her motherâs talent and power in the film business until now. Once again she longed for a mother or father.
Marilyn caught the roving eye of Joseph M. Schenck, an executive producer who had cofounded Twentieth Century Pictures with Darryl Zanuck, then later merged with William Goetz of Fox. He had a powerful position on the lot, even though he had just served part of a prison term. Schenck had received a one-year sentence to the Federal Correction Institute for tax evasion and kickbacks to gangsters in the stagehandâs union. President Harry Truman had pardoned him, and he had gratefully returned to his former position at Fox.
Passing a gorgeous blonde on the lot, Schenck stopped his limousine dead in its tracks to hand Marilyn his card and invite her to dinner the following week. Something about the elderly man attracted her. Schenckâs formidable appearance and noticeable self-confidence ignited her interest.
Schenck had once started a studio on Forty-Eighth Street in Manhattan where he produced films for his wife, actress Norma Talmadge. Marilyn had always worshipped Norma, the actress she was named after.
The sixty-seven-year-old had a certain charm. For a man in his position, he was considerably down to earth. The starlet did not hesitate to tell him how she acquired her original name. He felt comfortable with her, too.
Their relationship expanded after their first dinner date. The aging Schenck was nearly impotent, so they practiced oral sex; Marilyn didnât mind. His home was lovely, the food was good, and he educated her about the movie business. They connected in their peculiar way.
Zanuck noticed the affair and began to despise Marilyn. He had âdiscoveredâ her beauty in the first place, and, as far as he was concerned, that gave him first claim to her favors. With Marilyn conspicuously involved with Schenck, Zanuck childishly took out his anger on her.
Marilyn equally despised Zanuck. Schenck had described to her in detail the scurrilous behavior of his partner. The hate between them would continue throughout her career at Twentieth as Zanuck annoyed her constantly with scripts she detested. He never forgave her for taking his impotent partner as a lover.
Monroe and Schenckâs association continued to flourish, but he could not open any career doors for her. Their second six months were uneventful, except that Marilyn was cast in her first speaking role, a small part in Dangerous Years. A âBâ picture about juvenile delinquency, the film was intended to revive the career of the formerly famous Dead End Kid Billy Halop. Released on December 8, 1947, Dangerous Years was virtually ignored by the press and flopped. The actress played a waitress attending tables for teenagers who caroused in the diner. Immediately after final shooting wrapped on August 25,1947, she was officially dropped from her contract. But it did give Marilyn Monroe her first speaking role.
Resorting to living on unemployment compensation, she was running out of money. Her income was a mere three dollars a day, compared to the $75 weekly salary sheâd received under contract. Monroe called Emmeline Snively for modeling jobs, but the requests for her type were not as frequent as they had been. Marilyn took whatever jobs came her way.
During her contract with Twentieth, Marilyn had developed a relationship with another buxom blond beauty, Shelley Winters. They shared lunches and gossip. They tattled about the behavior of their bosses. They commiserated about their plight. Shelley remembers Marilyn as a girl who wore skin-tight halter tops and carried books like encyclopedias and dictionaries. After Marilynâs dismissal Shelley convinced her to get involved with theater groups. Charles Laughton had a group in his home, but Marilyn was terrified by his superiority as an actor. Another possibility was the Actors Lab, headed by Morris Carnovsky, an alleged communist who in 1952 was cited by the House
Marilyn caught the roving eye of Joseph M. Schenck, an executive producer who had cofounded Twentieth Century Pictures with Darryl Zanuck, then later merged with William Goetz of Fox. He had a powerful position on the lot, even though he had just served part of a prison term. Schenck had received a one-year sentence to the Federal Correction Institute for tax evasion and kickbacks to gangsters in the stagehandâs union. President Harry Truman had pardoned him, and he had gratefully returned to his former position at Fox.
Passing a gorgeous blonde on the lot, Schenck stopped his limousine dead in its tracks to hand Marilyn his card and invite her to dinner the following week. Something about the elderly man attracted her. Schenckâs formidable appearance and noticeable self-confidence ignited her interest.
Schenck had once started a studio on Forty-Eighth Street in Manhattan where he produced films for his wife, actress Norma Talmadge. Marilyn had always worshipped Norma, the actress she was named after.
The sixty-seven-year-old had a certain charm. For a man in his position, he was considerably down to earth. The starlet did not hesitate to tell him how she acquired her original name. He felt comfortable with her, too.
Their relationship expanded after their first dinner date. The aging Schenck was nearly impotent, so they practiced oral sex; Marilyn didnât mind. His home was lovely, the food was good, and he educated her about the movie business. They connected in their peculiar way.
Zanuck noticed the affair and began to despise Marilyn. He had âdiscoveredâ her beauty in the first place, and, as far as he was concerned, that gave him first claim to her favors. With Marilyn conspicuously involved with Schenck, Zanuck childishly took out his anger on her.
Marilyn equally despised Zanuck. Schenck had described to her in detail the scurrilous behavior of his partner. The hate between them would continue throughout her career at Twentieth as Zanuck annoyed her constantly with scripts she detested. He never forgave her for taking his impotent partner as a lover.
Monroe and Schenckâs association continued to flourish, but he could not open any career doors for her. Their second six months were uneventful, except that Marilyn was cast in her first speaking role, a small part in Dangerous Years. A âBâ picture about juvenile delinquency, the film was intended to revive the career of the formerly famous Dead End Kid Billy Halop. Released on December 8, 1947, Dangerous Years was virtually ignored by the press and flopped. The actress played a waitress attending tables for teenagers who caroused in the diner. Immediately after final shooting wrapped on August 25,1947, she was officially dropped from her contract. But it did give Marilyn Monroe her first speaking role.
Resorting to living on unemployment compensation, she was running out of money. Her income was a mere three dollars a day, compared to the $75 weekly salary sheâd received under contract. Monroe called Emmeline Snively for modeling jobs, but the requests for her type were not as frequent as they had been. Marilyn took whatever jobs came her way.
During her contract with Twentieth, Marilyn had developed a relationship with another buxom blond beauty, Shelley Winters. They shared lunches and gossip. They tattled about the behavior of their bosses. They commiserated about their plight. Shelley remembers Marilyn as a girl who wore skin-tight halter tops and carried books like encyclopedias and dictionaries. After Marilynâs dismissal Shelley convinced her to get involved with theater groups. Charles Laughton had a group in his home, but Marilyn was terrified by his superiority as an actor. Another possibility was the Actors Lab, headed by Morris Carnovsky, an alleged communist who in 1952 was cited by the House
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