Sunday, August 5, 2012

Marilyn

Marilyn Monroe died today in 1962. It's hard to believe she's been gone for 50 years.

I still miss her.











Marilyn Monroe was famously difficult for directors to work with.  Billy Wilder swore he would never work with her again after making Some Like It Hot.  "I'm too old and too rich" he said.  And yet, that movie would be unthinkable without her.  She really makes it.  She was a great comic actress, a fine singer, and an unforgettable presence where ever she appeared, on the screen, in public, or in the pages of celebrity gossip mags and Playboy.  Celebrities now like to project cool, from Lady Gaga (who can also be wickedly funny) to Uma Thurman (who is wickedly beautiful).  Marilyn projected warmth, especially in her movies.  Maybe that's why we miss her so much.



Artists loved Marilyn.


Marilyn by Willem deKooning





Marilyn by James Rosenquist




Andy Warhol painted his first painting of Marilyn shortly after her death.  He always used the same publicity photo copied and silkscreened hundreds of times in hundreds of variations.






















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2 comments:

  1. susan s.August 6, 2012 at 12:54 AM

    Thanks, Doug. This is all wonderful!

    BTW, did you notice George Chakiris, complete with gray hair and a mustache dancing in Diamonds?

    ReplyDelete
  2. JCFAugust 6, 2012 at 3:19 AM

    [George Chakiris always seemed to be a chorus boy to the divas, pre-WSS]

    Good-bye, Norma Jean. You'll always fascinate.

    ReplyDelete

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