![]() She ultimately became known as a B-movie celebrity and appeared in such films as “Untamed Youth,” “College Confidential,” “Sex Kittens Go to College,” “The Navy vs. Eventually, she became cast in several ‘bad girl’ roles and appeared in movies that promoted ‘controversial’ rock ‘n’ roll music, incorporating those songs into her on-screen musical numbers. Mamie Van Doren, with over 40 movie credits (from 1951 to 2002), started as Universal International’s version of Monroe. Her popularity dwindled after Marilyn’s death, and like Marilyn, her life ended too soon, cut short by an auto accident in 1967 at the age of 34. ![]() Today, though, she is referenced more as the mother of Mariska Hargitay (of TV’s Law and Order: SVU) rather than revered for her success as an actress. Despite her intelligence, she embraced the vacuous roles that lead to her popularity. She was preoccupied with fame and attention, yet she was known to be highly intelligent, reportedly with an IQ of 163 (equivalent to Albert Einstein’s). Among these were “The Girl Can’t Help it,” “The Wayward Bus,” “Promises! Promises!” and the movie version of the Rock Hunter play. She was sometimes referred to as “a poor man’s Monroe.” She appeared in over two dozen films from 1955 to 1967. Jayne Mansfield, a former beauty-pageant queen and model, worked in a few pictures for Warner Brothers before gaining notoriety on Broadway, playing a character parodying Marilyn Monroe in “Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?” a role that Van Doren had turned down. She lead a highly-publicized, troubled life, which ended tragically in 1962, when she was found dead of a barbiturate overdose at age 36. Monroe was not satisfied playing the dumb blonde and remained focused on becoming a well-respected actress. That suspension prompted her to start her own production company (Marilyn Monroe Productions) in the same year before returning to a Fox contract under her terms. Monroe’s persistence in attempting to control her career lead to conflicts with her employer, 20 th Century Fox, and a suspension in 1954. Though she had bit parts in movies in the late 1940s, her career took off in the early 1950s, propelled further by controversy over some nude calendar photos and a romance with another American legend, baseball’s Joe DiMaggio. Movie aficionados can easily visualize her iconic scenes: innocently catching the updraft above a subway grating with her billowing white skirt in ‘The Seven Year Itch” or playfully singing “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” to a male entourage in her hot pink gown and opera gloves in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.” Marilyn Monroe, who appeared in over 30 films from 1947 to 1962, became one of the most recognizable women in history.
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