Remembering Marilyn Monroe

"I don't care how rich he is, as long as he has a yacht, his own private railroad car, and his own toothpaste."

- Sugar Kane Kowalczyk ("Some Like It Hot", 1959)

"My Week with Marilyn" was about Marilyn Monroe's week in London in 1956, when she shot "The Prince and the Showgirl". She was Hollywood's most enduring sex symbol and she knew it. She wanted to be taken seriously, which was why she studied Method acting. Men fell for her, but her eyes revealed unhappiness.

Monroe, born Norma Jeane Mortenson, would be 88 on June 1. She died in 1962 at a young age of 36, a tragedy during that time. But public fascination increased through the years. It was the case with the likes of James Dean, but Monroe was something else. There was sympathy, as some don't believe that her death was due to natural cause. She was also a small-town girl who made it big, a success story that America liked. But was she happy about it?

"Your imagination! You think every girl's a dope. You think a girl goes to a party and there's some guy in a fancy striped vest strutting around giving you that I'm-so-handsome-you-can't-resist-me look. From this she's supposed to fall flat on her face. Well, she doesn't fall on her face. But there's another guy in the room, over in the corner. Maybe he's nervous and shy and perspiring a little. First, you look past him. But then you sense that he's gentle and kind and worried. That he'll be tender with you, nice and sweet. That's what's really exciting."

- The Girl ("The Seven Year Itch", 1955)

Not a few agreed that Monroe was a great comedienne. In fact, there were parallels between her and Jean Harlow, another sexy blond star from the 1930s who became renowned for her on-screen comic skills. (She also passed away at a young age.) During the 1950s, Monroe's image was a sexy lady with a witty one-liner, which could hook any man she met. Then there was that white dress, which became a prized treasure after the release of "The Seven Year Itch". But it was Billy Wilder's "Some Like It Hot" which would be her finest moment. The actress wanted to be treated like an actress, no different Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor. As Sugar Kane Kowalczyk, who became buddies with Josephine and Daphne (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in drag), she was spot on. She may not have earned an Academy Award nomination for her performance, but the Hollywood Foreign Press Association took notice. (She won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Musical or Comedy.)

Monroe's personal life became a fodder for tabloids, first married to Joe DiMaggio, Major League Baseball center fielder, and then Arthur Miller, playwright. Both ended in divorce, which prompted some to wonder if this was what drove her to her death. No one could tell, but her star had never been brighter.