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The Last Interview
Marilyn Monroe: The Last Interview: and Other Conversations
"I'm so many people. They shock me sometimes. I wish I was just me!" --Marilyn Monroe
Nearly sixty years after her death, Marilyn Monroe remains an icon whom everyone loves but no one really knows. The conversations gathered here--spanning her emergence on the Hollywood scene to just days before her death at age 36--show Monroe at her sharpest and most insightful on the thorny topics of ambition, fame, femininity, desire, and more. Together with an introduction by Sady Doyle, these pieces reveal yet another not the tragic heroine she's become in the popular imagination, but a righteously and justifiably angry figure breaking free of the limitations the world forced on her.
Nearly sixty years after her death, Marilyn Monroe remains an icon whom everyone loves but no one really knows. The conversations gathered here--spanning her emergence on the Hollywood scene to just days before her death at age 36--show Monroe at her sharpest and most insightful on the thorny topics of ambition, fame, femininity, desire, and more. Together with an introduction by Sady Doyle, these pieces reveal yet another not the tragic heroine she's become in the popular imagination, but a righteously and justifiably angry figure breaking free of the limitations the world forced on her.
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Published October 6, 2020
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About the author
Jude Ellison S. Doyle
38 books261 followersJude Ellison S. Doyle is an author, journalist, and comic book writer living in upstate New York.
Under his former pen name “Sady Doyle,” Jude founded the feminist blog Tiger Beatdown in 2008. He is the author of "Trainwreck: The Women We Love to Hate, Mock, and Fear... and Why" (Melville House 2016), which has been called "smart, funny and fearless" (Boston Globe), "compelling" and "persuasive" (New York Times Book Review). The Atlantic predicted that "Trainwreck will very likely join the feminist canon." Doyle’s second book, "Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers: Monstrosity, Patriarchy and the Fear of Female Power" (Melville House, 2019) was named a Best Non-Fiction Book of 2019 by Kirkus Reviews and was shortlisted for Starburst Magazine’s Brave New Words award. His first non-fiction book under his real name, "DILF: Did I Leave Feminism," will be published by Melville House in the fall of 2025.
In 2021, Jude published "Maw," a limited-series horror comic with artist A.L. Kaplan, for Boom! Studios. His follow-up, "The Neighbors" with artist Letizia Cadonici, was published in 2023, and was nominated for a 2024 GLAAD award for “Outstanding Comic.” Both are now available in collected edition, and Jude’s third series, "Be Not Afraid" with artist Lisandro Estherren, is forthcoming from Boom! Studios.
Under his former pen name “Sady Doyle,” Jude founded the feminist blog Tiger Beatdown in 2008. He is the author of "Trainwreck: The Women We Love to Hate, Mock, and Fear... and Why" (Melville House 2016), which has been called "smart, funny and fearless" (Boston Globe), "compelling" and "persuasive" (New York Times Book Review). The Atlantic predicted that "Trainwreck will very likely join the feminist canon." Doyle’s second book, "Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers: Monstrosity, Patriarchy and the Fear of Female Power" (Melville House, 2019) was named a Best Non-Fiction Book of 2019 by Kirkus Reviews and was shortlisted for Starburst Magazine’s Brave New Words award. His first non-fiction book under his real name, "DILF: Did I Leave Feminism," will be published by Melville House in the fall of 2025.
In 2021, Jude published "Maw," a limited-series horror comic with artist A.L. Kaplan, for Boom! Studios. His follow-up, "The Neighbors" with artist Letizia Cadonici, was published in 2023, and was nominated for a 2024 GLAAD award for “Outstanding Comic.” Both are now available in collected edition, and Jude’s third series, "Be Not Afraid" with artist Lisandro Estherren, is forthcoming from Boom! Studios.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 11, 2021
Marilyn Monroe is an icon.
I've never really known much about her, but when I was reading Truman Capote's short story, "A Beautiful Child," I quickly became enthralled by their friendship. I don't think I ever looked beyond Marilyn's persona to think about who she was until I read that story. Seeing Truman Capote write about his friend and her struggles, I had an inkling that she might have a much deeper story than what Hollywood wanted us to see.
I finally found a copy of Marilyn Monroe: The Last Interview in a local bookstore. I snatched it up and devoured it in a few hours. Topping off at 100 pages, this book narrates Marilyn's last interview just weeks before her death. It also features several journalistic conversations where we get real insight into who she was. She didn't set out to become an icon, hell she didn't even want that kind of responsibility. She wasn't the dumb blonde she was typecast as. She was passionate, brilliant, beautiful, and complicated. She just wanted a life to call her very own.
I love her.
I love this.
Reviews for other books in The Last Interview Series can be found at A Reader's Diary!
I've never really known much about her, but when I was reading Truman Capote's short story, "A Beautiful Child," I quickly became enthralled by their friendship. I don't think I ever looked beyond Marilyn's persona to think about who she was until I read that story. Seeing Truman Capote write about his friend and her struggles, I had an inkling that she might have a much deeper story than what Hollywood wanted us to see.
I finally found a copy of Marilyn Monroe: The Last Interview in a local bookstore. I snatched it up and devoured it in a few hours. Topping off at 100 pages, this book narrates Marilyn's last interview just weeks before her death. It also features several journalistic conversations where we get real insight into who she was. She didn't set out to become an icon, hell she didn't even want that kind of responsibility. She wasn't the dumb blonde she was typecast as. She was passionate, brilliant, beautiful, and complicated. She just wanted a life to call her very own.
I love her.
I love this.
Reviews for other books in The Last Interview Series can be found at A Reader's Diary!
July 2, 2022
A very informative read that highlights yet again how little credit Hollywood gave to Marilyn for her actual talent and her ambition to be more than the role they cast her in. Hollywood is such a toxic environment and while we will never truly know who she truly was behind closed doors and what she ultimately wanted there’s more than enough proof hinting at her demise being largely due to being misunderstood and hushed. These interviews were heartbreaking and beautiful. A good read for anyone interested in this icon.
July 25, 2024
nothing special about this, just four or five interviews with marilyn monroe compiled together. main thing that stood out was just how patient monroe had to be to deal with this type of treatment (who just says, in the middle of the interview, “i heard you were raped as a child”???).
June 19, 2021
As someone who is pretty familiar with Marilyn Monroe and her movies and who has read many biographies and watched tons of documentaries and TV interviews on her, I thought this was a fantastic introduction to get a taste of Marilyn's wonderful and open mind. While Marilyn Monroe: The Last Interview and Other Conversations only gives us 5 interviews - obviously she had given way much more than that in her lifetime - it never gives you the feeling of being cheated out of more material. All the interviews gave us a snapshot into a time and era where misogyny, sexism, and segregation was as normal as breathing, where only a small, brave few challenged it because it just was what it was, but here, Marilyn was not afraid to be honest about her mistreatment as the world's most famous white sex symbol, and she sympathized with people of color and the queer community, and she saw everyone as her equal even when that feeling wasn't mutual nor was it reciprocated in return. Yes, Marilyn did have a reputation for always being late, but she always gave everyone her most undivided attention when she arrived, yes, she was smart contrary to her "dumb blonde" persona, but she was also tender, sweet, and caring. She was also painfully insecure, vulnerable, and heartbroken. She was flawed, imperfect. She worked hard and always did her best even when she was hardly given respectable credit for her intelligence, talent, and success. And yet still, she was beautiful, her heart and soul was pure. That so much of Marilyn's nuances and complexities could be condensed into these 5 interviews is pretty extraordinary, while also being pretty fun to read. Some of Marilyn's sense of humor came through so well even during some sad moments. Her reflections on her marriages and her affairs with men and on dying young but looking forward to growing old into her fifties, that certainly gave me pause. Her loss was such a tragedy. If there's any flaw to this book is that it's too slim and short, but my oh my, it's exquisite, and belongs to every Marilyn Monroe fan and for anyone who loves Hollywood history.
