Marilyn Monroe Part 2a

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Her issues became more with the drug use, like I don't really see any patterns of, like, manic or that kind of thing with her, she just - she had serious depression
--Mm hmm.

 and became addicted to pills, and

by all accounts she didn't have the paranoid schizophrenia that ran in her family.

--Okay.

 So Marilyn was getting fed up with Hollywood, and aside from her marriage ending she really wanted to be taken seriously as a dramatic actress.

But the studio always put her in these, you know, the silly dumb blonde. Yeah.
--Typecast, mm hmm. 

And she was over it. 

She had a turbulent relationship with the head of the studio, Darryl Zanuck,

 probably because of how they started. He's the one that fired her
--Right.

 and he was the, ah,

 yeah, he was the one, I'm sure remember who, did not think she was photogenic

 but now she's their biggest star

 so they just had a weird...it was a bad vibe.

 Around this time Marilyn had struck up a friendship with photographer Milton H. Greene whom she met on a photo shoot and he became an important figure in her life.

 and they became very good friends. 

So she was ready to leave L.A., and with Milton's help she got out of her contract with Twentieth Century Fox,
--Praise be.

moved to New York City,

 and the two of them formed Marilyn Monroe Productions with Marilyn having controlling interest 

so she owned 51% and was also going to be a principal performer.
--Oh.

And it's reported that she basically had to sneak out of L.A.

 I guess because she was so high-profile
--Mm hmm. 

so she disguised herself by wearing a dark wig and she went by the name Zelda Zonk.

--Oh my -  I have always wanted a moment to be able to 

go in disguise wearing like a tan jacket Sherlock Holmes style 

with a wig and a scarf.
--Well you have to have the scarf, obviously.

I have wanted to do that and for what moment I have no idea. So putting it out there.
--Would you go by the name Zelda?

--Abso-fucking-lutely. Are you kidding me? (laughter)

--I like it.

So Hollywood took this as a slap in the face and quickly turned on her.

 There was a lot of resentment towards her among the studio execs, and meanwhile, Marilyn began taking classes at the Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg.

--Uh, yeah she did! 

Yeah, but it wasn't great.
--Oh no.

 So she grew really close to Strasberg and his family and became the best of friends with his daughter Susie,

 and Lee's wife Paula was also one of Marilyn's acting coaches.

 One thing Lee required of all his students upon joining the Actors Studio is that they begin psychoanalysis

 which is just fucked up, like -
--What?

when you think your acting teacher is forcing you into psychoanalysis

 --What kind of psycho theater is this?
So, exactly.

 And huge stars went there - Marlon Brando, Elia Kazan, Ellen Burstyn - there were so many huge stars there.

--Did they all go through that?
 Yeah.

So in all Marilyn had three psychiatrists that she saw:

 Dr. Margaret Hohenberg - I don't know if I'm saying that right. Hopefully.

 Dr. Marianne Kris and Dr. Ralph Greenson.

 In these psychotherapy sessions Marilyn would be subjected to drudging up

 a lot of painful memories.
--All her trauma.

 Yes, particularly about her troubled childhood including the sexual abuse she endured.

--I mean, I'm a therapeutic teacher so obviously I'm going to endorse therapy and I think

 it's so important for her but
--Oh I'm all for therapy.

 to be forced to do something like this, not at your own will is...

  And to have three different doctors and again, it's by your acting coach. Like, what?
--Right.

So she often had trouble sleeping and felt depressed and these doctors would prescribe her medication.
--Oh, this is where it's going. 

Yeah see, that's the thing, it was a vicious cycle because

 she's being forced to do this and drudge up all this stuff

 and they're causing her a lot of sleep deprivation and depression because, you know, they're

making her bring up these painful memories that she's maybe not ready to bring up

 and then they're giving her medicine for it which is contributing to her depression and all of that. So it's just - it's a vicious cycle.

 She'd already been known to abuse pills at this point, but I mean, now that she has three doctors who can write her prescriptions
--Right. 

After a year of analysis, in a journal she wrote, "Help help help. I feel life coming closer when all I want is to die."

 --Ohhh.
Yeah.

 So now Strasberg believed the suffering that he would put these students through was "for the sake of the art" - blah blah blah, gross.

 It does seem that he liked his students to be self-doubting because it gave him more power over them. Yep.

 And Marilyn grew really close to him and saw him as a father figure, so she was very devoted to him.

And years later Elia Kazan said that Strasberg had found the "perfect victim devotee" in Marilyn.

--You know, ok Stranger Things season 4 just came out a few weeks ago
 Okay, but don't tell me anything because I've only watched the first episode of it.

 --I promise I won't because this is a theme running throughout the whole show.
Just no spoilers.

 --But this Marilyn Monroe under the guise of this acting coach, or professor, or whatever, is starting to remind me

of the dynamic between Eleven and Papa.
--Oh, well yeah. 

