Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
In life and in death, Marilyn Monroe merchandized sex, sensuality, and stardom.
Even today, she represents a visual shorthand for our idea of the ultimate celebrity.
The sole voice ofBlondeis Norma Jeanes, says Oates of her lauded 2000 novel,Blonde.
But be warned that its also a real sober read.
Norman Mailers 1973 coffee-table book on Monroe isnt essential reading.
But its an important cultural artifact in understanding how the stars story was previously pitched to the masses.
In the book, Mailer makes outrageous, unsubstantiated claims and mostly steals biographical sourcing from other bios.
This and other assertions proved bankable for Mailer in the 1970s, which saw the book sell millions.
Donald Spatos deeply researched and detailed biography of Monroe is a hard find today but worth the hunt.
Its often considered the best of the Monroe bios and remains an essential corrective.
Spato states Monroe slept with J.F.K.
only once: The Kennedys had almost nothing to do with her.
(Its somber reading to learn she died with 15 bottles of prescription pills on her nightstand.)
The book pieces together several interviews done with screenwriter Ben Hecht, chronicling her life up until 1954.
(Theres also a wild story of being scolded by Joan Crawford for her outfits.)
Monroe presciently says inMy Story, Yes, there was something special about me … Know that this isnt a full picture more like a small window into Monroes mind.
This included her husbands, the demanding Joe DiMaggio and the belittling Arthur Miller.
At the center of this strife is her marriage to Arthur Miller.
Related
Tags:
