Last Christmas, my uncle, a fellow stuttering individual, thoughtfully gifted me a copy of the book Famous Stutterers by Gerald R. McDermott. To be frank, at that moment I had only heard of a handful of celebrities who dealt with speech impediments. (Enter Emily Blunt and James Earl Jones.) One might say my breadth of knowledge when it came to the “Stutter Hall of Fame” was pretty narrow.
So I was pleased when I saw McDermott had laid out chapters on several other notable folks who stuttered/stutter. Some not at all historically (Churchill) or philosophically (Aristotle) important whatsoever, but there were still a few diamonds amongst the obscure rough. One name in particular immediately sparked my interest. Right upon first glance, my eyes auto-piloted my hands straight to the middlemost chapter. Disregarding sections dedicated to stammering Prime Ministers and disfluent Polymaths in curious favor of a section on the one and only…
*Weakest Drum-roll Ever*
Yeah, that’s right! Act shocked! Pretend like her name isn’t in the title!
The more I’ve discovered about the highly renowned Marilyn Monroe (1929-1962), the more ashamed I feel for past generalizations I’ve made about her person. I’d be willing to bet some of you have been culprits of this too. She’s one of the only “Golden Age” actresses that still has through the roof commercial and sentimental value on a global scale.
Her glimmering, larger than life legend will likely (and rightfully so) outlive many of us. Marilyn Monroe was a generational talent still recognized by all generations that have succeeded her.
But how much do we really know about her background?
Does our knowledge of Marilyn extend beyond her illustrious career in Hollywood? Past her vivid sensuality and displays of magnetic, on-screen charm? Too many times she is associated solely with dated phrases such as “classic beauty” or “memorable face”. And I’m sorry if your favorite grandfather uttered those from time to time, but such cliched stereotypes are oftentimes grouped with the equally exhausting, “trope-y” title of “Femme Fatale”.
Luckily, we can always switch perspective and take a step back, or should I say forward, into the little known and shrouded chapters of Marilyn’s story. If we peel the seal further back on her life, we’ll be able to gain a sense of just how riveting, complex, and often-times tragic it truly was.
Oh, and she also totally freaking stuttered too. In case you had forgotten. But please, don’t do that.
A ROUGH UPBRINGING
Marilyn was unfortunately subject to an extraordinarily difficult childhood.
The identity of her father was never made clear, and her mother Gladys Baker dealt with perpetual bouts of mental distress. As a result, she could not afford to properly raise Marilyn, whose given name at the time was Norma Jean. She was shipped off to foster care very shortly after her birth. This was only the beginning of constant re-adjustments for the girl, who ultimately bounced around several sets of guardians, as well as a stint at an orphanage.
Gladys made it a habit to drift in and out of her daughter’s company, between multiple stays at the psych ward. And stability made it a habit to always keep its distance from then Norma Jean / later Marilyn.
Her relationship with Gladys never reached a level of semi- normalcy, although she still sent her mother money towards the end of her life. It’s worth noting this, for no reason other than it shows a high level of maturity on her part.
Marilyn’s lack of a father-figure is a possible explanation for several on and off again (and ultimately failed) marriages she entered into with older men, such as former Yankee Joe DiMaggio, and playwright Arthur Miller. Often times, she entered relationships with men she believed could provide her with a strong level of comfort and protection. Not because she felt any sort of an emotional tether to them. Marilyn went through these relationships feeling judged and at times, belittled by her famous partners. They were more contracts of companionship than they were meaningful and equal bonds.
Still, there was always a noticeable layer of codependency to her. Always a craving for somebody to fall back on. Even at the mere age of sixteen( to avoid being sent to an orphanage), she took up her first husband in a young man named Jim Dougherty. It wasn’t a long-lived union, but he treated her fairly and with consideration. More than can be said for the Millers and DiMaggios out there.
I guess, go Jim Dougherty…??
Whichever lackluster husband we choose to point out, it was always clear that Marilyn felt void of dependable adult figures in her life.
STUTTERING ROOTS
There never seemed to be a viable fit for young Norma Jean. And as a result, she dealt with recurring feelings of abandonment. They began at a young age and had a steady presence throughout her life. Lasting into her Marilyn days and culminating in her untimely passing.
All of this trauma began to manifest in the form of a nagging stutter.
One of the earliest known instances of her speech troubles took place while residing with Gladys, who was running a boarding home at the time. One of the boarders, a man named “Mr. Kinell”, took it upon himself to accost and molest a then eight-year-old Norma Jean.
Stilted by the horrific situation, the distraught girl was barely able to splutter…
” I want to tell you something, about Mr. Kinell, He…he……”
…before her mother cracked her hard in the face, vehemently defending the man who she described as her “star boarder”. The same man who had just assaulted her daughter. The same daughter, she failed to be emotionally or physically available for.
