How did Monroe die?

The cause of death of Hollywood sexy actress Marilyn Monroe is still inconclusive to this day. But when she died more than 40 years ago, Monroe left all her property in her will to her mentor - Lee Sternberg, the famous director of New York's "The Actors Studio" - a father figure in her life. acting teacher. Since 1956, Monroe had been closely associated with the Lee-Sternberg family. In addition to Lee, Lee's second wife Paula and daughter Susan had been Monroe's trusted friends and confidants. But this was not a happy family. Monroe and her legacy after her death, especially a string of pearl necklaces, witnessed the end of this family. Based on the unpublished biography "Confessions of a New Age Pagan" by Susan, who died four years ago, and the narrations of some of Monroe's classmates, "Vanity Fair" magazine, published in June this year, tells the story of Monroe and this family. As Susan writes, “Life is stranger than fiction—nothing is too wonderful or too scary to be true.”

Monroe Belongs to a Stranger

On October 27, 1999, the British Christie's auction house auctioned nearly a thousand items of Monroe's personal belongings, including 20 pairs of heel shoes. Sweat-stained stilettos, rainbow-colored loose dresses, designer furs, lace bras, doll-like pajamas, a gold TV, a set of gold-plated lighters, Monroe's second husband, baseball star Joe... The diamond wedding ring given to her by DiMaggio...these items eventually sold for $13.4 million. Among them, a flesh-colored tight-fitting evening dress that Monroe wore to congratulate President John F. Kennedy on his birthday was sold for $1.26 million. One of her temporary driver's licenses was sold for $145,000. Her certificate of conversion to Judaism was also sold. High price of $80,000.

Nancy Valentino, vice president of the auction house, said, "All of these things reflect Monroe's vulnerability, which is part of her irresistible charm. ... Monroe also I wrote some little poems to myself: 'I'm lucky to be alive', 'Everything I feel hurts, it's unimaginable.'"

August 5, 1962. Monroe died at her home in Los Angeles at the age of 36. An autopsy found that she contained a fatal dose of barbiturates, a sedative, in her system, but people still speculate about her true cause of death to this day. In her will, Monroe left all her clothing and personal belongings to her mentor and friend Lee Sternsburg, and asked Lee to "distribute these items among my (Monroe's) friends, colleagues, and friends, based on his independent judgment." The one I love." Lee's then-wife Paula then put Monroe's belongings into storage. Rumor has it that the items had been kept in a room on the same floor as the Lee-Sternbergs' apartment. Lee often said during his lifetime, "Marilyn's things will eventually go to the museum."

However, after Lee's death, his third wife Anna inherited all of Lee's property, including Monroe's belongings . In 1994, Anna sold the Monroe real estate and franchise. In 1999, Anna auctioned off all of Monroe's personal belongings. Anna, who had never met Monroe, declined to explain why she decided to auction the items. Susan wrote in her unpublished biography, "Most of my father's wealth came from 75% of Monroe's inheritance." Monroe thought that Lee would "try his best to take care of and protect herself after her death just as she did before her death. But now, contrary to her desire, (her personal belongings) were in a state that she had never understood, never loved, and... Nor did she respect her (strangers). Marilyn Monroe (when she was alive) was extremely distrustful of strangers, but now she is a stranger."

Learn to be a "serious actor"

Monroe was born in Los Angeles on June 1, 1926, and her original name was Norma Jean Baker. Her father is unknown, and her mother, who used to be a film editor, was eventually sent to a mental hospital due to psychological problems. Before the age of 16, Norma Jean lived in foster families, orphanages and the homes of her mother's friends, and suffered a lot of torture. In 1942, 16-year-old Norma Jean married her neighbor Jimmy Dougherty. In 1946, the two divorced. In the same year, she began to use the name Marilyn Monroe to enter the entertainment industry. After starring in films such as "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and "How to Marry a Millionaire" in Hollywood, Monroe became the most popular actress in Hollywood at the time. In January 1954, she married Joe DiMaggio, however, the marriage only lasted 9 months.

