Miss Marilyn Monroe calls to mind the bouquet of a fireworks display, eliciting from her awed spectators an open-mouthed chorus of ohs and ahs ...” - Cecil Beaton, June 1956 <br /> <br />In 1956, when she entered the suite of the Ambassador Hotel in New York City, to meet <br />with Cecil Beaton, it was without the girlish pin-up attitude the public was used to seeing in her photos. She was sexy, yes, but sophisticated, too. Playful, yes, but with a new sheen and class. Child-like, yes, but combined with a mature style. A year or two previous, people may have laughed at the notion of <br />a photographer of Beaton’s stature being matched with Marilyn Monroe. But on the day they spent together, with their beloved camera between them, they created magic. <br /> <br />Marilyn arrived to Beaton’s suite with only a simple black dress and a white puffy evening gown. Ed Pfizenmaier, Beaton’s assistant, said that Marilyn took care of her own make-up “which most people, they can’t believe it nowadays ... she came just by herself, with these two little dresses and ... it was as <br />simple as that.” Beaton added a few props: an artificial Bluebird, flowers, and scarves. He provided the unique backgrounds, as he’d actually redecorated the suite himself in what he called a “Japanese Nouveau art manner”. Beaton himself described Marilyn’s method as subject of the session: “The initial <br />shyness over, excitement has now gotten the better of her. She romps, she squeals with delight, she leaps onto the sofa. She puts a flower stem in her mouth, puffing on a daisy as though it were a cigarette. It is an artless, impromptu, high-spirited, infectiously gay performance. It may end in tears.” His diary entry read: “She was the greatest fun.” Pfizenmaier said “I found her just a delight to work with, we just had a magnificent time. <br /> <br />Music is "Say It Isn't So", Lou Brig Orchestra, vocal, Al Jolson from a 1948 radio show.
