History Daily - The Most Iconic Marilyn Monroe Photograph

Episode Date: September 15, 2025

September 15, 1954. Marilyn Monroe films the now famous “subway grate” scene from The Seven Year Itch in New York City. Support the show! Join Into History for ad-free listening and more.History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser.Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily.

It's good, and give you. And give up to-your-yctuary etudeau. Sillan it makes meeked to you're just more than viatimist, but the doontecchioes is a mercittive a sharest every co-coos. Olegh, hope, H.S.L. It's 1 a.m. on September 15, 1954, on the corner of Lexington Avenue and 52nd Street in New York City. Joe DiMaggio leaves his way through a crush of excited people

standing behind a wooden barrier. At 39 years old, DiMaggio is a year. Yankees' legend, and he should be getting swarmed by fans in a crowd like this. But no one is paying him any attention. They're not here for a baseball player, because beyond the barrier, a movie is being filmed. A new romantic comedy titled The Seven-Year Itch, and everyone's waiting to catch a glimpse of the star and Joe's wife, Marilyn Monroe. Joe leans forward on the barrier as the crew hushes a crowd and the cameras start to roll.

Director Billy Wilder shouts action and the 28-year-old Maryland glott. into view. Her flowing white dress and platinum blonde curls seem to glow under the lights, but Marilyn's smile shines even brighter. As she struts down the sidewalk, the crowd starts spontaneously whooping and cheering. The noise, though, ruins the take. But that's not the point of this exercise. This entire setup in New York is simply a publicity stunt for the movie. The rest of the film is being shot in Hollywood. So the cameras keep rolling as Marilyn jumps on a subway grate. From just off camera, a wind machine blows directly at Maryland, sending her white skirt billowing high above her waist. She giggles, playfully trying to push the skirt back down as her long legs are exposed to the crowd.

Most of the onlookers go wild, but not Joe DiMaggio. Red in the face, he storms away, pushing past photographers and fans unable to contain his anger. He can't believe his wife is exhibiting herself like this. He plans to let her know exactly what he thinks of her display. later that night. Joe DiMaggio's reaction to the publicity stunt will push Marilyn Monroe to a breaking point. While filming the seven-year itch, she will file for divorce. But the image that so enraged her ex-husband will long outlive their marriage. For better or worse, Marilyn's white skirt blowing in the air will become one of the most iconic images of the 20th century and will be

endlessly reproduced, recreated, and parody for decades after it was created on September 15, 1954. I'll be And let's do you guyseless HSCETU Ossan part of Palka. Sillon it makes you really

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History is made every day. On this podcast, every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is September 15th, 1954, the most iconic Maryland Monroe photograph.

It's December 1944 in the munitions factory in California, a decade before Maryland, Monroe shoots the iconic subway great scene. 25-year-old photographer David Conover scans the factory's assembly line. But David doesn't care about the small aircraft parts rumbling down the conveyor belt. He's focused on the women operating the machines.

He's been asked to photograph the most attractive women on the home front, and their pictures will appear in military magazines to boost the morale of U.S. soldiers fighting in World War II. So camera in hand, he moves down the assembly line until he spots a radiant young woman fixing a Perpillar. David asks if he can take her picture, and with a smile, she agrees. The young woman flips her Auburn curls over her shoulder and holds up the propeller, laughing as she turns to the camera. David can tell she's a natural. He asked for her name, and she introduces herself as Norma Jean Doherty. 18-year-old Norma Jean has had a tumultuous

childhood. She never knew her father and moved between foster homes due to her mother's mental illness. When she turned 16, Norma Jean married her neighbor's son to avoid returning to another temporary home. But domestic life bored her, so in 1944 she signed up to work in a munitions factory, never expecting she'd catch the eye of a photographer there. But over the next few weeks, Norma Jean poses for David all over the factory, and he urges her to take up modeling. At first, Norma Jean is wary, though. She's sure her husband won't approve. But he soon heads off to military service, leaving Norma Jean free. to take up her new career.

