Saturday 9: River of No Return

Saturday 9: River of No Return (1954)

 

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Marilyn Monroe performed this song in the 1954 western, River of No Return. In the movie (and at the beginning of this clip) she wears jeans. The wardrobe mistress bought the jeans off the rack at JC Penney's. Yet because of their connection to Marilyn, they are valuable memorabilia. Designer Tommy Hilfiger bought them for a reported $75,000 and today they hang in the closet of Britney Spears. Do you ever shop at thrift stores or websites for second-hand or vintage clothes?

A. I do not. The local Goodwill smells like an old attic and makes me sneeze so I don't go in there. Second-hand clothes would have to come from a non-smoking, no-pet home for me to consider them.

2) In this song, she sounds melancholy as she recalls a lover who has gone. We hope this morning you're feeling more chipper than Marilyn. In one word, describe your mood.

A. Whinging.

3) In real life, Marilyn's love life was sailing along. During the filming of this movie, her famous boyfriend, Joe DiMaggio, visited her on location in Canada and they were married by the time the movie was released. Joltin' Joe was of course one of baseball's greats. How is your baseball team doing this season?

A. I don't watch baseball. The horse I rooted for won the Kentucky Derby, though.

4) It was during her romance with Joe that Marilyn learned to cook. She enjoyed preparing Thanksgiving stuffing from scratch. Do you have a favorite recipe to share?

A. Chicken and rice casserole. Ingredients: 6 chicken thighs (it doesn't really matter whether they're bone-in or not). 2 cups white rice. 2 cups water. 1 can cream of chicken soup. 1 can cream of celery soup. 1 can of broccoli cheese soup (or any other cream of something soup). 3 tablespoons butter. Cooking spray.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9" x 13" baking dish with the cooking spray. Add together rice, water, and 3 cans of soup in a bowl; mix well. Pour into baking dish. Place chicken pieces on top of rice mixture. Drizzle the butter over the chicken and rice. Cover with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours. If it looks a little soupy after that time, remove foil and cook for another 20 minutes. If the chicken thighs have skin, you can broil the casserole at the end of the cooking time for about 5 minutes to create extra crispy chicken skin. (You could modify this recipe by putting in squash instead of chicken, I suppose, those I haven't tried it, and if you stuck with cream of celery or cream of broccoli soup, I suppose it could pass as vegetarian. Also, this makes A LOT of rice.)

 

5) Over her lifetime, Marilyn had 43 different addresses. She was always a renter until February 1962, when she bought her final home in Brentwood. If you're a renter, do you ever wish you owned? If you're an owner, do you ever think you'd be happier as a renter?

A. We rented early in our marriage and were eager to build a home and stop paying rent. I doubt I would be happier as a renter.

 

6) Marilyn tended to her famous alabaster complexion with Nivea, which is still available at drugstores today. What's the last thing you purchased at a drugstore? Was it medication? Food or snacks? Health and beauty? Something else?

A. I purchased envelopes and birthday cards.

 

7) Her signature scent was Chanel No. 5. What fragrance do you wear most often?

A. I do not wear fragrances. Everything I put on me is unscented and hypoallergenic.

8) The year Marilyn's recording was released, John Travolta was born. What's your favorite John Travolta movie?

A. Grease. I think it's the only one I've watched him in.

 

9) Random question: What happened to your first car? (Sold? Traded in? Still in your garage?)

A. My first car was an old Jeep that my father taught me to drive on when I was about 13; I don't know what happened to it. When I obtained my driver's license, my father gave me an old Datsun, which passed to my brother after I got a job and bought a used Mustang. I traded the Mustang (which had a sunroof that leaked and dumped water on my head every time in rained) for a brand-new Pontiac T-1000, which to this day remains the only vehicle I actually picked out on my own and purchased. My husband did not like that car because it was small, so we traded it for a 1983 Ford Thunderbird in 1985. Then we traded that for a 1989 Ford Taurus. Then we traded that Taurus for a 1998 Taurus, and that Taurus for a 2001 Taurus, and that Taurus for a 2003 Toyota Camry. We had problems with the last two Taurus's; hence the quick trades. We traded the 2003 Camry in 2014 for another Camry, and that's the car I am driving today.

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