Tony Curtis and costume designer Orry-Kelly prepare wardrobe for Some Like it Hot.
The Making of Some Like it Hot by Tony Curtis and Mark A. Vieira is one of the most compulsively readable film books evuh. And believe me, yours truly has read many, in fact too many movie memoirs.
I admit that I am powerless when it comes to Hollywood memoirs. I probably need a support group, a bunch of movie memoir addicts sitting around drinking endless cups of coffee—okay latte, this is Hollywood—and kvetching about the lost hours of our lives, and fortunes wasted on out-of-print, ghost-written memoirs by long-forgotten stars.
Anyhoo, when I read a book I stick a Post It on a page to highlight—for blogging purposes—the memorable sections and quotes. But with this book I found myself putting a Post It on every single page.
Talk about overwhelming.
So here’s the plan, I’m going to open The Making of Some Like it Hot at random and whatever anecdote shows up, well that’s the one I’m going to feature.
Remember, totally random.
Here we go.
Opening… smoothing out the page… scanning… scanning…
Okaaay!
Bingo, we’ve struck gold.
I told you, great book, you just can’t go wrong.
Let me set the stage: Some Like it Hot (1959), is about to go into production, one of the most troubled shoots in Hollywood history c/o the deeply troubled Marilyn Monroe. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, who will play most of their scenes in drag, are being fitted by the great costume designer Orry-Kelly.
When Orry-Kelly started my fitting, he noticed how fit I was. I was worried that he might think I was a dum-dum who did nothing but lift weights, so I made conversation about my father. I said he was a tailor. Orry-Kelly was interested in that. He cut quite a figure himself. He wore a spotless pin-striped suit, a dress shirt, and a Sulka tie. In his breast pocket he carried a tape measure like my father had—yellow and white, rolled up with a metal fixture at the end. Orry-Kelly made a production of the thing. He took it out of his pocket and then he whipped out the tape in this very grand gesture. It flew out with a whooshing noise.
Then Orry-Kelly went to Marilyn’s trailer. She was waiting. I heard she was reading books in there, odd things like Walt Whitman and Rainer Maria Rilke. When Orry-Kelly went in, she stood up. She was wearing a white blouse, panties and three-inch heels. Orry-Kelly said hello, and then he took measurements here and there: 37, 24. When he had his tape measure across her hips, he kind of chuckled. “Tony has a better-looking ass than you do.”
Marilyn turned around, opened her blouse, and said, “He doesn’t have t**s like these.” Of course it was true. Her breasts were so beautifully arranged. She had the best figure I ever saw in a girl.
Earlier in the book, Curtis writes that Marilyn had the hips of “a Polish washer woman.” I thought that was an insult. Maybe Curtis meant it as a compliment.
She kind of wore out her welcome with Orry-Kelly. After he’d gotten the gowns made, not only for Marilyn, but also for me and Jack [Lemmon], they were rolled to the stage on racks so that we could shoot wardrobe tests. Well, Marilyn was walking by the racks and she got curious. A little while later, Jack came to my dressing room. He looked upset.
“Tony,” he said. “You’re not gonna believe this.”
“What?”
“Marilyn took my dress.”
“Whaddaya mean she took your dress?”
“She took it. The black one Orry-Kelly made for me. She saw it on the rack and said to the wardrobe mistress, ‘Ooh, this looks nice. Let me try it, huh?’ And she decided she had to have it. Orry-Kelly came screaming to me. ‘She took your dress! The b**ch has pinched your dress!’ And they’re going to let her get away with it!”
The other day, an Amazon package showed up. For the life of me I couldn’t remember what I ordered. Not a good sign. But when I opened the box, I unwrapped a Kindle, a gift from Karen. So my reading habits are going to change—except on Shabbat, when I can’t use electricity. Anyway, I’m delighted with the kindle. I’ve already downloaded Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, and Mark A. Vieira’s monumental biography of Irving Thalberg.
And Seraphic Secret will be on available on Kindle, for $1.99 a month, in the next day or so.
Ariel Chaim Avrech, ZT'L, May His Righteous Memory be a Blessing.
19 Comments
I’m in eretz Israel at the moment, staying in Nachlaot, just a stroll away from Pomerantz Books and an endless supply of wonderful Judaica but, thanks to you Robert, instead of catching up on the Sages, I MUST read the SOME LIKE IT HOT annals. One of us may have to spend some time in Gehonim for wasting our time on such entertaining diversion.
