If Marilyn Monroe Got to Live a Little Longer...

            Cambridge University has a position known as the Lucasian Professorship, held by multiple physicists throughout the years, not least of which is Sir Isaac Newton. The late Stephen Hawking held the same position, and in an interview was asked if he would have liked to meet Newton if given the chance. His response was the he would have liked to have instead meet, “Marilyn. Newton seems to have been an unpleasant character.”

            The physicist and author Hawking had a great love and admiration for Marilyn Monroe, having a picture of her in his office. Marilyn Monroe is legendary for her work as an actress, having become a symbol for beauty (and quite frankly sex) that’s transcended her death. She’s one of those people who, even for those who have never seen any of her movies, instantly know the name. In additional to being beautiful and not the least bit camera shy, Marilyn Monroe was a very smart person and would have probably also gotten along with Hawking in that regard.

            I was reading an article on Marilyn Monroe recently, and saw that when she died, she was only thirty-six. That’s only four years older than me. Kind of made me think. Ultimately there’s no way to know what would have happened to her had Marilyn Monroe continued to live, but there are at least a few possibilities.

            Marilyn Monroe probably would have continued to work as an actress. When she died she was still at the height of her fame. And she wanted to be taken more seriously as an actress, constantly working with acting coaches and teachers in an attempt to expand her range. Maybe she would have gotten a larger variety of roles. Maybe she would have eventually won or at least been nominated for an Oscar. Spielberg would get his career rolling about a decade after her death, so maybe she would have worked with him at some point (after all, he worked with Audrey Hepburn in Always).

            Marilyn Monroe was also a big reader and loved to expand her mind. She had a collection of over four hundred books, and often had herself photographed reading one. This interest in reading and intellectual pursuits also extended to men. Marilyn Monroe and a former roommate of hers once each wrote a list of men they dreamed of sleeping with; Monroe’s included the physicist Albert Einstein. And of course for a time she was married to the writer Arthur Miller.

            Maybe Marilyn Monroe would have eventually written a book of her own. Many celebrities at some point write a memoir (sometimes with a ghost writer). She might have eventually gotten around to doing that. She could have also written perhaps a novel, or a poetry collection, or any number of things. Perhaps she would have written her own screenplays, that way both writing and creating a new role for herself. Maybe she would have even gotten onto the James Franco route and gone back to school, earning multiple degrees while simultaneously acting. Maybe eventually she would have retired from acting altogether and worked as a professor.

            Maybe Marilyn Monroe would have had a family of her own. She had three different husbands, although no children of her own. At least once she had a miscarriage. Maybe she would have had some children of her own. It’s possible she could have adopted someone; after all, she herself had spent some time in an orphanage, and might have loved to have adopted someone herself.

            Perhaps Marilyn Monroe would even still be alive today. She was born in 1926, so she would have been in her nineties. More and more people are living into that age range, so it’s not impossible to think that could have happened to Marilyn.

            Ultimately I would like to think that, whatever her destiny may have been, Marilyn Monroe would have been happy. Despite her fame and success, she lived a hard and tragic life. She had both a mother and grandmother who ended up in mental institutions, and I’m sure that was a fear she had herself. Before her ultimate death, Marilyn Monroe also survived multiple suicide attempts. She actually once said, “I was brought up differently than the average American child because the average child is brought up expecting to be happy.” So yes, if nothing else, I would have hoped that Marilyn would have been happy.

Note: You can also check out my fantasy novel in progress The Princess of Infinite Tomorrows at https://princessofinfinitetomorrows.blogspot.com/.