Four Interesting Facts About Marilyn Monroe On Her 100th Birthday (3 of 3)

She promptly moved to San Francisco and married DiMaggio, who was independently wealthy and well-connected. She also flexed by putting on a series of solo shows for 100,000 American soldiers stationed in Korea. The studio eventually relented and signed her to contracts that not only paid her extremely well, but gave her the power to approve scripts and directors.

The Failed Marriage Would Always Haunt DiMaggio

The 9-month marriage between DiMaggio and Monroe was turbulent from the start, marred by his jealousy and possessiveness; he was also known to have abused her physically. As an illustration of this, to generate publicity for the release of The Seven Year Itch, the studio staged the filming of the iconic scene in which Monroe stands over a subway grate while air blows up her skirt. When DiMaggio responded with rage, Monroe had had enough of his behavior filed for divorce.

After her death, DiMaggio and Monroe’s half-sister Berniece assumed legal control of her remains and funeral arrangements. He blamed the movie industry for destroying her, and barred the Hollywood establishment from attending, refusing to let her funeral become a studio spectacle. He even hired guards to make sure only approached guests could attend. Following her funeral, DiMaggio arranged for the Parisian Florist in Hollywood to deliver six fresh, long-stemmed red roses to her crypt at Westwood Village Memorial Park, a practice he would faithfully continue for the next two decades.