Commentary

Commentary

Marilyn Monroe was one of the most famous actresses of her time. Monroe was definitely a sex symbol, and a sex goddess in most homes. She was known as the blonde bombshell, but under her “perfect exterior” was a haunting, horrific past that would be the death of her. Monroe was born on June 6, 1926 in Los Angeles, California. She was literally born where stars are “born.” Naturally, Monroe was destined to become a famous sensation around the world.
Her mother’s name was Gladys Baker, who had a history of mental illness in her family. Gladys’ father died from syphilis of the brain; her mother began to hear voices and became paranoid, she was eventually admitted into a hospital and died 19 days later. Needless to say, Gladys Baker had her fair share of heartache and trauma. Baker married young, and had two children with a man named Jack Baker. Eventually the couple divorced, and her ex-husband decided to kidnap her children and take them from California all the way to Kentucky. Gladys never saw her son again because he died young, but she was reunited years later with her daughter. Gladys Baker’s children may have been kidnapped, but why did she not get them back? She knew where they were, yet she somehow couldn’t manage to take them back even though she had custodial rights. This is because Gladys Baker didn’t want to actually be a mother, this was her way out.
During her second chance at living Gladys Baker decided to give marriage another try back in California with a man named Edward Mortenson. Obviously Baker was just not cut out to be the all American wife and mother, and Mortenson soon left her. Why? Because Baker had a little affair on the side with her coworker C. G. Stanley Gifford at Consolidated Film Industries where she worked as a film cutter, and to no surprise Baker became knocked up with her third child. Gifford’s reaction to this was to deny, deny, deny that they had sexual relations. “I did not have sexual relations with that woman!” Ring a bell? This has been a go-to line throughout history. Single, working, and alone Gladys decided that being a mother was still not her calling, and 12 days after baby Marilyn was she was given to a foster family. Baker would still visit Marilyn but would often hurry off to have a night on the town with her new beau of the week. Maybe this explains Marilyn’s need for male attention, her own mother left her to go out on dates.
Marilyn’s childhood was spent with Ida Bolender and her husband. Marilyn recalls calling Ida mommy, and Bolender quickly corrected her. “I am not your mother and my husband is not your father; the lady with the red hair is your mother,” Marilyn recalls Ida telling her in an interview. Undoubtedly enough, this confused little girl spent her time in a home with two people that were not her mother or father, had quick visits from the woman who was supposedly her “mother,” and never even heard from or knew her father.
At age 8, Marilyn went to live with Gladys in Hollywood. This was because Gladys thought it was time for her to try out being a mother once again. Third times a charm, right? Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. Gladys suffered a nervous breakdown and was taken to Norwalk State Asylum, where she was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Marilyn was declared a warden of the state and was tossed form foster home to foster home, and had to stay in an orphanage as well. A foster family tried to adopt Monroe, but Baker selfishly refused to relinquish custody. Grace Goddard, who was Gladys Baker’s friend eventually, obtained guardianship of Marilyn. Goddard and her husband decided to move, but couldn’t take Marilyn with them. Goddard arranged a marriage for Marilyn so that she wouldn’t have to be put back into foster care.
At sixteen years old Marilyn was married to a man named Jim Dougherty. Dougherty joined the Merchant Marines, and was posted overseas. Marilyn called Jim “daddy,” which is kind of disturbing. This is probably because she never had a father, so as the first man to love her she felt it was suiting that she called him that. Monroe launched her modeling career while he was overseas and morphed into the star that we know about today.

Alex