Marilyn Monroe’s 100th Birthday Documentary Features Friend Accounts
The Story
A radio documentary on Marilyn Monroe’s life begins on what would have been her 100th birthday and features interviews with surviving confidants. Friends describe Monroe as a complex, joyous, and intellectually curious woman, contrasting with the tragic tabloid image often associated with her.
Key Facts
- The radio documentary begins on what would have been Monroe’s 100th birthday.
- Amy Greene shared her home with Monroe in the mid-1950s and said they became real friends.
- Jane Russell’s 1985 memoir recounts a beach day in August 1962 after which she learned Monroe died.
- Mamie Van Doren, now 95, was contracted as Universal’s “answer to Marilyn Monroe” and described Monroe as a lovely person with no bad bone in her body.
- Photographer Lawrence Schiller worked with Monroe on a nude photoshoot for her unfinished 1962 film “Something’s Got to Give” and said she understood light.
- Sam Shaw took the famous subway grate photograph; his book “Dear Marilyn” credits Monroe’s elegance and clean sense of fun.
- Shaw’s daughter Edie celebrated a joint birthday trip with Monroe when Edie turned 10 and Monroe turned 29; Edie said Monroe could be many Marilyns.
- On the day she died, Monroe spent time on the phone consoling her former stepson Joe DiMaggio Jr over a recent heartbreak.
- Amy Greene believes Monroe’s desire to have children was a fantasy and that Monroe knew she could not have dealt with them.
Conflicting Reports
No conflicting reports identified in the source article.
Still Unclear
No open questions identified in the source article.
Misconceptions
The article directly addresses the misconception that Monroe was a tragic lovelorn sexpot who died because of the Kennedy brothers and her inability to have a family. Friends remember her as a joyous, funny, intellectually curious woman with creative ambition.
Key Figures
- Marilyn Monroe
- Amy Greene (ex-model, widow of photographer Milton Greene)
- Mamie Van Doren (actress, now 95)
- Lawrence Schiller (photographer)
- Sam Shaw (photographer)
- Edie Shaw (Sam Shaw’s daughter)
- Jane Russell (actress, co-star)
- Joe DiMaggio Jr (Monroe’s former stepson)
Sources: The Guardian
