The Woman Behind Marilyn's Style
Have you ever heard of Marilyn Monroe? Of course you have. Have you ever heard of Amy Greene? Of course you haven’t. Have you ever stared endlessly and pictures capturing Marilyn’s off-duty style? Of course I have.
Now the Amy Greene I’m referring to is not Rachel Green’s fictional Friends sister, played by Christina Applegate. No. The Amy I’m referring to is the loyal wife of the late Hollywood photographer, Milton H. Greene.
But before I get to Amy I’ll start with Milton himself. He was a young portrait photographer who found a muse in Marilyn. A producer who helped pluck Marilyn out of her watertight contract with 20th Century Fox and initiate Marilyn Monroe productions (of which he gave Marilyn a majority share). A friend who housed Marilyn in the wake of her break up to Joe DiMaggio, enabling her move to New York where she would go on to make some of her most famous films (The Seven Year Itch), study with Lee Strasberg and eventually meet her third husband, Arthur Miller.
In living with her friend, colleague (and potential ex-lover, though rumour has it that if their affair happened it only lasted mere days), in being able to escape east thanks to Milton’s invitation, Marilyn also came to live with Milton’s wife and young son, Joshua.
As she stayed with the family in Connecticut, regrouping after her divorce and the downsides of Hollywood, Milton and she got to work. They spent Sunday’s shooting Marilyn in a myriad of outfits, encapsulating an array of characters. Milton, who had expressed a desire to become a film director, got as much out of this as Marilyn, who was increasingly focused on progressing her career as a proper thespian.
Yet in between shoots Marilyn was often at their home, waiting, wearing whatever she wanted. Meanwhile Amy, an ex-model, three years Marilyn’s junior, was always well-dressed, running after her young son and keeping up her Connecticut home.
Amy observed that Marilyn only had two modes - she’d either be dressed to the nines, ready for the red-carpet, or be practically mooching around in a dressing gown, spending her spare time reading books. Marilyn’s casual clothes were made up stiff denim jeans from the army surplus store, or too-tight pencil skirts which highlighted Marilyn’s sometimes bloated belly (she suffered from endometriosis and her weight often fluctuated). By this point the Greene’s were cocooning Marilyn like no family ever had before. So Amy decided to take it a step further and help her friend hone her style.
Amy and Marilyn set off for the city for a series of private appointments with Amy’s fashion designer friends. Along the way Amy taught Marilyn about tailoring, fit, shape and the universally flattering classics. Up until this point Marilyn was partial to buying clothes too-tight in order to show off her money-making figure, yet Amy taught her that it was the clothes which fit that made one look the most attractive.
This style overhaul is evident in photos of Marilyn from around this time. Circa 1954 she begun to showcase a newfound elegance and naturalness she hadn’t really demonstrated before. Tailored slacks, crisp shirts, toned-down make up. She was nearing 30 and although she was always coquettishly youthful, not to mention determined to continue to appear young on screen, she started dressing in a way that was more mature and more demure.
Her style formula: one part Amy, one part Milton and his self-esteem boosting portraits of her, one part Marilyn - the real Marilyn - and perhaps a just a dash of residual Hollywood glamour.
Few women would be so comfortable, let alone so generous, having their husband’s live-in muse (who also happened to be Hollywood’s biggest bombshell) around for two and a half years. But Amy was seemingly unfazed. She didn’t believe her friend would ever go off with her husband for one, “I was secure in my marriage and I was secure with her… There’s no way she would shaft me to bang Milton.”
In fact Marilyn was the one envious of Amy. “You intimate me” Marilyn is quoted as saying to her. Quite rightly the vulnerable Marilyn would have been intimated by a younger woman who was so resolutely sure of herself and living the American dream. A woman who already had a handsome photographer husband, a social circle brimming with movers and shakers (the Greenes often attended parties at Gene Kelly’s house nearby) and a stylish wardrobe to boot. In response to Marilyn’s intimation Amy recently said in an interview,“I intimidate people, because I don’t take any nonsense.”
