Marilyn's operation wasn't the only thing that excited the public's interest in her at this time. Marilyn received get-well greetings from thousands of fans, and publicity photos of her recuperation were released to the press. Preparing to operate, the doctor found a handwritten note attached to her stomach that read, "Please take only what you have to. Marilyn was surrounded by a barrage of publicity for the rest of 1952. Well-wishers sent flowers as Marilyn recovered from an appendectomy at L.A.'s Cedars of Lebanon Hospital. That she found herself trapped by her image during this period should be no surprise. Given this increasing fascination with sexual freedom in a society still labeled conservative, Marilyn's success over the next few years is no coincidence. ![]() The calendar story captured all of these delightful contradictions perfectly. ![]() Overtly sensual, Marilyn was also demure, natural, and honest - almost innocent - about her sexuality. Marilyn's image seemed to embody the contradictory viewpoints on sex that existed in that era. Then, in December of 1953, the first issue of Playboy - a magazine that would quickly become famous for its open attitude toward sex and nudity - hit America's newsstands with a photo of Marilyn on the cover and a reproduction of one of her calendar photos as the centerfold. In truth, the era had an undercurrent of conflict and turmoil in which issues of sex, racial inequality, and other controversial topics began to be openly discussed.Ī franker attitude toward sexuality, particularly as it related to women, was signaled by the release of the Kinsey report on female sexuality just a few months after the calendar story broke. That perception tells only part of the story. ![]() Today, the decade of the 1950s is remembered as conservative and naive. Whatever the specifics of the incident, exactly why Marilyn got away with such a potentially scandalous escapade is rarely touched upon. Because the story worked to Marilyn's advantage in terms of attracting sympathetic attention without damaging her career, some have claimed that Fox officials tipped Mosby off about the photos, or that Marilyn herself did it. The release of Marilyn's calendar story to the press and public has become one of the most widely told tales of her career, and biographers seem almost compelled to embellish it. The publicity proved a boon for RKO's Clash by Night, which opened in limited release during the same month Mosby made the fateful discovery. In her interview with Mosby, Marilyn simply told the truth about why she had posed nude: "I was broke and needed the money." Though some reporters seemed shocked, the press was generally delighted with her candor and wit about the incident.
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