May 26, 2024
“Politicians get away with murder because most Americans don’t know any more about it than I do. Less even … It’s my country and I should know what they’re doing with it.” ~ Marilyn Monroe, pg 72.
I have read well-researched biographies about Marilyn, however, none of them felt as candid and down to earth as this little book of interviews. The Marilyn found in these pages is the kind few people know about—or have taken the time to get to know. Some of the things Marilyn said in these pages struck me to the core and made me rethink aspects of my own life. She was quite a bit smarter than the public gave her credit for during her lifetime and her penchant for learning can be easily found in the manner with which she once spoke.
If you are a fan of Marilyn Monroe, you need this book. You need to let her choice of words and insightful one-liners play through your head like a lost recording. It’s a short, but solid read. One I will be coming back to time and time again.
I have read well-researched biographies about Marilyn, however, none of them felt as candid and down to earth as this little book of interviews. The Marilyn found in these pages is the kind few people know about—or have taken the time to get to know. Some of the things Marilyn said in these pages struck me to the core and made me rethink aspects of my own life. She was quite a bit smarter than the public gave her credit for during her lifetime and her penchant for learning can be easily found in the manner with which she once spoke.
If you are a fan of Marilyn Monroe, you need this book. You need to let her choice of words and insightful one-liners play through your head like a lost recording. It’s a short, but solid read. One I will be coming back to time and time again.
May 14, 2025
There is only one Q/A interview in this book. Others are 'descriptions' of interviews with questions and answers, but padded.
If you want a snappy presis of who Marilyn was and how she thought, this is a good start. We learn, for instance, that she had lived with, and tried to please, twelve different families up to the age of sixteen. Being sensitive, that was an awful burden to bring to maturity. It certainly explains some of her behaviours.
To me the other main takeaway was her curiosity. Her hunger to learn. Her reading was extensive, and growing. Being a blonde 'bimbo' was just one of her acts. A person capable of entrancing millions, remaining lonely inside provokes interest. She was special.
If you want a snappy presis of who Marilyn was and how she thought, this is a good start. We learn, for instance, that she had lived with, and tried to please, twelve different families up to the age of sixteen. Being sensitive, that was an awful burden to bring to maturity. It certainly explains some of her behaviours.
To me the other main takeaway was her curiosity. Her hunger to learn. Her reading was extensive, and growing. Being a blonde 'bimbo' was just one of her acts. A person capable of entrancing millions, remaining lonely inside provokes interest. She was special.
January 24, 2022
It really does seem as though in this interview set you're getting a good look at the interiority of Marilyn Monroe. The impression is she was a shy, troubled woman with a dark past who wanted to be loved, and she was overly trusting, but her representation as a cultural symbol got in the way of love and trust. A sad story, really, the short life of a movie star. Rest in peace, Norma Jeane.
March 4, 2024
Tragic. She was trapped by who people insisted she be… and she was so very alone…
Did women never interview her? A woman talking to her might come away with something altogether different.
The book leaves me feeling sad for a woman who was clearly lonely and horribly misunderstood.
Did women never interview her? A woman talking to her might come away with something altogether different.
The book leaves me feeling sad for a woman who was clearly lonely and horribly misunderstood.
March 30, 2021
An interesting look at how Marilyn thought of herself and her fame.