But beneath the perfectly tailored first layer what was Amy really like? More a peripheral celebrity, it’s hard to know, though from what I gather she was and is a spark (she’s still alive today at 94 years old).
Born Amy Franco in Cuba, in 1929, she eventually moved to the States and started modelling before meeting Milton, marrying him when she was just 24, and giving birth to their first child, Joshua, shortly after (they would later have a second son, Anthony).
Gamine, dark haired, very pretty and very stylish, she was reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn (another starlet Milton is rumoured to have romanced). She spoke with sass yet had the kind of perfect manners that came from being well-bred. A devoted mother and wife, she also seemed to maintain a strong sense of self (not the archetypal attitude of a midcentury housewife). She was both intimidating and warm, put together in a perfect outfit.
If you watch or read interviews of Amy more recently (over the past 15 years she and Joshua have released a couple of book’s of Miltons work along with contributing to various docuseries on Marilyn) she’s still stunningly vibrant. Talkative, chatty and snappy, honest, still wearing immaculate clothing topped off with a strand of pearls.
One wonders what Amy truly thought of Marilyn. I’d argue that anyone female knows that insecure cattiness which can sometimes underly friendship’s with a male partner’s female friends. Yet Amy only has praise to share, even defending her late friend.“Oh my god, she was never a victim. And she LOVED being a movie star.”
Complimentary opposites in every sense, Marilyn and Amy were similar yet vastly different. Marilyn, shy, Amy, extroverted, Marilyn voluptuous, Amy petite - even astrologically they sat on opposite sides of the sky, Marilyn being a Gemini and Amy a Sagittarius, three years and six months later.
The fact is that stint on the East Coast did wonders for Marilyn’s self-esteem, sovereignty and craft. A style upgrade from that era was a mere silver lining. After much research one can tell Amy wasn’t just a sartorial guide to Marilyn, but a guide in life. Not to mention Milton took many of Marilyn’s most famous and beautifully pure portraits during these few years they all spent together.
Amy still speaks so highly of Milton, who died in 1985. How he created such beautiful work of many celebrities including Ms Monroe. In a TV interview Amy spoke to the skill he had, “The essence [of his photos] is the trust… it’s the trust that he generated to get the famous people to trust him.” How he got them to trust him? “He was cute!”
Perhaps that’s all Marilyn needed in her life. People to trust and who trusted her. A good looking male friend, content in his marriage to his own beautiful wife, who wasn’t after more than friendship and colleagueship.
As for Amy’s favourite photo by her late husband, it’s not of Marilyn Monroe nor anyone you’ll have heard of. Instead it’s of 1950s model, Catherine Cassidy, encapsulating the elegance Amy so naturally embodied.
If you want more I recommend starting with a copy of the Greene’s beautiful 2008 book, But That's Another Story: A Photographic Retrospective of Milton H. Greene and/or The Essential Marilyn Monroe by Joshua Greene. I’d also recommend watching the below interview featuring a rare live broadcast with Marilyn, Amy and Milton from the Greene’s Connecticut home.
Some BnB housekeeping:
As I mentioned in the last newsletter, today’s feature is a taste of the paid content to come in 2024. I’ve learnt so much experimenting here on Substack alongside my freelance work writing for a range of Australian publications and lifestyle brands. During this time I’ve also written and published a book and completed an advanced writing course.
Despite my having grown as a writer a lot in the last few years, and my knowing I’m now writing at a level worth charging adequately for, my antipodean, tall poppy self still finds it excruciating asking for money in exchange for my work. However I need to begin to charge the price of a coffee each month (just $5 USD) in order to sustain this Substack so I can spend more time researching, writing and sharing engaging articles you just won’t find in modern day glossies. From 2024 these will all sit behind a paywall, however the monthly Read, Watch, Wear piece will remain free.
I’ll also be taking January off from Substack (all paid subscriptions will be paused during that time, not to mention anytime I’m on a break, hence you’ll never lose out if you upgrade to paid) as I make the move across the pacific ocean over to Los Angeles.
So, see you all in February, where so much fabulousness awaits. Meanwhile I’m wishing you all a wonderful, stylish new year. xx
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