Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

At Heart of Marilyn's Fall, a 'Very Sick Girl'

Monroe's life, death explored in another tell-all, but there's still no 'external villain'

By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 30, 2009 12:21 PM CDT

(Newser) – J. Randy Taraborrelli’s new 541-page biography, The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe, doesn’t really deliver on promises of “explosive,” “revelatory” discoveries—at least, “not to a Marilyn obsessive like myself,” writes Lori Leibovich for DoubleX. “Instead, there is the deepening of the much more ordinary tragedy that continues to fascinate”—including the tale of Monroe being committed, when an intern told her, “You are a very, very sick girl.”

Taraborrelli uncovers evidence suggesting Monroe heard voices beginning in her late teens, which “disrupts the romantic, self-flagellating narrative we prefer—that ‘we,’ the insatiable public, ruined her.” He does not, however, delve into Monroe’s “unorthodox relationship” with her psychiatrist, popularly painted as the “villain” of the tragedy—“But there is no villain in this sad tale. At the heart of the story, there is something much simpler: A very, very sick girl.”

June 1949: Marilyn Monroe (1926  - 1962), promoting her new film Love Happy,  took a train to Warrenburg, New York with Don Defore and Lon McAllister.
June 1949: Marilyn Monroe (1926 - 1962), promoting her new film Love Happy, took a train to Warrenburg, New York with Don Defore and Lon McAllister.   (Getty Images)
circa 1950: Studio portrait of Marilyn Monroe (1926 - 1962) wearing a strapless dress under a spotlight.
circa 1950: Studio portrait of Marilyn Monroe (1926 - 1962) wearing a strapless dress under a spotlight.   (Getty Images)
circa 1927:  Studio portrait of American actor Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jean Mortenson,  1926  - 1962) at the age of six months, sitting on a woolly rug in a white smock.
circa 1927: Studio portrait of American actor Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jean Mortenson, 1926 - 1962) at the age of six months, sitting on a woolly rug in a white smock.   (Getty Images)
circa 1947:  American actress Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) wearing a plaid flannel shirt.
circa 1947: American actress Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) wearing a plaid flannel shirt.   (Getty Images)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 3 comments
OWLWOMANXXXX
Oct 1, 2009 1:20 AM CDT
put them boots on and strap up your own shoelaces....is that how it goes....hey Wrath...how's things with you?
shrinkess
Sep 30, 2009 8:06 AM CDT
There is suck a thing as exploitation of the weak. Needs consideration here.
Timinator2K
Sep 30, 2009 5:38 AM CDT
A beautiful candle in hurricane-force winds. JFK and RFK didn't help her matters any.

More Newser Stories

Chris Brown: Suck it, Haters, I Got a Grammy

Cindy Crawford: Don't Photoshop My Mole

Probe Launched Into Whitney's Prescriptions, Doctors

Oprah Winfrey: Sorry for Begging for OWN Viewers

Whitney's 'Comeback Movie' May Be Released Early


NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne