If you go to see the new movie "My week with Marilyn" remember what you read here, what was going on in her life as she tried to star in "The Prince and the Showgirl" in London, England.
FROM THE BOOK "THE SECRET LIFE OF MARILYN MONROE" BY RANDY TARABORRELLI
Artbur Miller's Damning Journal
In July 1956, shortly before filming was to begin on The Prince
and the Showgirl, something happened that would change the course
of Marilyn's new life with Arthur Miller. She happened to see a
journal of his on a table in the living room, glanced at it - and
then decided to read the pages that were opened. She was in for a
terrible shock. On those pages, Arthur confessed that he had
second thoughts about having married her. She wasn't what he'd
thought she was-she was just a child, not a woman. She wasn't as
intelligent as he had hoped and, in fact, she was someone he
pitied. Moreover, he thought his own career might be jeopardized
by his new association with her, and he wasn't sure what to do
about it. He had heard that Laurence Olivier thought she might be
a spoiled brat, and he didn't know how to respond to that since
he basically agreed. Olivier had been hired by Marilyn - the
movie was being produced by her company - but wasn't exactly
grateful. He couldn't have been any less patient or
understanding. Of course, that Miller seemed to be siding with
him was devastating to Marilyn. It was the realization of her
worst fear-that she would be "found out," that she wasn't as
smart or as talented as she had made him think she was, and now
he knew the truth about her.
"It was a terrible thing for her to find, that journal," Susan
Strasberg would say many years later. "It would set her back a
great deal. She lost so much confidence in herself when she read
that. The question in my mind was this: What was it doing out?
Everyone is entitled to their private thoughts, of course. But to
leave it out and open like that? It made me wonder when I heard
this ... it made me wonder."
It felt to many people at the time that Miller had left the
journal open and available to his wife on purpose. As a
playwright, he certainly recognized the power of the written
word. He had to have known how much his thoughts, once committed
to paper, would hurt Marilyn. Some thought he was acting like a
coward who was afraid to divorce her and just hoped she would
leave him instead. One does have to wonder about Miller's
character. After all, he married Marilyn after having convinced
himself that he and she were a good match, and mere weeks later
he made the decision that she was not for him. It suggests an
enormous immaturity on his part and lack of judgment. Whatever
the case, it seems safe to say he left the diary out on purpose.
Why he did so would be a question only he could have answered -
and he didn't. Marilyn would later tell her half sister,
Berniece, that the marriage was never the same from the moment
she read the journal. When she told her that Miller had written
that she was "a bitch," Berniece was shocked. She couldn't
believe, she said, that Arthur would be so cruel. However,
Marilyn then clarified that what he wrote was that he agreed with
Olivier that she could be a bitch. Somehow that didn't seem much
better to Berniece - nor to Marilyn. Marilyn told her that she
wished she could get past it, but she was certain she would never
be able to do so. She wanted to tell Arthur that he should try
acting with the capricious Olivier and see how that worked out
for him, and she would sit on the sidelines and write about it,
but "I don't have the nerve."
As upsetting as the discovery was, it still would not be the
catalyst for Marilyn to actually leave Arthur. "She had decided
that no matter what happens, I'm staying married to this person,"
said her friend Rupert Allan. "I don't think she realized it was
going to have to kick in so soon. If something like this had
happened after her first marriage, she would have divorced him.
But I think she felt she had something to prove with this third
marriage. But I also think she decided, [Miller] will never again
get all of me. He will only get the part of me I will allow him
to get. Now, I will be careful around him and that shall be his
punishment. He will now be getting a percentage of who I am. The
rest that he would never again see would be the part of her that
was vulnerable."
Mable Whittington recalled an incident that occurred at around
the time Marilyn found Miller's journal. "I knew about the
incident with her finding the diary, or whatever it was. Everyone
in the household knew about it. We didn't know what had been in
it, only that Mrs. Miller saw it and read it and was very, very
upset about it. That same week, I heard a sound in the kitchen
and went down to investigate. There was Mrs. Miller, sitting
alone at the kitchen table, having a cup of tea and a good cry. I
just peeked into the kitchen and stood there watching for a long
while. I thought many things. First of all, I was struck by just
how beautiful she was. She had on a pink robe with marabou
feathers at the neck and sleeves. Her hair, so blonde ... just so
pretty, I thought. I decided not to go into the room, to just
leave her to her privacy. Then, I thought, my, how sad she is.
