Text | Peng Chunhua · Ten points to read original
In 1962, in Madison's Garden Square, a group of people held up wine glasses.
The host held the microphone: "Your Excellency, the next to appear is Marilyn Monroe." ”
Throughout the party, the host repeated this sentence many times.
But every time she was announced, it was a prank, and the spotlight deliberately turned to the outside of the stage, and the stage was pitch black, so that Monroe could not get on the stage.
What followed, of course, was a laugh.
This outrageous joke is a mockery: Marilyn Monroe is always late, and this man is unreliable.
In order to sing a happy birthday song to President Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe practiced too hard.
No one knows why Monroe is so anxious about a song that comes out of her mouth.
Finally, the joke was over.
She walked up the stage in clothes that were so thin that they were almost transparent.
The crowd splits in two, like the Red Sea in the Bible.
Monroe gave her signature smile, and then a sweet and soft tone floated out.
After singing, she wanted to give Kennedy a kiss, but the crowd immediately gathered and pushed her off the stage quickly, and she drowned in the crowd.
People around her began to comment on her performance, mocking her for wearing too light clothes and losing face to the president.
"Look at that blonde bitch! God gave her the beauty of a goddess, but gave her a peacock-like brain! ”
Shortly after the birthday party, Monroe died at home at the age of 36.
This comic-like character ended a life she never understood.
Abandoned childhood
In a small town in California, there is a strange woman.
Deira Monroe.
Della is already a half-old Xu Niang.
When she was young, she often threw her eyes at many opposite sexes.
Della loves sociability, and whenever she has nothing to do and wants to find someone to spend, she is often accompanied by men.
The townspeople used "that woman" to judge Della.
In old age, time has brought her charm, but it has not brought her heart to be uneasy about the status quo.
Della is still obsessed with dressing herself up, and can't afford to buy luxury gifts from retail stores, so she goes to second-hand vendors to look for some colorful bargains.
At that time, her husband went to India, and the lack of reliance made her feel helpless.
And Della's daughter, Gladys, happened to be pregnant again.
Gladys inherited her mother's debauchery, she was already pregnant twice, this time not even knowing who her husband was.
Della was irritated by her daughter and husband.
"Never mind this mess anymore!"
Della tried to persuade her daughter to give her child to someone else after she was born, and she found a good candidate, that is, the second-hand vendor she frequented. As long as she gives the stall owner fifty dollars a month, she can help with childcare.
Saying this is not to consider her daughter's future, but to leave for India to find a husband.
"I don't care, I'm going to India and I'm not coming back."
So, in 1926, a fatherless child was born in the hospital, marilyn Monroe, who was still called Norma Jane.
The chaotic lives of her grandmother and mother set the worst example for Norma.
Ever since she was born, Norma has been living in exile and abandonment.
She was first thrown to her adoptive mother at birth.
They lived together for 7 years, and gradually developed feelings, and the adoptive mother moved the idea of passing Norma over.
However, Norma's birth mother, Gladys, suddenly repented after promising to succeed.
At that time, Gladys' mental state was already very poor.
Norma's maternal grandfather was a mentally insane automotive engineer. Grandmother, Della's spirit was also faulty, and now it was her mother Gladys' turn.
Gladys often sneaked into her adoptive mother's house and jumped in through the window to get Norma away.
Once, she tried to carry Norma away in a military pocket. In the face of this strange woman who claimed to be her mother, Norma cried in horror. Gladys ignored it, pulled the zipper up, carried it to his shoulders, and fled through the window.
After several fights, the adoptive mother had no choice but to return Norma to Gladys.
At the age of 7, Norma, who had already shown her beauty, was led by her mother to her apartment.
This new drifting ground did not bring joy to Norma.
When staying with her mother, the most she said was, "Don't argue with Norma!" "Just stay in the closet pile of clothes and don't move." ”
Her mother often cried and screamed that she had seen her dead grandfather sitting on the stairs of her room laughing at her.
Eventually, the mother was sent to a mental hospital.
Poor Norma was left behind again.
The sadness in Norma's eyes may have begun at that time. The fragile breath beneath her sexy exterior may have been blindfolded from then on.
Her mother's colleague, Grace, took on the responsibility of caring for Norma, and she later called Grace aunt, and they were not related by blood.
The aunt works as a handyman in Hollywood, and sees Norma, who is becoming more and more beautiful, and the aunt decides that the child is the material for the movie.
She often dressed Norma beautifully and led her to her place of work. Everyone asked Norma to put on a smile and praise her like a dessert: "Look, this child! ”
Because of the change in life, her aunt had to send Norma to an orphanage, and a few months later, she took her out and went to the countryside with her.
First marriage
It was 1938, and Norma had a slightly calmer life.
She was sent to a country school.
It was from this time that she first realized the value of beauty.
