Great Entrances: ‘Some Like it Hot’

Writing for the Irish Examiner, Paul Whitington includes Marilyn’s arrival on the railway platform in Some Like it Hot among the greatest entrances in movie history.

“It’s that masterful impresario Billy Wilder again. His classic comedy starred Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis as two Chicago jazz musicians who must flee the city in a hurry when they witness the Valentine’s Day Massacre. They pose as women and join an all-girl touring band, and are at a train station when they first see Sugar Kane Kowalczyk (Marilyn Monroe). She walks past them down the platform, in high heels with hips swaying, then jumps aside to avoid a jet of steam. ‘Look at how she moves,’ says Lemmon admiringly. ‘That’s just like Jell-O on springs!'”

Marilyn Returns to the El Portal Theatre

Marilyn: Forever Blonde, the acclaimed one-woman show starring Sunny Thompson,will return to North Hollywood’s El Portal Theatre in October, after a sell-out run in 2012, reports Broadway World. The El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood sits next door to the Lankershim Elementary School that a young Norma Jeane attended from 1937-38, and the venue dedicated it’s Forum Theatre to Marilyn as ‘The Monroe Forum’.

Marilyn’s ‘Madcap’ Hat Up for Grabs

A black velvet floppy hat with upturned brim – belonging to Marilyn, and worn in a photo taken by Roy Schatt at the Actors Studio circa 1955 – is on offer for a starting bid of $20,000 at Nate G. Sanders Auctions this coming Thursday, August 27. The hat label reads, ‘Original Design by Madcaps New York.’ Apart from a tear in the lining, the hat is in good condition. It was originally sold at the Personal Property of Marilyn Monroe auction at Christie’s in 1999.

A cheque for sixty-one dollars, signed by Marilyn to her secretary, May Reis (with ‘Marilyn Monroe Prods.’ written underneath), is also on offer for a starting bid of $2,500. It is dated October 9, 1958 – Marilyn was filming Some Like it Hot at the time.

UPDATE: Marilyn’s hat went unsold.

‘Is Marilyn Meant for the Stage?’

Alyson Reed in ‘Marilyn: An American Fable’ (1983)

I’ve said before that there are so many plays about Marilyn being produced lately that it’s hard to keep track of them all – and frankly, most of them are best forgotten. Marilyn: Forever Blonde, the long-running, one-woman show starring Sunny Thompson, has bucked the trend and become a firm fan favourite. And back in 1983, British actress Stephanie Lawrence gained critical acclaim for her role in Marilyn! The Musical, although the show was panned.

So is Marilyn’s life the stuff that great plays are made of? ‘I think the best way to present Marilyn Monroe’s life is on the stage rather than in a movie,’ says MM biographer Carl Rollyson. ‘Why? Because in this case the right actress can project an image of Marilyn Monroe that is not dependent on camera closeups which keep reminding us the actress is not Marilyn Monroe. In the theatre so much can be done when the audience is not right smack up against the actors.’

As the makers of TV’s Smash try to bring their Marilyn-inspired musical, Bombshell, to Broadway, author Mark Robinson looks back at another ill-fated 1983 production, Marilyn: An American Fable, in an article for Playbill.

“It was never a bad idea to tell Monroe’s story through the conventions of musical theatre. It simply needed to be done in a way that served to honor the icon and the human being behind it. Bombshell, or at least the TV show that was the genesis of its creation, is already a hit and continues to be a subject of intrigue for those who want to see how a mythical fairytale about the creation of a Broadway musical concludes. It’s the inevitable payoff for two season’s worth of devoted viewership. With a strong book, the right casting and a production that delivers all the splash and flash worthy of Marilyn Monroe, all of the other ingredients are in place for a quality musical. This is not Marilyn: An American Fable, where very few things came together to transport us into this Hollywood legend’s life. All signs point to a ‘happy ever after’ for Bombshell.”

‘Down Boy!’ Rare Marilyn Song Resurfaces

Marilyn has been making news in the music world this week, with a story that ‘Down Boy’, an unreleased song cut from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, may be sampled on a new track by hip hop producer Timbaland (who is currently working on his fourth solo album, Opera Noir.) Here’s a report from ContactMusic:

“The 43-year-old record producer is sampling the late Gentlemen Prefer Blondes actress’ only unreleased track, a swing number titled ‘Down Boy’ 53 years after she died of an overdose.

Timbaland – who produced Michael Jackson’s second posthumous album Xscape in 2014 – is now working on a modern version of the track after meeting up with the owner to the rights, Hollywood resident Jack Allen.”

Jack Allen‘s name will be familiar to fans, as he authored the 2002 book, Marilyn by Moonlight: A Remembrance in Rare Photos. Long out of print, it is now highly collectable.

Fans may also remember a similar news story from Entertainment Weekly in 2006, when Allen tried to shop ‘Down Boy’ to various female pop stars. It was briefly rumoured that Britney Spears would sample the track, but nothing came of it – so I would advise readers to treat this latest update with caution.


This unreleased song came from an 20th Century Fox playback acetate record, made for the music numbers in the movie. An acetate is a transitional stage between the master tape and the finished vinyl record. It is a metal plate covered in a layer of acetone. Very few are made and they are distributed to people directly involved with the recording in order that they can approve the sound before the record is cut.

‘Down Boy’ was intended for a scene in which Lorelei (Marilyn) dances with elderly millionaire (Charles Coburn.) Some footage can be briefly glimpsed in the film, although plans to include ‘Down Boy’ were abandoned. You can listen to a snippet from the original recording here.

The song, penned by Hoagy Carmichael and Harold Adamson, was later performed by Betty Grable in a 1955 musical, Three for the Show. You can watch it here.

Remembering Marilyn in Salinas

Today’s UK Express features rare and lovely photos of Marilyn during one of her earliest public appearances in Salinas, California. Although the article dates the trip to 1947, it actually occurred in February 1948. You can read more about her Salinas adventures here.

“The opportunity arose when jeweller Stanley Seedman decided he wanted to promote his store in Salinas, California. Having been a part time movie star promoter Stanley decided to take advantage of the connection during a jewellery sale.

The diamond salesman chose a young starlet named Doreen Nash, but she cancelled at the last minute, so an up-and-coming blonde called Marilyn Monroe got the job instead.

Marilyn spent a week in the Monterey Bay Area, modelling jewellery at Carlyle’s and signing autographs.

During that time, she met representatives from CalChoke (The California Artichoke Association) who presented her with a sash.

The photographs of Marilyn wearing the sash and holding artichokes were used in advertisements and passed throughout the produce industry.”

Milton Greene’s New York Apartment Up for Rent

Milton Greene’s New York apartment at 127 East 78th Street is up for rent at a staggering $27,500 a month, reports the Daily MailUnsurprisingly, the Monroe connection is being played to the hilt, with the realtor describing it as her ‘sanctuary’. However, while Marilyn stayed with the Greenes at their family home in Weston, Connecticut during the winter of 1954-55, and Milton was her business partner until 1957, the East 78th Street apartment was never her official address.

Marilyn and Leonard Lyons in New York

What a Time it Was! Leonard Lyons and the Golden Age of New York Nightlife, a new, illustrated book from Jeffrey Lyons (son of legendary New York Post columnist, Leonard Lyons), will be published by Abbeville Press in September. It includes reminiscences of Marilyn and husband Arthur Miller (click below to enlarge sample page.)

Avid readers may recall that Marilyn previously graced the cover of Jeffrey Lyons’ 2011 book, Stories My Father Told Me: Notes From ‘The Lyons Den’.