A BIOGRAPHER LOOKS AT A BIOGRAPHY

LIKELY no author was more interested in the idea of success and fame in America than Norman Mailer, and no personality more the focus and even victim of it than film actress Marilyn Monroe. Those two larger-than-life forces came together in 1973, eleven years after Marilyn’s death, with Mailer’s biography of the actress, Marilyn. Originally intended as an Introduction to a collection of photographs of that most photogenic of actresses, it became something more. Much more.

As renowned biographer Carl Rollyson explains in his new essay, “Norman Mailer and the Trajectory of Marilyn Monroe Biography,” which we’re privileged to present as a feature on our site. When you read it, you’ll see it’s more detective story than essay. Rollyson digs deep into the personalities and personas of both celebrities. A fascinating read about two quintessentially American human beings.

(AN ADDED NOTE: With the rounding up of wild horses much in the news of late, to be sold for profit, remember Marilyn Monroe’s final and most transcendent performance, in the 1961 film “The Misfits,” which covered the same topic. We could use more of her level of compassion now.)