At school, Norma wore a tight sweater and a little makeup, and everyone else learned her mannerisms.
The girls even noticed her and thought, well, must be associated with this person.
On the way out of school, the boy's horn never stopped.
That short few hundred meters home became Norma's personal catwalk show.
Norma was respected for the first time.
Since then, she has hidden the inferior and sensitive Norma in her heart, and in order to gain recognition, she wants to create an image that is confident, beautiful, and loved.
At a country residence, Norma has a neighbor. The neighbor's family is poor, and his son Jim is the eldest in the family, looking brainless and full of an athlete's temperament.
Norma was 16 years old, just past the legal age of marriage.
The aunt wanted to bring them together, saying it was for future happiness.
Norma couldn't think of any reason to refuse, and in order to avoid being sent to the orphanage again, she agreed.
Norma had no father in her life, and this was the first man to enter her life.
She calls Jim Daddy, but Jim doesn't take pleasure in it, and whenever he tries to correct Norma's name, Norma cries like a tearful person.
Married life is not happy, Jim goes to the island to work hard for life, Norma goes to a radio company to work as a female worker.
But the turnaround happened quickly.
At one point, the radio company came with several photographers. Norma was called in with several female workers in her class, saying that the military department was going to shoot some shots.
Norma was still wearing overalls, yellow-gray pants and a green coat that day, and the work was easy.
No one expected that the moment the army photographer pressed the shutter, Norma's fate would change completely.
Many people use "overnight fame" to describe the rise of a new star, which is somewhat exaggerated, but for Norma, it is a reality.
Norma soon became famous in magazines.
Her grasp of the technique was astoundingly fast, and on set, Norma asked, at different focal lengths, what kind of effect the light would produce, and how to adjust to the best level.
Her husband, Jim, could no longer dominate her.
She showed Jim pictures of herself, her new clothes, shoes and socks, and she was proud to be favored by The Blue Book magazine.
Jim was depressed.
After a fight, Norma felt like she was going to fly away completely.
The story of two men
After divorcing Jim, a friend said, "You're born to act in movies. ”
Norma was still hesitating: "I don't know if I can act. ”
"Baby, you've been acting for a lifetime."
Hearing this, Norma was touched, and she began to imagine her future.
Norma once wrote in her diary:
"At that time, I looked at the stars in Hollywood and thought that there must be countless girls like me who were sitting alone, dreaming of being a movie star, and I was not afraid of them, because my dreams were the most eager." 」
Fox's model agent took over Norma.
Since then, Norma Jane has been erased.
She changed her name to Mary Lian Monroe.
The film industry did not go well, and in 1948, Marilyn Monroe appeared in the romantic comedy "Skuda, Oh! Hi Skouda! She plays a girl who coaxes the church, but only one line; she then plays a girl sitting on a rowboat, but most of the footage is removed, leaving only a long shot.
She said to her friend, "Don't blink your eyes when you look, or my shot will pass quickly." ”
Monroe then took on the film, but after the film was released, she was fired.
She was forced to move to a dilapidated small house, a double room.
Monroe didn't give up, she took over some cheap commercial films. She was waiting for her moment.
At this time, Monroe met Johnny Hyde.
It was a gathering of producers, Johnny Hyde, the agent of the agency, and he had a crush on Monroe. They later developed a relationship of mentorship and friendship and lover.
Johnny taught Monroe that you should spend every moment of your life on your own career.
Monroe's financial problems were all-inclusive, he left his wife, rented a new house, and lived with Monroe, intending to build this new star.
In 1949, Monroe began to make a temporary appearance.
She cherishes every opportunity.
When she auditioned for "The Night Is Not Quiet", she practiced alone for a long time.
The interviewer came in, at that time the props needed a bed, but there was no bed, Monroe was lying on the floor reading lines, she was not satisfied with the interview effect, asked if she could do it again.
The interviewer said, "Do it as many times as you like." ”
Where did she know that the character was hers before she could speak.
Johnny's trust in Monroe leads her to finally trust herself.
Unfortunately, because of the excessive stress, Monroe became infected with dependence on tranquilizers. Whenever she couldn't play a certain bridge, Johnny would call the doctor and give her a tube.
After Johnny's death, Monroe welcomed her second husband, Di Marzio.
Instead of saving Monroe, the relationship pushed her into a worse situation.
Di Marzio is a sports star, and when he saw Monroe in the photo, he decided to get her hands on it. Di Marzio's enthusiasm touched Monroe.
After marriage, he was jealous of Monroe's fame and hoped that Monroe would be a housewife. Monroe disagreed: "For God's sake, I am not yet thirty years old." ”
He was not ashamed, and felt that the fools outside treated Monroe like a princess.
