Celebrities Project: Marilyn Monroe

I finished my Marilyn Monroe Month (as part of my Celebrities Project) several weeks ago, but I haven't had the motivation to write a recap of my experience here. The truth is, it was terribly depressing to learn about Monroe. What a sad life she led! She never really had a loving home when she was growing up: her mother was mentally unstable and Norma Jean Baker was passed around between foster homes until she was essentially placed in her first marriage by her foster parents. Really, it seems like Marilyn didn't really have close friends throughout her life. She was always surrounded by people, but many of those people didn't care about her as an individual.

I started off by reading My Story by Marilyn Monroe (with Ben Hecht). This autobiography was written only up to a point: the manuscript stops abruptly just after Marilyn goes on her honeymoon with her second husband, Joe DiMaggio. The abrupt ending was fitting in a way, since Marilyn's life also ended so abruptly.

In some ways, it was nice to pair this autobiography with Anthony Summer's book Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe. Although this book was interminably long and repetitive, I did like that Summers tried to help distinguish what was fiction and fact in Marilyn's My Story. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this dramatic actress had the propensity to embellish and exaggerate events of her life. The book's main argument is that Marilyn actually didn't commit suicide, but that she may have wrongfully died due to her compromising affairs with the Kennedy brothers (specifically Robert). There are a lot of suspicious things about the circumstances of her death, including the fact that she was discovered with a phone received clenched in her hand (which typically would not happen if someone had overdosed on sleeping pills, which prompts the hand muscles to relax and drop things before rigor mortis sets in). Regardless of what really happened, it is certain that she had a sad ending to her life: she was mentally and emotionally unstable during the last months of her life, and didn't get the help that she needed to overcome her addictions and problems.

I obviously picked the wrong movies to watch, too. I decided to skip watching the shows that I have already seen and enjoyed, so I didn't see shows like How To Marry a Millionaire (I really love her comedic timing in this show), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes or The Seven Year Itch. Instead, I saw Monkey Business (1952) with Cary Grant, in which Monroe plays a secretary that gets involved with a scientist who has discovered a formula which makes people youthful. The film was okay, but it was a little too silly and long, and I didn't think Monroe's comedic timing was that great in this show.

I also saw The Misfits (1961), in which Monroe plays opposite Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift. This movie was really slow paced and not that interesting for the most part, except for one scene at the end of the movie (at 2:16 - 2:21 in this online video). Seeing Marilyn get so upset and scream so loud was so unexpected for me that it was really poignant. It was also interesting to just know that this movie was written by Arthur Miller (Marilyn's third husband, although their marriage was breaking down at the time this was filmed). Marilyn also had an obsession with Cary Grant (she imagined that her estranged father looked like Cary Grant), and so it was interesting to see them play together. Cary Grant died soon after this film was completed.

The movie that was most interesting to watch was the unfinished film of Something's Got to Give (1962) with Dean Martin. This was the last movie that Marilyn started to make before she died, and she was so unstable and unprofessional that she ended up getting fired from the set. She looks unhealthily skinny to me in this film, but perhaps I also had that reaction because I knew of all of the problems she was experiencing with insomnia and alcohol at the time. There are some funny moments in this unfinished film, though, and I did like to see Dean and Marilyn play opposite each other.

I'm realizing in this Celebrities Project that I don't personally connect with many of these celebrity figures, including Monroe. I guess I must have hoped to connect with these figures more, which is perhaps why I've been a little disappointed with the people that I have been studying lately. I do like that Marilyn Moroe loved learning (even though she didn't have the best formal education herself); I enjoyed discovering that she decided to take a university-level art appreciation class 1951, after she decided that she wanted to be more cultured. I also like that she collected art and loved to read. But beyond those points, it was hard to connect with someone who lived so out-of-touch with reality and who desperately craved attention. I'm just not that kind of person!

UPDATE 4/24/22: Someone on Twitter posted this picture of a rose that was painted by Marilyn Monroe in 1962. It is fun to know that she was interested in making art on her own:

Audrey Hepburn vs. Sammy Davis Jr.

I have just barely started Sammy Davis Jr. Month, but I am already struck with how different he and Audrey Hepburn are. Audrey Hepburn was the daughter of a baroness, went to boarding school in England, lived through horrors of enemy occupation during World War II, and tried to keep aspects of her life private from the public. She also wanted to be a ballerina, and only came into the world of modeling and acting after her dancing career didn't pan out. In contrast, Sammy Davis Jr. didn't receive a formal education, grew up on the vaudeville stage performing acts with his father, and was very public about his personal life and feelings (he wrote two autobiographies: Yes I Can (1965) and Why Me? The Sammy Davis Jr. Story (1989)).

