Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover

Everyone wants to be heard.  Even if you say you don't have an opinion on something, deep down you want to be listened to and have your thoughts valued.  This natural need is many times ignored by yourself and those around you.  While many end up in this position by who they choose to surround themselves with, many are simply ignored because they have a stereotype placed on them.

Marilyn Monroe is just one example of a stereotype that was ignored simply because she was a beautiful blonde model/actress.  People took it upon themselves to assume she had no brains.  While this was said about her, behind her back as well as to her face, deep down I believe she knew she was more than people gave her credit for.  However, after being torn apart and put down for so long, she started to believe the lies that were said about her.

This has happened to countless people throughout the world, myself included.  It is not always the same lie, but it makes us feel the same way. . .not good enough.  Not good enough for anyone, not even ourselves.  These lies come from every direction: friends, family, acquaintances, TV, internet, magazines, advertisements, YOURSELF, etc.   We are constantly taking in lies about ourselves and making up lies about others, even if we don't realize it while it is happening.  It has become a constant in society to always be changing ourselves and how people view us, you are never good enough just being who you are.

The problems Marilyn ran into in her short life, are the same ones that are still majorly effecting so many in our society today.  She lived a life were she was constantly having to please people in order to keep going.  One thing that Marilyn was never able to do before she left this world, was let everyone truly hear her voice.  After her death I believe many saw how truly sad of a life she lived, but it was too late to help her.  The thought of defining someone through societies eyes, is something we should all be aware of.  Many will end up living their lives stifling their voices, thoughts, opinions, and who they really are because of these pressures.  Don't let stereotypes define people, don't judge a book by its cover.  The lies will always be there, but we have to choose to see them as such and ignore them!

Backstage Pass

Today had a stressful start. . .I am the stage manager for a new children's theater company in the Portland area (CYT) and we are in the midst of our first opening weekend!  The first thing I woke up to today was "we don't have the mics anymore".  This began a huge run around trying to find mics for the leads and making sure we can have them by 1pm.  The kids have worked so hard for the last 8 weeks in order to open, You're A Good Man Charlie Brown, last night.  They had a wonderful performance and are determine to do it again today, with or without the mics they need.

I decided this week to take a break from following Marilyn's story and talk a little bit about my live theater experience.  I myself have only been involved in one theater production, Footloose, a couple years ago.  While I didn't exactly know what I was getting myself into when I agreed to be stage manager, I have been pleasantly surprised.  The excitement you have right before the show starts, and the nerves that are running through all the performers is such a fun, exciting, experience.

Last night as we were about to start our opening show, I just looked around at all of the kids I have seen working so hard to get to the spots they are at.  The leads have grown so much in their characters from the very first rehearsal to opening night.  It was so cool to see the way the cast performed the best they ever had with a full, live, audience.

This week I was able to explore the spotlight in an aspect I hadn't thought about before, from backstage.  From my table were I call, lights, places, show time!  When I watch the kids step out into the spotlight I can see them transform into their characters and become a whole new person while they are acting.  Being backstage you get to see all the ins and outs of a performance, it's exciting and stressful, but most of all it gives you an appreciation for the theater that will never go away!

The Last Rose

Dean Martin, Fred Karger, Howard Hughes, Johhny Hyde, John Carroll, Johnny Roselli, Jorge Guinle, Joseph M. Schenck, Mickey Rooney, Oleg Cassini, Pat DiCicco, Robert Mitchum, Sammy Davis, Jr., Tony Curtis, James Dougherty (married) 1942 - 1946, Orson Welles, Albert Einstein, Milton Berle, Howard Keel, George Sanders, Elia Kazan, Joe DiMaggio (married) 1954, Mel Torme, Marlon Brando, Elvis Presley, Arthur Miller (married) 1956 - 1961, Yul Brynner, Yves Montand, Frank Sinatra, John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy. . . 

These are the names of the 31 flames in Marilyn's life.  She went through men constantly, always trying to find the one thing she craved. . . love, comfort, safety!  The problem was that she was not able to figure out how to have all these things.  While Marilyn was always trying to appear happy to everyone around her, she was still always searching for something to fill the void created in her life caused by her childhood.  

While Marilyn continued her search for love after she divorced her second husband, Joe DiMaggio, she was still not able to find it.  Joe was really the only person who had continued to be a constant in her life.  He was there for her when she was put into a mental institution and he claimed her as his wife to get her out.  Before her death they had made plans to remarry on August 8, 1962, which ended up becoming her funeral date.  

A broken hearted Joe made funeral arrangements for the love of his life, making sure everything was perfect.  Joe went through everything in the house where she died and came upon this unfinished note:

"Dear Joe,

If I can only succeed in making you happy, I will have succeeded in the biggest and most difficult thing there is – that is, to make one person completely happy. Your happiness means my happiness, and..."

Joe lived 47 more years without Marilyn and preceded to fulfill his promise to her, to leave roses on her grave every week.  While Marilyn never got the fairytale ending she deserved, she left behind a romantic tragedy that people still find fascinating today.  

Marilyn Monroe was a once-in-a-lifetime masterpiece, the last and only rose of her kind.

Candle In The Wind

When Marilyn was found dead at the age of 36, it was a shock for America.  The model/movie star that had been such a huge icon in the spotlight for all to see, was no longer living.  However, that did not mean that her legend did not live for years to come.  

