Horrorwood: True Crime in Tinseltown
Hello Misfits.
This is Kail
--And this is Kate.
Welcome to...
Horrorwood.
(creepy music plays underneath)
--(laughing)
Okay I think we need to start over.
There’s a lot of dead air there (laughs)
(creepy music fades)
It's okay, we're just going to keep going.
I know I was preparing myself to
say it very slowly and eloquently.
And you mastered that, definitely. You did a great job.
--Thank you. Thanks so much.
So, okay I realized since you've been - so Kaili is staying at my house this weekend -
and I realized that the entire time you've been here we have not once
discussed Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.
And I know it's like
all over everywhere right now
and I don't know if you watched the trial but I did on Law & Crime and was like glued to it
and I just wanted do - like, did you watch any of it?
So that's a negative ghost writer because I was working with students the whole time
--Oh true, true.
But I did have a behavior technician or a BT or an aide in our classroom who was
extremely tuned into it
—Oh my god, I was hooked.
and when they gave the results of
The DNA - just kidding
the uh, the jury
--(laughs) I was like, what?
When they gave the results of the jury she made an entire announcement. It was great. Actually
it was all on text because we have a text thread because we're not all in the same place at the same time.
But it seemed like a joyous occasion for her so we celebrated
and I didn't even really know what I was celebrating I was like not really on team either?
—Oh I was definitely Team Depp.
I mean I do love a good pirate.
--I will say - well number one, I just thought it was a good example to show that, like,
men can be victims of abuse as well, which I - it's just not talked about as much.
But there was also this one part in her testimony - first of all, she was so not credible - but there was
a part in her testimony where one of the attorneys was asking her - was saying - I think it was Camille Vasquez who did it,
where she said, "So
when you had those pictures taken, you put makeup on to make it appear like you had a bruised face, right?"
And Amber Heard was like, "No, I used makeup to cover the bruise."
And Camille Vasquez said, "And can you walk us through how you did that?"
Or, you know, something to that effect and Amber Heard goes, "Well,
first I did foundation. And then I put on concealer and then I used a bruise kit - oh and and and and not not a bruise kit a stage makeup kit - I I call it my bruise kit."
—It was a Legally Blonde moment. Oh my god, it’s the perm.
I was like, 'there are bruise kits, like, that is a thing that exists to make yourself look like you are bruised.
So I just felt like, 'oh my god.'
No one was buying it and I was just like, "I hope everyone on that jury realizes that, like,
that stage makeup - that's only used to make a bruise, not to cover one." It just...it was insane. Anyway.
I just had to bring that up because -
--Well I guess she was "heard." (chuckles)
There you go.
Um, but we're not talking about that woman today. We're talking about a much cooler woman.
This is Part Two of Marilyn Monroe.
And just to refresh your memory of where we left off in Part One: So,
Marilyn had just changed her name from Norma Jeane Dougherty
to Marilyn Monroe.
She wanted to improve her acting skills so she was constantly taking acting and singing and dancing lessons.
She was reading books - she was a voracious reader. She - at the time of her death I think they said she had over four hundred books in her personal library.
Like, she read.
And she was reading hard shit, I mean she's reading, like, Freud and all this stuff
so don't - let's not underestimate Marilyn Monroe.
--We will not discredit her intelligence
but I am wondering where in the timeline is this - I mean she didn't - she died at a younger age and so I'm just wondering
where we are with her in this
—She’s in her early twenties.
Early twenties, okay.
--Yeah.
Because she divorced at nineteen, but she was still carrying around her married name.
--Oh, right.
But we're, like, very early twenties here.
So, ah, she -
she was attending parties as we learned about in part one in the hopes of getting noticed
but she found parties boring to her. She just felt like it was a part of the job.
And it was around this time that she befriend - befriended -
Okay, his name is -
it's an...it's kind of unfortunate, the name.
It's Joe Schenck (pronounced 'Skank').
I just have a hard time saying it. Um,
he was the co-founder of Twentieth Century Fox where she was under contract.
And there are a lot of rumors out there that say she and Joe were an item but according to her they weren't.
She said he never tried anything with her, that they were truly friends.
So, I mean rumors are rumors, like who knows but,
I'm just going by what she said.