And I am getting creeped out vibes, I'm like, oh my gosh I wonder if that's a thing, like, the Stranger Things - the Duff...Duffer brothers I believe who wrote Stranger Things, I, like -

were they Marilyn fans?

I don't know that any of that had anything to do with her
--Right but -

 but I do see the similarities. I do see the similarities.
--Right, who knows?

 I mean, that's whacked.
Yeah, and it's gross.

Also it's on my brain so I had to just get it out there because I'm like, "wow."
Well, you did watch the entire season in one sitting.

 --Yeah, on a plane.
So 

Marilyn was very close to the Strasbergs. I don't know if I mentioned but she did even live with them for a time

 and in fact, she bequeathed - bequeathed? Bequeathed.
 --Bequeathed. 

Bequeathed

the majority of her belongings to Lee, so up on her death

 he got almost everything. Yeah.

 So unfortunately she did not specify what should happen to these items upon Lee's death

So after Lee's wife Paula died - because Paula died I think just a few years after Marilyn from breast cancer, if I'm not mistaken,

 he got remarried to a woman named Anna who had no relationship with Marilyn. Marilyn didn't know Anna.

 So after Lee died, rather than Marilyn's estate going to Lee and Paula's children, like particularly Susie because

she was such good friends with her,
--Right.

it ended up with Anna who made millions off of it. She auctioned off a bunch of items and sold

 Marilyn's likeness and products to big companies like Mercedes Benz and Coca-Cola, so

 that's just shitty, like,

--That's some shit, seriously.

I mean she didn't even know her. But yeah, oh she's a multimillionaire off of that.

 So it was during her time in New York that Marilyn reconnected with playwright Arthur Miller.

 They had met years earlier at a party and had hit it off but he was married with kids and he and Marilyn lived on opposite coasts at the time, so like nothing

 nothing super, you know, concrete came of that.

 But now that Marilyn was residing in New York, author - ugh, author - I mean he was -

 Arthur who was
--Words are hard.
 They really are - 

was much more interested in forming a relationship with her, 

and although he was still married he and Marilyn began an affair.

He divorced his wife shortly after and soon married Marilyn. 

She had converted to Judaism for him and Lee Strasberg -
--Oh I didn't know that.
Yeah - 

acting as her father figure gave her away in an intimate Jewish ceremony,

--Marilyn Monroe Miller. Okay.

 Arthur gave her a ring with the inscription "A to M, June 1956. Now is forever. 

And on the back of their wedding photo she wrote "hope hope hope"

 Just like - 
--Just like "help help help" but now we're at "hope hope hope."

Arthur saw a lot of potential in her. He felt she could be successful as a dramatic actress because again,

 that was one thing she wanted more than anything was just to be taken seriously.

 And he also felt she was really intelligent and that her intellectual side just hadn't been cultivated. 

And she loved that he saw this in her, like that's what -

 that's how she wanted to be perceived is, you know, she did have a brain and she was a reader and 

she loved his intellect and his bookish nature, so the two were seemingly a good match... at first.

--Oh no, here we go again. 

Unfortunately, the honeymoon phase didn't last long.

 Shortly after they married they flew to London so Marilyn could shoot The Prince and the Showgirl,

 which also starred Lawrence Olivier who produced and directed the film as well. 

Olivier did not get along with Marilyn.

 There was a lot of tension on set. Marilyn was often late. 

She kept Paula Strasberg, her acting coach, on set with her and she wouldn't do anything without consulting her first, and it drove -

 it drove Lawrence Olivier nuts,

 and he would refer to Marilyn as a bitch and it was just, it was bad, bad vibes all around. Not what you want out of a day's work.
--Toxic.

So during the course of filming Marilyn and Arthur attended a party, and afterwards Marilyn found some notes that he had left just lying around.

 In them he called her a whore.

He said she was "as flawed as his ex-wife."

 He was ashamed of her in front of his peers and he said he had doubts about the marriage. 

So needless to say Marilyn was devastated.
--Oh wow.

 I don't know if he intended for her to find that or not, but why would you leave that lying around?

--Yeah.
--That's weird to me.

So one thing about Marilyn that a lot of people don't know is that she wrote a ton of poetry.

 Especially once she started seeing psychiatrists, I think just because, you know, she has all these things coming up that she needs to get out.
--Just the thoughts, right.

So when she found the notes from Arthur she wrote several poems, and she wrote them at the home where they stayed in London because it's on that stationery from there,

 so this is, oh this is just - it's heartbreaking. So this is one of the poems she wrote during that time.

 "Where his eyes rest with pleasure I want to still be, but time has changed the hold of that glance.

 Alas, how will I cope when I am even less youthful?

 I seek joy but it is clothed with pain.

