Marilyn Monroe’s last film appearance would have been the first time a major Hollywood movie star appeared in the nude, had the Something’s Got to Give been finished. Filming the infamous pool scene, Marilyn ditched the full body stocking prop and splashed around in a flesh-colored bikini bottom; then, laughing, she ditched that too, as to “push Liz Taylor off the magazine covers.” She was mesmerizing — “The sweet angel of sex,” Norman Mailer wrote, “and the sugar of sex came up from her like a resonance of sound in the clearest grain of a violin.”
Missing shooting days, battling bronchitis, skipping out (with Fox studios’ permission) to New York’s Madison Square Garden to sing “Happy Birthday” to JFK — Marilyn was fired from the set. She was re-hired after her co-star Dean Martin refused to work with any other actress, but she died tragically from an overdose of barbiturates before she could resume working on the film. During Marilyn’s tumultuous last days, she gave “fame is fickle”-themed tell-all interviews to major magazines and was followed by a photographer, whom she personally invited to the closed set of the pool scene. These rare and captivating “12 Photographs” — spotted at LA Weekly — are currently on view at the Duncan Miller Gallery in Los Angeles through November 26th but you can peak a bittersweet view right here.
Photo credit: Lawrence Schiller. Courtesy of the Duncan Miller Gallery
Comments (25)
According to the major religions, she is now in hell.
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Page 6 – definitely my favorite! She is absolutely gorgeous!
then i’ll finally get to meet her …
According to good taste, you’re a moron.
It is an interesting point about religion. Certainly if you’re a woman. A lot of things could send you straight to hell if you were a strict constructionist of religious text.
I honestly feel like I’m seeing her for the first time in these shots. I don’t know why, it’s weird.
The “Neville” guy is a sad, horrible and misguided person indeed!!! Hope he gets the help (or enlightenment) he needs…
these photos are gorgeous; the text, however, insults her memory with its dishonest representation. no one has ever been kicked off of a set for excused-by-studio patriotism or for “bronchitis.” you don’t need to lie about her to make us love her, and in fact, it minimizes her story.
yeah, she’s gorgeous. love the curves. maybe if i hadn’t numbed myself so severely with contemporary porn, i might not feel so sad seeing these. rip.
You mean ‘peek.’
i don’t care what anybody says…that is NOT the body of a woman who wore a size 12…are you freaking kidding me?! how tall was she??
and yes, she was absolutely stunning…i saw these pictures after stuffing my face with Chipotle…now i feel guilty and self-conscious…ugh.
Amazing, Just as Sexy as any Women out there today, actually ,even more so! She died WAY to soon!!!
LA Weekly’s is better.
Nothing new here. How can anybody say any digital image is “rare” in the age of the internet? You self-identified hipsters are so square, you’re living in a stream-powered world.
MM is and always will be a goddess. A beautiful flesh and blood woman, not the hollowed out bones that pass for “beauty” these days. These photos are beyond gorgeous and I thank Flavorwire for publishing them…made my day!
“How can anybody say any digital image is “rare” in the age of the internet?”
Um, by being less common than images that aren’t rare?
She of course is luminous as always, but for a different take beyond the Legend you might want to view:
Marilyn’s Escape Act on YouTube
This is a tribute piece to Marilyn Monroe done from her point of view as a vulnerable human being. The work is part of a series in progress utilizing manipulated film, paintings, photos with music and spoken word poetry.
MM’s weight went up & down – she is noticeably thinner here than in her 50′s days of curves – times had changed. I think perhaps diet drugs, uppers? The Kennedys & their set all are supposed to have taken them…. It was her openness that made her (makes her) so gorgeous….
The b&w may be rare, but all the color photos have been published en mass.
I recall this photo when it was first published in Life Magazine. So how ironic, that a dear friend of mine now owns the house in Chatsworth where this shot was taken. At the time, Frank Sinatra owned the property, and even Lucille ball and Desi Arnaz rented it for awhile. It has been used over the last 15 years as a rental for the film industry showing up in movies like “Swordfish,” with john Travolta. Owned by James Paul Fox, Jr., I was actually the first director to use it in an MTV music video I directed for singer/actress Holly Robinson, after Jim bought the property which sits on 10 acres. The pool looks exactly the same. Chip Miller/Film & TV Director/Producer/Screenwriter and singer/guitarist for SHP Records band Old Sand Mill.
Vintage clothing sizes from the 50′s and 60′s run 4-6 sizes SMALLER than clothing sizes now. She was a beautiful, curvy “vintage” size 12, more like a modern size 4, so don’t feel bad!
Exactly, Lady S. At some point, “vanity sizing” kicked in, allowing everyone to claim smaller numbers.
there is beauty side that man can resist :D
nearly nude sometime makes woman more mysterious
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