Physical appearance also affected these two individuals' careers. Audrey Hepburn was considered the epitome of fashion, and her attractive European face caused her to receive a lot of leading roles in Hollywood films. While Sammy Davis Jr. appeared in a lot of films, I don't believe that the ever scored a role as a leading man. Undoubtedly, race tied into the roles which Sammy Davis Jr. received. He also was quite short and small to be a leading man (weighing 115 pounds, which was just a few pounds more than the slim Audrey Hepburn). Sammy Davis Jr. used to actually joke about his physical appearance (while also hinting at issues of race). Once, when he heard someone commenting about discrimination, he said, "You got it easy. I'm a short, ugly, one-eyed, black Jew. What do you think it's like for me?"

Interestingly, though, it seems like both Audrey and Sammy Davis Jr. wanted to use their public image to evoke change in society. Audrey focused on work with UNICEF, and Sammy Davis Jr. was involved with politics and the Civil Rights Movement. I especially liked this quote I read in Yes I Can last night, when Sammy Davis Jr. was writing about using his talent to bring about change in regards to discrimination: "My talent was the weapon, the power, the way for me to fight. It was the one way I might hope to affect a man's thinking" (p. 72).

Another similarity is that Sammy Davis Jr. and Audrey Hepburn both were smokers. Sammy Davis Jr. was a chain smoker (he died of throat cancer in 1990) and Audrey Hepburn also was a heavy smoker - she especially seemed to have smoked when nervous, and there are instances in her biographies when she is described as having "chain-smoked her way" through interviews.

I couldn't find a photograph of Audrey and Sammy Davis Jr. together, so it could be that they never met (or perhaps never interacted with each other very much). They did have mutual acquaintances, though, which is why I included the photograph above of Audrey Hepburn with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. (You can see more pictures of Audrey with Dean and Jerry at this webpage and this webpage.)

Christmas music

Keeping up with the theme of Christmas entertainment, I thought that I would also jot down some of the Christmas music that I especially love during this time of year.

I know that there are more songs to add to this list, but these are all of the ones I can think of at present. I’ll continually add to this list as I remember other wonderful Christmas songs (or become familiar with ones!).

• "White Christmas" sung by Bing Crosby (both the recorded version or the version from the beginning of the film).

• "Jingle Bells" sung by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters

• "The Christmas Song" (also called “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”) sung by Mel Tormé. (In 1963, the Judy Garland Christmas Show featured a fun duet for this song with Garland and Tormé).

• "Baby It’s Cold Outside" sung by Dean Martin (although I really love the new version that was recently released by American Idol contestants Casey Abrahms and Haley Reinhardt).

• "Christmas Blues" sung by Dean Martin (I'm guessing that the linked video is from a Colgate Comedy Hour episode.)

• "Let it Snow" sung by Dean Martin

• "Zat You, Santy Claus?" sung by Louis Armstrong

• "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" sung by Judy Garland (as performed in "Meet Me in Saint Louis")

• "Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town," specifically a jazzy arrangement by Kirby Shaw (This is a nostalgic song for me, since I sang this song in high school with my two close friends, Katie and Heather.)

•"Happy Xmas: The War is Over" by John Lennon (The music video for this song seems especially relevant this year, with all of the troops coming home.)

• "Wonderful Christmas Time" by Paul McCartney & Wings

I also love traditional,

sacred Christmas music

that has been written

over the centuries.

Choral performances

are some of my favorites.

• Handel’s "Messiah" (One of my favorite soprano soloists for the Messiah is Emma Kirby. I love listening to her agile, clear voice sing "For He is Like a Refiner's Fire.")

• "Lo How a Rose Ere Blooming," especially when sung by Frederica von Stade in the Carnegie Christmas concert (see below).

• "Coventry Carol" ("Lullay, Lullay, Thou Little Tiny Child")

• "O Come, O Come Emmanuel"

• "The Angel Gabriel" (sometimes called "Gabriel's Message")

• Benjamin Britten’s "A Ceremony of Carols" (Some of my favorites are "Procession," "Wolcum Yole," "Spring Carol," "Balulalow," "Deo Gracias," and "There is No Rose.")

• "Whence is that Goodly Fragrance Flowing?" (or in French: "Quelle est cette odeur agréable?")

• Music from the 1991 Carnegie Christmas Concert with Frederica von Stade, Kathleen Battle, and Wynton Marsallis (I included a photo of Frederica and Kathleen at the top of this post). "The Twelve Days of Christmas" performance is one of my favorites. And I love "Gesu Bambino." And the "Christmas Songs" medley.

•I also love listening to fantastic Christmas music sung by boy choirs.

There are some great YouTube clips of the King's College Cambridge

choir singing, "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day," "Sussex Carol,"

"Maria Sitzt am Rosenhag," "Coventry Carol,"

and "In the Bleak Mid Winter."

Okay. Now it’s your turn. What Christmas songs do you enjoy?

Image above: Giotto's Nativity from the Scrovegni Chapel (1305-1306).

rat pack night for american idol

I love the Rat Pack singers. I've been a Dean Martin fan for years and years, although I have to admit that Frank Sinatra first introduced me to many of the standards from that era. I love so many of those songs - some of my favorites are "Sway," "Fly Me to the Moon," "Volare," "You Belong to Me," "That's Amore," and "All the Way."