January 22, 2023
I’ve been wanting to read a book on Marilyn Monroe for… what? A decade at this point? Over a decade? Anyway, let it be known that in January 2022 I finally did it! No, but in all seriousness I really enjoyed this. It’s not only my first Marilyn Monroe book; it’s my first time reading a book from the Last Interview series. I think I’m quite happy that the first book I read on her is one from her own mouth. This contains five different interviews conducted with Marilyn ranging from 1951to 1962 and I think the introduction by Sady Doyle is incredibly apt when you consider all but one of these interviews was done by men and there is a bit of self insert and fan-fiction being done on their part. Don’t get me wrong, I recently discovered my love of new journalism/literary journalism (specifically Gay Talese). However, while those follow around a subject and let them speak and interact with the world around them, these are more in the vain of “man captivated by the allure of Marilyn and inserts his own ideas as to what she’s thinking.” It would be relatively inconsequential if this wasn’t Marilyn “the sex symbol” Monroe that we’re talking about. Keep in mind what Sady Doyle says in the introduction.
“She’s famous for things she never said, after a lifetime of being denied the right to speak for herself. The extent to which Marilyn Monroe was defined by the gaze of others is apparent throughout this book… The reporter is always given the chance to editorialize and tell us what he thinks of her; he’s always a main character in the story, even if the character he’s always portraying is, ‘guy who flirted with Marilyn Monroe.’”
Sady then leaves us with this, “Marilyn Monroe has been dead for over half a century, and it is not over yet. We are still right where we started: everyone loves her, no one knows her, and now, no one ever will. We have only these interviews: only the girl peaking out behind the dumb blonde and the sexpot and the scandal, daring us to set aside our own desires long enough to hear her out.”
While there’s plenty to say about the male interviewers, what with lines like “assembly-line predecessors” and “1951 model Hollywood blonde is custom-built” as if we’re discussing cars. But given the fact that this merely a selection of interviews with her, I think it’d be best to have this “review” just provide a small glimpse of Marilyn’s life and thoughts.
“Quizzing Marilyn Monroe”
Interview by Helen Hover
Motion Picture Magazine
January 1954
Hover: What are your measurements?
Monroe: Bust 37, waist 23.5, hips 37.5—or so they tell me.
Hover: What is your favorite past time?
Monroe: Walking. I can walk alone for hours and enjoy it.
“Conversations with Marilyn”
Conversation with William J. Weatherby
1961
“I certainly change with places and people. I’m different in New York than I am in Hollywood… I’m different with Lee than with my secretary, and I’m different again with you. I always see that in interviews. The questions demand certain answers and make you seem a certain kind of person. The questions often tell more about the interviewer than the answers do about me.”
“I’ve never dropped anyone I believed in. My trouble is, I trust people too much. I believe in them too much and I go on believing in them when the signs are already there. You get a lot of disappointments.”
“That sounds like Sir Olivier telling me to be sexy. I’d rather be wise. Sometimes when Arthur and his friends were talking, I couldn’t follow. I don’t know much about politics. I’m just past the goodies and baddies stage. The politicians get away with murder because most Americans don’t know any more about it than I do… I felt at my age I should have known. It’s my country and I should know what they’re doing with it.”
“I was remembering Monty Clift. People who aren’t fit to open the door for him sneer at his homosexuality… No sex is wrong if there’s love in it.”
“I sit in front of the mirror for hours looking for signs of age. Yet I like old people. I want to grow old without face-lifts. They take the life out of a face, the character. I want to have the courage to be loyal to the face I’ve made.”
“She’s famous for things she never said, after a lifetime of being denied the right to speak for herself. The extent to which Marilyn Monroe was defined by the gaze of others is apparent throughout this book… The reporter is always given the chance to editorialize and tell us what he thinks of her; he’s always a main character in the story, even if the character he’s always portraying is, ‘guy who flirted with Marilyn Monroe.’”
Sady then leaves us with this, “Marilyn Monroe has been dead for over half a century, and it is not over yet. We are still right where we started: everyone loves her, no one knows her, and now, no one ever will. We have only these interviews: only the girl peaking out behind the dumb blonde and the sexpot and the scandal, daring us to set aside our own desires long enough to hear her out.”
