. Of course, she demanded to supervise the whole text.
So her agents contacted Jacques Chambrun, himself Ben Hecht 's agent (
), reporter, novelist and prolific screenwriter, and an agreement was concluded.
Marilyn
and Hecht had met with much cordiality while a movie based on Hecht's screenplay was preparing
("Monkey Business"
), agreed on regular meetings, several times a week and often on
Marilyn's express request, in the presence of Sidney Skolsky.
Hecht
worked quickly (if it's taken account of the lack of suitable recording
material at that time) and suggested a preliminary draft at the end of April.
On this occasion, Marilyn contacted Lucille
Ryman and asked her to fully collaborate with Ben Hecht.
the United Airlines (
), at its Los Angeles Knickerbocker Hotel counter.
Wednesday, March 31 although Charles Feldman represented her unofficially and without any contract since Johnny Hyde's death, the William Morris agency
was legally entitled to receive a commission on each Marilyn's fee for
year 1953.
Once this delay expired, Marilyn finally signed with the
Famous Artists Agency, at the moment when Feldman and French made
it up with the Fox in Marilyn's name.
The studio, facing the fact of losing its major asset, ended "Pink Tights".
It was Charles Feldman who managed to convince Zanuck. Furthermore, the head of the Fox agreed to pay her more and not to make her play in more than 2 movies a year, but refused to give her the choice of screenplay, director and camera operators. Feldman agreed for her that she could only choose her choregrapher and drama teacher.
But Zanuck wished that Marilyn agreed to the shooting of "There’s No Business Like Show Business". this part allowing Marilyn to come back in Los Angeles after having lived in San Francisco for 2 or 3 months.So she was allowed to be surrounded by her own crew : Natasha Lytess her drama teacher (
), Hal
Schaefer her singing teacher (
) and Jack Cole, her dancing teacher (
).
All of them developed her acts in "There's No Business Like Show Business".
In return, her producers demanded that her 2 suspensions of January were added to her current contract, i.e before her 7th year renewal took effect, that is to say, in August of this year. Thus, they gained time and Marilyn would still be available to shot another movie. All those dealings shows how worried they were to see Marilyn vanish into thin air.
As an encouragement, the Fox promised her the leading role in the Billy Wilder's project, "The Seven Year Itch".
The Fox acquired the copyrights of the play "The Seven Year Itch"
of George Axelrod, for the amount of 500 000$.
Marilyn imposed a raise : her request was considered in the signature of her new contract in August. It was also planned a bonus of 100 000$ for "The Seven Year Itch, although it wasn't written down, totally paid.
It was because "The Seven Year Itch" had to be co-produced by Billy Wilder and Charles Feldman (who kept excellent relationship alive with many people within the Fox) that Marilyn realized that once again, she would allow the studio and the producers to handsomely grow rich behind her back, whitout finding herself in her own work, any fair financial compensation nor a gratifying artistic freedom.
In the mean time, she had already ruminated the plan to fly away and for a time much more longer than planned.
During all this year 1954, Lloyd
Wright, Marilyn's lawyer, and Frank
Delaney, Milton
Greene's
one, exchanged an important mail and many phone calls, with the wish to
start their financial agreement and to set up a new adventure which
would be names the Marilyn Monroe
Productions.
The
talks took place secretly because, if the Fox had heard the slightest
thing, the studio could have broken Marilyn's contract in accordance
with the "contrary intentions" Marilyn cherished (in such a case, it
was a legal clause for a breach of contract).
During her wedding, Marilyn didn't see Natasha Lytess a lot out of the work sessions.
She spent April and a part of May
in the DiMaggios house, on Beach Street, San Francisco (
;
APRIL
Tuesday, April 13 Marilyn's suspension from the Fox officially ended, and within 2 days later, she was at the studio.
Thursday, April 15,
she held a press conference in her dressing-room at the Fox (
,
,
,
,
) and rehearsed with Hal
Schaefer (
,
,
,
;
,
,
,
).
She
worked a lot with Hal Schaefer and Jack Cole (respectively singing
teacher and choregrapher) to prepare the singing and dancing acts
of "There’s No Business Like Show Business".
Hal Schaefer was in charge of 4 songs of Marilyn in the movie, and also some others she recorded for the RCA
this year.
He had already been her musical director in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and "River of No Return".
