Greetings Celebrators of Vintage Sensuality;
WELCOME TO THE MARILYN MONROE ISSUE!
This is a big one for The Old Hollywood Newsletter! It’s the 100th issue.
It’s also the year Marilyn Monroe would have turned 100 years old.
August is the month she died in and it’s just 2 months shy of her birthday on June 1st.
There are lots of reasons to celebrate this end of summer issue.
It was May of 2018 when the very first monthly newsletter was sent out.
Marilyn Monroe was on the cover of my first newsletter and now, on the cover of the 100th issue, here she is again.
Marilyn embodies so much of what I think is important to remember and embrace.
Femininity. Vulnerability. Humanity…
And underneath it all, Marilyn had an ambition and a constant curiosity.
She was driven to improve her craft, to be more creative, to be more true to her own instincts.
This became evident when I began studying her filmography for this 100th issue and curating information for the Marilyn Monroe Collectors Notebook for fans (old and new).
Digging into her life in a chronological way helped me to understand her better. It gave context to parts of her life that even documentaries and well researched biographies sometimes miss.
In this issue I’ve tried to pass on some of that context so you can appreciate Marilyn Monroe a little bit more.
She certainly deserves our respect and our admiration.
She was in fact, much more than a blonde bombshell – which frankly, is much more than it seems. Just like Marilyn.
Thank you for visiting the Old Hollywood Newsletter.
08/2026
Stay Sensual,
Dyann Bridges, writer, publisher and voice actor
In The Beginning
Born Norma Jeane Mortenson (later baptized Norma Jeane Baker) on June 1, 1926, in Los Angeles, California.
Norma Jeane who later became Marilyn Monroe the world came to know, had a nearly rootless childhood.
Marilyn said of herself as a little girl, “I wasn’t an orphan, I was a waif.”
Marilyn Monroe’s father was never part of her life, and her mother, Gladys Baker, struggled with financial hardship and severe mental illness, leaving her unable to provide a stable home.
As a result, little Norma Jeane spent much of her childhood moving between foster homes, family friends, and the Los Angeles Orphans Home.
The uncertainty and loneliness of those early years shaped her. Whatever has been said of Marilyn she was anything but weak.
Vulnerable yes, but that makes her all the stronger for making a huge success of her career in a business that chews people up and spits them out daily.
In fact, few Hollywood legends experienced such a difficult beginning.
This makes Marilyn’s rise to stardom and Hollywood legend even more remarkable.
Top Movies
SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)
Some Like It Hot is generally considered Marilyn’s greatest film.
It’s consistently ranked among the greatest comedies ever made and earned her a Golden Globe. It’s probably the film modern audiences know best.
One of the saddest facts about the production is that Marilyn became pregnant while filming. The father was, her husband at the time, Arthur Miller.
She later suffered another miscarriage.
Check out the P.O.D. Shop
GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is the movie that cemented Marilyn’s image as the glamorous blonde bombshell.
“Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” remains one of the most iconic musical numbers in film history.
Interesting Side Note…
While filming Niagara, Marilyn Monroe learned she had been cast as Lorelei Lee in
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The news arrived on June 1, 1952—her 26th birthday.
HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE (1953)
How to Marry a Millionaire was a huge box-office success that paired Marilyn with Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall.
It show cased her comedic ability and further established her as one of Hollywood’s biggest new stars.
Lauren Bacall admitted she was surprised by Marilyn.
Instead of finding an attention-seeking starlet, she found someone funny, intelligent, and eager to fit in.
Bacall also noticed that Marilyn constantly underestimated herself. She needed reassurance before scenes, even though everyone else could see she was wonderful.
*An Interesting Tidbit *
I didn’t know this until I researched Marilyn’s filmography. Her last film – Something’s Got To Give – which she did not complete – was rewritten and remade as Move Over Darling.
It starred James Garner & Doris Day <– who was featured for July/2026! Check it out –> MOVE OVER DARLING (1963)
THE COLLECTORS NOTEBOOK
MARILYN MONROE
This is an interactive digital notebook which combines facts, her complete filmography, behind-the-scenes stories and note pages.
Whether you’re a new fan or have loved her for years, this notebook gives you a place to record your thoughts, ratings and favorite moments as you explore Marilyn’s remarkable career.
Check it out here…
Marilyn’s Romances
Marilyn Monroe was married three times in her life. Once as Norma Jeane and twice as Marilyn. She was a single divorcee when she passed away.
First Marriage: Jim Dougherty
At just 16 years old, Norma Jeane Baker married Jim Dougherty on June 19, 1942, in Los Angeles.
The marriage was born more out of circumstance than romance.
With her foster family preparing to move east and few alternatives available, marriage allowed her to avoid returning to an orphanage or the foster care system.
Dougherty, a merchant seaman five years her senior, provided the stability she had rarely known during her turbulent childhood.
Although their marriage lasted only four years, it marked the end of Norma Jeane’s difficult early years and the beginning of the remarkable journey that would eventually transform her into Marilyn Monroe.
In later years, Dougherty always spoke with kindness towards her and said that she was very sweet.
This is a recurring theme from those who knew and worked with Marilyn. She was known as being a very sweet person.
Jim and Norma Jeane below.
Second Marriage: Joe DiMaggio
By the time Marilyn Monroe married baseball legend Joe DiMaggio on January 14, 1954, she had become one of the most recognizable women in the world.
Their union was hailed as the marriage of two American icons, attracting enormous media attention.
Behind the glamour, however, the relationship was strained by the pressures of fame and DiMaggio’s discomfort with Marilyn’s growing celebrity.
The marriage lasted just 274 days, ending in divorce later that year, but the two remained deeply connected.
DiMaggio continued to care for Marilyn throughout her life and, after her death.
He famously had fresh roses placed at her crypt every week for nearly two decades.
Joe and Marilyn below.
Third Marriage: Arthur Miller
Marilyn Monroe married acclaimed playwright Arthur Miller on June 29, 1956, in a union that surprised many and fascinated the public.
Hollywood’s biggest movie star and one of America’s most respected intellectuals seemed an unlikely match, yet their relationship was built on genuine affection and mutual admiration.
During their five-year marriage, Marilyn sought to grow as a serious actress while Miller encouraged her artistic ambitions.
He even wrote at least two screenplays with her in mind; Let’s Make Love and The Misfits.
Despite moments of happiness, the pressures of fame, demanding careers, and personal struggles gradually took their toll.
During the filming of Let’s Make Love, Yves Montand, the French (and married) actor starring opposite Marilyn, began a torrid and very public affair.
Neither Marilyn nor Arthur Miller publicly discussed the affair at the time, but it put enormous strain on both marriages.
The marriage ended in divorce in 1961, marking the close of the final chapter in Marilyn’s married life.
Arthur and Marilyn below.
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