Jun 1, 2026 · 1 hr · 17 segments
Grab a journal, get a makeover & try on that dress you’re afraid to wear in public, because today we’re getting a broader understanding of Marilyn Monroe. Or maybe we should say Norma Jeane. Because…
My secretary rang and said, "Mr.
Lyon, there's a very beautiful young girl here to see you, but she doesn't have an appointment." I said, "Well, Mary, you don't have to have an appointment to see me.
Send her in." So a moment later, in walk the most gorgeous young girl you've ever seen in your life.
This golden hair, beautiful little print dress, and, uh, 22 years old.
And I said, "Sit down." So she sat by the desk, and I began asking various questions, what she'd done.
She told me a little extra work and a bit here and there.
And I said, "What's your ambition?" She said, "To be a film star." And I looked at her, and I said, "Well, honey, you're in pictures, and I think you will be a film star." I said, "Uh, I don't think you can use the name Norma Jean Doherty if you're gonna be a star.
We've got to change your name.
By the contract, we have a right to change a name." So she agreed, and we looked in the book and thought of all kind of combinations of names.
Nothing suited us, and finally I remembered a girl I knew in New York, a stage star by the name of Marilyn Miller.
And I said, "To me, you're a Marilyn." And she said, "That's a lovely name." I said, "All right, that's your first name." We couldn't find a second name, but she suddenly turned to me and said, "Mr.
Lyon, could I use my grandmother's name?" I said, "What was that?" Said, "Monroe.
She'd have lunch.
After lunch, she would take dancing lessons for an hour, singing lessons for an hour, fencing lessons for an hour, and then go on the back lot and ride horseback.
And I said to her one day, "Marilyn, why do you work so hard? The other kids that are under contract, I call sometime at 11:00, 12:00, they're still sleeping from being out the night before." She said, "Well, Mr.
Lyon," she said, "I work hard because one day maybe opportunity will knock, and I wanna be prepared." [upbeat music]
Tessa, do you have any first memories of Marilyn Monroe, or was she just kind of always there?
Like, I remember my nana talking about her, and it was just, like, very common references and things like that.
And then, like, it wasn't until I was older that I really learned anything about her, but I do feel like she's always been there.
For sure that she was always there, and then I started to get, like, a better understanding of who she was.
My grandparents would watch AMC and the Turne- Turner Classic Movies and a lot of those channels.
My secretary rang and said, "Mr.
Lyon, there's a very beautiful young girl here to see you, but she doesn't have an appointment." I said, "Well, Mary, you don't have to have an appointment to see me.
Send her in." So a moment later, in walk the most gorgeous young girl you've ever seen in your life.
This golden hair, beautiful little print dress, and, uh, 22 years old.
And I said, "Sit down." So she sat by the desk, and I began asking various questions, what she'd done.
She told me a little extra work and a bit here and there.
And I said, "What's your ambition?" She said, "To be a film star." And I looked at her, and I said, "Well, honey, you're in pictures, and I think you will be a film star." I said, "Uh, I don't think you can use the name Norma Jean Doherty if you're gonna be a star.
We've got to change your name.
By the contract, we have a right to change a name." So she agreed, and we looked in the book and thought of all kind of combinations of names.
Nothing suited us, and finally I remembered a girl I knew in New York, a stage star by the name of Marilyn Miller.
And I said, "To me, you're a Marilyn." And she said, "That's a lovely name." I said, "All right, that's your first name." We couldn't find a second name, but she suddenly turned to me and said, "Mr.
Lyon, could I use my grandmother's name?" I said, "What was that?" Said, "Monroe.
She'd have lunch.
After lunch, she would take dancing lessons for an hour, singing lessons for an hour, fencing lessons for an hour, and then go on the back lot and ride horseback.
And I said to her one day, "Marilyn, why do you work so hard? The other kids that are under contract, I call sometime at 11:00, 12:00, they're still sleeping from being out the night before." She said, "Well, Mr.
Lyon," she said, "I work hard because one day maybe opportunity will knock, and I wanna be prepared." [upbeat music]
Tessa, do you have any first memories of Marilyn Monroe, or was she just kind of always there?
Like, I remember my nana talking about her, and it was just, like, very common references and things like that.
And then, like, it wasn't until I was older that I really learned anything about her, but I do feel like she's always been there.
For sure that she was always there, and then I started to get, like, a better understanding of who she was.
My grandparents would watch AMC and the Turne- Turner Classic Movies and a lot of those channels.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.