Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Thursday Thirteen #153

THIRTEEN MARILYNS

Last week I saw My Week with Marilyn at the beautiful Tropic Cinema and thought Michelle Williams was very moving as the movie icon. But she's just one of many to take on the role of Marilyn Monroe.

1) Michelle Williams is certain to get an Oscar nomination, and perhaps an Oscar for My Week with Marilyn. (2011) How ironic that Williams will get the respect from Hollywood for playing Marilyn that the real woman longed for.

2) Ashley Judd was very good as Norma Jean in Norma Jean and Marilyn, while ...

3) Mira Sorvino played the same woman as Marilyn in 1996's Norma Jean and Marilyn. Each lady was nominated for both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for playing both periods of her life.

4) Catherine Hicks (yup, the mom from Seventh Heaven) won an Emmy nomination for doing an outstanding job in Marilyn: the Untold Story, while ....

5) Tracy Gold (yup, the sister from Growing Pains) played her as young Norma Jean in the same 1980 made-for-TV movie.

6) Poppy Montgomery of Without a Trace and now Unforgettable played Marilyn in Blonde (2001). Wish I'd seen this, for I think Montgomery is an underrated actress and I like the idea of Ann-Margret as Marilyn's grandma.

7) Charlotte Sullivan played Marilyn-as-mistress in three episodes of The Kennedys (2011) mini-series.

8) Sarah Lafleur played the same unsympathetic role in 2001's Jackie, Ethel and Joan.

9) Sophie Monk was Marilyn in The Mystery of Natalie Wood, a 2004 biopic about Ms. Wood's death.

10) Marika Taylor plays Marilyn in a docudrama called The Death of Marilyn Monroe (2002).

11) Holly Beavon had a small role as Marilyn in a 2001 James Dean biopic.

12) Barbara Niven played a sad Marilyn in the 1998 Rat Pack made-for-TV movie.

13) Heather Thomas of The Fall Guy played Marilyn in Hoover vs. The Kennedys (1987).

As with Jackie Kennedy in last week's TT, I find no actress as compelling playing Marilyn as the real Marilyn. The Prince and the Showgirl was kind of a suck movie, but Marilyn was luminescent, even in that ...




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5 comments:

  1. Good post! Ashley Judd was one of my favorite Marilyns. :) Some of these other movies I haven't seen, but I'd like to.

    http://otherworlddiner.blogspot.com/2012/01/want-to-improve-your-writing-thirteen.html

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  2. I've heard a lot of good things about Michelle Williams as Marilyn. I think she surprised a lot of people.
    Have a great Thursday!
    http://harrietandfriends.com/2012/01/seems-like-there-are-a-lot-of-these/

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  3. I love movie stuff. I saw Marilyn's last movie The Misfits in the theater but was young enough that it was over my head. But I do remember Bosom Buddies, and got that.

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  4. This was so interesting to me, since I just recently read Donald Spoto's and J. Randy Tarraborelli's biographies of Marilyn. What a fascinating woman! No actress can really quite do her justice.

    Cindy at Notes in the Key of Life

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  5. Anonymous11:34 PM

    I guess it's another of those cases where true greatness isn't recognized until the person in question is gone.

    ReplyDelete

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