By the way, for these episodes I used two main sources and then some websites so
I used the book My Story. It's by Marilyn Monroe with Ben Hecht which
you have to read because it is -
it's basically just her telling about her life up through her marriage to Joe DiMaggio
and it's fascinating. It's so, so good.
And then the other one I used is called Fragments,
and it's a compilation of letters and poems and things that she wrote that they've -
these editors have compiled into a book and
that really gives you a look at, like, inside her mind.
And then I used biography.com because they just have a lot of good information. So
I'll link all of those in the show notes but it was fascinating.
So despite her friendship with Joe Schenck, who was co-founder of the studio, Marilyn did not hit it off with the other founder of the studio Darryl Zanuck.
Zanuck actually fired Marilyn from the studio
because...get ready for it...
he didn't feel that she was photogenic.
--Oh very interesting considering she is, like, a pin-up.
I mean, like, what?!?!
Okay, so not only that, he cut her out of all the movies she had bit parts in and told her
she might be an actress eventually but her looks were definitely working against her.
Can you imagine being the guy who fired Marilyn Monroe because you didn't think she was photogenic?
--Coulda, shoulda, woulda.
So Marilyn was devastated when she was fired, obviously,
not only because she lost work but also because
she had learned at an early age that her looks were what got her attention
and she was like, 'well how do I change how I look? If that's working against me now, what do I have?
—Where is the sweater in this scenario now?
I think at this point she had ditched the sweater because she left that, you know, she left that family because she had to get married, so
I don't know, maybe that girl wanted her sweater back.
So she goes to her buddy Joe Schenck.
And she says, "Joe, Joe, Joey, Joseph what do I do?
Maybe this whole acting thing isn't right for me. Maybe I just don't have what it takes."
And he told her, "Don't you dare give up, you've got to keep going."
Unbeknownst to her, he ends up calling in a favor to another studio asking them to hire her.
And he tells Marilyn, "Hey, you should call this other studio see if they have any work for you."
So she doesn't know that he's set all this up,
so she does - she calls that studio and they end up hiring her as an extra for several projects, so she's making a little money.
And then the head of that studio calls her into his office and she's like, 'this is it. This is my big break.'
So she was really excited.
She goes in for the meeting and the guy says to her, "Well there must be something special about you for Joe to recommend you."
Yeah.
--Something special.
And then he says, Come spend the evening with me on my yacht tonight. I can make you a big star."
So -
--What does that mean?
He was just another scumbag.
And because Marilyn wasn't about that life she turned down his offer.
She said when she walked out of his office she felt like she had ruined her chance of ever becoming a star,
which, props to her because there are plenty of women who would have gone through with it, either because they wanted to or they felt they had to,
but she didn't. She walked right out.
And as she drove away from that meeting she thought to herself,
"There is something special about me. I'm the kind of girl they find dead in a hall bathroom with an empty bottle of sleeping pills in her hand."
That is what she said, which is interesting
--Ohhh. There's a theme going on with her foreshadowing.
given how she was found at the end of her life. So
for Marilyn though, things were never entirely bleak.
She said - and this is also a really interesting quote - she said,
"When you're young and healthy, you can plan on Monday to commit suicide and by Wednesday you're laughing again."
So again, interesting.
Shortly after the incident with the scumbag studio head, she received a call from the studio telling her she had a check for $40 to be picked up, which today would be around five hundred bucks.
So she was stoked!
Um, which today would be - oh sorry, let me not read the same line twice.
And it was around Christmas time and she was really happy because it meant she could afford Christmas presents for her aunt Grace which is just so pure
--Oh Aunt Grace! She's back!
She's back. And Marilyn just wanted to be able to treat her, you know?
And she was so excited that when she picked up her check,
she left the studio forgetting to cash it. So I guess there was a place
you know, where performers could cash their checks right there.
So she's walking along the street and sees a policeman and asks if he knows where she can cash her check. And he's like, "Sure, there's a store right up here." So he walks her to the store and they, you know, they're making small talk.
He's like, "What do you do? Oh you're an actress? Cool cool cool." And they just have a lovely little chat.
So they get to the store, and the store manager says. "Sure, I can cash your check, I just need your name and address on the back of it in order for me to cash it.
