From Norma Jeane to Marilyn

Norma Jeane Mortenson was born June 1, 1926 and was baptized Norma Jeane Baker three months later.  Norma Jeane was the otherwise non-descript third child of Gladys Baker who struggled with mental heath issues and reportedly suffered a nervous breakdown in 1934 which meant a life of orphanages and foster homes for her child.  Although her mother, Gladys did her best to provide for Norma Jeane which included bringing her to Catalina Island and visiting the Catalina Casino as a child.

During her lifetime and prior to becoming Marilyn Monroe she lived on Catalina Island as a 16 year old teenage bride.  Her husband, Jimmie Dougherty, a Merchant Marine once said they had an apartment that "looked straight across at the mansion on Mt. Ada built by one of the Wrigley heirs".

Norma Jeane Dougherty 

with the Catalina Casino in the Background

built by William Wrigley, Jr. 

While there is no definitive proof, the apartment at 310 Metropole Avenue is visited annually by hordes of tourists who to this day believe Jimmie and Norma Jeane lived at Catalina Island address.  Today, 310 Metropole Avenue is a 1,720 square foot multi-family home on a 1,926 square foot lot with 7 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.  The home is currently off the market and based on Avalon data the estimated value is $1,066,164.00. I suspect the price is due to many believing Norma Jean lived here during her short-lived married life to Jimmie Dougherty on Catalina Island.

According to Catalina Island Museum spokesperson, Gail Fornasiere, anexhaustive search was performed in an attempt to locate the actual residence, but historians could only find a post office box where the couple received their mail.  The museum has nevertheless accumulated a tremendous amount of information about Norma Jeane's life on the island and even gained national attention for an exhibit entitled Before She was Marilyn held during the summer of 2011 .. August 6 through October 31.

As years passed Dougherty wrote a book entitled To Norma Jeane, with Love.  If the book can be believed, their life on Catalina was at least enjoyable and his antidotes provide the reader with a glimpse into the life of the woman who later became one of the most famous women in the world. He did admit he did not entirely know the woman he married .. "I never knew Marilyn Monroe, I knew and loved Norma Jeane". 

After Dougherty shipped out, Norma Jeane moved back to the San Fernando Valley, got a job with a defense contractor at the Radioplane Munitions Factory, was discovered by a photographer, began modeling and we all know .. the rest of the story! 

She was a top-billed actress for a decade and her flms grossed $200 million (equivalent to $2 billion in 2025) by her death in 1962.

Monroe in 1953

A friend of mine in Burbank, California informed me that Marilyn had a home at the age of 21 in Burbank at 4215 Rowland Avenue from 1947 through the early part of 1948. The former avenue has been re-named Warner Boulevard and the modest bungalow, built in 1947, is still there. During Marilyn's time at this address, Marilyn had a brief but sweet relationship with local boy, Bill Pursel.  He was perhaps the only boyfriend who didn't garnish their relationship after she became famous.  When their relationship ended they exchanged a couple photographs to remember each other.

Bill Pursel was Marilyn's first serious boyfriend after her divorce from her first husband, James Dougherty, in the mid-1940s. Pursel took rare photographs of Monroe during their time together in the late 1940s including a well-known image of her standing outside her bungalow style home. 

Marilyn and Bill eventually parted ways, but had a final meeting in Las Vegas years later where she gifted him two autographed late-1940s photographs.  Pursel later shared details of their past relationship with biographers such as author Michelle Morgan for the book Marilyn Monroe: Private and Undisclosed. 

The famous picture of Marilyn Monroe laughing as her skirt is blown up by the blast from a subway vent was shot in NYC on September 15, 1954 during the filming

of The Seven Year Itch

Marilyn's co-star in the movie was Tom Ewell 

The iconic subway grate dress sold at auction for $4.6 million.