Watch photographer Milton H. Greene's lost footage of his most famous muse.
- by Julie Miller
Fine-art fashion photographer Milton H. Greene captured some of the greatest stars of the 1950s and 1960s in his enduring portraits, including Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, Cary Grant, Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn, and Paul Newman. But it was Greene's portraits of Marilyn Monroe-his muse, friend, onetime roommate, and professional collaborator-for which he is most famous.
The two met in 1953-the same year Monroe appeared on-screen in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes-when Greene photographed the bombshell for Look magazine. Photographer and subject bonded, and their relationship over the next few years yielded one production company (Marilyn Monroe Productions, whose titles include The Prince and the Showgirl), a memoir, and over 50 photo sessions.
Beginning July 16, the Morrison Hotel Gallery at the Sunset Marquis Hotel will display some of Greene's never-before-seen photos from these sessions in its "Some Like It Hot" exhibit. The presentation will also feature 16-mm-film footage, showing Monroe in rare and relaxed form-mostly out of the spotlight. Among the moments Greene captured: a cheerful Monroe kissing her third husband, Arthur Miller, and greeting guests at the couple's 1956 wedding reception; Monroe performing a musical number in the 1956 romantic comedy Bus Stop; and the beauty preening between the sheets for an intimate photo shoot.
In a statement to Vanity Fair, Joshua Greene said of his father's work, "There was an elegance to the simplicity of the sessions. Milton was not afraid to be vulnerable with his subjects, which created confidence and trust between them."