So -
--Things have changed these days.
I mean... So she writes down her info.
And at the time, Marilyn was staying at a friend's house because they were going to be out of town for a few months, so she's basically housesitting.
So she gives him that address, and even though it was temporary he's like, "That's cool." And he cashes it and hands her the money.
So she leaves the store super happy and excited.
She does some Christmas shopping, she gets some things for her Aunt Grace
and then she decides -
--I am sensing some creepiness come through.
Some creepiness is coming through.
So first she decides to stop in at a doctor's office because she had a bit of a cold, because again, it's,
you know, the weather's changing a bit even though it's L.A. like, you know, things are changing in the air.
So she tells a doctor, "Hey, I have this cold. It's keeping me up at night. What can you give me?"
Because, you know when you have a cold, like, it's the worst. You can't breathe
your nose is all stuffed up and you're just miserable.
--The nasal drip.
The nasal drip - which I feel like I have daily. Anyway.
And in Marilyn's case, you know, NyQuil wouldn't be invented for another twenty years. So the doctor says, "Here, I want you to take these sleeping pills.
I don't usually recommend them but you haven't slept in so long. A good sleep will help your cold."
So from what I could find in my research this seems to be the first time she was prescribed sleeping pills.
So Marilyn goes back to the house where she's staying. She takes a pill and dozes off.
And after sleeping for a few hours, she is awakened by someone cutting the screen of her bedroom window.
--That is a night terror I have.
--Oh, It's terrifying.
And she's, again, she's alone in this house.
So she runs out, she see - she runs outside - she sees a man climbing into her bedroom window.
So - and I have to give her credit for this - she tries her best to imitate a gruff, male voice and she's like,
(speaking in a gruff voice) "Hey, what are you doing here?"
And the man turns and looks toward her direction, but it was dark so he couldn't really see her.
So then she says (in a gruff voice), "Get away from here or I'll call the police."
I feel that's what she sounded like.
--I might be trying that tonight.
And this is when the man climbs down from the window and starts running toward her
--Oh no.
Because she was wakened from a dead sleep Marilyn is only wearing like a half nightgown, kind of like a cami, you know?
That came just below her waist and underwear.
She's barefoot because she didn't have time to put on shoes, and now this guy is chasing her.
So she takes off running.
Your face right now, Kaili. (laughs)
You've got to give it to this girl. I mean, she is, she's a beast.
That's the thing, like,
she's a fighter.
--She just fights her way all the time.
She does.
So she goes to a neighbor's house and she starts screaming and pounding on the door
and a young couple answers
and - well, you know what? I say that they're a young couple but I actually don't know how old they are. They're just a couple. So,
a man and a woman answer
and Marin - Marilyn - tells the man,
"Hey, this...this guy just broke into my bedroom and is chasing me. Can you - can you go after that guy?"
And the man was like, "Ummm, no, he probably has a gun, I'm not getting involved with that.
But they did, however, let Marilyn in to call the police and told her
she could wait at their house until the cops came.
--I feel like this is a movie in the making.
I think that Marilyn could actually script her own movies,
and it's too bad she didn't have the chance to because she already has
so many stories that she could put out there that I feel like actually probably are out there.
--I mean, right? I know.
Most of these movies that have already been made probably reflect her life.
--I mean, it's wild because
I used to live in L.A. I lived in L.A. for, like, eight years? Nine years? Something like that.
Alone. And
my - I was terrified of someone breaking in because do you remember my last apartment?
In Eagle Rock?
--Yes.
There was that sidewalk right out by the balcony
so my bedroom door was right there. It was just a sliding glass door, and then my living room
glass door was there, and anyone - like, it was level with the, you know, people walking.
--Yeah, and in fact, let me just pause to tell a little story.
--Please do.
--Your first place that you lived in L.A. -
I came out and visited you.
It was questionable at most.
--I'm trying to think -
Wait. Oh! I know that place.
Was I sleeping on the air mattress on the floor? Yeah. (laughs)
--Yes, you were. It was questionable at most.
But I remember I went on a run because I think you had to work.
So I was like,
"Heck yeah, I'm in L.A. I'm going to go on a run.