Today, Marilyn's life is still talked about with great reverence to who she was and the impact she had on society.  She impacted fashion, movies, the modeling industry, and individuals.  She empowered women to be okay with the natural curves of their bodies.  The tragedy that struck America when Marilyn died was not only the loss of a person who gave herself and changed society, but also the chance to help Marilyn see just how valuable a person she was.

Although there is controversy about the way Marilyn died, it is believed it was a suicide.  When you look at the facts of this women's life it is not hard to believe that is what happened.  She poured her whole self  into society and it took over her being.  No longer was she sweet, innocent, Norma Jeane, she was the sex goddess, movie star, she was Marilyn Monroe.  When you look at the life this lady lived, it seemed full, but it was so empty.  She had no one "on her side".  She ended her life, in my opinion, because she had no one and nothing left to live for.  She had made her way to being famous and it did nothing more than cause her pain.    

Elton John said it perfectly in his song dedicated to Marilyn Monroe, Candle In The Wind.  He saw her as being more than something sexual, he saw her as a women who was hurt and scared and never had anyone she could truly cling to.  

"I knew I belonged to the public and to 

the world, not because I was talented or 

even beautiful, but because I had 

never belonged to anything or anyone 

else."   -Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn, Before The Spotlight

Growing up she was known as Norma Jeane Mortenson.  She was born into a troubled home full of chaos and confusion.  For myself, growing up in a well balanced home, I can't even imagine the pain this little girl must have endured. 

Her mother, Gladys Baker, was mentally as well as financially unstable making her unable to care for her daughter.  This caused young Norma Jeane to be transferred from foster home, back to her mother, to another foster home, to an orphanage, and to multiple more foster homes throughout her childhood. 

One day when Marilyn was still with her first foster family, her mother, Gladys, decided to take Marilyn back.  When Grace McKee, the foster mother, wouldn't let her, Gladys took matters into her own hands.  She persuaded Grace to come into the yard then outran her back to the house and locked herself indoors.  She then preceded to stuff 2-year old Marilyn into a duffel bag and walked out of the house with her.  A horrified Grace ran to save the little girl and found her almost suffocating inside the bag.  The courts then relinquished all rights from Gladys and Marilyn continued switching residences for 13 years.  

During these years she suffered from physical and sexual abuse on multiple accounts.  Finally, so as not to be sent to another foster home or orphanage, she married young, at the age of 15, to a friend of her last foster family.  His name was James Dougherty and he was 5 years older than her.  As anyone can see this is a terrible environment for a child to be raised in, with never any stability or love.  

Despite all the hardships little Marilyn endured she continued to follow her dreams of "making it big" and she did, in Hollywood.  Although she fulfilled the dream of becoming a star she never got what anyone truly desires. . .love.  In her life Marilyn looked for love from many sources: foster families, the men she married, producers, fans etc.  She lived her life based on appearance and how the world viewed her.  It was what kept her going.  Marilyn was never able to find this love she so desperately wanted because no one ever taught her how to love herself.  

"I was never used to being happy, so 

that wasn't something I ever took for 

granted. You see, I was brought up 

differently from the average American 

child because the average child is 

brought up expecting to be happy." -- 

MARILYN MONROE, 1954

Exploring The Spotlight

Hi, my name is Angelina VanWetten and I started this blog to investigate a topic that interests, excites, scares, or amuses me.  I found the topic of actors and actresses "stuck in the spotlight" so to speak, do all those things for me.  I will be investigating the lives of actresses, Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland, as well as actor, Gene Kelly.  I chose these people because each one is different yet have similarities in their: careers, childhoods, and personal lives.  Each of these American icons have influenced society during their times and long after, people are still affected by who these people where and what they stood for.

When people think Marilyn Monroe they usually think: gorgeous, sexy, troubled, beautiful disaster. . .

Words, are they what define us?  To Marilyn it was all about what people thought of her, the words they used to describe her.  Although she was a very sad and troubled person, she had to appear perfect to others, for her own sake.  She was scared that if she showed even the smallest bit of hurt and pain that was caused be her childhood situations people would not like her.  She needed the approval from men so she allowed herself to be made into a sex symbol and get attention for her body and appeal.  She let the words be her definition instead of defining herself.  Marilyn became excellent at masking her sadness.  Despite all the sadness we see from how her life really was, we also see the greatness of this woman and how to chased her dreams and created dreams for many more to follow! “Marilyn played the best game with the worst hand of anybody I know.” ~Edward Wagenknecht, author

In this blog we will spend time on each of these three stars and see how they were defined by themselves and by society.

When looking at Judy Garland, we see a girl who was raised in show business.  She started her career at the age of two by signing in her father's movie house and theater.  She was cast in her first major role when playing Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.  When looking at her life we see that the pressure created by not only her family, but also by the public driving her to become an alcoholic as well as a drug addict.  We will be looking more in-depth at how Garland came to this state as well as how she influenced the movie and music industry, she was described by Fred Astaire as "being the greatest entertainer that ever lived".



The last person we will be looking at in this blog is Gene Kelly.

Starting from nothing Gene Kelly, worked his way into the spotlight with hard work and determination.  He became one of the most well known choreographers, producers, actors, singers, and dancers.  He had it all.  Thanks to Gene Kelly, there was a revolution throughout Hollywood, the dancing style in musicals changed and because of him dancing became a very popular activity!  Gene Kelly not only was very educated in dance, voice, and acting, he also had a degree in economics.  While his mother supported his theatrical passion, she was determined for him to get an education as well and consistently encouraged him to continue throughout his schooling years.  


Each one of these great talents had so much to offer and with a little research we will see how the spotlight effected each of their lives.