 Take heart as in my youth. Sleep, and rest my heavy head on his breast, for still my love sleeps beside me.

--My heart just felt that.
 I know.

 I just, ah - she was clearly hurting but she remained committed to him and she wanted to start a family with him, because at this time now

having a kid was number one in her life. Yeah.
--She she was ready for that, right.

When she was younger she never wanted kids, and now that she's older and she has some success it has become a priority for her.

 So after filming wrapped in London they returned to the U.S.,

and they renovated the house that Arthur had previously lived in with his first wife,

 which is, like, I don't know about that, like, maybe that wasn't the best decision.

 --Need to move.
They were going to just demolish it and then

 rebuild but they didn't have the money 

and so they're like, "ah, we'll just fix this place up." And I'm like, "Mm...bad vibes."

So they started trying for kids and she did get pregnant 

and she was pregnant while filming Some Like It Hot and she said it was the happiest time in her life.
--Really?

 Oh yeah, you can see the bump in that movie.

Unfortunately though, she suffered a miscarriage.

 She wrote - another poem she wrote, she wrote about a stay in the hospital

 and it's undated but I feel like it's probably from around this time or shortly after

 and it's a little more lighthearted, and just kind of gives you a glimpse of not only how 

she used writing as a coping mechanism but also her humor.

 So It's titled "On Hospital Gowns" and it goes:

 "My bare derrière is out in the air when I'm not aware."

 I just love It. I love it.
--Oh my god. I love it. You know, I do feel like 

she goes through her life with humor and hope which is much like how I go through life, so
--Oh, one hundred percent.

and a little bit of love in there, and sometimes I have to help myself.
--It's a great way to be, it's a great way to be, and

that's one thing that I found is that people that worked with her and that knew her

 say she was just the nicest girl. 

Groucho Marx was like, "Oh she was such a nice girl. So nice."

 And I think she had a lot of empathy, too, because she went through some shit
--Mm hmm.

 and she didn't like to see other people -
--having to suffer and endure 

--the shit things that happen in life. You don't ever want to go about those things alone.
--No.

I think it's what partly gave her such a big heart.
--Mm hmm.

 Meanwhile though, Arthur couldn't stand the influence that Milton Greene had over Marilyn. Now, that was her business partner in the production company.

 Milton and Marilyn were business partners and also very good friends.

And Marilyn was good friends with Milton's wife Amy who did not like Arthur Miller.

 About him she once said, "I have never been so bored with a human being in my life."

 I'm like, "Savage, girl."
--I've said that on a few dates.

I mean, she just, she did not see what Marilyn saw in him.

 So Arthur convinced Marilyn to part ways with Milton,

 which meant she would have to buy him out of his share of the production company.

--Wow - the 49%?
--Yes. 

So the final meeting of it, there were all these lawyers there to protect Marilyn's interests, which I'm sure were put in place by not her but by Arthur or by her team, you know?

 Because Milton asked for only half of his initial investment. He had initially invested a hundred grand.

 He only asked for half of it back

 and reportedly Marilyn whispered across the table to him, "Take more."

 And he said to her, "No, let me be the one in your life to never take more.
--Ohhh. 

Which, I don't know if that quote actually happened because it feels a little flowery to me just like "never let me be the one in your life to take more" you know, mm, I don't know about that, but

but I do feel like they had a really strong relationship and I think she probably did want him to have his fair share.

 And also that was her friend, and she's only doing this because the man she married is like, "no, get rid of him."
--Right.

So although their partnership only lasted four years they created some iconic photographs together,

 which a lot of them can be seen in that book My Story.

I'm going to show them to you. Okay, so there's the ballerina photo and I know you've seen this - I have to grab this book. Okay, I almost fell off the chair but that's okay.

 I'm good I stayed. Okay.

They did this series together
--Oh, I want to recreate that. 

Didn't Madonna recreate that?
What's interesting is her costume - Marilyn's costume from the movie Bus Stop

Madonna wears that in her Like a Virgin video. 

--Okay, I thought there was some kind of tie-in.
--Yep, yep, yep.

So the picture I'm showing Kaili is - it's...I almost said Madonna -

 Marilyn is in ah, she's seated, she's in a white

ballerina costume with like this huge tulle skirt 

and the back of it didn't close so she's actually holding the front of it up so that it doesn't fall off. But they took a series of photos like that.

--And think about just fashionably or, or moreover the - 

the way that she presented herself, how many people have tried to emulate her Madonna,
--Oh yeah. She's an icon! 

I mean, Sex and the City - that looks like a picture of Carrie promoting Sex and the City, right?
 --Yes, yes, oh my god I think it is, I think it's the exact same pose.

I didn't think about that.
--So the way that it's been carried for so many years, and to be honest, I mean,

 they just put this Netflix documentary out, and
--Yeah.

we are still riding on Marilyn Monroe's existence. I mean that's how

much of an icon she really is.
--And we'll get into some of that documentary in Part Three because, yes, sorry I don't know if I mentioned but there are three parts.

