‘Some Like It Hot’ in Tampa

Some Like It Hot will be screened at the Tampa Theatre this Sunday, June 9, at 3 pm, as part of a Summer Classics series. This will be followed by a short Q&A hosted by Harriet Deer, retired film professor from the University of South Florida.

“Near the middle of Some Like It Hot, Marilyn Monroe stands in front of an all-woman orchestra (well, all-woman except for Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis — they have dressed as women and joined the band to dodge the Mafia) to sing ‘I Wanna Be Loved By You.’ Surrounded by glitz and luxury and dancing couples, a spotlight hits her from collarbone to crown. She’s the brightest spot in a sea of grey. It’s hard to shake the feeling that this must have been how she lived her whole life: incandescent, impossibly charismatic, funny and bubbly and forever the pinpoint center of attention … Ostensibly a Lemmon-Curtis two-hander, Monroe steals every scene she’s in. Some Like It Hot remains one of film’s all-time great comedies and an example of a one-of-a-kind performer at the height of her powers.”

Marilyn and Joe at the Tides Motel

Gary Vitacco-Robles, author of Icon: The Life, Times and Films of Marilyn Monroe, has posted the first installment of an in-depth, 2-part article about Marilyn’s March 1961 holiday with ex-husband Joe DiMaggio in Florida – focusing on the complex love story behind their stay at the Tides Motel – on his Tampa Bay Author blog today.

“When DiMaggio and Marilyn reconnected during the Christmas holidays of 1960, following her separation from playwright Arthur Miller, Marilyn felt validated by DiMaggio’s insightful comment that, after progressing in therapy, he realized he would have divorced a man like himself, had he been in her shoes.

DiMaggio deeply loved Marilyn, and  her attraction to him remained strong. ‘Marilyn knew where she stood with him,’ publicist Lois Weber Smith said. ‘He was always there, she could call on him, lean on him, depend on him, be certain of him. It was a marvelous feeling of comfort for her.’

In late march, Marilyn and DiMaggio escaped the hectic pace of their public and professional lives and the cold of New York and together traveled to Tampa Bay’s Suncoast … The couple registered in separate guest rooms across from each other in the main building of the exclusive Tides Resort & Bath Club on the Gulf of Mexico … Eventually, the resort’s management relocated the famous couple to the rooftop for more private sunbathing … In the evenings, the couple dined intimately at the Wine House Restaurant, later the Wine Cellar, on Gulf Boulevard, located next to the Zebra Lounge.”