As for "Smash," if they wanted to stick with the Marilyn/Joe theme, they could've focused on the making of "The Seven Year Itch," which occurred during their 9-month marriage and ultimately resulted in their divorce (the "skirt blowing" scene was the last straw), because Joe wanted Marilyn to quit acting and become a homemaker, but Marilyn had said she "always had too much fantasy to be only a housewife." So that's the major conflict. Moreover, the making of "Seven Year Itch" also included battling with the censors over the provocative script, and the Catholic Legion of Decency, which threatened to boycott the film if proper changes were not made. Here we also have the needy, insecure, pill-popping, tardy Marilyn, who became even worse after her split from DiMaggio. They became friendly again 7 months after wrap-up, and, in fact, DiMaggio escorted Marilyn to the premiere, but they fought bitterly again that night and became estranged for several years.
I can see DiMaggio narrating this one. Unlike Marilyn's other husbands, DiMaggio never spoke publicly or exploited their relationship, but it's interesting to conjecture what he thought and felt about their relationship. But it is clear that he truly loved her. When Marilyn was institutionalized in early 1961 (shortly after her divorce from Miller), she called DiMaggio for help. He dutifully showed up and demanded that they release his "wife" at once. Afterward, they remained friends until her death. Some say they had rekindled their romance. At any rate, DiMaggio was eager and willing to marry again. He even quit his
job and proposed to her so that he could devote fully his time to her in order to shield her from the Hollywood baddies, but she was unable to extricate herself from that lifestyle. That was the tragedy of their romance. After her death, he continued to carry a torch for her and had roses sent to her grave once a week for 20 years, but fans kept stealing them. DiMaggio realized the money could be better spent going toward charities in Marilyn's honor. Until his death, he remained devoted to her and never remarried.
Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiae
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra
Salve, Salve Regina
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Eva
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
O clemens O pia