 I just couldn't - I couldn't get it all into two, it just...there's too much.

And I just feel like you...it was hard - it was hard figuring out what to keep in and what to leave out because there's just so much and it's fascinating.

--Yeah, and let me tell everybody who might be listening - our one audience member maybe.
--(laughs) It's Matt.

--Right? Shoutout. (laughter).

 Katie will not - like, we have decided previously we are not looking at each other's notes when we do

anybody or we have any stories,

 so I haven't seen any of these notes and to be honest, even though Marilyn Monroe is just this figure out there that

everyone has followed for so many years
--Mm hmm.

 and who I think is a badass, but I knew nothing really about her and I think that's actually better for me because this is all so raw for me

 I wish that we - I wish you guys could see what my face looks like, because

 Katie gets to see that and I have these reactions, like a squinched face and, like,

 eyes wide open. I know, my eyes really do give away everything, but
--It's all in your eyes. It's all in your eyes.

I am so shocked. It's a shock value, like, the story, the backstory, everything about her life.
--I was fascinated

because yeah, I knew about Marilyn Monroe obviously, like who doesn't? But

 especially reading My Story. Everyone, you have to go read that book. It is so good.

 It's just cool to read about her life in her own words. And she's got a sense of humor, and she's

 really thoughtful and she's funny and -

 --And about a female in a man's world, because let's be honest, at that time
--Oh, one hundred percent.

I mean, this is like, you know, the 50s, whatnot.

 You know, women were meant to be in the kitchen, right? 

And she's already showing us so many times

 that's not her role. 
--Yeah.

Oh, she was a badass. She was a badass bitch and I want to be just like her.

 So okay, in this same book, one thing that's mentioned is that she wasn't really into buying clothes all the time, like she just...it wasn't her thing. 

So she would often borrow from designers or even from the wardrobe department of whatever production she was working on,

 but Milton said that there was one thing she always traveled with no matter what 

and it was her white terry cloth robe.

 And I'm just like, "Ah, SAME. I get it. 

I'm going to show you this picture because it's just - it's just like pure happiness and she just looks so content. She - I think this was probably shot in some hotel room or something she stayed in and she's got her robe and her hair and makeup's done, but she's barefoot and it just looks like she's caught dancing around the room, and she just looks so genuine and happy. So I'm just gonna show this to Kaili right here.

--Oh gosh, you know what?

 I don't have a robe, but mom, if you're out there, first of all I'm fine, I always have to tell my mom I'm fine, but my birthday is coming up in July, so there you go.

--There you go, yeah.
--You can get me a white terry cloth robe and I am going to just

live it out, okay? it will turn to shreds.

 I have a - it is one of my prized possessions. It is the softest coziest white robe and I got it at the gift shop at the Bellagio hotel in Vegas when Matt and I were there for vacation. 

--Bougie!
Oh my god, so bougie.

I feel like I am at a spa every time I wear it.

 Take to the tub, get out and put on that robe?
--Yeah!

 Yes, yes!
--I love it.

 So Arthur Miller as we can see at this time, like other men in her life,

 he's becoming controlling. He's telling her, you know,

"Hey you need to cut ties with Milton, cut ties with Amy." and honestly -

 because I do think...it's so hard and I'll talk about it more in Part 3...about

the men of her life - Joe and Arthur particularly - and the Kennedys - don't worry, we'll talk about them.
--Mm yeah, that's what I was thinkin'.

But they could not get over her.

They never could, and honestly I think Arthur had met his match with her. He wanted to be doted on. He was used to women just falling at his feet because he's this, you know, renowned playwright and she was the one being doted on by the world at this time
--Mm hmm.

 and I just don't think he knew how to handle that

 and I don't think he knew how to truly love her and I think his ego got in the way.
--I was just going to say this sounds like pure ego issues.
--Oh, a hundred percent.

So the two of them both had relationships outside of the marriage

 and Marilyn had a not-so-secret affair with her co-star Yves Montand while making a movie.

 The film was called Let's Make Love...and they did... 

Onscreen and off.

 It's also rumored that one of her pregnancies was by Yves, not Arthur but that's not officially confirmed  but it's a pretty widespread rumor out there and the timeline would work out for that to be I think maybe her second pregnancy. So. It's interesting. It's interesting.
--Wow. 

 Marilyn said that Arthur knew of her affair with Yves but that he didn't really care. He was just like, "Mmkay,"  which depressed her.

Because of course she wanted him to care. If I went to Matt and was like,
--Yeah, you of course.

"Hey, ah, me and Billy Bob over there, we're having a wild fling,
--(laughs) Billy Bob.

and he just shrugged his shoulders was like, "Mmkay" I'd be pissed.
--You want a reaction. 

