BOOK REVIEW BY DAVID MARSHALL

I don’t know about you but for me, one of the best things about Christmas is the fact that there is always a Marilyn book out there that some kind soul will find for me to add to my growing collection. Some would call these kind souls enablers—I’d rather think of them as good friends who are incredibly generous…

 This week I want to fill you in on one of the books I received for Christmas—one I kind of remembered when it came out but is fairly obscure—which, in a way, is fitting as that description matches up with the man whose work this book focuses on—Earl Leaf.

 I know there are many out there who are far better versed in the careers of the many photographers who worked with Marilyn and to them perhaps Earl Leaf isn’t as obscure as I think. Until I received this book, the only thing I really knew about Leaf was how he looked, (you’ve seen him in many photos with Marilyn—that kind of weird looking guy with the Lincoln beard who always seems to be sitting near her and talking.) In fact, for years I had no idea who this guy was – maybe part of the Monroe Six? A member of an older fan club? Finally someone filled me in but even when I finally learned that Leaf was a photographer, I still had only a very sketchy idea of which photos could be credited to him.

 The full title of the book, you’ll notice, is From Beginning to End. And, come to find out, that pretty much sums up Leaf’s career—he started working in photography and with Marilyn right at the very start of her own career—think of those pictures of Marilyn and the Chihuahua on the lawn of Joe Schenck’s mansion. The year was 1950 and in Leaf’s words, the girl was just another no-name starlet. When he’d snapped what he figured were more than enough photos, the no-name starlet pleaded with him to stay a while longer, afraid that he’d been packing up because she was simply not very good. “I can climb trees, do hand-stands, cartwheels—anything you like.” And maybe that sentence explains what it is about this slim book that will touch anyone who takes the time to look—the young Marilyn Monroe certain that she wasn’t very good but so damned eager to please, if only you’d stick around a little longer, if only you’d give her a chance to show what she could do.

 Leaf did stick around. For the next twelve years he would be a constant in Marilyn’s life. Perhaps not as talented as say Milton Greene, maybe not as flashy as Bert Stern. But Leaf, (at least I get the feeling), is along the lines of Sidney Skolsky—someone who was there at the beginning and stuck it out with her for that short if incredible ride.

 And he was there nearly all the way. There are so many photos that I know but had no idea they were the work of Leaf: The buxom starlet at the Henrietta Awards. The full on movie star at the big Hollywood premiere of How to Marry a Millionaire. The established actress in a spaghetti strap gown, meeting the press in the living room of her rented home in 1956. The stunning icon in her long white gloves and tasteful black cocktail dress at the press party for Some Lie It Hot. And then the last photos of the legend, the woman with the bleached hair and sequined gown who stood laughing with Rock Hudson after having been named the World Favorite. Leaf had been there at the beginning and he stayed all the way through the last chapter. And along the way he took pictures. Granted, they may not be the best ever taken of that amazing face. But Leaf’s legacy is a newsreel- like documentation of the career of one of the last century’s most studied figures. The photographic trail Leaf left behind is invaluable.

 The funny thing about this book is that it isn’t better known. Usually these photo books have some great pictures but when it comes to actually reading them—forget it. The text accompanying most photo books, (in my opinion at least), is pretty lame. You’ll get a lot of that poor waif stuff, followed by the struggling starlet stuff, followed by the calendar scandal and then… you get the idea. No insight, very few quotes and certainly nothing you haven’t already seen elsewhere. The surprise with this one is Michael Ventura actually put some thought behind what is usually filler to frame the photographs. I wouldn’t say there’s anything earth-shattering here but there are many, many quotes—by Marilyn, by Leaf, by a host of others who played a part in her life or stood on the periphery and looked on with awe.

 The highest compliment I can give a photographer or a writer, when it comes to Marilyn, is that they Get It. Some folks might have taken pictures of Marilyn Monroe but I don’t think they ever quite got what the deal was. The same can certainly be said about a great many who have decided to write about the woman. The treat with Marilyn Monroe From Beginning to End is that we have the rare combination of both the guy who took the pictures and the guy who wrote the words—getting it. That in itself is reason enough to find a copy and see for yourself.