She received the "National Movie Poll Award"
(
) for the Best Actress of Year 1953 (
,
).
Friday, April 30 release of "River of No Return"
(
;
,
,
,
,
).
MAY
During this month, photographer Milton Greene arrived in Los Angeles and together, they made several picture sessions.
Milton found in the Fox wardrobe the costume of Jennifer Jones in "The Song of Bernadette", a close-fitting
jacket , a long skirt, thick stocking and black sabots. He took her in
the Fox studios, in the little French village built for the movie
" What a Price Glory?" and took her in picture (
,
,
).
She also posed in the other Fox buildings (
,
;
,
,
,
;
,
,
,
).
Become confident by Milton Greene's warmth, Marilyn complained bitterly to him about what she was subjected to from the Fox, because she had no control on the movies she made, and the roles Zanuck wished she'd play. Before she came back to New York, they set up together their project about an independent production company.
With DiMaggio, she rented a house located 508 North Palm Drive (
,
,
),
in Beverly Hills, even if Joe had wished to live
in San Francisco. But he accompanied Marilyn because she had
to shot her next movie at the end of May.
Waiting for the end of the works of the house, they stayed at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
After, they lived at 508 North Palm Drive, opposite Charles
Feldman's home, Marilyn's agent.
The house was rented for 6 months, for a monthly rent of 700$.
It consisted in 8 rooms, including one reserved for Joe DiMaggio Jr and a pool.
For the first time of her life, she tried to pass her knowledge and literary inclinations on. She tried to interest Joe to books, from St Exupery to Mickey Spillane, and Jules Verne, but he didn't let him turned away from his main interest, television.
Their life was as tough as before their wedding, although they were both ready to mutual concessions.
Wednesday, May 5 Charles Feldman called Marilyn, informing her that the Fox was preparing her new contract and that she would soon receive a copy of it.
When she received the contract; she was appalled : even the slightest control rights she had obtained verbally didn't appear. The conclusion was obvious, the studio had no respect for her.
Saturday, May 8 Feldman called her to tell that finally, "The Seven Year Itch"
would be produced by the Fox (while until then, it had to
be Feldman and Billy Wilder the director of the movie).
Marilyn insisted on her demands to be included to her new contract.
Convinced that Zanuck wouldn't give up, Marilyn's agents urged her to accept once again a compromise.
She seemed to be ready to discuss about the giving up of the choice of her directors and camera operators, but she remainedfirm about her right to obtain the choice of her choregrapher and drama teacher. The Fox agreed, in the condition that , in case of disagreement , the studio had the last word. Marilyn refused.
Her
agents suggested her that she made a list of the drama teachers and choregraphers with who she wanted to work.
Marilyn complied but maintained she would sign the contract only
if the Fox would leave her the last word in case of agreement.
Friday, May 21 Marilyn was judged for unwise driving ; with her convertible Cadillac
she had crashed into Bart Antinora's car, at the corner of Sunset
Boulevard and Beverly Drive. This day, DiMaggio was with her.
B. Antinora claimed 3 000$ (or 5000$) but the penalty was reduced to 500$.
Friday, May 28 beginning of the shooting of "There's No Business Like Show Business".
Couldn't get rid of a bronchitis contracted during her trip in Korea and suffering of anemia, she entered the Cedars of Lebanon
Hospital and was treated by Dr Robert Rosenfeld.
The shooting was postponed to August.
return to her former unimportant roles (
,
,
,
,
).Marilyn's relation with the director of the movie, Walter Lang, were particularly bad. Lang didn't miss any opportunity to denigrate
her (
) :
she was late on the set but however worked hard with her teachers
to give the best of herself, very worried not to measure herself up to
the dancing and singing professionals she shot with. Natasha Lytess
accompanied her on the set
.
It was her friend Allan Whitey Snyder who took care of her make-up during the shooting (
) and Gladys Rasmussen,
of her hair (
)
Reporters Sidney Skolsky and Earl
Wilson visited her on the set (
,
,
,
).
Marilyn had signed an exclusivity contract with the RCA, shortly before; the voice heard in the original soundtrack isn't hers but Dolores Gray's one, a star of Broadway. Marilyn recorded another version of the songs she sang in the movie, intended to be distributed by her record company.
"There's No Business Like Show Business" was just a pretext in Cinemascope to show the musical acts concocted by the great
composer Irving Berlin (
), vaguely connected with a brief story of a "terribly nice" Irish family of variety artists.
