FASCINATION Season One, Episode Two - Formation of a Star (feat. Dr. Chris Donaghue)

Season One, Episode Ten - Cursum Perficio (feat. Bernardo Vega) - Season One Finale →

February 6, 2021

It was 1962 and Marilyn Monroe was en route to Mexico City. Landing to a flurry of activity, it was announced that day, she'd been awarded a Golden Globe and would be presented with the honor at the awards show that season...

The trip, initially meant to be a quick, necessary getaway to purchase furniture and décor for her new home - evolved into a prolonged celebration. Her first night in CDMX, a cocktail reception was held in her honor at the Continental Hilton Hotel, in the following days she visited Luis Buñuel on the set of “El Angel Exterminador” (The Exterminating Angel), lunched with legendary film star Silvia Pinal, attended a party given by Emilio “El Indio” Fernández and spent time visiting local orphanages.

It was on this trip that she met a young, handsome, wiry screenwriter named Jose Bolaños. A bit of a playboy, Bolaños was married Italian actress Venetia Vianello, but his whirlwind affair with Monroe would forever be a part of his own legacy…Having died in 1994, Bolaños was relatively quiet about his relationship with the star, especially after her death. Hardly any interviews exist today - but I've managed to piece together a full narrative of his story with Marilyn, gratefully assisted by actor Bernardo Vega.

Visit @bervega on Instagram to see his dimples and more of his work.

This Season One Finale brings a quiet end to our look at Marilyn Monroe.

A massive THANK YOU to everyone who gave of their time and talents to help me bring this story to life.

Season One, Episode Eight - The Things We Keep - Part I

December 13, 2020

The John Huston film 'The Misfits' remains Marilyn Monroe's final, completed appearance in a motion picture. Making the movie was like a trip to a salt mine for the entire cast…and for Marilyn the emotional impact was devastating. It left her depleted, defeated, depressed.
The whole endeavor was art imitating life for everyone involved…
'The Misfits' was Arthur Miller's warped "valentine" to Monroe…and their failing marriage. It would be a non-comedic role for Marilyn, one that allowed her to flex her chops and stage a bit of a Hollywood perception intervention. The personal and professional pressure Monroe was under was intensified by the location, the harsh, dry Nevada desert where they filmed.
Cast alongside the dark-hearted heartthrob Montgomery Clift and the "King" of the silver screen Clark Gable, ‘The Misfits’ was marquee gold. A tepid response at the box office, the loss of Gable (who suffered a fatal heart attack just two weeks after filming ended) and the collapse of her third marriage - Monroe soon found herself involuntarily committed to the Payne-Whitney Psychiatric Clinic in New York.

Season One, Episode Five - Students of Illusion (feat. Jimmy James) →

October 22, 2020

Marilyn's work as an actor sometimes eclipsed the woman she fought hard to become. But the enduring legacy of her on-screen characters are testament to the work and dedication she held - sometimes in spite of the movie business itself. 'The Thinking Body' by Mabel Elsworth Todd would become synonymous with Monroe. A handbook, she herself, credited with developing the seductively choreographed movements that seemed to steal focus and burn scenery….

Season One, Episode Four - By Divine Rite (feat. Madame Pamita) →

October 12, 2020

In previous episodes we've explored the traumas and abuses that plagued Marilyn Monroe’s life. For this episode we're joined by Los Angeles based Spiritualist, Madame Pamita - who'll give her own unique and spirit guided perspectives on Marilyn and much of her spirit's "unfinished business".

Season One, Episode Two - Formation of a Star (feat. Dr. Chris Donaghue) →

September 23, 2020

“Anyone even remotely familiar with Hollywood, or the concept of Hollywood - understands the almost erratic, random elements needed to explode into a supernova of fame…To us, on the outside – the glossy veneer of celebrity seems like a dream, but it is we who have made it such. We pin dreams on people we want to be like, someone we want to look or sound like. Those unreachable few, catapulted into the canopy of fame almost certainly get there by a perfect storm…”