Murray Garrett Remembers Marilyn

Murray Garrett – whose photographs of Marilyn Monroe, and other great stars of Hollywood’s golden age, are now on display at New York’s Washington Square Hotel – has spoken movingly to Out Impact about his memories of Marilyn:

“I always refer to her – and a lot of my contemporaries would laugh at me because they felt differently, but I always felt that she was a deer in the headlights, and that all this pressure – the throngs would scream and yell when she’d get out of a car. 60, 70 guys with flashbulbs and strobe lights and you could see how she fought fear.

I always felt sorry for her. I remember when my wife woke me one day and said ‘Oh my god!’; I said, ‘What?’ she said ‘Marilyn Monroe died’. I sat there and thought for a minute, I said, ‘She finally found peace.’

I don’t think this woman could have grown old gracefully in that business … she wasn’t tough, hard – because if she was, she would have survived. But she couldn’t have survived; she was threatened by almost everything.

I think there are eras …. (Betty) Grable was a part of the war publicity, stuff to make you feel very patriotic. Monroe didn’t have that going for her. All she had was that she was the sexiest thing to come down the pike since Jean Harlow, and Harlow was another one of those stories that didn’t work out as well as it might have.”

You can read the article in full here

Murray Garrett Exhibit in NYC

Murray Garrett, who took some of the most famous shots of Marilyn in public, is the subject of an exhibition at New York’s Washington Square Hotel. Opening night party on Marilyn’s birthday, June 1, 6-8pm.

“Murray Garrett was one of Hollywood’s most sought-after photographers from the early 1950’s to the late 1970’s, the ‘go-to’ photographer for stars, movie studios and personal publicists. Garrett exclusively covered Frank Sinatra‘s private, surprise 21st birthday party at Romanoff’s for Natalie Wood, was the only photographer invited to cover Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton‘s Disneyland outing (where they had the use of Walt Disney’s personal apartment) and was the photographer of record at Bob Hope‘s daughter’s wedding.

Garrett first photographed Monroe at a charity celebrity baseball fundraiser, when the budding Hollywood starlet threw out the first ball at a game between teams captained by Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope.  Their photographic relationship continued throughout Monroe’s career, from gala movie premieres to quiet, off-screen moments.”

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