After a period of experience in Hollywood, Monroe planned to get rid of the "shallow blonde" movie image and become "a serious actor." In 1956, she came to New York and began studying acting with Lee. In addition to taking Monroe to attend classes at the Actors Studio, Lee provided individual tutoring to her at home, for which various reports were made in newspapers.

Actress Patricia Bosworth, who was studying with Monroe at the time, recalled an experience with Lee and Monroe. It was raining heavily that day. Patricia and Susan were standing on the street when Lee drove up and offered them a ride. Unexpectedly, Monroe also huddled in the back seat of the car. She was smoking, her eyes were blurry, her bleached blond hair was messy, and her nails were stained with mud. Patricia said Monroe was used to being stared at and she was not embarrassed by it. There was a mysterious, indefinable quality about Monroe that set her apart from ordinary people. Patricia saw Monroe wearing a classic pearl necklace. The pearls had a creamy luster and matched her skin very well. Hearing the compliments about the necklace, Monroe caressed the pearl absentmindedly and said, "The emperor gave it to me. It was Emperor Hirohito of Japan. He gave it to me at a private celebration when Joe and I were on our honeymoon in Tokyo."

At this time, Li, who was always known for his sternness, said softly, "Dear, are you saying that the Emperor of Japan gave you this string of pearls?" "Yes." Li turned his head and stared at Monroe full of emotion. Emotionally said, "How wonderful, my dear."

"Monroe is more like his daughter than me."

After getting off the bus, Monroe went to see a psychiatrist. As is customary, she then returns to Lee, where she undergoes a series of "sensory and memory exercises" under his guidance in an effort to find her "true self" - her "true tragic power." "Do this exercise and you'll get a feel for it," Lee said. Monroe trusted Lee because the roles she'd played in the past had rarely been about her true self. But recalling those painful experiences is not easy. When Monroe was a child, a relative almost suffocated her to death with a pillow. Monroe once whispered to Susan that when Lee's questions got too deep, she would "make up some story."

Patricia said that Li’s greatest talent as a teacher is his ability to get students to perform at their highest level. Li can always clearly point out the potential of actors on the stage. In addition, because of Li's strict attitude, students will try their best to make the teacher happy with them. Lee paid great attention to Marilyn and not only encouraged her to play characters in Shakespeare's plays, but also invited her to have lunch with people in his small circle, including Jane Fonda, who was still very young at the time. Patricia said the teacher-student relationship between Lee and Monroe was close and engaging. It's clear that they both represent something to each other. Lee seemed to fill the role of the father figure that Monroe had been missing, because Lee was able to prove that Monroe's existence was meaningful, while on the other hand, Monroe became Lee's ticket to fame, wealth, and high society.

Lee's son Johnny said, "Lee is secretly very greedy for money and fame, but who isn't? That's the way it is in America." A director who has close ties with the Lee-Sternberg family Jack Garfan recalled that the Lee Sternsburg family later bought a house on Fire Island. At that time, Li often had a barbecue at home. Monroe and Susan lived in the same bedroom at the time. She often ran around the house barefoot and drank champagne. Susan and her brother Johnny felt that their father's attention was all on Monroe, and both siblings were ignored. Susan said that there was a feeling of competition between herself and Monroe, "Dad treated her more like his own daughter." Johnny said, "Our parents worked hard all day long for their dreams of success and fame...from a certain In this sense, the two of us were not raised, but grew up ourselves."

Gradually, Monroe became almost a fixed member of the Strasberg family. She often had dinner at home, and then would have secret conversations with Susan in her room, saying that she was unable to maintain friendships with others and was always fearful and suspicious of strangers. Susan still remembers Monroe once whispering, "I always felt like I was insignificant, and the only way to be famous was to pretend to be someone else - maybe that's why I got into acting."

Monroe's third marriage

Monroe trusted Lee very much in acting. Sometimes when he was too busy, his wife Paula would tutor Monroe. Later, Monroe developed the same dependence on Paula. For years, Monroe struggled to shake off her fear of film sets, and Paula repeatedly urged her to explore her "true self."

