Marilyn Monroe Wanted To Retire To Brooklyn

Marilyn Monroe Wanted To Retire To Brooklyn: "That's My Favorite Place In The World, So Far"

 
Monroe in Manhattan, circa 1955

In case you're wondering why Maureen Dowd is giving precious column inches to a "love goddess" in this weekend's paper, today is the 50th anniversary of the death of Marilyn Monroe. While Monroe spent a fair amount of time in NYC later in her life—including a stay at Payne Whitney Hospital in 1961—in a rare radio interview re-broadcast by NBC today, she revealed her ambitions to become a first wave Brooklyn gentrifier: "That's my favorite place in the world, so far, that I've seen. I haven't travelled much, but I don't think I'll find anything to replace Brooklyn."

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Monroe's affection for Brooklyn was likely influenced by her former husband Arthur Miller, who was living there when the two fell in love. They married in 1956, and stayed together until 1961, a year before her death. Inanother interview, she had said during that time period: "I'm going to buy a little house in Brooklyn and live there. I'll go to the coast only when I have to make a picture."

As for what she loved about Brooklyn, it sounds as though there was a certain amount of anonymity she could maintain walking around the borough, while still remaining close to Manhattan life: "I just like walking around. I think the view is better from Brooklyn—you can look back over and see Manhattan. That's the best view, but it isn't only the view. It's the people, and the streets...and the atmosphere, I just like it."

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