So in the spring of 1945, Norma Jean gives up her factory overalls and becomes a model. Whether she's lounging on the beach, dancing, or posing in a studio, she radiates the same glamour and playfulness that caught David's eye on the assembly line. And it's not long before others see Norma Jean's potential as well. In August 1945, she signed with the Blue Book modeling agency, and by the following spring, Norma Jean has already been on the cover of more than 30 magazines. But she's almost too successful. Norma Jean appears in so many publications, so quickly,

that industry insiders start to consider her overexposed, and suddenly she finds herself struggling to find more work. To counter the risk of seeming stale, Norma Jean's agents suggest she dye her hair blonde. Perhaps a new color will help refresh Norma Jean's image because, after all, no one seems to tire of blonde bombshells like the Hollywood stars Betty Grable and Jean Harlow. nervously, Norma Jean agrees

as she debuts her new look in a shampoo advertisement. Her new blonde hair has the desired effect. But as Norma Jean's modeling career takes off again, her marriage begins to fall apart. Now that the war is over, her husband has returned home. He never approved of Norma Jean's work, and even though she's successful,

he'd much rather she'd just stayed home. But Norma Jean has no intention of returning to life as a housewife. Instead, in the summer of 1946, she announces her desire to break into the movie business and decides she doesn't need a husband to do it. Her agent tells her she'll do far better in Hollywood as a single woman, too. So presented with a choice between saving her marriage and furthering her career, Norma Jean chooses her work. In September 1946, she files for divorce. Then Norma Jean promptly moves to Los Angeles and secures a screen test at 20th century Fox.

She arrives on set, riddled with nerves, but when the director shouts action, it's like a switch has been thrown. Norma Jean strussed toward the camera looking like the most confident woman in the world. She takes a seat and lights a cigarette, her flirtatious gaze keeping the entire crew mesmerized. And after the screening,

20th Century Fox immediately offers Norma Jean a six-month contract. But there's a problem. Executives at 20th Century Fox think that her name, Norma Jean Doherty, doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. So Norma Jean says she'd like to use Monroe. Her mother's maiden name, but she isn't sure what her first name should be.

One of the executives has an idea telling Norma Jean about an actress he was in love with many years ago, a woman named Marilyn. Norma Jean isn't so sure, though. This name seems strange and artificial to her, but the executives urge her to say it altogether out loud. So Norma Jean Doherty sits up straight, and for the first time, she says the name that will soon be famous all around the world, Marilyn Monroe. Oh, I'm a lot of Antigroaumst. We're using because they are

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carry pistees, and lunasta palkintoia. It's September 1956 at Pinewood Studios in England, 10 years after

Norman Jean Doherty became Marilyn Monroe. British film icon Sir Lawrence Olivier scowls across the set at his latest co-star.

Sir Lawrence is directing and starring in the romantic comedy The Prince and the showgirl, opposite Hollywood's latest darling

Marilyn Monroe. But Sir Lawrence is frustrated. Maryland was three hours late for filming this morning, and although she's finally arrived, she's now stuttering and stammering her way through the scene. Exasperated, Sir Lawrence calls cut and marches over to his new store. Marilyn's new acting

coach follows, but Sir Lawrence has already fed up with her interference, so he orders her to stay behind the camera. He's a director. He'll handle this with his actor alone. Seeing Sir Lawrence's frustration, Marilyn explains that she's struggling because she doesn't believe her character's lines. She tries to catch her coach's eyes, seeming to want backup, but Sir Lawrence blocks her view. He suggests that if she's struggling with her character's motivation, she should just focus on what she's good at, seeming seductive on screen. Marilyn is stunned because despite all her fame and success, she is riddled with self-down. It's been two years since she filmed The Seven-Year Itch, a role that shot her to worldwide fame, but she's worried the iconic subway great scene

from that movie has cemented her image as a one-dimensional sex symbol. She agreed to make this film with Sir Lawrence because she thought it was an opportunity to act opposite one of the greats and to finally be taken seriously as an actress in her own right. But it's clear that Sir Lawrence has no respect for her. So with tears in her eyes, Marilyn storms off set. From this point on, the tension between Marilyn and Sir Lawrence only grows. She thinks he's patronizing and close-minded. He sees her as a spoiled Hollywood pin-up. And with all the stress, Marylyn has trouble falling asleep, so she takes strong sleeping pills and mixes vodka with her tea. It doesn't help her performance. So when the shoot is over, both Marilyn and Sir Lawrence are glad they can go their separate ways.