So Marilyn, she did reportedly endure - and I say reportedly because some sources 

will try to dispute everything but I 

do think that this happened. So,

 she did endure an ectopic pregnancy as well as yet another miscarriage.
--Oh. 

So she never actually got to fulfill that dream of having children.
--Being a mother, mmh. 

By this point she was heavily abusing drugs and alcohol. She was depressed, she was in a loveless marriage,
--Mm hmm. 

she had insomnia and she was really beginning to spiral downhill.

 Sorry, I had to mute myself so I could cough. Okay, so

at one point in the relationship, Arthur said she did attempt suicide 

which the press caught wind of and there was a media circus.

 So he and Marilyn were hiding out in an apartment in Brooklyn where she tried suicide again.

And he tells the following story to Frank Langella which, okay Frank Langella - he did just get fired from the project he was working on for inappropriate behaviors, so I just hate bringing up troubled men, or troublesome men, I should say,

 but this is - Frank and Arthur did work together And this is a story that he told to Frank about that time. So Arthur said that with this next suicide attempt of hers he found a doctor in the phone book and was just like, "Hey, I'm Arthur Miller. My wife, you might have heard of her - Marilyn Monroe - she's not doing so great." 

And the doctor didn't believe it was him because who would, you know?
--Yeah.

 And so to prove it Arthur goes down and meets him on the street, and the doctor sees him and is like, "Oh shit, there's Arthur Miller waiting for me. So I guess I'm getting ready to go meet Marilyn Monroe."

 And Arthur brings him up to the apartment, and Arthur said that the doctor went in and just saved her life, and when he came out said, "You know what? She's going to be okay, and, ah, yeah, one more thing. Ah, could I get her autograph?"

 Yeah. I was like, "Oh." 
--Oh, oh okay.

Dude, this woman almost died and that is where your head is at?

Arthur agreed. Arthur agreed. 

Your face just did five different reactions there. (laughs). 

--I'm still trying to process. Like, come on.

He said he had to hold her hand to help her scribble her name because she was so out of it.

--I mean she just tried to take her life and now we're signing autographs?
--Mm hmm. 

Wild. So despite their -
--You know, that's sad because -
--It is sad.

That's the thing. There are so many enablers around her and it's just like -

Man, she didn't have a fucking chance.

--She didn't, she didn't. She was just - everything was going against her at all walks of life. It's like two steps forward, three steps back almost.

And she was such a fighter and it just, it's like, the people around her - it just, it's heartbreaking.

--Well and it just shows so much selfish behavior on their part. Right. Of course on their part.

 She just, you know, she attempted to take her own life and we're getting autographs. It just shows, like,

just this devaluing of life. Give her a minute, my god.

Yeah. Despite their rocky relationship, Arthur Miller was developing a short story he had written into a screenplay called The Misfits, 

and this was to be a vehi - Man, why can't I talk suddenly?

 This was to be a vehicle for Marilyn -
 --You're a misfit.
--I am.

-for Marilyn to showcase a more dramatic side.

 And he said he had written it as a gift to her because she had recently lost a baby in early pregnancy, which I think that would have been her third, which ended in miscarriage, and she was so depressed that he wrote The Misfits to give her something to cheer her up, and also to show her how much he believed in her as an actress. 

So the film was shot primarily in Reno, Nevada and starred Marilyn, Eli Wallach, Montgomery Clift and, ah, oh, just just this one guy, his name was Clark Gable. Do you remember...do you remember him?

-- I do. I remember him fondly, and his moustache.
--Mm hmm.

So it's interesting because the movie is about a love triangle

 and Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe are love interests,

 but she saw Clark Gable as kind of a father figure, in a way.
--Father figure? Hmm.

--It seems like it's mirroring her life, like she's had an affair so...
--It just kind of gives me the ick factor, because it's...ew. And I don't know whose decision it was to cast him.

 I thought maybe it was hers, but she reported that she was terrified at the thought of working with him, because he was like this -

he was just intimidating to her, you know?

--I'm never going to look at Rhett Butler the same.

Did did Arthur Miller want Clark Gable to play him? Was that, like, kind of a weird 

head fuck towards her? It's...I don't know. It's interesting. 

One note about the film I wanted to include -

 it's a little off topic but it's fascinating. So there's a scene where Marilyn is naked in bed with a sheet over her,

 and Clark Gable comes in and gives her a kiss and then leaves.

 Then she's supposed to get up and get dressed, so when they're shooting the scene and Marilyn gets up,

 she purposefully dropped the sheet before putting on her blouse, so she was 

completely exposed to the cast and crew.

And the director, John Huston, was like, "Cut! Whoa whoa whoa, you can't do that, you can't be nude on screen

 because the Hays Act was in effect at this time which was -

 it was the Hays Code, I shouldn't say act, which

it was a self-governing code in the movie industry, and it had a shit ton of rules about what could and could not be seen on screen.
--Ah. 

