Marilyn: Obsession Overload?

Marilyn by Ben Ross, 1953

Over at the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Clint O’Connor looks at Marilyn’s enduring appeal:

“We are eternally obsessed with dead movie stars…But Monroe reached beyond the limitations of film stardom by injecting herself into the social zeitgeist.

Baseball god. Broadway lion. President. Maybe … Once your pop-culture legacy has cross-pollinated with the Kennedys, you’re branded forever.

There are dozens of tales of Monroe being late to the set … But some directors were willing to wait her out. They knew the magic that would be delivered on the other side. The effervescence. The unhinged electricity.

Monroe’s great trump card for her professional shortcomings was her fiery sexuality … What’s most astonishing is not the obsession with Monroe, it’s the fact that no one has replaced her in that No. 1 slot.”

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