There was a deep sense of sadness about her, and that's what I
remember most. The sadness. I distinctly recall that, one day,
her psychiatrist showed up from New York. I went into the living
room and there was a strange woman in there reading. I asked
someone who it was and was told, 'That's Mrs. Miller's analyst'
She did seem somewhat better when the doctor arrived, that was
certain.
"I can also say that she was nicer to people when she first
arrived. With the passing of time, she became more brittle and
snappish. She seemed to never have a nice expression on her face
around the house ... she was always deep in thought, frowning.
Also, I recall that she was late to the set almost every day.
Hours late, in fact. The reason I know is that this was a
never-ending source of annoyance to Mr. Miller. There were many
arguments about her being late. Also, she didn't get along with
Laurence Olivier and, I have to say, from my vantage point which
was, admittedly, on the outside looking in-it seemed that she
disliked him a lot. I also remember that Mr. Miller felt that she
didn't understand Olivier and wasn't trying hard enough to fit in
with him. So, there was a lot of turmoil."
Just three weeks into the marriage and, as far as Marilyn Monroe
was concerned, it was over. How could she remain with this man
now? She would have to focus her energy on making the movie and
do what she could to put in a good performance. However, with her
heart broken, it would be very difficult. "It seemed to be
raining the whole time," she would later say of her experience in
England. "Or maybe it was me."
....................
OH MY WHEN YOU SEE THE GREAT PERFORMANCE SHE PUT IN TO DO THAT
MOVIE, AND SO NICE TO SEE A MORE REAL HERSELF, WITH HER REAL
VOICE AND REAL COLOR HAIR, AND YOU KNOW SHE HAD TO DO ALL THIS
WITH WHAT YOU'VE JUST READ ABOUT MILLER AND HIS JOURNAL.
THE TWO MARRIAGES SHE HAD AS A HOLLYWOOD STAR WERE ABOUT AS MIS-
MATCHED AS YOU COULD GET .... NEITHER MILLER OR JOE DIMAGGIO WERE
HER SOUL MATES .... SHE NEVER DID FIND HER SOUL MATE.
SAD TRAGEDY IN SO MANY WAYS WAS THE LIFE OF A BEAUTIFUL AND
TALENTED MARILYN MONROE - IT WAS A TOUGH FIGHT SHE FOUGHT FOR A
WHILE, BUT NEVER FINDING HER SOUL MATE, IT WAS TOO MUCH FOR HER I
GUESS, AND SHE FOUND SHE NEEDED TO END IT ALL IN THE SLEEP OF
DEATH AT AGE 36.
THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK "SECRET LIFE OF MARILYN MONROE"
INTERVIEWED DEAN MARTIN, IN WHICH DEAN SAID, "I THINK I'VE COME
TO SEE IT WITH MARILYN, SHE WAS TOO INNOCENT TO BE IN THIS
HOLLYWOOD BUSINESS. SHE SHOULD HAVE MARRIED A NOBODY AND HAD MANY
CHILDREN, AND WOULD HAVE BEEN PERFECTLY HAPPY."
WELL MAYBE .... BUT THEN WE WOULD NOT HAVE HAD THE MOVIE STAR WHO
WAS CALLED "MARILYN MONROE" THAT THE WORLD STILL LOVES AND
REMEMBERS, EVEN TO THIS DAY.
IN THE BOOK "THE SECRET LIFE OF MARILYN MONROE" YOU'LL DISCOVER
THE REAL GIRL BEHIND THE PLAY ACTING WHEN SHE TURNED ON TO BE
MARILYN MONROE - A LOVING, CARING, GIVING, VERY PERSONABLE LADY,
EVEN AS SHE FOUGHT HER DEMONS ALONG THE WAY.
......
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