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Miranda:
I’ve read both Hildegard’s and Hecht’s books.
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech at October 15, 2010 04:40 PM
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I assume you liked them. Shavuah Tov.
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Miranda:
I’ve read both Hildegard’s and Hecht’s books.
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech at October 15, 2010 04:40 PM
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I assume you liked them. Shavuah Tov.
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Miranda:
I’ve read both Hildegard’s and Hecht’s books.
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Arkay:
The Kindle is no good for art books and for film books that rely heavily on photos. The iPad is probably better for that kind of book, but the iPad is still way too heavy for dedicated reading.
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There are lots of Kindle downloads that are free. I’ve been enjoying mysteries from the 19th and early 20th centuries lately — all costing zip.
The only downside to Kindle is everything is black and white, so if a book has lots of photos, the resolution may be off if the photo was color.
Since my home literally has no more room for book storage, the Kindle is a godsend. And it’s almost as comfortable as holding a book.
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Christopher:
I never argue likes or dislikes in movies. It’s a very personal thing. But the book is fantasic. As always, behind the scenes looks are just fasinating.
I’ve read the Eyman DeMille bio. It is wonderful. Will blog about it very soon.
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Bill:
I believe your’re thinking of a scene that took 60 takes for Marilyn to get right. Besides being an emotional mess, I believe that she was probably hammered on liquor and pills while filming SLIH.
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Dr. Carol:
I remember when you got your first Kindle. As always, I’m a bit slow out of the gate when it comes to new technology. Karen usually provides the necessary push.
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Hmm. . .I may have to get that SLOH book, Robert. What’s stopping me is (heresy, I know!) that I Just. Don’t. Like. The. Movie. Can’t get through it, and find Curtis actively annoying. But maybe the book is better.
You’ll enjoy the Thalberg bio – it’s very good. But you HAVE to read the new DeMille bio by Scott Eyman; it’s absolutely magnificent, just like the Old Man himself.
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Now that we have “Star Trek Data Pads”, where’s my Phaser???
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I probably need a support group, a bunch of movie memoir addicts sitting around drinking endless cups of coffee—okay latte, this is Hollywood—and kvetching about the lost hours of our lives, and fortunes wasted on out-of-print, ghost-written memoirs by long-forgotten stars.
Dear Robert: Did you ever read Over 50 – So What! by Hildegarde, with Adele Whitely Fletcher? How about A Child of the Century by Ben Hecht? Shabbat Shalom.
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I worry about transferring printed books to a computerized format. It seems to me you could slip some quite Orwellian re-writing in there.
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I have to order that book, Robert – I was surprised to learn it was written very recently.
A story I remember was another of MM exasperating everyone on the set – she was facing a furniture chest and had to say a simple line and continually flubbed it, driving Billy Wilder nuts. I forget the exact number of flubs but a couple of dozen isn’t out of range.
On Kindle I am thinking of writing a book – a long way to publishing – but now I am told that there is a whole new world in publishing – if you can’t find a hardcopy publisher, try electronic with Amazon.
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Congrats on your Kindle! I just got the new one, and passed my first generation Kindle to Youngest Daughter.
I love my Kindle. Never go anywhere without it.
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Michal:
The iPad is wonderful, but yes, sort of heavy and expensive. I have a rule with Apple: buy their stock, but never buy the first or second generation of their products. Wait until they really get it right.
The Kindle is cheap to purchase, simple to operate, and very light. We’ve already bought the Kindle as gifts for our daughters and son-in-laws.
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Alter:
Good news, tons of classics are available as Kindle editions for free or an enganced version for .99.
I just downloaded Daniel Deronda, Middlemarch, The House of Mirth,and This Side of Paradise for $00.00.
Here’s a link:
http://www.amazon.com/Middlemarch-ebook/dp/B000JMLLEI/ref=pd_sim_kinc_9?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2
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Books are one area in which I really don’t think the iPad (as awesome and versatile as it is) can beat the Kindle or other designated e-Readers. I’ve tried to read books on my family iPad, and aside from the backlighting problem, the thing is just too heavy to hold comfortably for a long time. Your fingers can’t curl around it like a hefty hardcover, so it felt really awkward for me.
[/tangential discussion of electronics.]
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Enjoy the Kindle in good health! I’m trying to pitch one to the missus. She loves reading the “classics” – Austen, Bronte, et al – and our local libraries no longer stock them, because the kids don’t read ‘em.
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