Marilyn came at an awkward moment as a locker room employee who
falls in love with one of the characters, and ended by proving that she
also know how to dance and sing.
For several weeks, Marilyn pretended to ignore Joe's sullen moods about it, and she (as Marilyn would later reported it) ended by completely ignoring him.
It was at that time that Marilyn became used to barbiturates : she only wanted to forget she was mistaken, and more than everything else, she needed to sleep; not only she needed some rest to face the next day of shooting, but it was also a way to avoid a clash with Joe.
Apparently stable and serene in his personal relations, whatever it was with his friends or with strangers (but however always condescendent and often frosty with women), he definitely wasn't the ideal husband for Marilyn at this level of their respective existences. Actually Joe had many similarities with Fred Karger. Effectively, Marilyn repeated the same situation : she tried to unite with a man who didn't really have any respect for her, who ridiculed her appearance and who was convinced that he knew what was suitable for her, better than herself.
JUNE
The collaboration between Ben Hecht and Marilyn for the writing of her autobiography collapsed : Ben Hecht learned that his literary agent Jacques Chambrun, had sold some extracts of his manuscript to Empire News in London, without his agreement, nor Marilyn's one.
Sidney Skolsky right away wrote a small booklet about Marilyn, who gave her consent for the publication in the form of a serial story in newspapers and magazines, later this same year.
Saturday, June 26, costumes tests for "There’s No Business Like Show Business" (
,
).
JULY
Wednesday, July 7, in Morningside Park, Inglewood, California, Marilyn received an award from the American legion for her
commitment in Korea (
;
,
).
Tuesday, July 27 this evening, Hal Shaefer had an appointment with the actress and singer Sheila Stuart, he made rehearse at Harry Giventer's place, the studio's lyric writer. Schaefer, being too late, they called at his home, and at his office, then at some mutual friends place, but without success. They decided to go to his bungalow, at the Fox, where they found him unconscious, at 4.00 AM. Harry Giventer and Sheila Stuart went with him in an ambulance at the Santa Monica Hospital, where a gastric lavage saved him from an overdose of Benzedrine mixed with Nembutal, swallowed with some white out for typewriter.
Marilyn went to his side and remained one of the most regular people to visit him during his recuperation.On the Fox press agents request, the newspapers admitted the hypothesis that Schaefer had made a nervous breakdown exhaustion.
Marilyn asked the studio to postponed the last recording until the end of the shooting, in order to give Schaefer enough time to recover. The recording was finally made in November of this year.
During this summer, she posed in Palm Springs for
photographer Ted Baron (
,
,
,
).
AUGUST
The
Fox made her sign a 7 year contract, with a raise and a bonus of 100
000$ for Billy Wilder's movie, "The Seven Year Itch", Marilyn agreed to
shoot.
Monday, August 23, costumes tests for "The Seven Year Itch" (
,
)
whose shooting was about to begin in New York City in Fall. The shots
in studio were scheduled from mid-September to the beginning of
November.
Friday, August 27 while Joe and his friend George Solotaire were on th set, Marilyn's dance was being shot, with an
extremely short costume, for " Heat wave" (
,
,
,
,
).
It was this same day that Emmeline Snively, from the Blue Book Modeling Agency was also present on the set 
.
So DiMaggio met her for the first time.
Despite his protests, the scene was kept.
During the shooting, Marilyn gave an interview for an article which was published in Drew Pearson's column, a columnist from Washington DC : "Not being a born-actress, not a singer, not a dancer, I still pinched myself when I'm going to the studio in a very beautiful car, and sing, and dance, and perform a dramatic part in "There’s No Business Like Show Business" of Irving Berlin!".
It was during this shooting that she met Paula
Strasberg, who was introduced to her by her friend and reporter Sidney Skolsky.
Of course Marilyn had already heard about Lee Strasberg since she had attended the Actors Lab
in Hollywood.
Paula Strasberg, former actress, had played in "Night
over Taos" Marilyn had worked on; and Lee Strasberg had often been
described in front of Marilyn, by the Carnovskys (of the Actors
Lab.) and by Elia
Kazan, as the most competent teacher to train the great actors,
including Marlon Brando.
She already knew Lee Strasberg's reputation and confessed to Paula that she had always wanted to work with him , in particular after having heard the impressive account of Marlon Brando about him.
