Norma Jean & Marilyn
Encyclopedia
Norma Jean & Marilyn is a 1996 made-for-TV
biographical film
produced by Home Box Office
and premiered on May 18, 1996. The film featured Ashley Judd
as Norma Jean Dougherty and Mira Sorvino
as Marilyn Monroe
. It was partially-based on "Norma Jean: My Secret Life With Marilyn Monroe" by actor Ted Jordan (played by Josh Charles), who claimed to have had a years-long relationship with Monroe.
The tagline
for the highly-fictionalized film summarizes the plot: "Marilyn Monroe was our fantasy. Norma Jean was her reality." In dream-like scenes, Monroe and her former self appear together, with Norma Jean sometimes taunting Marilyn. The original music score was composed by Christopher Young
.
It was nominated for five Emmy Award
s, including for both lead actresses.
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
biographical film
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
produced by Home Box Office
Home Box Office
HBO, short for Home Box Office, is an American premium cable television network, owned by Time Warner. , HBO's programming reaches 28.2 million subscribers in the United States, making it the second largest premium network in America . In addition to its U.S...
and premiered on May 18, 1996. The film featured Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd
Ashley Judd is an American television and film actress, who has played lead roles in films including Ruby in Paradise, Kiss the Girls, Double Jeopardy, Where the Heart Is and High Crimes...
as Norma Jean Dougherty and Mira Sorvino
Mira Sorvino
Mira Katherine Sorvino is an American actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Mighty Aphrodite and is also known for her role as Romy White in Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.- Early life :Sorvino was born in Tenafly, New Jersey...
as Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
. It was partially-based on "Norma Jean: My Secret Life With Marilyn Monroe" by actor Ted Jordan (played by Josh Charles), who claimed to have had a years-long relationship with Monroe.
The tagline
Tagline
A tagline is a variant of a branding slogan typically used in marketing materials and advertising. The idea behind the concept is to create a memorable phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of a brand or product , or to reinforce the audience's memory of a product...
for the highly-fictionalized film summarizes the plot: "Marilyn Monroe was our fantasy. Norma Jean was her reality." In dream-like scenes, Monroe and her former self appear together, with Norma Jean sometimes taunting Marilyn. The original music score was composed by Christopher Young
Christopher Young
Christopher Young is an American music composer for both film and television.Many of his music compositions are for horror films, including Hellraiser, Tales from the Hood, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, Urban Legend, and Drag Me to Hell...
.
It was nominated for five Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s, including for both lead actresses.
Main cast
- Ashley JuddAshley JuddAshley Judd is an American television and film actress, who has played lead roles in films including Ruby in Paradise, Kiss the Girls, Double Jeopardy, Where the Heart Is and High Crimes...
– Norma Jean Dougherty - Mira SorvinoMira SorvinoMira Katherine Sorvino is an American actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Mighty Aphrodite and is also known for her role as Romy White in Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.- Early life :Sorvino was born in Tenafly, New Jersey...
– Marilyn MonroeMarilyn MonroeMarilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s.... - Josh Charles – Ted Jordan
- Ron RifkinRon RifkinRon Rifkin is an American actor. He is best-known for his roles as Arvin Sloane on the spy drama Alias and as Saul Holden on the American family drama Brothers & Sisters.-Personal life:...
– Johnny HydeJohnny HydeJohnny Hyde was a Russian-born American talent agent.Vice-president of the William Morris Agency's West Coast office during the 1930s and 1940s, Hyde represented some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry. In 1948, he met then-unknown actress and model Marilyn Monroe... - David DukesDavid DukesDavid Coleman Dukes was an American character actor.-Life:Dukes was born in San Francisco, California, the son of a highway patrolman...
– Arthur MillerArthur MillerArthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,... - Peter DobsonPeter DobsonPeter Dobson is an American actor who has appeared in Drowning Mona, The Frighteners, The Poseidon Adventure, and the film adaptation of Last Exit to Brooklyn. He also had a cameo role in Forrest Gump as Elvis Presley. Peter also credits himself under alternate name Derek Hoyle...
– Joe DiMaggioJoe DiMaggioJoseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands... - Taylor NicholsTaylor NicholsCecil Taylor Nichols is an American actor best known for roles in the Whit Stillman films Metropolitan, Barcelona, and The Last Days of Disco. His characters in these films were insecure, stuttering sidekicks to those of the more outgoing Chris Eigeman...
– Fred Karger - John RubinsteinJohn RubinsteinJohn Arthur Rubinstein is an American film, Broadway, and television actor, a composer of film and theatre music, and a director in theatre and television.-Early life:...
– Darryl F. ZanuckDarryl F. ZanuckDarryl Francis Zanuck was an American producer, writer, actor, director and studio executive who played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors... - Allan CordunerAllan CordunerAllan Corduner is an English actor.-Early life:Corduner grew up in a secular Jewish home in North London with his mother, father and a younger brother. His mother had escaped to England from Nazi Germany with her family in 1938...
– Billy WilderBilly WilderBilly Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age... - Dana Goldstone – Lee StrasbergLee StrasbergLee Strasberg was an American actor, director and acting teacher. He cofounded, with directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed as "America's first true theatrical collective"...
- Micole Mercurio – Mozelle Hyde
- Lindsay CrouseLindsay Crouse-Early life:Crouse was born in New York City, the daughter of Anna and Russel Crouse, a playwright. Her full name—Lindsay Ann Crouse—is an intentional tribute to the Broadway writing partnership of Lindsay and Crouse. Her father and his writing partner, Howard Lindsay, wrote much of...
– Natasha LytessNatasha LytessNatasha Lytess was acting coach of Marilyn Monroe from 1948-1955. Former student of Max Reinhardt. She is portrayed by Lindsay Crouse in Norma Jean & Marilyn .-References:... - John Apicella – Milton R. KrasnerMilton R. KrasnerMilton R. Krasner, A.S.C. was a film cinematographer. He won an Academy Award for Three Coins in the Fountain .-Career:...
- Kevin Bourland – David March
- Dennis Bowen – Tom Kelly
- Nancy Linehan Charles – Bette DavisBette DavisRuth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
- Jeffrey CombsJeffrey CombsJeffrey Alan Combs is an American actor known for his horror film roles and his appearances playing a number of characters in the Star Trek franchise.-Early life:...
– Montgomery CliftMontgomery CliftEdward Montgomery Clift was an American film and stage actor. The New York Times’ obituary noted his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men".... - Steven CulpSteven CulpSteven Bradford Culp is an American film and television actor, best known for his roles as Rex Van de Kamp in the television series Desperate Housewives and CIA Agent Clayton Webb in JAG.-Early life:...
– Robert F. KennedyRobert F. KennedyRobert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F... - Lou CutellLou CutellLou Cutell is a movie and television actor. He portrayed the proctologist, Dr. Cooperman, in "The Fusilli Jerry" episode of the television series Seinfeld and Leo Funkhouser on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Among cult movie fans, he is best known for his portrayal of Dr...
– Henry T. WeinsteinHenry T. WeinsteinHenry T. Weinstein was an American film producer.-Filmography as producer:*Something's Got to Give *Tender Is the Night...
External links
- Review from Allmovie, also available from the website of The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
- Entry from HBO film archive
- Photographs of the movie's set design, from the designer's website