But despite her negative experience on the Prince and the Showgirl, Marilyn is still desperate to be taken seriously by audiences and her peers. So when she returns to New York, she starts taking acting lessons. But her mental health soon becomes a concern for those closest to her. By the summer of 1957, Marilyn is married to her third husband, the playwright Arthur Miller, and he's deeply worried. One night, a few weeks after she suffers a miscarriage, Arthur notices Marilyn's breathing becomes labored. Fearing she has taken too many sleeping pills, Arthur calls for paramedics who come and revive

her. But instead of slowing down to recover from her physical and mental setbacks, Marilyn throws herself back into work. She accepts a role in Billy Wilder's new film, Some Like It Hunt. She will star as the love interest, Sugar Cain. But almost as soon as she joins the production, Marilyn starts clashing with the director over her character. She wants Sugar to be more complex and three-dimensional.

But Wilder believes he knows best when it comes to Marilyn's true appeal to audiences, and he starts demanding she complete take after take just to show her who's in charge. To cope with the increasingly hostile environment on set, Marilyn again turns to sleeping pills. She feels tricked, once again cast as a shallow, blonde bombshell, and her mental anguish is soon deepened by a third miscarriage in just two years.

But despite all the troubles and heartache behind the scenes, in front of the cameras, Marilyn still dazzles. When some like it hot is released in 1959, it's an instant hit, and Marilyn receives a golden globe for best actress. But even in a moment of triumph, Marilyn fixates on her disappointments. When she doesn't receive an Oscar nomination that year, She starts to believe that the Hollywood establishment is shunning her. And from there, Marilyn will begin to spiral.

Her marriage to Arthur Miller will fall apart. Her behavior on set will become the talk of Hollywood. And eventually, when it all becomes too much, tragedy will strike. And the brightest star in Hollywood will fade away. It's the evening of May 19, 1962, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, two years after Marilyn Monroe won a Golden Globe for her performance in Some Like a Hot. Standing just off stage, Maryland peers out of the crowd. The arena is packed for a celebration of U.S. President John F. Kennedy's 45th birthday.

There have already been performances by jazz singers, violinists, and comedians, and now it's Maryland's turn. When the host introduces her, the crowd erupts in cheers, and Marilyn steps forward. Striding across the stage, she throws off her white fur coat, revealing a sheer, flesh-colored dress covered with glittering rhinestones. Bright lights make the gulfs. gown seem almost translucent. Reaching the microphone, Marilyn begins to sing a slow, sultry rendition of Happy Birthday. She directs a song squarely toward the presidential table at the front of the

arena. It's a deeply intimate gesture for such a public place, and it doesn't take long for the gossip to begin. Since her divorce from her third husband, Arthur Miller, Marilyn has had a series of high-profile flings. But the rumors of an affair between Marilyn and the president drive speculation to New Heights. It's a stress that Maryland doesn't need. She suffers frequent bouts of depression and is in and out of the hospital. Now utterly dependent on sleeping pills and other drugs, it seems only a matter of time before tragedy strikes. And on August 4, 1962, less than three months after her performance at Madison Square Garden, Marilyn is found dead in her home in Los Angeles. She was only 36 years old. Her death from an overdose of sleeping pills is ruled a probable

suicide. Maryland's early demise robbed Hollywood of one of its brightest stars, but she will remain an icon of American culture. She was always so much more than the thoughtless blonde, but in death as in life, she will struggle to escape that stereotype. Because of all the memorable images of Maryland, none will be more famous than the picture of her smiling playfully as her white dress billows up around her, captured on the streets of New York City on September 15, 1954. Next on History Daily, September 16th, 1620. The Mayflower departs England carrying 130 passengers and crew bound for a new life in the new world. From Noisor and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham, audio editing by Mohamed Shazib, sound design by Molly Bach, music by Thrum.

This episode is written and researched by Angus Gavin McCarrn, edited by Joel Callan, managing producer Emily Burke, executive producer, are William Simpson for airship and Pascal Hughes for Noisor.