Almanac: Marilyn Monroe's billowing dress
September 15, 1954, saw a very celebrated – albeit very calculated – wardrobe malfunction, for that was the day Marilyn Monroe posed over a New York City subway grate for a memorable scene in the movie "The Seven Year Itch."
With fans looking on, gusts of made-for-the-movies "wind" from the trains below repeatedly blew Marilyn's white dress up to un-ladylike heights.
Publicity photos from that pre-dawn shoot are famous worldwide, but crowd noise forced the scene with Tom Ewell to be re-shot weeks later on a Hollywood soundstage:
Marilyn: "Feel the breeze from the subway! Isn't it delicious?"
Tom: "Sort of cools the ankles, doesn't it?"
Although the scene was intended as a visual gag, Monroe's husband at the time, the pin-striped and straight-laced Yankee legend Joe DiMaggio, failed to see the humor, and the scene reputedly played a role in their divorce.
Still, that Marilyn Monroe moment lives on to this day, both in the photographs and in the form of a 26-foot-tall traveling statue titled "Forever Marilyn."
For more info:
- "The Seven Year Itch" (20th Century Fox), available on Blu-ray/DVD, and via Streaming on Amazon Prime, iTunes, Vudu and YouTube
- marilynmonroe.com
See also:
- Marilyn Monroe's "Seven Year Itch" dress auctions for $4.,6 million (CBS News, 6/19/11)
- Gallery: Marilyn Monroe
- Gallery: A rare look at Marilyn Monroe
- The last professional photos of Marilyn Monroe, unstyled and informal, go up for auction ("CBS This Morning," 8/05/17)
- The 60-year itch: Re-Watching "The Seven Year Itch" on its 60th anniversary (Vanity Fair, 6/03/15)
Story produced by Charis Satchell.
- In:
- Marilyn Monroe
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