So they shoot another take and once again Marilyn drops the sheet exposing herself, and the director's like, "Marilyn, stop dropping the sheet!" And she's like, "Oops, my bad, sorry."

--Just need to get some air.

So they do another take. Again, she drops the sheet. 

So Huston's getting pissed,
--What's her motive here? I'm loving it.

 and he looks at her and she's like, "Look,

 you should let me drop the sheet. It's only going to help the movie."

 Which, I mean, yeah. She - that's a true statement.

Even Clark Gable and other people on set were like, "yeah, she should drop the sheet."

 And they were saying "why would a woman -" and this is the thing  -

 "Why would a woman who is naked in bed get up to get dressed and keep herself covered while no one is in the room, mind you, and try to put on a blouse while holding a sheet over her?"

--Yeah, it's unrealistic.
--It's ridiculous.

 I hate it. So Huston -

 if he had used one of the takes where she dropped the sheet - 

Marilyn -
--A fine?
Well no, but Marilyn would have become the first American actress to appear nude since the Hays Code had gone into effect.

And Marilyn said, "You know, one day nudity on screen is not going to be a big deal but I probably won't be around when that time comes."

 She was right.
--Correct. 

Just one year after her death Jayne Mansfield appeared topless in the movie Promises, Promises.

 I just thought that was so interesting.

 So while on set things were not rosy,

 shall we say, to put it lightly.

Marilyn was relying heavily on pills and alcohol to cope with the struggles in her personal life and Arthur did not seem to make things any easier for her.

For one thing he was constantly rewiding - rewiding? Rewriting the script as they shot the movie, so she's getting these last-minute changes all the time and she found it difficult to remember the new lines,

 so she was often late, mainly due to her trying to learn the new lines last minute, and she had a lot of anxiety over it.
--Right.

And then Arthur also incorporated a lot of their personal lives into the film. So the arguments that they would have at home would end up on the screen,

 which is shitty because -
 --Yeah, seeing your life unfold like that yeah.

 She's already dealing with a lot and then
 --you don't want to rehash it.

Exactly. She's having to relive it every day at work.

In particular, when Marilyn's character Roslyn is preparing for her divorce hearing,

 Arthur Miller wrote the scene directly based on her real life divorce plea that she had filed against Joe Dimaggio.

--Damn.
--That's just a slap in the face.

 I mean that's fucked up.
--Wow, mm hmm.

 Things are getting bleak. Arthur and Marilyn began staying in separate suites while they were shooting, and Arthur began dating the film's publicity photographer.

 Her name was Inge Morath - probably said that wrong - 

and he met her on the set and they later did get married. 

So I mean it's just wild.
--It's like a Titanic kind of vibe there. 

He wrote this for Marilyn, he he treats her like shit. 

She's having a hard time, he's not supportive by any stretch of the imagination, and then he starts seeing a woman that he met on that set and then they get married. It's just a lot.

--History repeating itself it seems.

In August of 1960, production was shut down for two weeks because they were over budget,

 partly because the director, John Huston, had exceeded his gambling allowance. 

He'd been given fifty thousand dollars
--A gambling allowance?

to gamble while filming, and he blew it all and then some.

--Shit, that would pay off my student loans.

 I mean, fifty - I can't 
--To gamble.

Yeah, exactly.

 So that two weeks was just studio execs in meetings trying to get things back on track.

 But rather than admit it was his gambling addiction that caused the delay in production, he convinced Marilyn's doctors

 that they needed to admit her to a hospital for her substance abuse and blamed the production delay on her.

 So she ended up going into a hospital.

--That's shitty. I mean, she does need help but that's a really shitty way to do it.
--Yep.

When she was released she was so hollowed out, her skin looked horrible, she just - she did not look good.

 So all of her close-ups were heavily filtered, and you can tell. When I was watching this movie - Matt and I watched it, I don't know, feels like a couple months ago -

 I was like, "Man, why -" You know, actually,
--Didn't look right.
--Yeah.

 Also I realized that Matt did not watch that movie with me, so I don't even know why I said that he was there because he was not. (Laughs) I was by myself, but anyway...

 But I could tell. I was like, "Man, why...

you could just tell there's so many filters on her.

 So in January of 1961, Marilyn and Arthur divorced before The Misfits was released. Marilyn chose this particular day because it was John F Kennedy's inauguration, and she felt the media would be focused on that and there wouldn't be much attention on her.
--On her.

 Yeah, and again, like I said we'll get into the Kennedys in Part 3 so don't you worry.

 The Misfits was released on February 1st, 1961. 

Two weeks later Clark Gable died of a massive heart attack.

And because people are shit, many blamed Marilyn for his death, which is absurd.

