Marilyn Monroe’s legendary photographer opens up on their extraordinary bond

She was the world’s most photographed woman, yet one lensman caught Marilyn Monroe’s eye and became her friend. Recalling the moment when the film star revealed her soft side, as he was shooting her in her dressing room, photographer Lawrence Schiller says she observed him and said: “You didn’t close your eye when you were shooting.” He explained to Marilyn how an accident as a child had left him blind in his left eye. He says: “The look on her face changed from curiosity to concern. Marilyn’s manner seemed to shift as the details of my story unfolded. Her lips opened, and I saw how perfect her teeth were. Her eyes became warmer and watery, as if what I was describing gave her comfort. It was an odd reaction, and I did not understand it. It would be many years before I came to realise that some questions in life simply have no answers.” Lawrence, now 89, first met Marilyn in 1960. He recalls: “When I pulled into the 20th Century Fox studios parking lot in Los Angeles, I kept telling myself that this was just another assignment. But it wasn’t. In a few minutes, I’d be meeting Marilyn Monroe on the set of Let’s Make Love. I was excited, but I tried not to show it.” Marilyn appeared, wearing a black leotard and sheer black stockings. Schiller, who lives in California, says: “Her face as soft as a silk bedsheet but her expression saying she’s unapproachable. She passed by me as if I wasn’t there. ‘This is Larry,’ the publicist said. ‘He’s with Look magazine. He’ll be around for a few days.’ Marilyn stopped. Unexpectedly, her eyes lit up. “‘Hi, Larry from Look. I’m Marilyn,’ she said. ‘And I’m the Big Bad Wolf,’ I replied. I had no idea where that came from and that made me even more nervous than I already was. I stuck my hand out to shake hers, and the three cameras dangling from my neck banged into each other. Marilyn broke out into laughter. ‘You look a bit young to be so bad,’ she said.” Thrilled to meet her, completely losing his cool, Lawrence said to the Some Like It Hot star: “You’re already famous, now you’re going to make me famous.” An award winning photographer, Lawrence photographed some of the defining moments of the second half of the twentieth century. He captured the chaotic aftermath of President John F Kennedy’s assassination and photographed boxing great Muhammad Ali in the ring. Now the Brooklyn-born lensman has released his book, Marilyn & Me, to mark her centenary year. It includes pictures of Marilyn, who would have been 100 on June 1, in a swimming pool for Something's Got to Give, which was left unfinished as a result of her tragic death that August, aged 36. Lawrence’s book includes more than 100 images, including rare film outtakes, taken during her final days. Recalling her as a ‘dream to photograph,’ he says: “Marilyn had final photo approval of my images. She said, ‘That’s not the best angle for me. If you go over there’—tilting her head slightly, indicating a spot to the left—’you’ll get a better photo, because the light will be better.’ “I moved to where she suggested, and at that moment she turned her head halfway in my direction. Looking over her left shoulder, she flashed a coy smile that told me all I needed to know about Marilyn Monroe. She knew who she was, she knew who I was, she knew what to do, and she may have understood light better than I did and that would be to my advantage.” When, after a brilliant shoot, Lawrence got to the movie set early, filled with enthusiasm, Marilyn was nowhere to be seen. He says: “Everyone was standing around. Marilyn was in her dressing room, the door closed. One hour passed. Two. Three. I soon discovered that she followed her own clock. It seemed not to matter to her that there was a schedule or that her delays cost the studio more money. "As I would learn, she considered herself underpaid and had been battling Fox for years. The gossip was that she thought the studio didn’t respect her talent as an actress and that she felt Fox didn’t treat her fairly. I had read that for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which she’d made in 1953, Jane Russell was paid $200,000 while Marilyn, the blonde referred to in the title of the movie, earned all of $1,250 per week—about $15,000 for the entire picture.” It was mid-afternoon, when Marilyn emerged, wearing a stunning white dress. Schiller says: “Her face was fresh as the morning. I walked backward taking her picture. ‘You’d better watch out,’ she warned. ‘You’re gonna fall over something. I told you—you’ve gotta watch your back. … because no one else will.’” Recalling people’s relief when Marilyn appeared, he continues: “When the cause of all this anxiety [Marilyn] walked in front of the cameras, smiling at everyone, making no apologies, everything was forgiven. Marilyn was all business when the cameras started rolling. It took her hours and hours to get herself psyched up to do each scene, but when she was ready to be the character the role demanded, there was no denying her power.” Marilyn’s co-star in Let’s Make Love, was Italian born French actor and singer Yves Montand. Schiller says: “Nobody watched him in their scenes together. Everyone was focused on Marilyn. That said, you didn’t need to hear rumours of a physical attraction between Marilyn and Montand, because you could feel the heat they generated.” Schiller would go on to shoot Marilyn many times until her death in August 1962. She was found in her Brentwood, Los Angeles home after a fatal barbiturate overdose. The official investigation by the Los Angeles County coroner ruled her death a "probable suicide". Schiller says: “I had witnessed how quickly Marilyn could polish off a bottle of Dom Pérignon by herself; all the studio photographers have said that she drank champagne and wine steadily during their shoots. We know from the amount of time she spent in therapy that she was depressed and an insomniac, and that she always took pills to fall asleep. And at our last meeting, I myself saw signs of how upset she could get. “Did she want to kill herself? I don’t think she did. I think she overdosed accidentally. I can imagine Marilyn drinking champagne that night - just like any other. Drinking champagne, popping some pills, talking on the phone, forgetting about the pills she had already taken and taking some more, and, finally, in the safe haven of the darkness, knocking herself out. Only this time she didn’t wake up.” Schiller says he has put his memories to rest with his Marilyn & Me book. He tells: “Marilyn Monroe is a bigger star today than she ever was when she was alive. Marilyn Monroe came into my life in 1960, and she is still a living, breathing, extraordinary presence for me fifty-two years later. I think about her often. And he adds: “The sound of Marilyn’s voice still rings true in my ears. Once you heard it in person, you’d never forget it.” *Marilyn & Me by Lawrence Schiller, £30, published by Taschen, is out now