‘Bus Stop’: Marilyn Monroe Was So Nervous, She Would Break Out In Rashes and ‘Accidentally Expose Herself’
Marilyn Monroe is a timeless Hollywood icon who continues to inspire artists around the world. However, her movie co-stars didn’t always have the most positive thoughts of her. Monroe didn’t behave like a typical actor in her time and on-the-set stories continue to fascinate audiences. According to Bus Stop co-star Don Murray, Monroe was so nervous while filming that she would break out in rashes.
Marilyn Monroe plays Chérie in ‘Bus Stop’
Beauregard Decker (Murray) and Virgil Blessing (Arthur O’Connell) are a couple of cowboys attending a rodeo in Phoenix. Beauregard meets a gorgeous café singer named Chérie (Monroe) and quickly falls in love with her. He has plans of bringing her back to Montana with him to get married and live out their lives together. However, she has other plans in mind for her future.
Chérie has dreams of going to Hollywood and achieving fame and fortune. She turns Beauregard down, so he forces her onto a bus back to Montana, regardless. The bus unexpectedly makes a stop as a result of bad weather and Chérie flips the tables on him.
Don Murray recalls how Marilyn Monroe was so nervous on the set that she would break out into rashes
Closer Weekly interviewed Murray about his experience filming Bus Stop with Monroe. He explained the nervous energy that projected off of her. As a result, Monroe broke into rashes and had other mishaps on the set, including accidentally exposing herself.
“She was very, very nervous,” Murray said. “She’d break out in a rash every time we’d shoot a scene.”
Murray continued: “We had a scene where she was naked in bed, and she kept rolling around and accidentally exposing herself.” As a result, the director, Joshua Logan, told him, “whenever she moves, slip your hand in and cover her!”
“After the first day of shooting, Joshua came to me and said, ‘Marilyn has a tendency to miss her marks,’” Murray said. “He told me, ‘Whenever she’s off her mark, put your hands on her hips and move her.’”
However, each time that he would slightly move her to one side or the other, she would get extremely angry with him.
“She swung the sequined tail of her costume across my face, and it cut my eyelid,” Don said. “She stalked off the set, and I started after her. I was going to tell that spoiled brat where to get off, but Joshua said, ‘No, I’ve won the war by avoiding these battles.’”
Murry concluded: “She would lose track of scenes very quickly, so they had to put her performance together out of small pieces. You never got the feeling of a complete scene or performance. I had to be at my best on every take — I couldn’t have a letdown.”
‘Bus Stop’ earned its way to awards nominations
Critics and audiences praised Bus Stop for Murray and Monroe’s performances along with the film’s sense of charisma and personality. Some awards voters agreed with this assertion, as the film earned a few nominations. Monroe’s performance in Bus Stop earned a Golden Globe nomination, along with a nomination in Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
Murray’s Bus Stop performance also earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. However, Bus Stop didn’t take home a single win from any of its nominations.
