Marilyn Monroe's life was marked by glamorous highs and tragic lows. She was the sex symbol of her generation on the silver screen, starring in hits such as “Seven Year Itch” and “Some Like It Hot.” But as her fame rose, “her emotional insecurity deepened,”
The New York Times noted after her death, ruled a probable suicide, in 1962.
Not long before her death, 20th Century Fox had dismissed her for unjustifiable absences during the filming of “Something’s Got to Give.” And some things did give when it came to her acting. She missed some roles that other actresses made famous.
“Breakfast at Tiffany’s”
When Hollywood bought the rights to Truman Capote’s novella, Capote wanted Monroe to play Holly Golightly,
The Guardian noted in a story about a stage adaption of the film.
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“Blake Edwards's film adaptation was released in 1961, a little less than a year before Monroe died. And much to her disappointment, she didn't win the part that had been written for, and about, her” Sarah Churchwell wrote for The Guardian. “Holly could have been the performance of a lifetime – as it would have been the performance of her lifetime. Moreover Holly, despite being blonde, is decidedly not dumb, and Monroe was desperate to escape being typecast. But (Audrey) Hepburn won the part, and in retrospect it is easy to see why. Hepburn, far more than Monroe, had become indelibly associated with the transformative Cinderella makeover.”
“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”
Monroe sought out the role of Maggie the Cat in this 1958 movie version of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” based on a play by Tennessee Williams. But Elizabeth Taylor famously played that part.
“How to Be Very, Very Popular”
Monroe wasn’t very popular at Fox when she didn’t report to work for this 1955 film. “Instead of reporting for work on ‘How to Be Very, Very Popular,’ Marilyn Monroe took off for New York,” author Eila Mell says in the
book, “Casting Might-Have-Beens: A Film by Film Directory.” “She was subsequently suspended and replaced by Sheree North.”
“Guys and Dolls”
Monroe’s reputation sometimes backfired.
Turner Movie Classics said she wanted to play Adelaide in the 1955 move “Guys and Dolls,” but director Joseph Mankiewicz “didn’t want to work with her again and pretended he never got her messages,” Turner Movie Classics said. The film starred Vivian Blaine instead.
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