Inside Marilyn Monroe

by John Gilmore

Inside Marilyn Monroe is an intense, personal memoir spanning more than a decade (1952-1962) by the then-actor John Gilmore, detailing his acquaintanceship with the most important movie star in the world, Marilyn Monroe. From Hollywood to New York, from New York back to Hollywood, the casual hello-goodbye friendship building to a point where Monroe and Gilmore were about to make a picture together but tragedy struck in Marilyn's life. Gilmore turned...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0978896807
• ISBN13: 9780978896805
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Ferine Books
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.1" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

The Crème de la Crème of Marilyn Monroe Biographies

John Gilmore's genius is at its peak in this penetrating biography. Because of a fascination with Marilyn Monroe that began before puberty, I have read every single book ever written about her. I love her. But I'd long been frustrated that none of the books I read gave actual breath to the real human being that Marilyn/Norma Jeane was. Not until now. At long last the book I'd been searching for all my life has been written. Even better, it's been written by one of my favorite authors. And the prose is breathtaking: "Trying to reach Gladys [Marilyn's mother] was like stirring the air, floating her further away." Finally, I can experience what it truly was like to be inside the skin of Marilyn Monroe. Opening John Gilmore's book on Marilyn means stepping into a time machine that has the capacity for mingling and merging energies to the point where the reader becomes one with Marilyn/Norma Jeane. It's more than the ultimate Marilyn Monroe experience. Reading INSIDE MARILYN MONROE illuminates the mind to a greater compassion and understanding of the human condition. To my loved ones, friends and family, there is no other book about life that I'd more strongly recommend than this one. It is an awakening. Through Marilyn Monroe, Gilmore takes us on a journey to greater enlightenment. He does so with integrity. Every phrase he writes reverberates with truth. John Gilmore knows that no matter how hard some people try to twist reality to their vision, for whatever reasons, the truth remains. Maybe this is why he turned his back on stardom when the powerful Hollywood agent, Henry Willson, made clear to the young Gilmore that he would have to drop his pants and do what all the handsome stars of the era did for him (Rock Hudson, Tab Hunter, Troy Donahue, Guy Madison and a great many more) to get where they got or else Willson would make stardom impossible (details found in the book: "The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson" by Robert Hofler). Yes, Gilmore is a man of integrity. And he is not afraid of facing the truth, going deep, to the core. His going to the core is one of the major reasons I respect him so much as a writer. I do believe he is a genius of the heart. There is no other book than this one that captures so clearly what motivated Marilyn to become a star greater than Jean Harlow. Such insights make this book a treasure for aspiring stars everywhere. Thanks to John Gilmore, the light will always shine. Especially if he performs INSIDE MARILYN MONROE on an Audio CD made available to the public. For it's about time John Gilmore shares more of his acting talents with his fans. Having seen his films, which include: "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (Global Warming Edition) with Walter Pidgeon, Barbara Eden, and Peter Lorre, plus having heard him read live in L.A., I'm convinced all will find hearing this book from his lips totally addictive. Van Gogh's Ear: The Celebrity Edition

a very sensitive an touching book about Marilyn Monroe

This is one of the most sensitive and touching book I have ever read and owned about Marilyn Monroe. I recommend it to any Marilyn Monroe fan. It a most have.

Inside Marilyn Monroe

John Gilmore's Inside Marilyn Monroe not only delivers on the state of the human condition but takes us inside our own beautiful ugly hearts by respectfully exploring Marylin Monroe's. Inside takes us on a journey of the wounds birthed in youth, sutured by loss, and tempered by fantasy and escapism; self-preservation by way of barricading one-self from the world outside. There is no other book like this on Marilyn;compassionately written by one who knew her and one who has survived to offer this candid, remarkable portrait of a kindered soul. I highly recommend this book to every Marilyn fan who has every wondered "What was Marilyn really like?"

ENGROSSING AND INSIGHTFUL

This book explores the behind-the-scenes Marilyn Monroe, the real person. Lonely, desperate, emotionally tortured and in constant physical and psychologial pain. John Gilmore was acquainted with Marilyn for over a decade in Hollywod and in New York, and the author lays bare the exact attraction of these two individuals, both of the same ilk, love-deprived Hollywood kids that are better described as emotional castaways. Gilmore is a fine, intense writer, who probes his subject to its absolute depth. We arrive at a painful portrait of the highly complex personality that was Marilyn, the antithesis of the "dumb blonde" roles thrust upon her under a "slave" contract. Marilyn emerges so special and so precious, so lost and exploited, that her accidental death by an overdose comes as an almost (and this is painful to say) 'blessing'. With a razor clarity familiar to Gilmore fans, the author details Marilyn's tragic detour from happiness and self-fulfillment. Remarkable depth, insight, originality and daring is found on every page as we are at last introduced to the human being hidden behind the most famous image in the world. This book slashes apart the "conspiracy theories" as exploitive, fast-buck schemes, and shows how and why they came about. Most important, this book is about Marilyn, the person no one could ever really know without having been there. A remarkable, engaging read that at the same time proves to be an emotional experience.

Raw and Vulnerable: An Intimate view on Marilyn Monroe

Fans of John Gilmore's work will delight in this fantastic new book on Marilyn Monroe. John brings to the reader a raw, yet vulnerable look at Marilyn, and of himself, in this intimate read. And those unfamiliar with Mr. Gilmore's work (difficult as it would be to believe) will find themselves instant fans. This book flows easily in the readers hands and brings to life a new Marilyn, one long lost in the Hollywood shuffle of glamour and glitz. Gilmore takes you back to the time and days of Marilyn's early years with personal experience into her life both in reflection of his own and from personal encounters over a 10 year span. Filled with rare photos and even rarer interviews this book will keep you captivated from beginning to end. Long gone has the real person behind Marilyn Monroe been, but now John Gilmore, with all his talents as one of the most gifted writers of the 21st Century, brings back to us, the readers and the fans, Marilyn Monroe the person, the woman, the human being. I highly recommend this read to those who are a fan of Marilyn Monroe or those who are a fan of Mr. Gilmore's work. Neither will be disappointed.