I went on a run in the neighborhood and
there was a point where there was - I think - was a woman. She was, like, in a mumu on the ground
--Oh.
with a paper bag next to her and she
appeared to be dead and I'm pretty sure she was because there were flies
—Oh my god.
all over her.
—Oh my god.
and there was like a little bit of tape around her, like
police had come out there, but there was nothing...I mean it was like, 'why didn't you take away the body? I'm so confused what's happening right now.'
Wait, so they - they had, like, police tape around her?
--Well, it wasn't really police tape. It was like -
it wasn't even around her. It was just nearby, like maybe that
convenience store that was close by had been broken in before? I mean it was a pretty sketch neighborhood
if you remember, right?
--Yeah, yeah.
And I kind of paused, and I looked to see if she was breathing
and people were just walking across her arm and I'm like,
"Whoa. This is L.A.?"
--Wow, that’s terrifying.
This is the land of La La goodness?
I mean I definitely saw some shit when I lived there, and maybe we'll talk about it at some point because
damn. Let's just say I'm cool that, you know, I had that experience and I'm in a different point in my life. So -
--Moved on.
But it doesn't shock me, I mean, just
you know, people get in their own realm of things and people don't always help. You know, Mr. Rogers said look for the helpers.
--Well they were not here.
They were not in this story and they weren't - I never saw - I was like where...this woman's dead.
Oh wait 'til you hear about the cops that come to help her.
--Oh no.
So it took them an hour to arrive.
Marilyn's chillin' at this couple's place waiting for the cops to show up.
An hour later they finally do.
They escort Marilyn back to the house and by then the guy was gone, obviously.
So the cop's like, "Oh, you scared him off, you can go back to bed."
And she's like, "What if he comes back?”
—He knows the address.
He's like, "Oh that never happens. Just relax and go to sleep."
Just relax and go to sleep!
Someone just broke into her bedroom and started chasing after her and these cops were like, "meh, no biggie."
Um, no sir.
—I mean I guess I’m not shocked there.
No sir. So right then, you could not have queued it better,
there is a pounding on the door
and one of the detectives tells Marilyn, "Go open the door.”
—What the hell?
Yeah, like he didn't even open it for her. He's just like, "yeah, go open the door."
Ummm, okay.
So Marilyn opens the door
and standing there is the same man that had broken into her bedroom and he immediately grabs her.
The two detectives finally jump into action and grab the guy and restrain him and they're like, "Who the fuck are you?"
And the guy is like, "Oh, I'm Marilyn's old friend. Tell him honey."
--Ohhh.
So he calls her by name, and she tells the cops,
Yeah, he does look a little familiar but I don't know who he is.
The cops say, "Tell us the truth, Miss Monroe."
Now they're accusing her.
--Right.
They said, "Is this an old sweetie of yours? He's clearly not a burglar. He knows you.
So while the first cop was questioning Marilyn,
the second starts searching the man and found a revolver in his pocket.
And he said, "This is a police gun. Where'd you get this?"
And that's when Marilyn realized who the intruder was.
It was the fucking policeman that walked her to the store to cash her check. That's how he knew her name and address.
--Ugh.
So she tells the detectives this, which the guy denied.
But then they found an LAPD card in his pocket and they took him away.
So the next day the detectives paid Marilyn a little visit
and told her that the man was a new cop with a wife and a baby and they'd prefer she didn't file charges because it would look bad for the police force.
What?
--What the fuck?
These cops - I can't even.
--Slimes.
So they assured her the man wouldn't try it again on her or any other woman, so she didn't file any charges
but she immediately moves out of that house
and began renting a room in Hollywood and became very depressed.
She just stayed in bed for several days and nights without even moving she just cried and stared out the window.
--I mean, think about everything she's overcome at this point
--Exactly.
and now she she feels unheard, unbelieved, I mean, the poor woman can't even catch a break.
Exactly.
Things wouldn't stay shitty for long though.
--Please say that about my life.
(laughter) Things were gonna turn for her because while she was sitting at a lunch counter one day, someone told her the movie Love Happy was looking for a girl to do a bit part.
So she ends up meeting with the producer of the film, Lester Cowan
—I like the title.
and he introduced her to Groucho and Harpo Marx who were both in the film.
--Whoa!