I also love the Rat Pack movies. About a year ago, my sister and I watched a special screening of Sergeants 3, one of the Rat Pack movies. It was filmed in Utah, and one of the extras in the film came and spoke before the screening. This actor was a Mormon, and he recalled one day when he walked onto the set and approached Dean (who was seated next to Frank and smoking a cigarette). When Dean saw this actor walk towards him, Dean said in his slow, sarcastic voice, "Here comes Brigham Young..."

I love that story. It makes me feel like Dean was the same sarcastic jokester, on and off of the screen.

I was excited that the Rat Pack music was the theme for American Idol tonight. I also was pleased that many of the contestants sung ballads; anyone who can sing a ballad well and convincingly has the markings of a true singer.

That being said, I really liked most of the performances tonight. Kris had a great arrangement and creative vocals (especially in the latter half, I didn't dig the first part of the song as much). I liked Allison. And I felt like the raspy, smoky texture of Danny's voice really worked well with his song. (Kara was right - he had a great Rat Pack swagger!)

Adam was great, but I have to admit that the ending was so unexpected and abrupt that I cried out "Whaaaat? "Whaaaaaat?" just like Jaime Foxx did in Adam's mentoring session. I almost didn't know what to think. But it was good. Mysterious, entertaining, and fun. And great vocals.

I didn't really like Matt's performance, though. I felt like it was good for him to lower the key so that he could belt that high note, but at the same time I felt like his lower notes were too unfocused. And did anyone else noticed that he had this strange enunciation when he sang in the lower register? It sounded like he was trying to put a jazz spin on his singing style, but it came across as if he was attacking the words. With the combination of the word attack, the unfocused lower notes, and some pauses between notes, Matt's voice reminded me a little of the robotic "Speak 'N Spell" voice. Yikes! Matt has always been one of my favorite contestants, but I didn't feel like I could vote for him tonight. I think he'll probably leave this week.

What do other people think of the performances from last night? What Rat Pack songs and movies do you like?

the whipping boy

Does anyone remember the children's book The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman? With Jemmy and Price Brat? I loved that book growing up. Even today, when I cook with too much garlic, I think of Hold-Your-Nose-Billy.

Maybe because I loved The Whipping Boy so much when I was little, I especially like these Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis clips from the Colgate Comedy Hour. This is the perfect premise for a Martin and Lewis sketch - Prince Dean has all of the fun while whipping boy Jerry gets beat up. I especially love Jerry's mock praises and insults. I cracked up when he said to the guards (with metallic hats), "A plague on thee, a plague on thee, thou father of a nail file!"

Jerry Lewis Nostalgia: Colegate Comedy Hour with Rosemary Clooney

Many people who grew up with me know that Jerry Lewis films are one of my guilty/not-so-guilty pleasures. I'm not really a fan of slapstick comedy, but sometimes the timing of Jerry's movements are impeccable. I also agree that some of Jerry's antics are a bit prolonged in some scenes, but I love him just the same.

In high school, I would watch episodes of the Colgate Comedy Hour (Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin's television show from the 1950s) ad nauseam with my friends, particularly Katie and Heather. This video clip is of our favorite episode where Rosemary Clooney was a guest (though I didn't include any clips with Clooney). I especially love this episode because there is so much improv between Martin and Lewis. Heather and I must have been influenced by all of this improv and banter - we took improv to the utmost level during our district drama competition, where we improvised our whole scene because both of us had been too lazy to memorize the script. The hilarious thing is that we actually won the district competition and were sent to the state competition after that - which we promptly lost because we still hadn't memorized our lines.

Things I love about this episode: When Jerry gets after the audience for laughing at a "non-funny" joke (27:30); when he calls his coat a "puzzle" because he is fumbling with it on the set; the look on his face while saying "Isn't that a stunning model?" I also love that naive Jerry helps the burglar load wedding presents into his sack and the burglar makes a clean get-away.

In order to make amends, Jerry decides to clean up the mess in the room. I like when he lifts up his hands in fake surprise while saying the word "cleaner" (35:04). My high school friends and I would sometimes do this movement to feign astonishment, and I still find myself wanting to do it at times - though I generally refrain myself since no one would get the joke. I also love the expression in Jerry's face while the butler is giving his line.

I also love the musical number is at the end of the episode. I especially love how Dean starts to laugh when Jerry asks him if he wants an "introduction" (44:46). And I can't help but crack up every time Jerry falls down when the music booms especially loud (46:00). The timing is so great.

This being said, I also have to say that I love Dean Martin too. Jerry wouldn't be as funny without Dean acting as his "straight man." Sometimes I think Dean goes unappreciated when people talk about the "Martin and Lewis" team. He really is a great comedian too, not to mention a fabulous singer.