Casting Norma Jeane: A Starlet is Transformed Into Marilyn Monroe

by James Glaeg

"She started out with less than any girl I ever knew." So recalled modeling agent Emmeline Snively of her client Norma Jeane Dougherty at the age of 19. "But she worked the hardest. She wanted to learn. She wanted to BE SOMEBODY more than anybody I ever saw before in my life." And she became Marilyn Monroe. That is, in the eyes of all but a select few insiders who like Miss Snively saw that the greatest sex symbol of all time was a pure fabrication. An exquisitely crafted act. A dazzling illusion who disappeared as soon as the makeup came off at night. Through those insiders' eyes CASTING NORMA JEANE now recaptures the late summer of 1946 as a restless model and starlet described as "pretty but plain" steps into a role that will make her the most photographed, most talked about, and most written about woman of the 20th century.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Celebrity

242 pages, Paperback

First published July 12, 2012

About the author

James Glaeg is a journalist and documentarian whose favored milieu has been the movie and television factories of Hollywood. He has given numerous lectures and workshops on iconic media figures. PHOTO: James Glaeg on a movie set during the period when he was inadvertently gathering the interviews that would eventually lead to CASTING NORMA JEANE. "Alas," as he writes in the book's Notes and Sources, "life is what happens while you're making other plans. My great ambition, then, as a budding film auteur of nineteen, was to write FOR Marilyn Monroe, not ABOUT her."

Reviews

[Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB · Rating 5 out of 5]

"She started out with less than any girl I ever knew." So recalled modeling agent Emmeline Snively of her client Norma Jeane Dougherty at the age of 19. "But she worked the hardest. She wanted to learn. She wanted to BE SOMEBODY more than anybody I ever saw before in my life." And she became Marilyn Monroe. That is, in the eyes of all but a select few insiders who like Miss Snively saw that the greatest sex symbol of all time was a pure fabrication. An exquisitely crafted act. A dazzling illusion who disappeared as soon as the makeup came off at night. Through those insiders' eyes CASTING NORMA JEANE now recaptures the late summer of 1946 as a restless model and starlet described as "pretty but plain" steps into a role that will make her the most photographed, most talked about, and most written about woman of the 20th century."

There have been many many many....books about Marilyn Monroe. There has been almost none about Norma Jeane Dougherty until the recent publication of the unforgetable CASTING NORMA JEAN by James Glaig.
Mr. Glaig, unlike most Monroe biographers actually was there...a friend of those who Norma Jean leaned on before Hollywood cast her as their own "product"

The book is written in a very accessible manner, almost novel-like in nature, as we are transported to the year 1946 and the birth of the making of an icon. Most biographies of Marilyn Monroe focused on her well known troubles, marriages and Hollywood gossip. Mr. Glaeg's effort is so very successful because it focuses on the real Norma Jean..the real Marilyn. One truly gets a close up perspective of Marilyn Monroe, her truly troubled childhood, those....unknown until now..who played such key parts in Norma Jean becoming Marilyn.

This is a very affecting story, in that it is true. We are told of the mental breakdown of Norma Jean's Mother Gladys, the powerful effect the words of her mother's best friend Grace..who told the
motherless girl, now in her care that "someday you will be a movie star" had on Marilyn. This is not a book for those who want name dropping..this is a book for those who truly want to know about the most famous actress of the 20th Century before she married a famed playwright and a baseball hero.

Berniece Miracle, Ben Lyon, Jim Dougherty and "Aunt" Grace may not have the same name cache of The Yankee Clipper Joe D., Arthur Miller, JFK, Sinatra and others who play so prominent a part in other biographies. Yet these are the folks who made possible all those future biographies and thankfully we now get a chance to meet them in CASTING NORMA JEAN. I have such a new perspective on Marilyn Monroe after reading this superb book. She comes alive in these pages, thanks to Mr. Glaeg's razor writing skills. One truly thinks of Marilyn as Norma Jean (her name change is explained and it is quite facinating) in this book. There is a closeness to Norma Jean that permeates the book and draws the reader in. One feels as if one is almost a part of her protective circle as we watch her progress during this most important year of her life. An amazing Hollywood story witten in a amazingly un-Hollywood style...honestly.

A JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB MUST READ

RICK FRIEDMAN
FOUNDER
THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I was a little girl, I have always been a fan of Marilyn Monroe. I find her to be majestic and fascinating. In this book, I was introduced to Norma Jeane before she became an star, and to those closest to her. The book reads like a novel and paints a very imaginable picture of that period of time and the location of Hollywood. I have always imagined the sacrifices that it must have taken to achieve her level of status, it appears that there were many sacrifices throughout her entire life. I found her upbringing to be despairing but yet, I can relate to how this contributed to her desires to be loved and admired. I really enjoyed this book and the look into this period of time in Marilyn's(Norma Jeane's)life. I was so very excited to receive this book for free through Goodreads First Reads program, I feel honored to give a review.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book focuses on 1946, the year when 20 year-old Norma Jeane Dougherty became Marilyn Monroe. The author met Sam and Enid Knebelcamp, part of her extended family, in 1958. The book is based on his recollections of this encounter and others connected to Marilyn, as well as his own research. It reads like a novel, but unlike so many books about Monroe (alas), it's true to fact. 'Casting Norma Jeane' illuminates that extraordinary period of transformation, and the many players involved, although the young woman at the centre remains somewhat elusive. So no earth-shattering revelations here I'm afraid, but a nice read (available in paperback and on Kindle.)

[Lynda Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting perspective taken by a book about Marilyn Monroe in that it features a year in her life when she was only 20 and still very much Norma Jeane. I really enjoyed it and learned quite a lot more about her strange familial dynamics and about those she was closest to during that period. She certainly never had a massive amount of support or encouragement from her mum but she also had her demons and I liked that Marilyn would never, ever slate her because she also knew how hard she worked in the early years to raise her.
It's good the author has actually spoken with some of the people he's written about and hasn't just made it all up after reading a few articles, too.
It's quite intriguing too in that both "candles in the wind" died aged only 36.
Certainly a comprehensive look at the last year she was Norma Jeane.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this in a FR giveaway. This book focuses on 1946, the year Marilyn Monroe was starting out as an actress. I thought the book was really interesting, a fast read, and I loved how it read more like a novel instead of a non-fiction book. I've always loved Marilyn Monroe, and I learned some new things from this book. Overall, an interesting book about the always interesting Marilyn Monroe, and any fan of hers will enjoy this book. My only complaint is that there are no pictures! I would have loved for there to be some pictures in the book.

[Theresa Mary Schutt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be pretty good though a lot of the information can be found in other books It's basically about her early transformation into Marilyn Monroe

[Isabelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

The blue book agency years are an important period in Norma Jean's life, where she starts to learn how to move, pose and enhance her best features. It reveals a smart and hard working young model.

So I was thrilled when I saw this book, expecting a detailed path of her transformation. Started to read right away, and aww what a let down.

The book reads like a novel with way too long descriptions and little informations. Very slow writing where Marilyn seems very far from us. Couldn't get past chapter 4, feeling I was truly wasting my time. You might find a few interesting things if you haven't read much about Emmeline Snively and her girls.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. This biography of Marilyn Monroe focuses on the year 1946 when nineteen-year-old Norma Jeane Dougherty is a model wanting to embark on a career as an actress. The book reveals details of Norma Jeane's childhood growing up in foster homes while yearning for the love of her mentally ill mother and a father whom she didn't know. The book is very interesting and I learned a lot which helped me to better understand Marilyn Monroe's successful career and the circumstances surrounding her unhappy and tragic life.

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, Norma Jeane Dougherty is introduced to us before she became a star. It focuses on her in the year 1946 when she is nineteen-year-old Norma Jeane Dougherty. She is a model wanting to become an actress. The book reads as a novel and paints a very imaginable picture of her life during this period and time. It Shows how she became Marilyn Monroe. It is told from different perspectives.I really enjoyed reading this book and the look into this period of time in Marilyn Monroe's(Norma Jeane's)life. I would recommend this book to anyone. It was a very good read.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a concise accounting of Marilyn's beginnings. It's an interesting part of the legend's life. Unfortunately, it seemed like Marilyn became a bit player in her own life story when almost half of the short book's attention was shifted to a rather extensive retelling of her mother's life. In these passages, Marilyn—Norma Jean even—isn't mentioned. If anything, this made me want to go out and find a more extensive biography.

[Donadee's Corner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very interesting idea for a book but there was something lacking. I just could not get into it, most of the information is old and has been out there for ever. Marilyn was a very young woman that really never grew up. Being this way she was hurt in so ways and this book does not even begin to tell that side of it. I think that everyone knew that except the author. I wish I could give this a higher rating but I don't feel that it's there.

[Jennifer Cain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so excited to find I was the winner of this title on Firstreads. I, like many others, have always been fascinated with Marilyn Monroe. This title focuses on that very brief amount of time when Norma Jean was transformed into iconic Marilyn. It is a must read.

[Gerri Watkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This biography is of how Norma Jeane became Marily Monroe, told from a different perspective. While this was an interesting book, I found the story a bit rushed and as such left me with more questions than answers. I would have liked more details.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt like I was reading a school assignment. Not that the writer wasn't intelligent, but rather wasn't speaking to the reader. Not smooth and connected, but a chore. The final words was a good choice of ending.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a sad life. I didn't know much about "Marilyn Monroe" and I found her story fascinating but so sad. It was definitely worth reading.

[MelAnnD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!!!

*Won on Goodreads*