While she was shooting "There’s No Business Like Show Business", Brando embodied Napoleon in "Desirée", on the next set
(
,
,
).
Paula told her that she was welcome and could visit them whenever she wanted to, in New York City.
SEPTEMBER
Wednesday, September 8, Marilyn left to New York for the shooting of "The Seven Year Itch", by the 9.00 Pm flight.
When she arrived at Idlewild Airport ( 
;
,
;
,
,
,
,
) (nowadays the John
Kennedy Airport), Thursday,
September 9, at 8.15 AM, she had to accept several interviews (
).
She stayed at the Hampshire House
Hotel.
,
;
,
).
This day, he made the serie of pictures where Marilyn was dressed with a ballerina dress, too tight for her (
,
,
,
).
Saturday, September 11 DiMaggio arrived in New York (
). They stayed together at the St Regis Hotel, at the
11th floor, suite 1105-1106 (
).
Photographers Sam Shaw (
,
,
,
,
). and Milton Greene took her in pictures (
,
,
,
,
,
,
).
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
In her hotel room ,
Restaurant "La Petite Cuvée" 
Interview with Ed Wallace at the St Regis Hotel 
-
,
,
,
Au "Little Club" de Billy Reed 
,
,
,
,
,
;
then met the actress of the piece Carol Haynes, in her dressing-room
,
,
,
,
At the Club 21 
,
,
,
,
,
.
Sunday, September 12, the Greenes picked them up and took them at the El Morocco restaurant
Milton
and Marilyn talked about her problems with the Fox, and Amy and Joe
talked about base-ball, Amy having been used to attend base-ball games
with her father.
Monday, September 13 shooting of the first outdoor scene in New York, at the apartment located 164 East 61 Street.
More than 1 000 onlookers witnessed the shooting (
,
,
,
,
,
,
).
The film could have easily been shot at the Fox, but it woudl have been missing such a fantastic publicity. Each newspaper and magazine reported many anecdotes or interviews : the Fox accountants rubbed their hands in glee, with the perspective of profit the movie would engender.
During the breaks and the shooting, she was taken in picture by Bob Henriques (
,
,
), Elliott Erwitt (
,
,
,
) and Sam Shaw. This one knew Joe DiMaggio for having made a documentary about him.
),
Marilyn's agent, in order to work for the Fox and make some pictures of the shooting; he became one of her friend.
Her friend, reporter Sidney Skolsky
was also present on the set (
) and she received the visit of the Fox casting
director, Ben Lyon (
).
This evening, the DiMaggios attended a representation of the play "Teahouse
of the August Moon" 
,
.
On the set (
,
,
,
,
), the cohabitation between
director Billy Wilder (
,
) and Natasha Lytess (
,
) took place well.
Marilyn suffered from a pulmonary infection and was treated by the doctor of the Fox, Dr Lee Seigel.
The decisive turn of Joe and Marilyn's marriage, took place on Wednesday, September 15, the day the reporter Walter Winchell
persuaded Joe to join the crowd of several hundred of
onlookers who waited for hours in front of the Trans-Lux Theater,
on Lexington
Avenue, at the corner of 52nd Street, to lastly see Marilyn's
pleated skirt been blown away, revealing her legs, above a subway
grille. The scene was shot around 1.00 AM, in the middle of a crowd who
cheered each time Marilyn's skirt was blown away, under the effect
of the draft caused by a huge fan set up below the subway grille (
).
There were 15 shots and the shotting lasted 5 hours (
,
,
;
;
,
;
,
,
;
).
The shooting of this scene was mainly advertising : indeed, everyone knew that anyway, it would be shot at the Fox studio because the surrounding noises completely covered the dialogues, there were not enough freedom in the movements because of the crowd and the fan used didn't produce the expected effect.
On the set, she had the visit of reporter Earl Wilson accompanied by the Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida 
.
The scene and the public cheering put Joe in a blind rage : he immediately came back to the St Regis Hotel. When Marilyn returned to the hotel, they had a violent altercation, and it's reported that Joe became violent. Tears and raised voices were heard from their room.
The next day, Marilyn arrived, with many bruises, on the set. Whitey Snyder (
,
) took care of her make-up and covered the bruises.
Gladys Rasmussen took care of her hair during the shooting (
,
).
At that time, she met one of her biggest fans, James Haspiel.
She also posed for a picture session with Richard
Avedon for Harper’s Bazaar magazine (
,
,
).
Thursday, September 16 she went back to Los Angeles with Joe
(
,
,
,
,
), in their house on North Palm
Drive.
Back to Hollywood to finish the movie scenes in studio, Marilyn called Billy Wilder and informed him she couldn't come to work, because she was ill, confined to bed with a big cold which was changing into a pneumonia.
The lenght of the shooting had changed from 35 to 48 days, and the movie was really completed at the end of November.
Against her doctor's opinion, but to Billy Wilder's great hapinness, Marilyn came to work a few days at the studio, between
Saturday, September 18 and Friday, October (
,
;
,
).
Joe had to go back to New York. Aware that he didn't want to loose Marilyn and admitting that his behaviour was questionable, he tried to make amends toward her, but she was inflexible.
Monday, September 27 Joe left to New York and Cleveland for his TV programs, the "World Series", where he commentated on the New York Yankees games.
He stayed with his friend George Solotaire at the Madison Hotel.
She also made Inez Melson come from her house of
Laurel Canyon, to take care of her.
OCTOBER
Saturday, October 2 Joe came back from New York; he found Marilyn having her breakfast with Sidney Skolsky, her friend, reporter.
Marilyn informed him that she ended a living together of 8 months and 13 days, and that she had already contacted her lawyer to begin the divorce proceedings.
Furthermore, having broken the news about her intentions to Darryl Zanuck, this one forbid Joe to come at the Fox studios.
Monday, October 4 Marilyn called Billy Wilder and annonced him she was unwell and that one more time, she couldn't come to work.
Then, she called Harry Brand, head of the Fox publicity department and announced him that she had entrusted Jerry Giesler
(
) with her
divorce request, one of the greatest Hollywood lawyers. He would plead
for her and she hoped that the case would be soon settled.
He officially announced that the couple was going to divorce by mutual consent.
He cabled a short declaration to the press agencies : the wedding of the 2 world stars was breaking up for "inconsistency resulting from the conflicts imposed by their respective careers", published in the Los AngelesTimes dated October 6, 1954.
Tuesday, October 5 , the North Palm Drive house was surrounded by a hundred of reporters and photographers.
In
the villa, Giesler was seated next to Marilyn, who, from her bed,
suffered from the effects of the sedative given by her doctor and
friend, gynecologist Leon Krohn.
She signed a one page and a half document where she sued for divorce, invoking that during the 8 months of their wedding, she had endured "serious anxiety and moral suffering, and that all the actions of the respondent weren't the consequence of the plaintiff's fault".
The complaint pointed out that the couple had broken up on September 27, when Joe had come back on the East Coast. that there were no alimony, and no property to share.
The lawyer Jerry Giesler went down and joined Joe, giving him the papers and informing him that he had 10 days to contest this request , before a a decree by default was granted. Joe didn't say anything, put the papers in his pocket and stood in front of the television.
Giesler left the villa, warning the reporters that a reconciliation seemed unthinkable but that the divorce would proceed by mutual consent.
Wednesday, October 6 : around 10.00 AM, Joe with Reno Barsocchini (
), his friend and best man at hiswedding with Marilyn, left the house of North Palm Drive (
). From his car, he declared to the reporters that he was going back home in
San Francisco, but he was going to spend few days at Dr Leon Krohn's
place on North Roxbury Drive, who had become attached both to Marilyn
and Joe. According to Krohn, Marilyn called Joe every evenings.Around 10.55 AM Marilyn and her lawyer, Jerry Giesler, announced to the press, in front of the house of North Palm Drive
(
,
,
,
), that a divorce proceedings had started(
,
,
,
).
Shattered, she went to a car which first took her at Leon Krohn's place, then to the studio (
,
,
;
). Two hours later, she was back home and went to bed.
Joe didn't consider the beginning of a divorce proceedings as the end of their relationship; he thought he could regain Marilyn and that she was simply under bad influences.
Thursday, October 7 from 9.00 AM, Marilyn was back on the set of "The Seven Year Itch".
Joe held a press conference in San Francisco (
,
).
Tuesday, October 26 the day before the first official summons, prior the divorce, Joe made a last attempt to join Marilyn : he called
Sidney Skolsky to come to the rescue and tried to convince Marilyn to change her mind. But she didn't.
Wednesday, October 27
Sidney Skolsky accompanied
Marilyn and the lawyer Jerry Giesler at the Santa Monica Court (
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
;
,
;
,
,
;
,
,
).
Marilyn appeared in front of judge Orlando H. Rhodes. She told him :
"Your Honor. My husband was sometimes in a so dark mood that he didn't talk to me at all for 5 days, even 7 days in a row. Sometimes even more. I asked him : "What's wrong?". No answer (...). He forbade me to have some visits; in 9 months, I've only received my friends 3 times (..) Most of the time, he only showed me coldness and indifference".
Natasha Lytress had offered to testify but Marilyn dissuaded her.
At the witness stand, Inez
Melson (
)
declared in a quiet voice : "Mr DiMaggio was completely different
and didn't really care of Mrs DiMaggio's happiness. I saw him pushing
her away from him and telling her to leave him alone".
Joe stood apart the debates, and Marilyn obtained a temporary divorce (
) (it became effective a year later) for the following official reasons :
"Since the beginning of their wedding, the defendant has showed the plaintiff a big mental cruelty, provoking thus serious psychic sufferings, and a big anxiety, every actions and behavior from the defendants couldn't be attributed to the plaintiff; so the defendant is guilty to have caused the plaintiff's mental distress, her sufferings and anxiety".
The divorce definitive judgment was granted by judge Elmer Doyle, in Marilyn's favor, for the motive of mental cruelty in 1955.
NOVEMBER
Marilyn stayed for about a month in a luxurious duplex located 8336 Delongpré Avenue, West Hollywood.
Thursday, November 4 end of the shooting of "The Seven Year Itch".
The
Fox guaranteed her she would receive a bonus of 100 000$ for "The
Seven Year Itch", and that she would shot "How to be Very, Very
Popular", with a screenplay written for her by the very prolific Fox
screenwriter, Nunnally Johnson.
She attended the preview of
"There’s No Business Like Show-Business" (
,
,
). Attended also Milton
Greene (
), Irving Berlin, Joan Collins, Bing Crosby, Olivia DeHavilland, Judy
Garland, Joseph Mankiewicz and Donald O’Connor.
Friday, November 5 she recorded the songs of "There's No Business Like Show Business" with her singing teacher, Hal Schaefer. The recording had been postponed in July, after Schaefer's sucide attempt.
In the evening, they had dinner at another Schaefer's student's place, Sheila Stuart, who lived Waring Avenue, West Hollywood.
Private
detective Philip Irwin (he worked for the City Detective and
Guard Service agency of Barney Ruditsky 
) Joe had hired to watch
Marilyn since mid-October (obviously, to collect faults against her),
announced Joe that while he was tailing Marilyn, he
had seen her going
to the same address than Hal Shaefer, at 8122 Waring
Avenue (
),
which
was Sheila Stuart 's address (
) (actress and Schaefer's
student, who, with Harry Giventer, had found Shaefer unconscious
in July).
Informed by the detective, Joe went on the spot, and mad with rage, wanted to force his way into the apartment where was Marilyn, sure of discovering her in a compromising situation.
The detective waited few minutes and called on Frank Sinatra for help, who arrived at the corner of Waring and Kilkea Avenues with some hired hands (Sinatra pretended having remained in the car, a little further away). Around 11.30 PM, the door shattered.
The
detective flash crackled on a silhouette : a woman
aged 37 named Florence Kotz Ross (
), who had sit up in her bed, with bulging eye,
called for help.
They hadn't manage to locate Sheila Stuart's apartment which was a bit further away. The racket alerted Sheila and Marilyn who took advantage of the mêlée to clear off.
This event was widely commented on the press of November 6 and 7.
This story lived on as the "raid on the wrong door" (
).
Florence Kotz brought a lawsuit against Sinatra and DiMaggio,
asking for 200 000$ damages. Sinatra denied every
involvement to this commando action, and 4 years later (in 1958) , the case was closed by the California Supreme Court, after Sinatra's lawyer, Milton Rudin
(
), had found an amicable arrangement (payment 7 500$ to Florence Kotz).
In 1957 the Senate of the State of California decided to have a close look at the activities of some private detectives and made
appear several
people, including Philip Irwin.
Frank Sinatra had also to appear (
),
but he denied to have been involved in the breaking and entering.
Irwin, him, declared that Sinatra had helped DiMaggio to break
down the door.
As there was 2 different versions, the Grand Jury was seized.
Frank Sinatra's lawyers gave the private detective Fred Otash (
) the responsability of collecting informations allowing to block Irwin's allegations.
Officially,
the conclusion of the case was never known; the Grand Jury debates got
stuck, the members of the jury passed the file on to the Chief of
Police, in case there would be other testimonies. DiMaggio never gave his own version.
Saturday, November 6 to celebrate the end of the shooting of "The Seven Year Itch", Charles Feldman (
,
,
,) organized a reception at the Romanoff’s restaurant (
,
) in Beverly Hills, in Marilyn's honor.
She was accompanied with photographer Sam Shaw.
Among the 80 guests, were Billy Wilder (
,
,
), Humphrey Bogart
(
), Lauren Bacall (
),
Claudette Colbert, William Holden, James Stewart, Doris Day
(
), George Axelrod (
), Susan Hayward (
),
Gary Cooper, Loretta Young,
George Burns (
, Clifton Webb (,
),
Clark Gable (
,
,
), Darryl Zanuck (
,
,
),
), Sam Goldwyn,Tom
Ewell (
,) and Sidney Skolsky (
,
); everyone complimented her : Marilyn was lastly accepted from the whole Hollywood.
But It was not only a friendly and noble gesture from Charles Feldman : the first reason was that this party was the answer to the recriminations which only got worse in the course of time, from Zanuck to Marilyn, her absences, lateness and sputterings which forced the technical crew to make many shots of a single scene. To Feldman, those reproaches were ridiculous. The same day she completed "There's No Business Like Show Business", she left to New York CIty to shoot "The Seven Year Itch".
Her divorce had made her unavailable for a week, sure, but she had worked 5 days in a row. He added that, as Zanuck knew it, 20 shots or more were usual for a meticulous director.
She was operated by Dr Leon Krohn on Sunday, November 7. Joe DiMaggio visited her (
)
and kept her company. He also made her bring a big bottle
of Chanel n° 5 and the rumor of a possible
reconciliation began to spread.
She left the hospital on Friday, November 12,
trying to escape the crowd of reporters who were waiting for her (
,
).
Despite months of important tension and a divorce, Joe and Marilyn kept on meeting.
She had dinner with him at the Villa
Capri restaurant (
. To
celebrate Joe's 40th birthday (born on November 25), she offered him a
gold watch he wore during many years (until the day it was crushed
while a minor car accident).
She stayed for a while at the Voltaire
Apartments, West Hollywood.
Sidney
Skolsky kept on going with her everywhere, to the Tiffany Club
or to the Palm Springs Raquet Club.
Friday, November 19, accompanied with Sidney Skolsky, she went to see Ella Fitzgerald who was performing at the El
Mocambo :
,
,
.
Monday, November 22 Marilyn went to Charles Feldman's home. She told him about her project to move to New York, and behaved as if she planned to keep him as her agent.
Feldman gave her a copy of a light comedy of Terence Rattigan, "The Sleeping Prince". Laurence
Olivier and Vivien Leigh had performed the play in London in this year 1954.
Since February, Feldman prepared the ground for buying Marilyn's part. He wanted her to play the dancer with Richard Burton playing the prince.
,
,
,
,
).
Week of November 27 Marilyn arrived at Frank Ferguson's office at the Fox and asked him a copy of her contracts. Surprised, Ferguson asked her why she asked for the papers, and not her lawyer or agent. Marilyn answered him that they didn't know about it.
He
gave her the papers but contacted Marilyn's lawyer, Lloyd Wright, who
himself contacted Feldman to keep him posted about Marilyn's step. But
she had already sent her contracts copies to Milton Greene and her
lawyer Frank Delaney.
Frank
Delaney studied the documents and discovered that few months earlier,
the Fox, after Marilyn's suspension, hadn't add the non-used time
on her contract, as it was usual to do it. According to him, the Fox
hadn't well calculate the number of days during which the studio could
wait before renewing Marilyn's contract. According to Delaney, this
technical mistake made Marilyn's contract, signed in 1951, null and void. So she had started "The Seven Year Itch" without any valid contract.
The shooting being completed, she was free to do whatever she wanted to.
