Famous ‘blonde bombshell,’ 95, spills on what Marilyn Monroe was really like

Mamie Van Doren opened up about her friendship with Marilyn Monroe (Image: Bettmann Archive)

She counted Marilyn Monroe among her closest friends, shared a kiss with Clark Gable, and incurred the fury of Janet Leigh over her sultry scenes with Tony Curtis.

Now, at 95, Hollywood screen legend Mamie Van Doren has penned an unfiltered autobiography that pulls back the curtain on Tinseltown’s golden era. Mamie, who resides in Newport Beach, California, says, “I have so many stories to tell, so when I was 90 I thought I had better get my ass going if I was going to write a book.

“How many actresses live to be almost 100? I mean, we’re celebrating what would have been Marilyn’s birthday in June but she’s been dead all these years, while I’ve been alive – and living a hell of a life.” You Thought I Was Dead: My Life of Celebrities, Sex and Champagne is, according to the actress, a memoir about life at the glittering, and sometimes gritty, edges of stardom. It comes after Marilyn Monroe’s final interview was finally published in full for first time.

As the last surviving “blonde bombshell” of that era – famously part of the Three M’s alongside Marilyn and Jayne Mansfield – few are better placed to recount the stars and scandals of that remarkable period. Five-times-married Mamie, who romantically linked with Rock Hudson, Quincy Jones, and Howard Hughes, says, “I’ve been around so long, I wanted to make sure that people realised I was still here.”

Her debut memoir, Playing The Field, was published in the late 1980s, though Mamie reveals she was compelled to omit certain details at the time. She explains: “The publisher didn’t like some of the stuff. This book, though, will make you laugh and cry and might even embarrass you – but it’s all me. And myths are made to be shattered.”

Born Joan Lucille Olander in 1931 in South Dakota during the harsh Depression era, her father labored at a quarry for just 35 cents per load. She describes it as an awful period. A frail child, she lived for several years on her grandparents’ farm, which lacked electricity and plumbing, before her family settled in a “dollar a day” rooming house in Iowa.

She recalls, “I had so many dreams of being a movie star. I remember seeing a newspaper with Jean Harlow’s picture on it; there was this beautiful, sexy woman with white blonde hair and I thought, ‘That’s who I want to be like.’

Reflecting on her family’s relocation to LA when she was 11, she remembers, “I remember seeing my first palm trees and mountains and then the Hollywood sign and thinking, ‘Jean Harlow saw that sign.’ It was where I was meant to be.”

A young cinema enthusiast, she took a job as an usherette, enjoying complimentary movie access. She remembered, “In every one of those celluloid fairytales, the heroine lived happily ever after in the company of the man she loved. I yearned for that.” During the summer of 1949, she claimed the Miss Palm Springs crown and attracted the attention of film producer and entrepreneur Howard Hughes, who had also discovered Marilyn Monroe. He promptly signed her to RKO studios, where she appeared in a picture alongside John Wayne, albeit with only one word of dialogue, reports the Mirror.

As her film career gained momentum, her love life flourished – she romantically involved herself with Howard and Quincy Jones and was temporarily engaged to prizefighter Jack Dempsey. She recalls, “Quincy and I were 17 or 18 when we met and both had our dreams. It was difficult in those days going out with a Black guy; it was scary sometimes.”

Her platinum hair and crimson lipstick quickly earned her the “blonde bombshell” label and positioned her as another Marilyn. She reflects, “I was flattered, because I adored Marilyn and knew her very well. We both had unhappy childhoods and grew up in Hollywood together. There was no jealousy between us, though. She liked to see me get a hit, and I liked to see her get one. But she had a problem with rejection; when she didn’t get something or had a personal problem she couldn’t seem to get over it. Me? If I didn’t get something I just moved on.

“I had so many dreams of being a movie star. I remember seeing a newspaper with Jean Harlow’s picture on it; there was this beautiful, sexy woman with white blonde hair and I thought, ‘That’s who I want to be like.’

Recalling her family’s move to LA when she was 11, she says: “That ‘bombshell’ label never hurt me because I always considered myself a good actress.”

By 1953, Mamie had secured her first significant role, appearing alongside Tony Curtis in All American. She recalls: “He was married to Janet Leigh, and there was a problem there. The studio told me, ‘Stay away from Tony Curtis.’ How was I supposed to do that? I was doing love scenes with him, dancing in his arms. It was very difficult – he certainly didn’t want to stay away, and Janet hated me.”

Having signed with Universal by 1952, she needed resilience to navigate the inflexible studio system and unwelcome sexual advances on set. She explains, “I arrived at Universal at a very conservative time. They didn’t have any sexy women under contract – Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn weren’t exactly sex kittens – so it was hard for me in the beginning because although women get jealous, so do men if they can’t get a piece of you.”

Her most cherished co-star was someone she initially encountered at just five years old. She remembers, “As a child, we heard Clark Gable and his wife Carole Lombard were flying into our local airport so my dad put me on his shoulders and off we went.”I had so many dreams of being a movie star. I remember seeing a newspaper with Jean Harlow’s picture on it; there was this beautiful, sexy woman with white blonde hair and I thought, ‘That’s who I want to be like.’

Recalling her family’s move to LA when she was 11, she says, “They landed in Sioux Falls. I remember the airport was crowded. Everyone wanted to see these stars. Fast forward 20 years and I’m doing a movie with Gable, sitting in a booth, ready to film a love scene. It blew my mind. I had to kiss him. I was so nervous my lips were quivering and his moustache was in the way – I had to do the take about 10 times! It was hilarious and he was lovely.”

Mamie isn’t shocked that Marilyn continues to captivate audiences decades later. She reflects, “She is still remembered, I think, because she was beautiful, she sang Happy Birthday to the President and she died so young. Then, of course, there was mystery at the time around her death. When she died, she broke my heart.” In the late 1950s, Mamie retreated from Hollywood’s spotlight to focus on motherhood, though she maintained her presence through television, stage productions and modeling work.

Looking back, she admits, “Do I have regrets? Well, I’m sorry I married a couple of people… if I’d had a dog that might not have happened. But, after all these years and all I’ve seen and done, I still have Joan Lucille Olander inside me – that little girl who dreamed of being a movie star.”

You Thought I Was Dead: My Life of Celebrities, Sex, and Champagne will be published by Permuted Press in the U.K. on June 18.

]]>