The World Beyond BetterMost > The Culture Tent
Michelle Williams and “My Week With Marilyn”
Aloysius J. Gleek:
(....)
Bus Stop was followed by The Prince and the Showgirl directed by Laurence Olivier, who also co-starred. Prior to filming, Olivier praised Monroe as "a brilliant comedienne, which to me means she is also an extremely skilled actress". During filming in England he resented Monroe's dependence on her drama coach, Paula Strasberg, regarding Strasberg as a fraud whose only talent was the ability to "butter Marilyn up". He recalled his attempts at explaining a scene to Monroe, only to hear Strasberg interject, "Honey — just think of Coca-Cola and Frank Sinatra." Olivier later commented that in the film "Marilyn was quite wonderful, the best of all." Monroe's performance was hailed by critics, especially in Europe, where she won the David di Donatello, the Italian equivalent of the Academy Awards, as well as the French Crystal Star Award. She was also nominated for a BAFTA. It was more than a year before Monroe began her next film. During her hiatus, she summered with Miller in Amagansett, New York. She suffered a miscarriage on August 1, 1957.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Monroe
Aloysius J. Gleek:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Monroe
(....)
Politics
In Monroe's last interview she pleaded with a reporter to end the article with the following quote: "What I really want to say: That what the world really needs is a real feeling of kinship. Everybody: stars, laborers, Negroes, Jews, Arabs. We are all brothers. Please don’t make me a joke. End the interview with what I believe."
Monroe was friends with Ella Fitzgerald and helped Ella in her career. Ella Fitzgerald later recounted, "I owe Marilyn Monroe a real debt...it was because of her that I played the Mocambo, a very popular nightclub in the ’50s. She personally called the owner of the club, and told him she wanted me booked immediately, and if he would do it, she would take a front table every night. She told him – and it was true, due to Marilyn’s superstar status – that the press would go wild. The owner said yes, and Marilyn was there, front table, every night. The press went overboard. After that, I never had to play a small jazz club again. She was an unusual woman – a little ahead of her times. And she didn’t know it."
Political discussions were recounted with Robert Kennedy as to policy towards Cuba, and President Kennedy. The latter said to have taken place at had luncheon with the Peter Lawfords. She was very pleased, as she had asked the President a lot of socially significant questions concerning the morality of atomic testing. Monroe supported Peace Action, which was created from a merge of Committee for a SANE Nuclear Policy and the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign.
While in Mexico in 1962, she openly associated with Americans who were identified by the FBI as communists, such as Frederick Vanderbilt Field. The daughter of Monroe's last psychiatrist, Joan Greenson, said that Monroe was “passionate about equal rights, rights for blacks, rights for the poor. She identified strongly with the workers."
Aloysius J. Gleek:
--- Quote from: Aloysius J. Gleek on November 29, 2011, 08:04:35 am ---[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_P2FFIVV8A&feature=relmfu[/youtube]
--- End quote ---
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Monroe met Miller in 1950. During this filming of Bus Stop, the relationship between Monroe and Miller had developed, and although the couple were able to maintain their privacy for almost a year, the press began to write about them as a couple, often referred to as "The Egghead and The Hourglass". In reflecting on his courtship of Monroe, Miller wrote, "She was a whirling light to me then, all paradox and enticing mystery, street-tough one moment, then lifted by a lyrical and poetic sensitivity that few retain past early adolescence."
The reports of their romance were soon overtaken by news that Miller had been called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee to explain his supposed communist affiliations. Called upon to identify communists he was acquainted with, Miller refused and was charged with contempt of Congress. He was acquitted on appeal. During the investigation, Monroe was urged by film executives to abandon Miller, rather than risk her career but she refused, later branding them as "born cowards".
The press began to discuss an impending marriage, but Monroe and Miller refused to confirm the rumor. In June 1956, a reporter was following them by car, and as they attempted to elude him, the reporter's car crashed, killing a female passenger. Monroe became hysterical upon hearing the news, and their engagement was announced, partly in the expectation that it would reduce the excessive media interest they were being subjected to.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Monroe
Aloysius J. Gleek:
See the Upper Left (Highbrow Despicable) Quadrant in this week's New York Magazine 's Approval Matrix
("Our deliberately oversimplified guide to who falls where on our taste hierarchies."):
Published Nov 27, 2011
http://nymag.com/arts/all/approvalmatrix/approval-matrix-2011-12-5/
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: Aloysius J. Gleek on November 28, 2011, 12:11:21 am ---Uh-oh.
I first saw "The Prince and the Showgirl" many, many years ago--and adored it! Everytime I would see it (and THAT'S a long, long time ago I had a television in the house!) I would see it again.
Oops! Not saying anything about MY sense or taste, I guess!!
Ha!
::) ::)
--- End quote ---
But who did you want to be, John? The Prince ... or the Showgirl? ;D :-*
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