While there’s plenty to say about the male interviewers, what with lines like “assembly-line predecessors” and “1951 model Hollywood blonde is custom-built” as if we’re discussing cars. But given the fact that this merely a selection of interviews with her, I think it’d be best to have this “review” just provide a small glimpse of Marilyn’s life and thoughts.
“Quizzing Marilyn Monroe”
Interview by Helen Hover
Motion Picture Magazine
January 1954
Hover: What are your measurements?
Monroe: Bust 37, waist 23.5, hips 37.5—or so they tell me.
Hover: What is your favorite past time?
Monroe: Walking. I can walk alone for hours and enjoy it.
“Conversations with Marilyn”
Conversation with William J. Weatherby
1961
“I certainly change with places and people. I’m different in New York than I am in Hollywood… I’m different with Lee than with my secretary, and I’m different again with you. I always see that in interviews. The questions demand certain answers and make you seem a certain kind of person. The questions often tell more about the interviewer than the answers do about me.”
“I’ve never dropped anyone I believed in. My trouble is, I trust people too much. I believe in them too much and I go on believing in them when the signs are already there. You get a lot of disappointments.”
“That sounds like Sir Olivier telling me to be sexy. I’d rather be wise. Sometimes when Arthur and his friends were talking, I couldn’t follow. I don’t know much about politics. I’m just past the goodies and baddies stage. The politicians get away with murder because most Americans don’t know any more about it than I do… I felt at my age I should have known. It’s my country and I should know what they’re doing with it.”
“I was remembering Monty Clift. People who aren’t fit to open the door for him sneer at his homosexuality… No sex is wrong if there’s love in it.”
“I sit in front of the mirror for hours looking for signs of age. Yet I like old people. I want to grow old without face-lifts. They take the life out of a face, the character. I want to have the courage to be loyal to the face I’ve made.”
December 9, 2021
I'm too young to know much about Marilyn Monroe. And I don't recall ever seeing one of her pin-up photos or watching one of her movies. None the less, I do have some sort of memories of her. This book provides access to knowing more about her and even offers insights into her psychology. Here are a few quotes from the book.
"It is not new to say that Marilyn Monroe spent her life, and afterlife, as a projection of other people's fantasies."
"During the greater part of her childhood she was a public ward; her name was Norma Jean Baker."
"Her queerness, long rumored, became something she would casually admit to in the middle of an interview: 'No sex is wrong if there's love in it."
"When I was a kid, the world often seemed a pretty grim place. I loved to escape through games and make-believe."
"I must be careful now not to do it again. I've been with some stinkers."
Marilyn Monroe died at age 36, forever frozen in time. This book has inspired me to Google her pin-up posters and watch a few of her movies like: Misfits, The Seven Year Itch, and All About Eve.
"It is not new to say that Marilyn Monroe spent her life, and afterlife, as a projection of other people's fantasies."
"During the greater part of her childhood she was a public ward; her name was Norma Jean Baker."
"Her queerness, long rumored, became something she would casually admit to in the middle of an interview: 'No sex is wrong if there's love in it."
"When I was a kid, the world often seemed a pretty grim place. I loved to escape through games and make-believe."
"I must be careful now not to do it again. I've been with some stinkers."
Marilyn Monroe died at age 36, forever frozen in time. This book has inspired me to Google her pin-up posters and watch a few of her movies like: Misfits, The Seven Year Itch, and All About Eve.
July 30, 2023
I think this book should be articles of Marilyn not interviews. Yes, they interviewed her but the rest of the article is the writers opinions and thoughts. I find it interesting that they complained in the introduction how badly males from the press treated her yet chose those articles. Many of these articles are about her with a few qoutes thrown in and not an actual interview with Marilyn. I expected that all of these would be actual interviews with Marilyn but she is once again silenced for the opinion of men. The author's promise on giving Marilyn a voice failed her job and failed on focusing on Marilyn which is sad. It does make me want to find some better books about the things she said and wrote.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews