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Marilyn Monroe

Would she have achieved legendary status if she hadn't died young and beautiful?

by Anonymousreply 53November 13, 2019 1:34 AM

Would it have killed you to have at least posted a picture or link? I mean would that have been so hard? Would it? Why don’t you try to think more of others next time before you post?

by Anonymousreply 1November 11, 2019 3:28 PM

To be a true legend, you need a long stellar career and real talent.

by Anonymousreply 2November 11, 2019 3:47 PM

No. She'd have been just another has-been actress who would have had a few scandals before fading into age and obscurity, before being rediscovered by film critics. And yes, there would have been scandals, she never minded a man being married, and she still would have been young when the sixties hit! To be followed by leaving Hollywood for the next husband, or to chuck it all after forty, and get her marbles together away from Hollywood.

I'm not much of a fan, but yes, there would have been a critical rediscovery, she didn't make many memorable films but she had something no other actress had before, or has had since. But critical praise isn't the same as the status of a legend who died in their prime. Or in her case, shortly after their prime.

by Anonymousreply 3November 11, 2019 4:29 PM

By the time she passed she wasn’t all that young and was really starting to show her age. She was still beautiful, but no longer the sexy young bombshell. I think she would have been of similar status as Elizabeth Taylor if she had been lucky enough to live that long.

by Anonymousreply 4November 11, 2019 4:42 PM

With all the booze and pills, I’m surprised she looked as good as she did, although I understand that she edited the photos that were published of herself. I can’t imagine her transforming into a great actor or overcoming her mental problems. It seemed to be written in the stars that she should die young and become a legend based on her great charisma and distinctly American bombshell looks.

by Anonymousreply 5November 11, 2019 4:54 PM

She could have been First Lady if JFK had lived to be re-elected in ‘64!

by Anonymousreply 6November 11, 2019 5:06 PM

When will I achieve legendary status?

by Anonymousreply 7November 11, 2019 5:07 PM

No, she wouldn't have been First Lady, or had a career like Liz Taylor's. Taylor was younger, still young and hot in the sixties, and untroubled by the mental illness and bad work habits that derailed Monroe's career. Hollywood wouldn't have offered Marilyn much if she'd lived, a few sexy comedies where she played the hot wife of Dean Martin or Rock Hudson, then nothing much after age forty.

After that, she'd have had to find something else to do with her life, and during the 1960s any number of things could have gone wrong. Maybe she'd have been suckered by a Leary or Manson type, maybe she'd have traded her pills for LSD, maybe she'd have scandalized her posh LA neighbors by inviting scads of hippie kids in, because they had no place else to go. Hopefully that would have ended with her running off to be a potter in rural Oregon, but if she had survived 1962, there was no guarantee she'd have survived the decade.

by Anonymousreply 8November 11, 2019 5:11 PM

She would be mostly forgotten and posting granny booby pix like Mamie Van Doren.

by Anonymousreply 9November 11, 2019 5:15 PM

She would've been perfect as Mrs. Robinson in the Graduate.

by Anonymousreply 10November 11, 2019 5:19 PM

Surely she would’ve scored a role as a guest star on The Golden Girls.

by Anonymousreply 11November 11, 2019 5:28 PM

She had some really severe mental health problems and was really losing clout in Hollywood at the time of her death. Even if she had lived I don't think things would have turned out well for her. It was a different time and not as easy as it is now to seek treatment. Also the public and Hollywood were a lot less forgiving.

by Anonymousreply 12November 11, 2019 5:36 PM

R12 she hadn't lost clout, really. The studio that fired her were forced to hire her back under much better financial terms than before.

One of her critical successes (by later re-evaluation) was released the year before she died - "The Misfits".

by Anonymousreply 13November 11, 2019 5:50 PM

What r12 said. Marilyn Monroe had severe mental illness and it was only going to get worse.

by Anonymousreply 14November 11, 2019 5:50 PM

Dead Marilyn was not very beautiful.

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by Anonymousreply 15November 11, 2019 5:55 PM

R15 that was after the autopsy where her face sagged after being peeled away and reattached. The bruising is due to the blood pooling as she lay dead on her front (prone position).

Plus no one looks good on the slab under florescent lighting.

by Anonymousreply 16November 11, 2019 6:08 PM

Thanks for the info r16! Always wondered why all the bruising.

by Anonymousreply 17November 11, 2019 6:10 PM

if you dont think she was still beautiful and sexy shortly before her death, check out the photos of the JFK gala in may of 62. Especially the behind the scenes photos of the event and the after party. She was breathtakingly stunningly beautiful and face and body taken together she blew Taylor off the fucking page................. and Marilyn was almost anorexically thin where taylor was already chunky.

She was always underrated as an actress. She would have been rediscovered by a newer generation that appreciated her films more I think. She renogotiatied the somethings got to give flick after she was fired to come back at $500k (5 times the original salary) and also agreed to give fox another picture called what a way to go. That starred that cunt shirley mcclaine 2 years later. Marilyn was to have gotten $500k for that too in a one off 2 picture deal. Fox was still hot to work with her despite what you might thiink. After that she planned on also getting part of the up front gross as compensation. She probably would have retained major stardom until she hit 40 which was 1966. After that she would have retired. SHe knew better than anybody her superstardom was based on her looks and she wouldnt have embarrased herself by sticking around too long.

Whether you believe it or not she had plas to re-marry Joe Dimaggio Wed Aug 9th, unfortuately death intervened..

She was accutely aware of movie stardom rules and knew that her #1 position as superstar in the world would fade. She planned to bank as much coin as she could and retire and live out of the spotlife the rest of her life. She said in her last brilliant interview the weekend of her death in life magazine that stardom was something that she experienced but not where she lived..............hopefully she would have let it all go and lived a happier private life.

by Anonymousreply 18November 11, 2019 7:47 PM

It's hard to imagine Marilyn Monroe aging into her forties and fifties and beyond. She had quite a fear of aging. She was pathologically insecure even when she was young and beautiful so can you imagine how crazed she would have been when her beauty and youth began to fade? Even at her death she was kind of long in the tooth for a sex goddess, at least in that era. No, I think it was her fate to die young. I can't imagine Marilyn Monroe growing old gracefully. I think she would rather have died young than grow old.

by Anonymousreply 19November 11, 2019 7:55 PM

I don't believe she would have remarried Joe so soon, he did seem like a great, reliable friend though so who knows.

Wasn't she wanted for Irma La Douce? She could have finally won an Oscar..

by Anonymousreply 20November 11, 2019 7:56 PM

Of course , she would have had a reemergence .

by Anonymousreply 21November 11, 2019 7:58 PM

"She was accutely aware of movie stardom rules and knew that her #1 position as superstar in the world would fade. "

You must be nuts or something. Marilyn Monroe's career was in sad shape towards the end of her life. "Let's Make Love', the disastrous film she made with Yves Montand (she had an equally disastrous affair with him) flopped. "The Misfits" , the big movie written by her husband Arthur Miller and co-starring Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift, flopped. "Something's Got To Give', her last disastrous movie that she couldn't manage to finish, was just a rehash of an old Cary Grant movie. She didn't show up for work and when she did she couldn't remember her lines. She was a wreck. There was a lot of talk about all these projects she was to be involved in but it's pretty certain none of them would have come to fruition. She couldn't work. She was too mentally ill and addicted to pills to word. Her career was, in all likelihood, ending. It was a mercy that she died when she did; she was on a downward spiral and it was just going to get worse.

by Anonymousreply 22November 11, 2019 8:07 PM

Any updates on Strasberg's widow who inheritated Marilyn's estate and sells off her private possessions periodically, in spite of never having met her? The same possessions her Will instructed should be shared among her close friends?

by Anonymousreply 23November 11, 2019 8:07 PM

Lee and Paula Strasberg glommed onto Marilyn and used the hell out of her. Awful human beings, both of them.

