When ‘Typhoon Marilyn’ Came to Tokyo

First posted here on June 28, 2019 Heather Howard has accessed the Yomiuri Shimbun archives on Marilyn and Joe DiMaggio’s Far-East adventure for The Japan News. “‘Typhoon Marilyn Monroe comes to Tokyo.’ She certainly did, with a force so powerful it sent some of her fans tumbling into a pond at the Imperial Hotel. On...

Remembering Marilyn and Joe in Japan

First posted here on August 23, 2018 Over at Japan Today, Patrick Parr looks back at the newlywed Marilyn and Joe DiMaggio’s eventful trip to the Far East in 1954, where he was honoured by Japan's baseball fans, and she entertained US troops in Korea. (They’re photographed above with the manager of Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel,...

On This Day: ‘Joe, Marilyn Married Here’

First posted here on January 14, 2017 The San Francisco Chronicle has reposted their front page from January 15, 1954 – the day after Joe DiMaggio married Marilyn at City Hall. (And just FYI, January 14 has seen some other significant events over the years – including the release of Clara Bow’s It in 1926,...

Behind Margot Robbie’s Marilyn Homage in ‘Birds of Prey’

Having recently starred as Sharon Tate in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time … In Hollywood, Margot Robbie is no stranger to playing iconic blondes. Now, as she reprises her Harley Quinn role in Birds of Prey (2020), she has recreated Marilyn’s 'Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend' number from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, albeit with...

Remembering Arthur Miller and Marilyn

First posted here on February 23, 2015 The tenth anniversary of Arthur Miller’s death is being marked with a London revival of A View From the Bridge – the controversial play that first opened in the same city back in 1956, during filming of The Prince and the Showgirl. In tribute to Miller, The Guardian has republished a 1998 interview...

‘Zimbelism’: New Documentary + Book On Marilyn, and More

First posted here on May 15, 2016 Zimbelism, the long-awaited documentary about photographer George S. Zimbel, had its premiere at the recent Hot Docs Festival in Toronto. Zimbel, now 86, spoke to Laura Goldstein for mashumashu.com about his 72- year career in ‘humanist’ photography, and his memories of Marilyn as she filmed the ‘subway scene’ for The Seven...

Marilyn, Ben Hecht and ‘My Story’

First posted here on March 1, 2019 Born in 1893 to Belarusian Jewish immigrants, Ben Hecht became a noted Chicago reporter and novelist before scoring his first Broadway hit with The Front Page (1928.) He later became one of Hollywood’s greatest (and most prolific) screenwriters. This month, two new biographies of Hecht will be published. The first, Adina...

The Long and Winding Road to ‘Blonde’

Blonde, the controversial novel by Joyce Carol Oates loosely based on Marilyn's life, was published in 1999. A television mini-series adaptation followed in 2002. Twenty years later, Andrew Dominik's feature-length movie, Blonde, was released via streaming giant Netflix in September 2022, to a polarising reception. In this post, I trace the film's long gestation as...

Love Letters From Marilyn’s Lost Archive

First posted here on November 26, 2014 Love letters sent to Marilyn – including a lusty paean from Arthur Miller, and a regretful missive from Joe DiMaggio, as reported in People magazine– are currently on display at the Newbridge Style Icons Museum in County Kildare, Ireland, until this Saturday, November 28. The letters will then be included...

When Marilyn ‘Caught Cold’ From Joe

First posted here on November 16, 2014 The New York Daily News has republished a number of archive articles relating to Joe DiMaggio, born a century ago this week. One of the sadder stories reports on his and Marilyn’s divorce hearing at the Santa Monica Court on October 27, 1954. ‘Marilyn Is Free: Love Caught Cold From...