To do this, Monroe not only had to recall the abused orphan Norma Jean, but also associate herself with Hollywood's blond, blue-eyed, twirling sex symbol. "I felt like it was all happening to someone close to me," Monroe said. "I was very close to her, but it really wasn't me." During that time, Monroe was always late to the set. At the appointed time, she often takes a bath at home. Then Marilyn would always explain in a baby-like tone, "It wasn't Marilyn that was in the tub, it was Norma Jean. I was making Norma Jean happy. She used to be there with six or eight people." Bathing in water, now, she can bathe in water as clean and transparent as glass." For this reason, Paula had to excuse Monroe from time to time. Paula often expressed her fondness for Monroe's pearl necklace. On Christmas Eve 1957, Monroe packed the necklace in a brown paper bag and placed it on the doorstep of Lee Strasberg's house. She also wrote on a note, "To Paula - Marilyn." That Christmas, Monroe gave gifts to Lee, Susan, and Johnny.

Introduced by Lee Strasberg, Monroe met playwright Arthur Miller and married him in June 1956. Monroe told Susan that she hoped and prayed that this marriage would bring her security. Susan said that at first, Monroe often talked happily about how she learned to be Miller's wife, and how she learned to bake bread and make noodles. But one time when friends came to her house, they found the kitchen empty and the couple was in a bad mood.

Later, Monroe would go to Lee Strasberg's house whenever she had a fight with Miller. She also became increasingly dependent on sedatives such as barbiturates. Susan said Monroe always took her medication with champagne. Gradually, the drugs lost their ability to calm her nerves, and Monroe was often emotionally unstable. She always complained that Miller treated her like a child and always seemed like his follower. Miller stopped writing at that time and began to rely on Monroe to support himself.

Susan recalled in her biography that she went to the kitchen to pour milk in the middle of the night and found Monroe lying half-naked on the floor of the living room and crawling towards Lee's room. She had obviously just taken medication. Li staggered out and helped Monroe back to another room. The door was not closed, and Susan saw her father holding Monroe and singing a lullaby softly: Go to sleep, baby... there are angels in your dreams... This was the song that she had sung to Susan when she was a child. Susan becomes increasingly confused and resentful about Marilyn's relationship with her father. "Marilyn broke all the rules I had to follow. She didn't follow the rules, and my father wouldn't yell at her. He always defended her. With her, my father was soft-hearted, kind, and forgiving, but with me he was... "He was ruthless, critical and harsh."

Monroe's final days

After 1960, Monroe became increasingly depressed. She had an extramarital relationship with someone else just to make her husband jealous. But Miller did not take her infidelity seriously. Susan wrote in her biography, "He did not blame her, which troubled her very much." "Miller wanted her to appear in the film "The Misfits" he wrote. Marilyn didn't like the role more than anything else, but eventually she agreed and their marriage ended."

During the filming, the Lee-Sternsberg family visited Monroe together. This was also the last time they saw Monroe. At that time, Marilyn was late for every filming and relied heavily on medication. During the filming, Monroe spent several weeks in the hospital to overcome her dependence on drugs, and filming had to be suspended. After the film was completed, Monroe divorced Miller and returned to Hollywood to live a flashy life. She agreed to be photographed nude and often partied all night long with powerful men.

According to Susan, Monroe spent the night with President Kennedy in Palm Springs. Susan said, "Marilyn liked the secrecy and excitement of spending the night with the president, but Kennedy was not the person she wanted to spend her life with, and she made it clear." August 4, 1962 was the day Monroe passed away. The last day before. That day, she called many people. Marlon Brando, her ex-boyfriend who had received a call from Monroe, later said that Monroe had died of murder. Monroe also had a phone call that day with former producer Milton Green, whom she had not contacted for many years. She told Green that she suddenly became suspicious of the Lee Sternberg family, feeling that they were taking advantage of her, and said she wanted to change her will. . Monroe then had a phone call with his lawyer about the incident. But before the will could be revised, Monroe passed away.

When Paula died of cancer, she left the Monroe necklace to her daughter Susan.

However, like Monroe's other personal belongings, this string of beads, which had witnessed many joys and sorrows, could not escape the fate of falling into the hands of strangers. In early 1999, Susan, who was a famous actress when she was young, sold the necklace for US$100,000 in embarrassment. On January 27 of that year, just as the shop owner sent the check to Susan's home, Susan, who was suffering from cancer, passed away.