Well at least something interesting in this Coffee Corner 
BTW Does somebody know why Marylin Monroe should be THAT important at all? I know, OT...
Simple: she began her rise to fame as a calendar model and then exploited the dumb blonde ethic to its maximum. She did it very well indeed, but only in a very American way. Perhaps it was an exclusively American concept. Since Hollywood ruled the screens outwith maybe France and Italy, both of which countries produced their own hot favourites but with a decidedly smaller distribution muscle, Marilyn reigned as queen.
Then, through ber connection to various members of the Kennedy family, she moved beyond Hollywood into a different world, one that, and this is very important, many of us believe led to her death - or possible murder. That shock ending to her life is the movie star equivalent to the grassy knoll. On another level, her connection via Arthur M. to the intellectual arts world created the interest for many in the conflict or, should that be, perverse attraction between glamour and mental brilliance, and the reasons why so many people who thought about that may have found the situation irresistible to their ponderings.
Dying at their peak has never done stars any harm. But what was her peak? Her last movie,
The Misfits saw her late for work, distressed, drugged and in what looks, in hindsight, to have been highly visible terminal decline. As with Elvis,
why was nobody willing to be strong, and help?
She died a lonely death shrouded in mystery, and it continues for us, the public, to this day, though I am quite certain that some people still alive today know the truth.
Death was key to longevity. She died, beautiful in the Hollywood idiom; BB did not, and went on to age and deteriorate from goddess to old woman. To my tastes, in the 50s, BB was queen of them all. But then, I am half Italian - the more dominant half for sure - and allegiances often follow blood, and after all, France and Italy are not that far apart. Ask the Corsicans!
P.S. Both Marilyn and BB are far more interesting people to think about and try to understand than the obvious Trump! Thanks for the prandial diversion!