After the concert, Monroe shared her happiness with her husband: "You really should listen, I have never heard such thunderous applause." ”
But Di Marzio sneered, "I've heard it." He reminded Monroe that you are not the only star in the family.
The filming of "The Seven Year Itch" brought Monroe's second marriage to a hasty end again. That's also the origin of Monroe's classic photo.
She was wearing a white dress, passing by the subway stop, and the wind blew Monroe's skirt. She pressed her hand down on the skirt, but the hem of the skirt still couldn't help but bloom.
When the scene was filmed, more than 5,000 people were watching.
The good news reporter specifically called Monroe's husband Di Marzio.
Di Marzio saw that the blood was gushing, and when he returned, he beat Monroe hard.
Their marriage lasted only 274 days.
Towards death
Since then, Monroe's life has been completely chaotic.
Grandmother, the mother's fate was like a curse, fulfilled in her.
She was so dependent on sleeping pills that she had to take a few for an afternoon nap. Often hold whiskey and soda. As soon as she gained a pound, she began to wash her intestines endlessly.
The agency consumes Monroe's sexiness and only lets her take on the role of brainless beauty.
Monroe wrote in her diary: They had to force me to squeeze sexiness out like toothpaste, and I didn't want to be just a comedian forever.
In 1956, Monroe met her third husband, the playwright Arthur Miller.
When she first met Miller, Monroe impulsively added to her will that she would leave Miller with $100,000 after her death.
Miller was a social activist, and Congress saw him as a strong left-wing writer, often sending agents to investigate Miller.
In Monroe's eyes, she admired Miller and thought he was astute and funny, and no one had ever had so much knowledge.
But how much did Miller really love Monroe? unknown.
After marriage, Monroe's mental problems became more and more serious. She goes to the doctor every week, sometimes 5 days a week.
By chance, she discovers Miller's diary, which exacerbates Monroe's mental problems. Miller's diary reads:
Monroe was not at all like others thought, she did not understand things at all, she was an immature woman, a spoiled child.
Seeing these words, Monroe's first reaction was not anger, but felt seen through.
She didn't dare tell Miller that she had turned over the diary.
Miller couldn't write a manuscript and slept on the couch, and Monroe blamed herself, thinking it was because she couldn't give him inspiration.
"Stupid fool, can't even keep a husband." Monroe began to give up on herself in an extreme way.
During this period, Monroe also had two births and lost her qualification to be a mother.
In order to change their relationship, Miller convinces Monroe to go to work.
But because of mental problems, Monroe often arrives late, sometimes not for 3 days, and the crew can only wait.
She often asked for a reshoot, and when she was not satisfied with the shooting, Monroe took the scissors, cut the negatives into pieces, and threw them on the ground.
Everyone felt that Monroe was extremely unprofessional, and Miller felt humiliated.
Instead of becoming Monroe's spiritual pillar, he scolded her.
Sometimes people invite Monroe to parties purely to use her as a table item.
Monroe was always worried, if her dessert could no longer increase everyone's appetite, would anyone invite her?
The pain of her childhood surfaced again and again, and a sense of abandonment enveloped her.
In 1962, Monroe, who was on the verge of collapse, met the Kennedy family.
Rumors about whether they had an affair with each other have so far been inconclusive.
The only thing known was that Monroe was invited to an island for a party, and after only a weekend, Monroe left. She then tried to contact Kennedy again, but Kennedy avoided it.
Some say Monroe has since fallen into a crush on the president and is paranoid about getting the president.
People taunted Monroe: "Anyway, you are not the material of the first lady!" ”
The next time Kennedy met Monroe was at that birthday party.
The Kennedy brothers seemed to be showing off and broadcast the birthday party on television to the public.
Regardless of Monroe's state of mind, they seem to only want to take advantage of Monroe's beauty and those sexy rumors.
Every time Monroe performs like a comic, she strips away her dreams once.
On August 5, 1962, Monroe had every reason to be happier than before, she had just signed 2 films and had another $1 million contract.
She made a lot of phone calls that day, one moment yelling, the other sad.
At 2 a.m., a friend ran to Monroe's house because she couldn't get in touch with her.
There was no answer to the knock, and he smashed the window.
Monroe lay on the bed, motionless.
Her face was lying down, she was holding the phone in her right hand, and there were many pills thrown at the head of the bed.
This woman who has brought too much enthusiasm, imagination, and dreams to people, just leaves.
Monroe is dead.
From the moment of birth, Norma's fate seemed to have been foreshadowed, she was like a comet that rose into the air, you know she will be destroyed, but do not know what kind of way she will.
Unfortunately, posterity only remembers the one-sided symbol of sexiness.
Monroe eventually existed in history in a comic-like way.
Few people want to peek into her complicated heart.
Author | Peng Chunhua, feminist, Weibo @ Peng Chunhua himself
Image | Network (if there is infringement, contact to delete)