by Anonymousreply 24November 11, 2019 8:14 PM

Strasberg was an awful teacher

by Anonymousreply 25November 11, 2019 8:20 PM

I listened to one of her last interviews and she sounded incredibly angry and paranoid. She was clearly a terribly damaged woman. I grew up around females with mental illness, and I am familiar with that nagging quality in her voice. Although she is idealized as some sort of misunderstood genius/goddess, it’s her hostile, bitter side that stands out to me. I think she’s kind of scary. I know that this is practically heresy to those fans who think she just needed to be loved by a good man, but I’ve never viewed her as any kind of person to idolize. She did try to make the most of what she had, though, and accomplished a lot despite her sickness. But she had reached the end of the line.

by Anonymousreply 26November 11, 2019 8:34 PM

She had every right to be angry, the studio had gone on a vicious campaign to blacken her name, hence why she did a blitz of damage-limiting PR over the last summer of her life.

They vilified her to justify closing down SGTG because they had hugely overspent on Cleopatra. MM was their scapegoat.

by Anonymousreply 27November 11, 2019 8:44 PM

In her last interview (which can be found on YouTube) she did sound angry, paranoid and kind of "off." She'd been drinking champagne during the interview; maybe she was somewhat drunk. She urged the interviewer to have a belt, too (I can't remember if he did). Her laughter was disturbing; high and squeaky and at times inappropriate. She made this very sad comment "Please don't make me a joke"...and then started laughing in a kind of hysterical, high-pitched squeal. It was creepy.

by Anonymousreply 28November 11, 2019 9:01 PM

R22 has it right. Marilyn's death was a mercy, as she would only have become more deranged if she'd lived. Schizophrenia doesn't age well.

by Anonymousreply 29November 11, 2019 9:08 PM

Yes of course- she was catnip to the camera and on film almost magnetic. A terrific comedienne and pretty decent musical comedy star. But it is all moot because she was never going to last- she was very very troubled and these what if questions are kind of pointless. Her fate and her legacy simply are fact.

by Anonymousreply 30November 11, 2019 9:20 PM

Hard to say, Billy Wilder wanted her for at least two more pictures. She could have evolved into Doris Day/Debbie Reynolds mother roles or go dark in those Grand Guignol films.

Her problems were too numerous for her to ever find happiness, personally or professionally. Filming Some Like it Hot, Let's Make Love, and The Misfits was misery for all involved. She missed weeks and weeks of shooting Something's Got to Give and when she did show up, she couldn't remember her lines; the raw footage is available on YouTube. She looks amazing though!

by Anonymousreply 31November 11, 2019 9:37 PM

Did Marilyn have an acting coach on SGTG? I thought she always insisted on that Strasberg crow to give her guidance on set?

by Anonymousreply 32November 11, 2019 9:49 PM

I’m glad she died because I like the Elton John Candle song about her and Princess Die.

by Anonymousreply 33November 12, 2019 12:18 AM

I don't think Paula Strasberg was around during the filming of SGTG. She was at Marilyn's side during her last few movies, though. Everybody hated her, but Marilyn was so dependent on her. She really was a rotten influence.

by Anonymousreply 34November 12, 2019 12:35 AM

I would like to have seen her go through the 60s and 70s, all the different looks, like Jane Fonda. Mod Marilyn.....hippie Marilyn.....feminist Marilyn.....

by Anonymousreply 35November 12, 2019 12:40 AM

If Marilyn had made it into the 1970s I think she would have either been the Carol Wayne of the era popping up on Match Game, Love Boat, Fantasy Island or if able to keep herself relatively together and sober maybe a hyped up role on Dallas or Dynasty or Knots Landing.

by Anonymousreply 36November 12, 2019 1:04 AM

Carol Brady, bitches.

by Anonymousreply 37November 12, 2019 1:06 AM

Marilyn would have died before doing guest spots on tv shows. She hated television.

by Anonymousreply 38November 12, 2019 1:09 AM

R34 Marilyn's problems were not due to the Strasbergs, who likely did everything they could to help her. She had a personality disorder that wasn't likely to improve. And everyone making excuses for her probably didn't help. I've known a couple bpds and I'm convinced that what creates them is not just a personal trauma but trauma combined with massive overindulgence from those around them.