So the bit was that a woman would walk past Groucho in an office and he would have whatever his reaction was
and she'd say a line or two.
That was it. That was the whole part.
And so she -
--Gotta start somewhere.
She goes in for it and Groucho asks her,
"Well, can you walk?" And Marilyn was like, 'well yeah, you saw me walk in here, duh.'
And he's like, "Well this role calls for a young lady who can walk by me
"in such a manner as to arouse my elderly libido and cause smoke to issue from my ears."
(laughter) And she was like, 'sweet, I've got this.' She's like, 'I've been practicing walking and posing on the regular in my apartment.'
So she walks past him -
—Maybe I need to go do that.
I mean start practicing posing like a queen.
--Why not?
So she walks past him, and Harpo Marx - he had a horn at the end of his cane.
And when she did her walk he honked it three times. He was like (makes honking noise) "brrmm, brrmm, brrmm."
--First of all, I'm really envious
that I didn't think to put a horn on the end of my cane when I just had my -
—Ah, you should've.
my medical - my injury here, because I had mobility devices for so long. Can you imagine? I would be honking.
-- Oh my god that would’ve been amazing.
I did have a compass and telescope on my cane
but the horn could have really been the coup de grâce there. Yeah ,oh man.
—(laughs) It would.
Groucho says, "You're hired. We shoot the scene tomorrow morning."
So when they shot the scene the next day, which was little more than a featured extra, honestly, I mean it was a small role,
the producer, Lester Cowan, told her, "You know, you've got that 'it' factor and I'm going to make you a star."
--There's some happy love.
--She literally had two lines in the movie
and you can watch it on YouTube, it's very short. She walks in, says -
I'm going to do it in my best Marilyn and everyone that's listening is going to be like, "shut the fuck up" -
but she walks in and she says,
"Mr Grunion I want you to help me."
How was that?
-- That was really good.
Okay good, I practiced. Thank you.
Groucho Marx responds and then she says,
"Some men are following me."
--If you don't use that voice for our dinner this evening I'm going to be really upset.
I'll try to talk that - I'll order the food that way.
--Okay, all right. It's a deal.
Groucho responds and then she exits, and that's the whole scene.
So there's an interview with Groucho Marx too and she was paid a hundred dollars for that, which at the time was about $1,150 if you put it in today's terms.
--I mean a hundred dollars is still a lot of money to me right now.
--Yeah.
And Lester Cowan, the producer,
he offered her that same amount per week to travel the country and promote the film.
She had a bit part and she is suddenly the face of the movie!
--Va va voom.
Her name doesn't even appear on the original movie poster, like, that's unheard of, and she is the one promoting the film.
And she's making almost twelve hundred bucks a week for it.
--Catching that break.
So, she travels all over the country, she's posing in various locations, and it was the middle of the summer when this was going on so it was super hot.
So often she would pose in bathing suits,
and they would caption the photo, "Marilyn Monroe: the hottest thing in pictures cooling off"
So that became the theme of the tour: The hottest thing in pictures cooling off.
--That's going to be the theme of my tour this summer, too.
Yes.
-- I might have to do a body double, but other than that it's out there.
--No, you are the hottest thing, you are the hottest thing.
But Marilyn was getting frustrated because she still hadn't been paid,
so they keep promising her, like, "hey, the check's coming, the check's coming," but she still hadn't seen any money
so she requested to end the tour and return to Hollywood
which, I mean, good for her, she was just sticking up for herself, you know?
She was gaining momentum. She got a small part in The Asphalt Jungle at MGM and then she got a small role in All About Eve.
So her star was on the rise.
Her name starts appearing in magazines and newspapers, and she was getting fan mail by the truckloads.
At the studio, all this like - people would come out and be like, 'what the?' because all these trucks are there with just, like,
buckets and buckets and buckets of mail for Marilyn Monroe.
--You know, that's interesting.
I want to correlate that back to the mailman.
--I mean I do like that connection.
Then...some photos came out.
Remember that little photo shoot from part one?
—Oh, yes.
She posted nude to make $50 so she could get her car back that had been repossessed. Well,
--That's right.
the photographer that took those pictures sold them to a Chicago-based company
that made a calendar from them, which caught the eye of Hugh Hefner.
