Marilyn and Andre de Dienes 1949

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written by Immortal Marilyn | views: 1760

He even recalls the outfit she wore in crystal clear detail, describing her ensemble as a pale pink sweater which clung to her curves, and a matching ribbon in her curly hair, and that her rosy cheeks matched the pink he noted in that ribbon and the sweater. One can only imagine how angelic and fresh she looked to him on that afternoon. He confessed to be ‘completely love struck’ with Norma Jeane from the first moment he laid eyes on her, and it was with great relief when she explained that she was separated from her husband (James Dougherty) when he questioned the wedding band present on her ring finger still. She explained that modelling was her new goal rather than the duties of being a wife, and also expressed interest to him in becoming an actress. He proposed an idea to her, and that was to pack up and leave town for a road trip with him, to find the most beautiful natural scenery to take the most beautiful natural photographs of Norma Jeane. She excitedly agreed and a few days later they left Los Angeles and their journey of discovery. It was at all the places they stopped along the way, from farms to haberdashery stores, gas stations to diners, that de Dienes noticed how Norma Jeane seemed to attract men like bees to honey, and felt quite proud to be the one spending time with her in the role of photographer, even though it can be said that even back then he harboured desires towards her. Desires he respectfully kept to himself for that moment at least, but not for long at all.

All a girl really wants is for one guy to prove to her that they are not all the same. Read more Marilyn Monroe quotes

Their first overnight stop on the journey was at Timberline Lodge in Mount Hood, Oregon, where bad weather hampered the driving conditions and de Dienes decided it would be best to wait until morning to travel further. Taking the only room available, with comprised of a double bed rather than two singles, did not go down so well with Norma Jeane though, who stated she would prefer they drove on until they reached the cabins in the woods so they could have separate beds. And so relenting to her wish De Dienes continued to drive a dusk set in and the snow became heavier and heavier, with them able to travel no further than a place named the Government Lodge where their car got stuck in a drift outside. It would be here where Norma Jeane would be the one to relent, and give de Dienes what he sought, a night of blissful intimacy that he treasured for years to come, and respectfully of Marilyn’s memory always refused to go into any detail over. It was also on this trip that de Dienes saw her sex appeal, coupled with such youthful innocence really come alive in front of the camera, capturing exquisite shot after exquisite shot of her lying languidly on a bed covered in just a sheet, or when the weather permitted out in the snow. Of course, that weekend would not be the last time they worked together professionally, although it would be the last they were together intimately.

It was not until just before Labour Day in 1946 that de Dienes would hear from Norma Jeane again, and this time it was as Marilyn Monroe, transition having come and gone with regards to her name. She delivered the news to him after he visited her apartment, and they worked together on a shoot together shortly after this. The next time de Dienes and Marilyn were to work together was in 1952, just after her nude photograph scandal had broken (the set she had posed for in 1949, with Tom Kelley behind the lens). He shot her at her bungalow at the Bel Air Hotel in Stone Canyon, and remarked how lovely she looked to him as always. His last shoot with the actress was in 1953, after she telephoned him at 2am and asked him to pick her up so he could go take her picture. She navigated him to a practically pitch black street where he used his car headlights alone for a source of light, and shot the rather eerie and haunting pictures of a wide eyed, un made-up and un coiffed Marilyn in the dark. That was nine years before her tragic and untimely death, and the last time de Dienes saw her alive was on June 1st, 1961. He had observed her steady decline over the previous few years, and knew of her troubles sleeping, and her reliance on pharmaceuticals. He said the following on how he observed her woes at their last ever meet; ‘.....her success was a sham, her hopes thwarted...the next day she left a bouquet outside my door: a selection of her latest photos. Smiling, radiant - utterly misleading; I little guessed that this was our last goodbye.’

As well as the iconic Marilyn Monroe, de Dienes also photographed Hollywood heavyweights such as Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando, Henry Fonda, Shirley Temple, Ingrid Bergman, Ronald Reagan, Jane Russell, Anita Ekberg and Fred Astaire. He was considered one of the best, if not the best glamour photographer working in Hollywood at the time, and his pioneering techniques from behind the lens to behind the curtain in the darkroom were well documented in major publications such as Classic Art Photography, U.S Camera and figure Annual to name a few.

De Dienes was twice married, although never a father, and died of cancer in 1985.

His work, can be summed up no greater than in the following quote; ‘Dienes was a man not interested in the glamour or the politics of his work. For him it was about creating something beautiful and nurturing, an idea of the feminine ideal.’