One of the hallmarks of BPD types is that they convince everyone that their issues are all due to the people surrounding them (lovers, friends, etc) and not their own character. Marilyn was not a damsel in distress in need of rescue. She was offered more help than most troubled individuals (some from circumstances far worse than Monroe's ) are offered in their lifetimes. All the fuss over her troubled background is a bit overblown. Today many famous stars come from relatively stable middle to upper middle class homes. But many famous actors and actresses of Old Hollywood came from rough and tumble backgrounds that they had to claw their way out of.

by Anonymousreply 39November 12, 2019 1:17 AM

Take this, Miss Caswell!

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by Anonymousreply 40November 12, 2019 1:18 AM

r34 Paula was on the set of SGTG. The negotiations between MM and Fox to resume filming included a provision that Paula was not to return and Cukor would be replaced. He was such a foul cunt, my God...

by Anonymousreply 41November 12, 2019 1:41 AM

r34 Paula was on the set of SGTG. The negotiations between MM and Fox to resume filming included a provision that Paula was not to return and Cukor would be replaced. He was such a foul cunt, my God...

by Anonymousreply 42November 12, 2019 1:41 AM

Her 'backstory' is as much a part of her appeal as her beauty and screen presence (rags-to-riches/luxury-to-heartache). Dying young makes you young forever, so she'll remain a star for eternity.

by Anonymousreply 43November 12, 2019 1:55 AM

I would imagine her becoming involved in the Andy Warhol scene.

Making a a couple of films in the UK for Euro directors like Antonioni.

I think the young American directors like Cassavetes would have wanted her too.

She would have fit in very well the changing 1960s.

Of course she was too messed up for any of that. Her death was perfect timing.

by Anonymousreply 44November 12, 2019 2:08 AM

(sorry for the typos)

by Anonymousreply 45November 12, 2019 2:09 AM

She ain't no Mamie Van Doren.

by Anonymousreply 46November 12, 2019 2:13 AM

Mamie and Jayne were doing foreign film schlock in the 60s. Buxom bombshells were out.

by Anonymousreply 47November 12, 2019 2:21 AM

True, R47, but it's also true that Marilyn was a better actress than either, and was so charismatic and photogenic that she could have changed her look to suit the times, much more so than her imitators. So IF she'd lived and IF she'd straightened out her work habits, and IF she'd made up with all the studio exectuvies she'd pissed off with her unreliability, she'd have had the potential to do some very interesting work during the sixties.

Which obviously didn't happen, and that's a hell of a set of IFs. She was a very troubled woman with very bad work habits, if she'd lived to 1963 the likeliest outcome for her would have been more breakdowns and less film work.

by Anonymousreply 48November 12, 2019 5:34 AM

This is what I think Marilyn would look like today.

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by Anonymousreply 49November 12, 2019 2:22 PM

Mental illness escalates as a person gets older, and of course in those days they didn't have the medications and treatments like they do now. It would not have been pretty for Marilyn as she aged. Those of you who think she would've just stopped being crazy are mistaken. Things would've become much worse.

by Anonymousreply 50November 12, 2019 2:45 PM

I love Marilyn and enjoy her last films but chances are if she had lived things would have been very bad. She was too good for this world.

by Anonymousreply 51November 12, 2019 10:19 PM

I think the best case scenario for her would have been to let herself go a bit, age naturally and become a Shelly Winters type. Imagine the tell all book she could have written.

by Anonymousreply 52November 12, 2019 11:32 PM

I think she disliked the blonde bombshell thing, even though she was good at it and it made her a star. She played the breathy ditz Lorelei Lee early in her career and she was pretty much typecast the rest of her career.

Her last films were moving toward offbeat dramas (The Misfits) and more sophisticated types of rom-com (Something's Got To Give).

She would never have gone the Jayne Mansfield route of trashy B-movies, publicity stunts and stripping. She'd retire first.

by Anonymousreply 53November 13, 2019 1:34 AM
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