For Norma Jean, this was the start of a continuous struggle to find a sense of ease in her voice, and get a grip on some kind of identity for herself. Most of her early years were too full of change and distrust to allow her to become comfortable in her own skin. And while we know that Norma Jean would eventually ground herself on the way to becoming a worldwide star, these tentative feelings would stick as a measured part of her.
M – M – M GIRL
“First time was at the orphanage, and then later at the orphanage I stuttered. And I was elected secretary of the minutes of English class…Then I’d say (to announce) the minutes of the last meeting, I’d go m – m – m – m – m….Oh, it’s terrible.”
– MARILYN MONROE
When young Norma Jean was sent to stay at the Los Angeles Orphans Home Society (later renamed Hollygrove), she dealt with a lot of anxiety regarding her new living situation. Upon arriving on her first day, she wept uncontrollably, protesting on the grounds that she wasn’t actually an orphan. These despondent feelings, combined with rocky speech patterns, would shape her reputation as being quite shy around the other orphans. There were stretches in her childhood where Norma Jean made a conscious effort to talk as little as possible, most notably in both the orphanage and schooling environments.
But, as anyone who deals with a stutter knows, at some point we run into instances where we have to face our fears. I guess that’s what we refer to as having to live life, right? And as part of the package comes having to learn to communicate. No different for power icons than it is for the common person.
A familiar predicament for Norma Jean came when she was elected Secretary of the minutes for her ninth-grade English class. When it came time to carry out her responsibilities, she ran into a great deal of trouble with the word “minute”. This became such a consistent slip-up that she became notorious throughout her grade for it.
The (terribly kitschy) class alphabet, which listed superlatives such as “V for Vivacious: Mary Jean Boyd”, conferred upon Norma Jean the letter “M – m – m – m: for Norma Jean Baker”. Out of about five hundred students, she was one of a few singled out for the “great honor” of this inclusion. As you might expect, the pinpointing of her insecurities would do nothing for Norma Jean’s self-esteem.
But at least we can rest a little more assured, knowing that she was never deterred from her mammoth-sized dreams. Despite her shaky confidence growing up, Norma Jean carried around with her aspirations of making it big as an actress. It was a part of her that remained concretely set, even when the road to get there looked nearly unattainable.
She would sometimes go to the movies with one of her foster mothers and grew admirable of stars like the original ” Blonde Bombshell”, Jean Harlow. And during her time at the orphanage, the young lady would look out her window and catch glimpses of the Paramount Studios Water Tower. It was an eye-catching, almost “cinematic” in its own way reminder that inspired her to want to emulate the success of big names like Harlow.
Little did she know that many, many years later, a young stuttering writer would be composing one of his first blog posts about the world renowned Mari….
Whoops, I mean, Norma Jean.
But not for much longer…
NORMA TO MARILYN
After gaining traction from an array of modeling gigs, Norma Jean was given the opportunity to attend a Hollywood screen test. Despite this being a massive step towards achieving her dreams, the prospect of reading lines in front of a camera was nonetheless daunting. Fortunately for her, the audition consisted of a series of silent movements, such as sitting on a stool and lighting a cigarette. The typical black and white exhibitions that we know existed in most movies back then.
And the audition style, itself, a stuttering actor’s lucid, perfectly thought up dream.
Ultimately, the test went over quite well, and she signed her first contract with one of the titan companies, Twentieth Century Fox.
Not long after, Norma Jean was told that she would have to start going by another name.
Suggestions were thrown out by different studio personnel, but none felt like the right fit for her. She opened up about wanting a complete change, which led to a discussion on her tumultuous childhood. Stories were relayed, like her time as “M – m – m Girl”. Suddenly, director Ben Lyon exclaimed, “I know who you are, you’re Marilyn!”. The name had come to him through another actress he enjoyed, Marilyn Miller. (Surname Monroe, came in the form of Norma’s mother’s maiden name.)
Just like that, Norma Jean had transformed into Marilyn Monroe.
Annnnnnnnnd... almost instantly, she found it difficult to introduce herself.
It was like she reverted back to her days in the English classroom. When Lyon asked to hear her new name out-loud, Marilyn responded with a prompt “Mmmmmm….”
However, this time she paused, reset herself, and followed up with a few head start words.
“Well, I guess I’m Marilyn Monroe.”
And now, she really was.
THE “MARILYN VOICE”
Even though she was finding growing success, Marilyn continued to struggle with her stutter while performing.
Although it might have sometimes come off this way, it was never the result of unpreparedness. She always showed up to set with her lines perfectly memorized, which is why it would sometimes confuse people when she struggled on takes.
One of her most famous lines from the movie Some Like it Hot (1959): “It’s me, sugar…” took a whopping 47 attempts to nail down. Marilyn ran into a bad rap with the word “sugar”, also the name of her character in the movie. I guess you could it was an important two-syllable monster to tame at the time.
And of course, she did just that. But it was nothing close to a breeze for the woman breathing life into Sugar Kane. Her will to deliver cohesive performances won out in the end, but it came with tremendous work.
