Page 10-Wednesday, August 4,1982-The Michigan Daily
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Monroe's death can't
stop her magic appeal
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But although Marilyn Monroe knew
and admired the Kennedys, there is no
real evidence that she was roman-
tically involved with them.
Biographers have a rich vein of
American folklore in the Monroe saga.
Her supposedly illegitimate birth as
Norma Jean Baker in Los Angeles
(although it has been cast into doubt in
the past year with new findings). Her
wretched childhood in foster homes.
Her decision to pose for a nude calendar
when she was broke. Her starlet days.
Her reign as superstar. Three
marriages and many romances. Her
loss of emotional control and her tragic
end.
JAYNE Mansfield, Sheree North and
others tried to imitate her formula but
all failed. Like all great stars, Marilyn
Monroe was indeed unique.
Ironically, Marilyn was never
nominated for an Academy Award. In
fact, the critics didn't take her
seriously as an actress until she made
the "Seven-Year Itch" and "Bus Stop"
in the mid-'50s, midway through her
career.
After those successes, some critics
began to concede that the actress was
more than just a sex bomb and actually
an excellent light comedian.
STILL, despite her eventual acclaim,
Marilyn Monroe's films do not appear
on Hollywood's list of the top 250 box of-
fice hits of all time. Most were
moderately successful, however.
Her best year at the box office came
in 1953, before the critical peak of her
career, when "Gentlemen Prefer Blon-
des" and "How to Marry a Millionaire"
were among the top 10 moneymakers of
the year.
Her last two films, "Let's Make
Love" and "The Misfits" were box of-
fice disappointments.
WHY DOES the Monroe magic con-
tinue?
Tom Ewell, her co-star in "The
Seven-Year Itch," has toured 127 cities
during the past year, giving readings of
American humor and invariably,
talking to, people about Marilyn
Monroe. He has an answer.
"I think it's because she had
everything in the world that the
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Monroe
...in 1954
average woman wants-fame, sex,
glory-yet she still was unhappy.
People realize that what appeared to be
the American dream turned out to be
empty."
WHATEVER the reason, the magic
continues to intrigue. Her picture
is on the cover of Life magazine this
month-the 19th time it has adorned the
magazine, more than any other star.
Her co-workers remember Marilyn
with startling clarity.
Ewell, for example, recalls eating
lunch with her every day during the
filming of "The Seven-Year Itch."
"She would always read the Bible.
But she would put a Life magazine in
front of it so no one would know. She
told me, 'Every time I turn around
people think I'm doing some publicity
stunt. I don't want them to think that
about reading the Bible.' "
WILDER ONCE made cutting
remarks about her behavior during
filming of "Some Like It Hot," during
which she was intolerably late and
sometimes rude.
"Once Marilyn was on the screen, she
was delicious; to get her on the screen
was something else," he says. "I may
have said some harsh things about her,
but in retrospect I feel her death was an
absolutely irreparable loss." Many
fans feel the same way.
In London, Sotheby Parke Bernet
required only 40 seconds to auction a
pink mesh bra, silver evening bag and
white evening gloves worn by Marilyn.
A Texan paid $1,040 for them. Her
cream chiffon strapless gown sold for
$1,900.
ERNIE GARCIA is the devoted presi-
dent of the Marilyn Monroe Inter-
national Fan Club, which includes 2,000
members throughout the world. Every
afternoon after his work in a Veterans
Administration print shop, Garcia
spends six or eight hours at his Long
Beach, Calif., home working on
correspondence and other matters for
the fan club.
"Ever since I saw 'Gentlemen Prefer
Blondes' as a kid, I started collecting
everything I could find about Marilyn,"
says Garcia.
"After her death the obsession grew. I
felt the world had lost something great,
a real symbol of America, and I wanted
to do anything I could to help preserve
her memory. I've never lost my en-
thusiasm."
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