Actresses and the era of Marilyn Monroe

By Ahmet Abdulaziz ….

Whenever someone asks me about my favourite actress, Sophia Loren has always been my instant reply. All those who know me,  know that Sophia Loren has always been my craze, and my favourite actress.

But there is no doubt that whenever, Sophia Loren is mentioned, instantly an another name from the same era springs up. That name is undoubtedly Marilyn Monroe. Both Sophia and Marilyn belonged to that era of cinema when there were  other very talented and celebrated artists like Grace Kelly, Ava Gardner, Audrey Hepburn,  reigning in the film industry, yet both Sophia Loren and Marilyn Monroe created a unique space for themselves.

Today I am writing this article about Marilyn Monroe in relation what would have been her 93rd birthday.  She was born on 1st June 1926.

To be very frank, Marilyn was not an artist of the calibre of Sophia or any other celebrated actresses of that era, yet she did make her mark due to her exceptional beauty. She did have a very bad and problematic childhood. She had suffered too many personal problems at a very young age. However one day a photographer had spotted her, and she emerged as a model.

Over a short period of time Monroe remained stepping ahead in the world of modelling, and continued gaining recognition in show business. Though she had started getting roles in films since the 1940s,  she was not a highly talented actress, but was beautiful enough to attract the cinemagoers.  “Some Like it Hot”, “Gentlemen prefer Blondes”, “How to Marry a Millionaire”, “Niagara”, were some of her remarkable films.  It is said that she brought into the limelight a distinct image of a sexy girl in the films.

But it was not just her beauty only, that made her a celebrity, she led a very tough and difficult life, with lots of problems. She remained the centre of some serious scandals. But above all it was her sad demise at the very young age of 36 on August 5, 1962 that made her the centre of international media.

On that date, the lifeless body of Monroe was found in a Los Angeles guesthouse, with an overdose of drugs. According to official records she had committed suicide, but ever since there have been a number of differing theories about her death, which most think to be murder instead of suicide.

There are some who believe that Monroe was killed by the Kennedys, after Marilyn Monroe was found coming too close to John F. Kennedy, the then President of USA, and his brother Robert Kennedy.

Some people believe that Monroe was having connections with important names in the underground world, who had thought that she might be dangerous for their own existence, so they managed a scheme to kill her, and organised her death to appear as a suicide.

However there still are some who believe that Monroe had neither committed suicide, nor was murdered. They believe that she was simply taken away from limelight, and continued her life as an unknown woman. A person was quoted saying that Monroe’s death was staged and her psychiatrist, Dr Ralph Greenson, committed her to a mental institution in New Brunswick, Canada because of a breakdown she experienced due to the threats on her life.

John Alexander Baker, pinned down “Marilyn Monroe”, and believed that she stayed in the centre for next 20 years. He mentioned in his book that he had picked up a hitchhiker in 1984 who claimed to be Monroe. He mentioned that she had told him about her life and previous films etc.

Of course the era of Monroe has passed, many other actresses have come and gone since then, yet whenever people talk about beautiful film actresses, Marilyn Monroe always stands out as one of the best.