Frank Delaney drafted the documents setting up the Marilyn Monroe Productions, and Milton Greene flew to Los Angeles in order to bring her the papers.
Weary of being distributed in stereotyped parts by studio heads without any imagination, disgusted with the idea of being forced to spend 7 more years at the Fox, and revolted to see that the 100 000$ promised for "The Seven Year Itch" delayed coming, she yearned for better screenplays, more ambitious parts and the right to choose her movies and directors.
She knew that in Spring, the Fox would need her for the promotion of "The Seven Year Itch", and she also knew that she was the biggest American movie star and was ready to try her luck.
Decided not to be subjected anymore to a boss or a capricious husband's mood, she felt attracted by Milton, not only because he knew how to take pictures of her like nobody else, but also because precisely because he was out of the system.
Not more than her he knew how to negotiate a movie set-up, because he ignored everything about the profession of producer, a budget management or the tricks which governed the development of a movie. In some way this venture was a folly for both of them, but Marilyn wanted it to be this way.
Refusing
to only be a sex-symbol, a part of her aspired to become a real
actress. It was the same thing for Milton Greene who didn't want to
remain a simple photographer.
She also felt that the friendship between Charles Feldman and Darryl Zanuck was prejudicial to her. Her agency had more contracts with the Fox than any other local artistic agency. This didn't suit Marilyn. Feldman not necessarily defended her interests at best when she was fighting for the revision of her contract.
In her opinion, anyone who had relations with the studios was suspicious.
So
she left Feldman, there again breaking her contract, although
she owed him the sum of 23 350$ he had lent her personally ;
he had advanced this money to her so that she could buy the rights of a
work which would never been adapted, to pay Natasha Lytess, to pay her
lawyers and to order an original screenplay.
Feldman didn't sue her, but he waited 5 years before Marilyn paid the lent amount back.
On Milton Green's advice, she turned to Lew Wasserman (
), manager of the MCA (Music Corporation of America).
He
ensured that Marilyn was represented in Los Angeles by him or his
colleagues, and in New York City by Jay Kanter and Mort VIner. Marilyn
knew that Wasserman was the most powerful agent in Hollywood. He had
managed to negotiate an historical contract for James Stewart : first,
the actor received a fee less important in exchange of a
percentage on the movie takings.
This contract sparked off the famous " percentage contract" which
revolutionized the actors remuneration system, and allowed them to
become producers , then actors-producers-screenwriters-directors,
making them the real one-man bands in Hollywood.
Before taking a decision, she disappeared and entrenched in Anna Karger's apartment (
), on Harper Avenue.
DECEMBER
Thursday, December 2 she spent the evening at Jesse Rand's home, Sammy Davis Jr's press agent
(
,
,
,,
,
), then they went to the
Mocambo night-club (
,
,
,
,
,
,
).
Saturday, December 4, she was at the Palm Spring Racquet Club with Charles Feldman (
,
) and Charlie Farrell
(owner of the Racquet Club) (
,
); Milton Greene was also
there (
).
Charles Feldman received his lay-off letter, dated from December 11.
After having dismissed her agent and her lawyer, Marilyn informed the Fox that from then on, the studio had to negotiate directly with her or her new lawyer, Frank Delaney. She also indicated that she had no more obligation toward the studio.
(
,
,
,
,
,
).
;
,
,
) the bad welcome reserved to the movie shattered Marilyn.
She left Los Angeles with Milton Greene and travelled under the name of Zelda Zonk. Natasha Lytess, Anna Karger and Joe
DiMaggio were the only persons aware of her leaving of Hollywood.
Amy Greene came to pick them up at the airport.
Marilyn lived at Fanton Hill Road, the Greenes house located in Weston, Connecticut and lived in the guest room.
She liked to live in this part of New England, doing long walkings, alone in the country, with one of the Greenes dogs (they had 2
Setter and a
Blue Kerry 
).
She spent Christmas with them (
,
)
to trace the main lines of her new life in New York which included,
among others, outings in Broadway and lessons with Lee Strasberg at
the Actors Studio.
It was in Louella
Parsons's column (
), her friend and ally, in the Herald
Examiner, that Marilyn explained to the public why she had left the Fox.
This year, she made a new picture session with Philip Halsman (
,
,
,
,
She received the "Exhibitor Laurel
Award" (
) from the Film Buyers of the Motion Picture Association of the "Number
One Screen Star".
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