—H.H. in the house.
He purchased the rights to the photos and used them to publish the first issue of Playboy without Maryland's consent.
--Consent. Hmm.
He never paid her a dime and never asked her permission. In fact,
--Is this where the word 'paparazzi' comes in?
Kind of like - I know that's chasing, you know, people and getting their photograph, but really it started somewhere so I'm curious about that.
--You know, that's interesting, I should look up
the origins of paparazzi because I don't actually know.
In reality, Hugh Hefner and Marilyn Monroe never met. People often say, like, 'oh Marilyn, you know, posed for the first Playboy.
She didn't. She never posed for Playboy
because those pictures were used without her permission
and she said she never even got a thank you from him.
--What a rat.
Yeah. She even had to buy her own copy of the magazine just to see herself in it.
--Damn.
--Yeah.
So also - side note: in 1992 Hefner bought the burial plot right next to hers and said,
"spending eternity next to Marilyn is too sweet to pass up."
--GTFO. That's ridiculous.
-- Exactly, fuck right off because
he was, I mean Hugh Hefner was a shit, and we're going to do an episode on the Playboy mansion and, like, all of that shit.
But yeah, he - and there's like a picture of it with his plot right next to hers and I'm just like, "Agh, you fucker."
Anyway.
So the execs at Twentieth Century Fox were pissed about the photos and told her to deny that they were authentic because they were worried about
"her image" but like let's be real, they were worried about their own image.
--Right.
And she was like, 'no, I'm going to be honest,' so she admitted she had posed for the pictures
and the public cheered her on and admired her for her honesty.
Once Playboy started circulating, Marilyn was in high demand.
--High demand.
Very, very high demand.
She got Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How To Marry a Millionaire -
both at Twentieth Century Fox, which ironically was the same studio she'd been fired from for not being photogenic.
And look how that turned around.
--You know, Karma.
--Yep.
She also got a raise in her salary and began making twelve hundred dollars a week,
which today would be about fourteen thousand dollars.
So she had arrived, as they say. Killing the game.
But Marilyn referred to herself as "a Hollywood misfit," which, hey, we get it , we're all misfits.
She just wasn't into the whole Hollywood scene. She didn't care for parties. They bored her, and she felt like everyone there was being fake, which...yeah.
I get that. I've been to some Hollywood parties and mm hmm, mm hmm, mm hmm.
She was notorious for being late which drove people nuts, and
she made an effort - and I use that term loosely -
to change and try to be more punctual, but she said the things that made her late "were just too pleasing."
--That's right, It's fashionable.
So one of those things was soaking in a bathtub.
--Oh my god, she is that, you know what?
She's my she-ro.
--I know, right?
--I love taking a tub. I love it.
You should take to the tub today.
--I'm thinking about it right now, seriously. Now you've got it in my head. I might have to do that later.
She would sit in the bath for an hour or longer. Like, an hour or longer. And she'd pour perfumes into the tub to make it smell good.
Like a little aromatherapy, if you will.
--I might be having to change my name.
Then, get this - she would drain the tub
and refill it with fresh water and then soak some more.
--Yeah, because sometimes when you take a tub you kind of feel like you got a film on you and you need to rinse that off
--Yep.
I know, I know. Listen, California's in a drought, trust me, I live there so I get it
but I do enough for conservation to - every once in a while -
get that bath in and then do a shower rinse-off with eucalyptus because
I'm living my best life
--I do feel like you gotta rinse it. You gotta rinse it.
--You gotta rinse it, and you gotta live your best life and
you know, treat yo'self, okay?
--And she did.
After today I'd like you to call me Kaili Monroe. I'm feeling it.
--I'll try, I'll try.
--I'm feeling her. Okay.
She said it wasn't Marilyn Monroe in the tub, it was Norma Jeane
and she wanted to give Norma Jeane a treat
because remember, as a child she had to bathe in water that six or eight people had already used.
So the fact that she could bathe in clean water and make it smell like perfume...she couldn't get enough of it.
Then when she'd get out of the tub she'd spend another hour rubbing creams into her skin.
She was the queen of self-care before self-care was a thing.
