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Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller:

Marilyn Monroe,  born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 – August 4, 1962) was an American actress, model, and singer. Famous for playing comic "blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular s e x symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as well as an emblem of the era's s e x ual revolution. She was a top-billed actress for a decade, and her films grossed $200 million (equivalent to $2 billion in 2021) by the time of her death in 1962. Long after her death, Monroe remains a major icon of pop culture.  In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked her sixth on their list of the greatest female screen legends from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Multiple film critics and media outlets have cited Monroe as one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Monroe spent most of her childhood in a total of 12 foster homes and an orphanage;  she married at age sixteen. She was working in a factory during World War II when she met a photographer from the First Motion Picture Unit and began a successful pin-up modeling career, which led to short-lived film contracts with 20th Century Fox and Columbia Pictures. After a series of minor film roles, she signed a new contract with Fox in late 1950. Over the next two years, she became a popular actress with roles in several comedies, including As Young as You Feel and Monkey Business, and in the dramas Clash by Night and Don't Bother to Knock. She faced a scandal when it was revealed that she had posed for nude photographs prior to becoming a star, but the story did not damage her career and instead resulted in increased interest in her films.

By 1953, Monroe was one of the most marketable Hollywood stars; she had leading roles in the film noir Niagara, which overtly relied on her s e x  appeal, and the comedies Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire, which established her star image as a "dumb blonde". The same year, her nude images were used as the centerfold and on the cover of the first issue of Playboy. She played a significant role in the creation and management of her public image throughout her career, but she was disappointed when she was typecast and underpaid by the studio. She was briefly suspended in early 1954 for refusing a film project but returned to star in The Seven Year Itch (1955), one of the biggest box office successes of her career.

When the studio was still reluctant to change Monroe's contract, she founded her own film production company in 1954. She dedicated 1955 to building the company and began studying method acting under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. Later that year, Fox awarded her a new contract, which gave her more control and a larger salary. Her subsequent roles included a critically acclaimed performance in Bus Stop (1956) and her first independent production in The Prince and the Showgirl (1957). She won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for her role in Some Like It Hot (1959), a critical and commercial success. Her last completed film was the drama The Misfits (1961).

Monroe's troubled private life received much attention. She struggled with addiction and mood disorders. Her marriages to retired baseball star Joe DiMaggio and to playwright Arthur Miller were highly publicized, but ended in divorce. On August 4, 1962, she died at age 36 from an overdose of barbiturates at her Los Angeles home. Her death was ruled a probable suicide.

Marilyn singing "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" 

The May 19, 1962, fundraiser at New York City’s Madison Square Garden was billed as a 45th birthday celebration for President John F. Kennedy, even though his actual birthday was 10 days later. The White House, looking to erase Democratic Party debt incurred during the 1960 election, invited a number of celebrities to participate, including Marilyn Monroe, who was in Hollywood filming Something’s Got to Give.

 Monroe traveled to New York against the wishes of her bosses at 20th Century Fox, who later fired her from the project. “Marilyn had already missed quite a bit of time on the set because of her illnesses,” explained Scott Fortner, a historian of the actress who has one of the world’s largest collections of Marilyn Monroe-owned memorabilia. Though she was eventually re-hired, her untimely death on August 5, 1962, prevented the movie from ever being completed.

Marilyn and JFK:

Isidore Miller, ex-father-in-law, accompanied Marilyn Monroe to the celebration of the 45th birthday of American president John F. Kennedy. Marilyn wore a lustful tight dress of skin color

Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMagio:

And if anyone is wondering why I have a LOT of stuff on the bedside tables, this is why:

Marilyn's bedside table at the time of her death