 They said that it was her tardiness and her behavior on set that took a toll on him. 

--Not his unhealthy behavior?

Yeah 'cause I'm thinking it was more like the smoking four packs a day for thirty years -
-- I was gonna say that - smoking. Everybody knew he smoked.

 -and all the excessive drinking that did him in,
--Right. 

Not to mention the fact he had already suffered, oh, I believe it was three heart attacks prior to his fatal one, so

 I don't know, just me, I'm thinking maybe...maybe it was that, maybe not Marilyn, I don't know.

 So shortly after The Misfits was released,

one of Marilyn's psychiatrists had her admitted to Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic 

but they told her she was just going in for rest.

 She didn't know that she was going into a psychiatric facility.
--God people deceive her left and right.

I know it's...ah, it's so fucked up. So while she was there

she wrote the following letter to Lee and Paula Strasberg, and I just have to read it because...hoo boy.

 So it says: "Dear Lee and Paula,

 Dr. Kris has had me put into the New York Hospital psychiatric division under the care of two idiot doctors. 

They both should not be my doctors. 

You haven't heard from me because I'm locked up with all these poor nutty people.

 I'm sure to end up a nut if I stay in this nightmare.

 Please help me, Lee. This is the last place I should be.

 Maybe if you called Dr. Kris and assured her of my sensitivity,

 and that I must get back to class so I'll be better prepared for Rain."

 So Rain was a project that Lee was hoping to direct. It ended up not ever happening but that's what she's talking about - getting back into acting class.

 "Lee, I tried to remember what you said once in class, that art goes far beyond science.

 And the scary memories around me I'd like to forget, like screaming woman etc. 

Please help me. If Dr. Kris assures you I am alright,

 you can assure her I am not. I do not belong here. I love you both, Marilyn.

 P.S. Forgive the spelling. There is nothing to write on here.

 I'm on the dangerous floor. It's like a cell. Can you imagine? Cement blocks. 

 They put me in here because they lied to me about calling my doctor and Joe,

 and they had the bathroom door locked so I broke the glass. And outside of that I haven't done anything that is uncooperative." 

So that's the letter that she sent to her acting coaches while she was locked up.

--My mouth is ajar, just to put that out there.
--It is. it is ajar. 

To my knowledge Arthur Miller never visited her while she was in the hospital I mean they were divorced at this time but
--Right. 

still, like, it was fresh, you know? 

But you wanna know who did visit her?

 Oh just a, just a little man named, ah, Joe DiMaggio. 

--Joe's back?!
--Joe is back.

In fact, Joe was the one who convinced the doctors to release her and have her transferred to a regular medical facility, which was a much better situation for her. 

So, like, he was a shit but also he did some good things. It's like' eh...okay.'

--I'm like DiMouthio here - my mouth is open even wider now.
--DiMouthio. (laughs)

 --I'm so corny.

Once she was out of the hospital she got back to work, and she was making plans to start an independent production company with Lee Strasberg 

and Marlon Brando, who -

 Brando was also a student of Strasberg's and she did date him briefly, and they remained good friends until she died.
 --That's what I thought. Okay.

So she was also getting to work on a movie -

 I mean, see? She's just trying to get back on track. She's a fighter. She's a fighter.
--That's right, every time.

So she started filming the movie Something's Gotta Give.

During this time her L.A. psychiatrist, Dr. Greenson, had to go out of town.

 That is a decision that has been scrutinized a lot, because typically

 the doctor would not leave town when his client was starting a huge job like this.

 --So he he was more of a Hollywood psychiatrist that stayed on set if needed or whatnot? Okay.
 --Yeah, he was he was her L.A. psychiatrist. 

And she she relied on him a lot.
--Mm hmm.

 Marilyn ended up getting fired from the production due to her behavior caused by the drug use, but she was rehired.
--Mm.

Unfortunately though, she died before filming could be completed, making The Misfits the final film for both her and Clark Gable.

 On August 4th, 1962, at the age of 36, Marilyn Monroe was found lifeless, lying nude on her bed in her Hollywood home with a phone in her hand and a bottle of pills on the nightstand.

And in the next part we'll get into the mystery that surrounds her death because it's not all cut and dry. 

There are discrepancies in the timeline of how things went down that night, as well as discrepancies in the accounts of people who were supposedly there.
--Mm hmm, naturally.

 And we will be talking a lot about those Kennedy Brothers because I know people are like, "Wait! You have not mentioned the affair!" But I wanted this part to focus mainly on her marriages and career because I do think there are some patterns there that affected her mental and physical health. 

And she, like I said, she was surrounded by a lot of enablers, so I really wanted to get into that for this episode.

 And since Part 3 will focus specifically on her death and some of the theories behind it,

 the Kennedys play a majal - magal? Majal, they play a majal.
--Majal.

