Category Archives: Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn’s Last Sessions: A Novel

30 Wednesday Nov 2011

Posted by in Books, Fiction, Marilyn Monroe

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Marilyn Monroe’s final two years, as a patient of the psychiatrist, Dr Ralph Greenson – who saw her daily in the month before she died – have long been the subject of intense speculation. One of Greenson’s students, Lucy Freeman, published a study of their relationship, Why Norma Jean Killed Marilyn Monroe, while Luciano Mecacci’s Freudian Slips: The Casualties of Psychoanalysis begins with an essay on the subject.

Unfortunately, most commentators seem too mesmerised by Marilyn’s legend to assess her psyche fairly. Perhaps the most accurate analysis of the Greenson-Monroe dynamic can be found in Lisa Appignanesi’s 2008 book, Mad, Bad and Sad: A History of Women and the Mind Doctors.

Michel Schneider’s novel about Monroe and her analyst – Marilyn’s Last Sessions – comes recommended by Appignanesi herself, and also Andrew O’Hagan, author of 2010’s light, witty The Life and Thoughts of Maf the Dog and of His Friend Marilyn Monroe.  Continue reading →

Finishing the Picture

23 Sunday Oct 2011

Posted by in Books, Film, Marilyn Monroe, Theatre

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Finishing the Picture: Miller, Monroe and The Misfits

Finishing the Picture, Arthur Miller’s last play, opened in Chicago in October 2004, a few months before his death. It was inspired by Miller’s own memories of The Misfits, the movie he wrote for his then-wife, Marilyn Monroe. The play is based on actual events that took place during the shoot: the fire that halted filming in Reno, causing power to be cut throughout the city – except for in Miller’s hotel suite, where he stayed up all night rewriting scenes from his script. Miller revisits that evening to explain why another ten days passed before work resumed. Continue reading →

Marilyn’s Photographers: Anthony Beauchamp

10 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by in Art and Photography, Marilyn Monroe

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This article is also published at Immortal Marilyn

Full gallery here

Focus on Marilyn: Anthony Beauchamp 

Tony and Vivienne

Anthony Beauchamp Entwistle was born in England towards the end of World War I, in 1917 or 1918.  His father was Ernest George Entwistle, who established an art school at St Pancras, London, with the illustrator, J.H, Valda, from 1895-1912. Anthony’s mother, Florence Vivienne Mellish – better known as ‘Vivienne of London’ – married Entwistle in 1913, and they had one other son, Clive, who became an architect, and also designed a rocket used as a secret weapon during World War II. ‘Tony was always very brilliant as a little boy,’ Vivienne told Australian Women’s Weekly in 1971. ‘He left grammar school when he was just under 15 with an “excellent” in every subject.’ Continue reading →