Kim Novak: Melancholy Blonde - Page: 2
She was born Marilyn Novak on February 13, 1933 in Chicago, Illinois to Blanche and Joseph Novak. Her father was a railroad claims clerk, and he provided the family with an increasingly comfortable lifestyle. Marilyn was the second child; her favored older sister Arlene often overshadowed her. Still, her parents doted on her and the family was close-knit.
Marilyn was a melancholy and shy child. When she reached her teens, Blanche encouraged her to join a local youth club so that she might improve her self-esteem. Though anxious at first, she started to enjoy attending functions and meeting new friends.
Even at fourteen, Marilyn was an alluring beauty. The director of the club encouraged her to take up modeling. She showed no interest in the idea, but somehow she was eventually convinced to try it.
Soon Marilyn was working steadily as a model and winning beauty contests. She attended college briefly, but quit to take a job with a traveling appliance show where she demonstrated refrigerators.
When the show ended in San Francisco, Marilyn was reluctant to give up the freedom she had enjoyed on the road. A friend from the show invited her for a vacation with her mother at the Beverly Hills Hotel; she happily accepted. Unlike most young beauties in Hollywood, Marilyn preferred lounging by the pool to pursuing stardom. However, when her money ran out, she didn't want to go home. She decided to try to make her living modeling.
The modeling agencies appreciated Marilyn's beauty, but she was too heavy for print work. Though she didn't want to be in the movies, she was finally convinced to accept a job as an extra. Her assignment was to stand on a staircase with a group of elegant starlets while Jane Russell and Mary McCarty performed a song for The French Line (1954). Her beauty made an immediate impact; admiring whispers raced around the set.
When a scout from Columbia saw Marilyn on the RKO set, he told her to come to the studio for a screen test. Assuming the scout was giving her a line she took his card, but didn't call.
Nevertheless, Marilyn couldn't avoid being discovered; an agent convinced her that she needed representation. She was not only more responsive this time, but also took the agent's advice and lost weight. She created a sensation when she appeared as an extra on her next movie, Son of Sinbad (1955).
Finally, Marilyn was coaxed to Columbia for a screen test. Though she mumbled her lines, the camera loved her. Studio head Harry Cohn wasn't impressed, but he was pleased enough to offer her a six-month contract.
Cohn changed his mind about Marilyn when he realized he needed a star to replace Rita Hayworth, who was more interested in marriage than stardom. She was sent to Cohn's office, where he announced that her screen name would be Kit Marlowe. She instantly rejected the name. Though Cohn was furious to be contradicted, the two finally reached a compromise and Kim Novak was born.
Though Kim would usually give in to Cohn's demands, she often frustrated him with an independent mind unusual for a starlet. She wasn't interested in stardom or a lavish lifestyle, and this greatly diminished his power over her.
That year, Kim appeared in three movies. In her first featured role, she played a femme fatale in Pushover (1954). She then played a girlfriend in Five Against the House. She nearly stole the show from stars Jack Lemmon and Judy Holliday in the comedy Phffft!.
Suddenly, Kim was famous. Reporters constantly demanded her attention and she received bags of fan mail. At first, Kim wanted to pursue a quiet life and marry her boyfriend, theater owner Mac Krim. That changed when she began to enjoy acting. She also liked being able to support herself and her family.
Kim's career reached another level when she was loaned to United Artists to star with Frank Sinatra in The Man With the Golden Arm (1955). With coaching from Sinatra and director Otto Preminger, she achieved her best performance to date. Her fledgling talent pleasantly surprised the critics.
In an attempt to fully exploit Kim's new popularity, her publicist coined her the Lavender Blonde; she claimed that the young star was obsessed with the color. Her clothes, apartment, and even her hair would be dyed lavender. Kim would come to hate the color and the Hollywood hype that inspired the story.
The newly lavender Kim was a pleasing addition to The Eddy Duchin Story (1956). After that, she starred in the movie that would seal her fame, Picnic (1955). Kim knew that she was not ready for the challenging lead role, but Cohn insisted that she accept it. Ultimately, despite her lack of experience, Kim held her own with costars William Holden and Rosalind Russell. The critics were pleased, but reserved. Her adoring public had no reservations.
Now Kim was assigned to carry a movie for the first time, as the title character of Jeanne Eagels (1957). Though she had some strong moments, the role was beyond her range. Kim felt the strain on her limited talents and when she expressed her anxiety on the set, she earned a reputation for being difficult.
Still, Kim was the top box office star of 1956. That year Edward R. Murrow interviewed her from her Chicago home and her popularity soared. The appearance had exposed a warm and friendly side of her personality that the public hadn't seen before.
Kim now realized that she deserved much more than her skimpy starlet's salary. In 1957, she went on strike and insisted she be paid a wage in line with her fame. She had been working constantly since her debut in Pushover and she was determined to be compensated. Cohn was predictably furious, but he knew he needed to keep his star.
Kim got her money, and she was immediately assigned one of the leads in the musical Pal Joey (1957). The movie was notable for pairing her with Cohn's first discovery, Rita Hayworth. Though the press eagerly awaited stories of tension between the actresses on the set, they were soon disappointed. Hayworth was still desperate to step out of the spotlight. Kim was quickly becoming as disgruntled as she was.
Coming up in part two: Scandalous affairs, life without Cohn, and Kim's escape
Thank you to www.SilverScreenSirens.com for permission to use the pictures of Kim.
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