The Kennedys play a major role in that no matter which way you look at it, so I'm saving them for part three.

 --Wow I cannot wait.

I know. I hope that our listeners can't wait. I hope they tune in for Part 3.

 But that concludes Part Deux. Dos.

--I'm glad that you did say deux. Ah, I do have a little something special for us. 

--I wanna hear it.

Okay, so...
--(laughs) You sounded unsure.

 --So you covered that she was a reader and that Marilyn, you know, had a lot of books and that

 honestly, you know, I think she was more intelligent than people gave her credit for.
--Oh, absolutely. She absolutely was.

So I looked up just on a couple of articles about

 how do readers choose books, right? Like I was wondering, I'm like, what kind of books did Marilyn read? I mean the Marilyn - what did she read?

 Fiction. Nonfiction

 You know, was she a sci-fi reader?

 I mean I was very curious about this. So um-
--She read everything.

How people choose books - now this is just one, you know, response...one survey, right?
--Yeah, sure. 

And 60% of people said that they pick genre, they pick a book by the genre, right?
--Yeah, I can see that. 

25% because of the author - let's think about it, J.K. Rowling had a series of books, you know? Alright.
--Yeah, makes sense.

2% only pick it by the review.
--Okay.

 2% choose because of all three
--Okay.

 And then "other" was 11%.

 But I thought this was interesting because this is how Marilyn Monroe chooses a book:

--Tell me.

She had over 400 books in her personal library as we've discussed,
--Mm hmm. 

She was asked how she picks a book, and she replied by saying that she goes to a bookstore

and picks a book and turns it at  a random paragraph.

 If she liked the paragraph she would purchase the book.

I love it. I love that.

I like that she's just like, "Mmmm...how about...you.

--And it's kind of like how people pick wine bottles

based on their label or their name

and I get it. I mean, it's It's kind of this aesthetically pleasing moment.

But for her it was like how the words were written, which put a play into her being a poet, right?

 And her kind of-
--Oh yeah.

expressing herself through words. So I just, I loved that. I thought that was -

 Now I'm sitting here thinking, "Okay, wait, how do I pick out a book?"

 I feel like I do lean towards a certain genre,

 But then I do feel like I will open it randomly - and this is just me trying to say that I'm just like Marilyn Monroe -

I'll open it randomly and be like, "Oh yeah, this sounds good. Okay, that was good. I'll get it."

--Well I thought it was really, I guess an interesting fact because this is

 like picking a podcast right?

 I mean, I like to do a lot of true crime podcasts and -
--Oh, yeah. 

-so I just, I was like, "Wow, we can really navigate life by certain different ways, right?

--Mm hmm.
Where we pick to live, and I just loved the fact that

you know, words were so important to her.

Yeah, that's the thing, like no one really - I say no one, I don't know. I should just say for myself -

I never knew that she was a writer, and

and that she studied so many different subjects, and that she was really doing the damn thing, you know?
--Right.

Girl power.
Girl power! She was a badass bitch.

--Well, it's bitch o'clock at this household.
--It's bitch o'clock, baby!

Let's get it going.

 Well, I hope that you liked this episode. I hope you tune in for Part 3 where we talk about some of the theories surrounding her death,

 and in the meantime you can - and I swear, hopefully by this episode - no, by this episode we will have stuff posted for sure.

 But you can check us out on Instagram @horrorwoodpodcast,

 and that's h-o-r-r-o-r-w-o-o-d podcast.
--You spelled it right this time. 

Yay!
--That's great.

 I'm doing better.

And, okay, is it a Facebook page or a Facebook group that we have?

 I think right now it's a page.
--It's a page.

 But I think we should maybe change it to a group. But anyway, that's also @horrorwoodpodcast

 and we are on Twitter @horrorwoodpod minus the cast. 

So just @horrorwoodpod 

and also -
--You can twit at us.

Come twit at us.

--Just kidding, I'm never going to post on the Twitter, let me be honest.

 I'll do Instagram and Facebook but - 
--I'm going to try to post on Twitter just because I did make that account

 and I feel like I should.
--That'll be your role. 

I'm so bad at social media. So bad.
--You can twit. Tweet? Twit? I don't know.

And then we did set up an email and I think it's - you know what, I might have to look at it right now. I'm pulling it up right this second.

It is...(sings) 🎶gotta put in my password🎶...
--Something hor-ror, hor? Hor -

I want to say - I'm about to find it right this moment. It is horrorwoodpodcast@gmail.com. Oh, that's easy.
--Oh, easy.

So send us a li'l message message.

And, ah, that's it for today.
(creepy music plays underneath)

Bye, bye for now!
--Keep on bein' a misfit!

🎶Keep on bein' a misfit🎶 I feel like that's a country song.

🎶Keep on bein' a misfit🎶

--It is with you singing it.

(laughter)

(creepy music fades)