Charles Casillo

A thorough and sympathetic look at the life of a troubled icon. It covers her assumed mental illness in enough detail for me to sympathize with her challenges and touches on the mystery of her appeal and attitudes about how men and others viewed her, took advantage of her. The failure of the medical professionals she associated with and the cavalier attitudes about the medications she was addicted to were well covered. Now I have to rewatch "Some Like It Hot" with my more nuanced opinions of show more her. show less

What a very good book this is! I finished it at 2 a.m. last night. I've read other books about Marilyn Monroe, but this author seemed to understand her quite well. Highly intelligent, highly vulnerable, incredibly hyper sensitive, it took tremendous will power to continue to try to function in Hollywood during the time of her life.

As she aged, she grew very paranoid that she would lose the only thing she felt she had going for her -- her body/her looks/her chemistry. When the magical number show more of 36 occurred, she spun out of control. Drinking champagne to excess, while popping lots and lots of pills rendered her sloppy and disheveled. Her relationship with Frank Sinatra in particular could have worked, but he couldn't handle her addictions and her sloppy, foul behaviour as as the night went on.

Many said she walked into a room and time stood still. Her beauty created a glow around her, and it was difficult for both men and women to look away.

While her friend Pat Newcombe knew her perhaps more than any other. She too betrayed Marilyn with a simultaneous relationship with Bobby Kennedy when Marilyn was also his token. As time went on three marriages failed, mis carrying babies made her feel useless. Her second marriage to Joe DiMaggio, the famous baseball player, was solid in the beginning. But his jealousy and need to dominate at the expense of pursuing her career led to the downfall. Still, throughout her life, it was Joe who was there for her.

Tragically, she allowed both John Kennedy, President at the time, and his brother Bobby, to use her, and spit her out.

Her famous Happy Birthday Mr. President sung in a breathless, sex filled, manner while she wore a skin tight dress that made her appear naked on stage, was the downfall of the relationships of the Kennedy brothers. She became a loose cannon, and the press would only remain at bay for so long. Fearing her fragile personality and need to cling to them was part of her downfall when she was rejected.

So much that is written is already known, but it is the way in which the book is written that made me continue reading her story.

She tried to commit suicide often throughout her life. Each time, except the last one, someone rescued her. And, she could have been rescued by those close to her who did not take the extra time to heed her slurred speech on that tragic night. If only, someone would have visited her to make sure she was ok...but, this did not occur. Taking 24 nebutal pills from a prescription of 25 was most likely what killed her.

Her enigma survives. In history, she is the stunning blonde who sang diamonds are a girl's best friend, who stook on a subway grate as her dress flew up around her. Her coy, beautiful smile, her body barely covered in sheer material, and her extreme vulnerability were traits that she leaves as her legacy will remain for a long, long time. show less

There are many books about Marilyn Monroe. I asked around and this one was always listed as one of the best. Glad I listened, because I was not disappointed. Mr. Casillo has written a very engaging book and he seems to understand Marilyn Monroe as a person very well. This book shows how childhood trauma will always remain with a person to at least some extent.

This book looks at Marilyn Monroe's life, her successes and failures. It shows the struggles women had in Hollywood; the struggles of show more dealing with mental health issues before they were understood and treated appropriately. It shows Marilyn Monroe in many aspects and turns an icon into a very real person. Well done! show less

Liked the way the book was organized with going back and forth with one chapter about Clift, the next about Taylor, then back to Clift, and so on. Essentially until Taylor met Clift, she did not realize "how" to really be an actor and put yourself into a part. There is a major error overall on page 271 where the author states Joseph Cotten was the opposing attorney to Maximilian Schell in the 1961 film Judgment at Nuremberg - it was Richard Widmark. Having read so much about Taylor due to show more the number of books about her, it was refreshing to read about Clift. show less