Leif-Erik Nygårds

"Denna bild av Marilyn Monroe är den sista professionella bilden som togs av henne innan hon mystiskt avled tidigt på morgonen den 5 augusti 1962. Bildens tillkomst har en historia som är utskriven och medföljer fotot:
'During 1961-62 I was an assistent to the New York photographer Bert Stern, Late in June 1962 we were in Los Angeles to photograph Marilyn Monroe for Vogue Magazine, Vogue´s fashion editor Babs Simpson and the hairdresser Kenneth went with us. Plus tons of clothes. It was a four day sitting at the Bel Air Hotel, that mostly took place during evenings and nights, mainly because it was very, very warm in Los Angeles during daytime; up to 114 degrees farenheit. And three forest fires were going on up in the hills, so the town felt lika a baking oven.
At this time Marilyn had contract problems with her studio, as she was doing a movie, playing against Dean Martin (Something´s got to give). She had been showing up too late too many times, which had delayed the movie considerably.
I had met Marilyn before so we already knew each other. Marilyn told me she was supposed to have a Swedish accent in the movie, because she was to play a Swedish maid. So she was eager to talk to me, as I had a rather heavy Swedish accent- So we talked a lot during the four days. After three days we were finished with the fashion photos, so during the last evening Bert took only "candid" photos of her. Mostly semi nudes. It seemed like Bert really wanted to get some nude photos of her. But Marilyn said no and Bert kept asking. He pushed a little too hard I think, because the good feeling and understanding between the two faded somewhat as Marilyn refused. Bert must have sensed this, because all of a sudden he decided to finish the sitting and take the night flight to New York the next morning. So he disappeared very suddenly in taxi to the airport in order to catch his nightflight to NYC.
I had very much wanted to be able to take one photograph of Marilyn so I could prove to my friends in Sweden that I had met her and photographed her. She was a megastar, the most wellknown actress in the world.
I felt I had a good relationship with Marilyn so I asked her: "Can I take just one frame of you"? "Of course" Marilyn answered. She was sitting on the bed swept in a sheet, just her head sticking out. She looked like a mumie. Though it would be a good picture. So I turned around to pick up my Leica from my camera bag. When I turned back Marilyn had released herself from the sheet and laid on the bed totally nude. My first thought was "I can´t show this photo to my mother", I was somewhat shocked, it was not exactly the picture I had in mind a few seconds earlier, but you don´t argue with a megastar, so I tried to stay cool, connected my camera to the synccord and took this photo of her. After the flash went off, Marilyn lifted her head somewhat and smiled; a real human smile= no Hollywood smile. I wish I had gotten a photo of that as well, but I had already pulled the synccord so that picture was for ever gone. I still think it wasn´t Marilyn Monroe I photographed it was Norma Jeane Baker. During the sitting we discussed her last movie "The missfits", and I happend to tell her that Montgomery Clift was one of my favorite actors. She answered: "Do you know what, he is the only one in Hollywood worse off than me"..
On the third day of the sitting I got sick from a seafood sallad I had eaten, Marilyn got very concerned and called her doctor so he came over to the hotel and gave me a shot. She really took care of me so Bert said: "She mothers you".
According to Playboy Photo Editor Gary Cole my photograph of Marilyn was the last photo of her taken by a professional."
/Leif-Erik Nygårds