Photograph: model Norma Jeane Mortenson in a commercial shoot in 1946, by Richard C. Miller
Three years later in 1949, she was out of a job and out of luck; was late in her rental, her car had been repossesed and after mulling the idea for two days, Ms. Mortenson eventually accepted 50 $ (some 680 $ in current purchasing power) to pose in her birthday suit against a background of red velvet, at the studio of some Tom Kelley. The images were so powerful that a night club owner and businessman decided to use them for the cover and first issue of a magazine targeted at urban single men.
And that’s how Marylin Monroe’s career started at a point in which many stars’ career would have died since nudity was strictly forbidden and there were clauses against it in all contracts. That last resort sesion and the appearence in Playboy opened Holywood’s doors for Marilyn… but it came for a price, too, since she never was particularly well paid compared to other stars.
