RE/MAX Advanced is proud to be Presenting Sponsor during the Marilyn: Celebrating an American Icon exhibit at The Fort Collins Museum of Art November 1st-December 27th!
The story behind Marilyn Monroe
She was born Norma Jean but the world knows her as Marilyn. The iconic blonde lived a life that is still celebrated and analyzed more than 50 years after her death.
60 years ago on September 15th, 1954, Marilyn Monroe stood on a subway grate in New York City wearing a little white dress and fought an upward breeze. The scene from the Seven Year Itch went on to become one of the most iconic moments in movie history. But a lot more went into the scene than what’s portrayed in director Billy Wilder’s film. And its consequences rippled far beyond making young moviegoers blush.
The scene allegedly played a role in Monroe’s divorce from Joe DiMaggio. Despite the roar of approval from fans, DiMaggio was less than pleased with what he felt was an “exhibitionist” scene. Photographer George S. Zimbel recalled everything going deathly quiet as Monroe’s disapproving husband stormed across the set and very publicly left the scene. After returning to California, Monroe filed for divorce from the baseball player on grounds of “mental cruelty” following a violent fight at their hotel after the shoot.
Filming took place at 1 a.m. while thousands of fans looked on. An hour after midnight on the corner of New York’s Lexington Ave and 52nd Street, Monroe stood atop a subway grate and created movie magic-14 times. Taking around three hours to film, the scene took 14 takes to get right, while 100 male photographers and between 2,000 and 5,000 spectators (who all loudly reacted whenever her skirt blew up) looked on.
So much for it being just a “silly little” dress.
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