Milton's Marilyn: The Photographs of Milton H. Greene - Hardcover

Kotsilibas-Davis, James

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 096468733X ISBN 13: 9780964687332

Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Pr, 1995

Synopsis

In the mosaic that forms the seemingly immortal image of Marilyn Monroe this is probably the last, and certainly the finest, previously unpublished piece: the photographs of Milton H. Greene, from 1953 to 1957 Marilyn's photographer, artistic adviser, and business partner. In a series of skillful maneuvers Greene freed Marilyn from the shackles of her slave contract with Twentieth Century-Fox and formed their independent production company - Marilyn Monroe Productions, Inc. Thanks to this coup, she was at last able to command commensurate fees, choose her own vehicles, and triumph in Bus Stop and The Prince and the Showgirl, giving under Milton's tutelage her finest performances.
The singular relationship between the celebrated photographer and the box-office blonde, illuminated for the first time by James Kotsilibas-Davis's original text, was intense and extremely fruitful. At times Marilyn even lived with Milton's family, finding the secure professional and personal base that she so desperately needed for her work and her emotional well-being.
Their collaboration broke up in 1957, when Marilyn's third husband, playwright Arthur Miller, became involved in his wife's business affairs. Embittered, Milton Greene withdrew from MMP and refused to allow anyone to examine or publish the bulk of his Marilyn photos before his death in 1985. Disputes over his estate considerably delayed publication of this treasure trove of Marilyn images.
This volume contains a rich selection of Milton H. Greene's photographs, most of which have never been published before. They present Marilyn Monroe at the zenith of her physical beauty - she never looked so erotic, elegant, or vulnerable, as she did to Milton's unerring "eye."

About this title

Review:

Richard Avedon called Milton Greene "the greatest photographer of women," and this touching, insightful book proves Marilyn Monroe was his greatest creation. Milton's Marilyn appears as enchanting gypsy, saloon girl, barely clad ballerina, innocent high school yearbook heartthrob, and screen siren in incendiary scarlet dress. He also captures privileged glimpses of her private life: clowning with her boyfriend Brando, backstage on various films, frolicsome in a swimming pool. In some shots, she wears no makeup--and looks startlingly different. In others, she's apparently tipsy; she used to travel with Greene under the fake name Zelda Zonk, and her charm on camera is often a zonked one.

Greene was also Monroe's business partner and mentor until he outlived his usefulness, and this book adds interesting news to Barbara Leaming's intelligent bio Marilyn Monroe. Monroe was savvy but uneducated (she urged a costar to "ab lib"). Joe DiMaggio was her greatest sex partner ever, but--according to one source here--she was bruised after her Some Like It Hot panty-flashing photo shoot enraged him. Rock Hudson spurned the costar role in Bus Stop because producer Greene once rebuffed Rock's sexual proposition. Monroe's intimates cast interesting new lights on her, proving she wasn't the dim, helpless waif she played, nor simply victimized by fame. Being besieged on the street pleased her, says one pal: "She liked to have the power to part the Red Sea." --Tim Appelo

About this edition

• Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Pr
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 096468733X
• ISBN 13: 9780964687332
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 220