Marilyn’s sometimes laborious efforts on set raises the question “Then how come we’ve never heard her stutter before?”
Simple answer, Marilyn Monroe had personal acting coaches who helped her master different fluency techniques.
Her first coach, Natasha Lytess, taught a younger Marilyn how to focus on her breathing and lip movements before each of her lines. Breath awareness is a timeless tool that many speech therapists preach the use of to this day. That, and doing jumping jacks while reading Shakespeare’s worst works backwards. (Am I kidding?)
Lytess also pushed Marilyn to crisply enunciate each syllable in her speech. Although another worthwhile strategy to explore, it can sometimes prove difficult due to the constant stopping and starting on each syllable.
Perhaps her most notable vocal coach (whose name remains unidentified) was the one who taught her how to speak in her signature drawn out and breathy voice. This technique relies on an almost constant outflow of soft breath while transitioning from one word to another. The throat has to remain open, in an effort to discourage the locking of the vocal cords.
Vital in situations of stress or tension, speech therapists both then and now have had success urging their patients to cushion their speech, with a focus on remaining gentle and in control of their own, natural pace.
In Marilyn’s case, this way of communicating became her verbal bread and butter.
Now, some of you probably associate the “Marilyn Monroe voice” entirely with her sexually confident film roles. But as you can see, it was actually born out of necessity. From a need to cope with the low-points in her speech. And because it covered up her stutter enough to get through filming, the general populous never caught on to its true nature either. They, too, related it to Marilyn’s vivacious on-screen ways.
These outside perceptions led to certain typecasts that Marilyn would spend most of her life trying to break free from.
WHAT WE MISSED WITH MISS MONROE
Marilyn’s signature speaking tone wasn’t without it’s negative impacts.
As appealing as people thought her voice was, it also had the detrimental effect of making her sound a little less intelligent than others.
This could not have been further from reality for Marilyn, despite missing a formal education.
As a matter of fact, several past directors have labeled her as being exceedingly sharp. One in particular, Henry Hathaway (who was not known for being kind to actors), sung high praises while reflecting on his time with the actress.
Discussing Marilyn, Hathaway is on record saying that she was “ marvelous to work with, very easy to direct and terrifically ambitious to do better. And bright, really bright.”
The woman who stole trillions of hearts, had a number of impressive aces at her disposal.
Able to act, sing, play a little piano, write thoughtfully and poetically, and even piss off the great Ethel Merman.
I’m kind of in love with the story behind that one…
The final number in the 1954 movie There’s No Business Like Show-business called for the main cast to ascend and descend a massive set of bleachers. Leading up to the first take, Marilyn was the only one who didn’t practice her walk. Everybody was under the believable impression that she would trip immediately. After all, the choreography was tricky, and the stairs acted as a steep obstacle.
But when she didn’t, leading lady Merman was described as “furious” at the younger actress.
Though that might’ve been partially due to the “knock all else out” blue dress given to Marilyn’s character for that musical number.
Seriously, nobody cares, Ethel. Have you seen that dress?
REFLECTIONS ON A STAR
Marilyn’s hyper awareness of how the public viewed her drove a push to land more dramatic roles late in her career.
Sadly, she didn’t live long enough to attempt many, leaving behind Something’s Got To Give, an unfinished movie starring herself and Dean Martin. The project was halted by her personal issues, which really began to overpower in Marilyn’s final years. Following her death, it was renamed, reframed, and re-filmed featuring Doris Day.
Although adorned by an entire country, Marilyn never felt that many knew her true character. It’s entirely possible that Marilyn, herself, did not have this figured out. But we can never know the true nature of that for certain. Her way of thinking ran deeper than anybody ever realized, and her life existed more stressful and traumatic. She found it easier to seek answers and acceptance from others, rather than giving these things to herself. Something I’m sure a lot of us can relate to.
Discussing Marilyn’s complexities serves a very important purpose for any of us curious thinkers.
It helps us to see Marilyn outside of her very beautiful jewels, her very beautiful pinups, her very beautiful smile…
And gives us a glimpse into her humanity. Also a thing of beauty.
I will not be discussing the end of Marilyn’s story.
Because I believe she was more than those final stages of her life. More than Marilyn ever thought Marilyn was.
Instead, I’m going to share an instance where she was able to poke a little fun at her history with stuttering. This is just one example of Marilyn using sharp wit and expressive storytelling to illustrate her (oh so relatable) feelings. Coming from a 1960 interview, she was quoted saying…
“Sometimes if I’m very nervous or excited or something, I stutter. In fact, one time I had a small part in a movie and the assistant director came and yelled at me. Oh, he talked awful. So when I got into the scene, instead of my lines I said, “Wo-wo-wo-wo…” The director came up, he was furious, and said, “You don’t stutter!!”
“I said, that’s what you think!”
MARILYN MONROE
REFERENCES
- McDermott, Gerald R. ( 2016). Famous Stutterers. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books.