As she became a better actor,
Marilyn decided she wanted to become more educated as well. She felt that when she'd go out to dinner with friends she couldn't really keep up with the conversation because -
and these are her words - she "didn't know anything about books, history, art, sports or politics. So -
--That's what was talked about then, too.
Yep, she enrolled herself in USC.
In the book My Story she says it was USC but I've seen it reported elsewhere that it was UCLA so... I don't know.
--A University. She was taking University classes. Let's just keep it at that.
--True. Yeah,
She later says UCLA but in My Story it's USC so we're going with it.
She went to school every day. She would be on set during the day, go to school at night, like, whatever she had to do.
She took an art course then got into psychology -
--Never underestimate a blonde, okay, just
let's put that out there.
--True story, true story.
And she just wanted to read any book she could get her hands on, so she was really getting after it.
She was also, you know, working regularly during all of this, so she'd be on set for hours before she had to go to class
so she didn't really have much time for a social life.
And as the demands of her career took over, she unfortunately had to leave school.
She felt tired all the time and she just felt like she was becoming dull.
Then one day a friend of hers at the studio - (coughing sound) sorry I didn't want to clear my throat and then I had to do it.
I'll try to mute myself next time.
Then one day a friend of hers at the studio mentioned that Joe DiMaggio was in town and there was going to be a small dinner party that he'd be attending and she should go.
But Marilyn didn't even know who Joe DiMaggio was, and she said,
"he plays football or baseball or something right?"
And her friend was like, "oh girl,
we gotta get you out of this work tunnel you're in."
But Marilyn wasn't feeling it. She said she had no interest in meeting him and when her friend asked why she said,
"I don't like the way athletes dress. I don't like men in loud clothes."
--Loud clothes. I mean -
okay. I don't think she must have seen their backside then because
a man and a baseball uniform and the tush behind it...oooh.
--You're into it, you're into it.
--Mm hmm.
But Marilyn's friend finally convinced her because
you know, Marilyn needed to get out and so she gave in and agreed to go to the dinner.
She was late, as per usual.
When she saw him she said she was surprised at his appearance because he was very reserved. So I guess he was not wearing loud clothes.
She said he wore a gray suit with a few blue polka dots in his tie and she said he looked more like a congressman than a ballplayer.
So she was kind of into it.
She introduced herself and he said, "I'm glad to meet you."
And that is the only thing he said to her for the rest of the dinner.
She is literally sitting right next to him and they did not talk.
There were others at the table and DiMaggio was really quiet just listening to them talk,
so Marilyn decides she's going to strike up a conversation with him.
So she turns to him and she says - I love this - she says,
"There's a blue polka dot exactly in the middle of your tie. Did it take you long to fix it like that?"
--Note to self: that is my new pickup line, I cannot wait to use it.
He didn't even answer her using words, he just shook his head. Like, what?
But despite him being so quiet,
Marilyn said he was the most exciting man at the table
because all the other guys were trying to show off for him but he didn't have to show off because he's Joe Dimaggio.
And Marilyn was used to men in the film industry who she said never seemed to know when to shut up
so she was captivated by Joe and immediately felt an attraction to him.
But since he wasn't paying any attention to her she was kind of getting tired of it, so she's like, 'I'm going home.'
So Joe -
--We girls, we get bored. It's like, okay.
It's intriguing to hear the pause and then it's like, come on and talk to us, okay?
--I mean, yeah. You gotta give us something fellas. You gotta give us something.
Or ladies, depending on your orientation. So
Joe offers to walk her to the door. When they get to the door he says, "I'll walk you to your car."
They get to the car and he says, "You know, I don't have transportation. Would you mind dropping me at my hotel?"
So he just bailed on everyone at that dinner.
He doesn't talk to her the entire night and then suddenly he's like, "hey can you give me a ride?" I'd be like, "Umm..."
So Marilyn agrees to drive him but she was bummed because his hotel was only five minutes away and she didn't think she would ever see him again. Yeah.
--Ah, not much time.
So as they approached the hotel she slowed the car down to a crawl
to prolong the trip. And then he says, "You know, I'm not ready to turn in. Would you mind driving around a little while?"
Which ok, so -
--Oh, a good drive.
Part of me is like, "dude
why are you putting this on her and making her drive your ass all over the city.?"
But then like a part of me is like ok I get it because she wanted to spend more time with him, but it's just weird, like, he doesn't talk to her.
--It's a little endearing right? It's a little endearing, but guys are just awkward.
Sometimes they just - they're clueless, okay?
--I mean, ugh, this one.
So she was stoked. She was so giddy, she said her heart jumped and she was full of happiness
but she wanted to play it cool, so she just calmly nodded and said,
"It's a lovely night for a drive."
--I cannot wait to use these pickup lines. It's one after another!
I'm going to have scores of men after me, I can't wait.
--They're gonna be lining up, Kaili, I'm telling you.
It's like in high school when the person you're crushing on asks you out and you don't really want to seem eager, so you, like,
play it all cool and nonchalant and then you immediately run tell your best friend.
She had that giddiness about her, you know?
So they end up driving around for three hours just talking.
--Oh it's like when you catch a guy, or a gal, whatever
and you can't hang up the phone from them
or you can't stop the date. You just want it to keep going. Those are some of the best moments.
--Yeah.
There were fireworks, they were hitting it off.
So they dated for a year and a half to two years after that, and then they got married.
But unfortunately their marriage only lasted nine months.
Joe was very conservative and controlling.
--Mm.
He made her change the way she dressed because he didn't like that some of her clothes were a little revealing, so he told her to wear tops with high necklines.
And for the most part she did. She was trying to make this marriage work and...oh boy.
He also didn't like all the attention and publicity she attracted because at this point he was retired, so his career is winding down.
--Oh.
Hers was on the rise and he did not like that he wanted a quiet life.
--Mm hmm.
So unfortunately, along with being controlling he was also physically abusive.
I'm sure -
--No, I didn't want to hear that.
I'm sure we're all familiar with the famous photograph of Marilyn in the white dress standing over the subway grate where the wind blows her skirt up
and she's trying to hold it down and she's laughing. I mean, that's probably the most famous Marilyn photo I can think of.
So that scene was for the movie The Seven Year Itch, and it was filmed on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan on September 15th, 1954.
Joe DiMaggio was there on set that day to watch the filming,
and I didn't know this until I was doing the research, but that whole scene - the skirt flying up and all of that -
was a publicity stunt planned by the studio. They told everyone that that was going to happen
so they're basically putting the word out for some free publicity and thousands of fans and press photographers showed up to watch them film that scene.
--Ah.
So Marilyn, she knew that this, you know, was going to happen
so she wore two pairs of white underwear that day because she knew everyone was going to see her underwear, and girl just wanted to be prepared, you know? So she doubled up.
A crew member is actually crouched in that subway grate with a fan to create the wind effect.
--Oh wow.
which also, I don't know who the crew member was,
but can you imagine being the person who gets that assignment?
--Who's underneath?
They're like, "So, you're going to stand underneath Marily Monroe while she's wearing this dress and you're just going to blow a wind machine to make her dress fly up."
--I mean, it is true. When the subways are passing and you're walking over one of those grates - I used to live in New York -
uh, my dress or skirt flew up many a time and I did not double up, so I'm sure I gave a show to several passer buyers. Bys.
I always thought that that happened, like, I truly believed a subway train had
gone across at that time when they happened to be shooting and, like, 'oh, they happened to catch this.' No that was all a publicity stunt and planned.
--Planned.
So they shot fourteen takes of the scene.
--Fourteen?
Yeah. the crew. Yeah.
Which honestly, I mean yeah, that's a lot but the crowd was loving it so much so, you know, they're giving them what they want.
The director, Billy Wilder, though said that Joe had the look of death on his face.
He was pissed.
And he stormed off the set and went into the nearby St. Regis Hotel.
Marilyn followed him, and it was there in Suite 1105
that a heated argument took place and Joe beat her up.
She had to call the Hair and Makeup team to come and fix her up so that they could keep shooting.
So he's kind of a piece of shit.
--Ohh.
Three weeks later she announced their divorce.
And it was around this time that her drug use began to increase and she was, you know, using that as a coping mechanism.
--Was there any signs of mental impairments
by this time? I mean I feel like she's at where her mom's age was when she was a little girl.
--For sure,
and she was always worried that she would end up just like her mom.
--Mm hmm.