The episode opens with Jack Lemmon and Marilyn on the set of Some Like it Hot discussing the production shoot. Marilyn reveals an early childhood memory that still haunts her. In 1960, Marilyn engages in psychotherapy with Dr. Ralph Greenson as a result of her personal crisis after the production of Let’s Make Love. She explores her extensive maternal family history of mental illness as Greenson begins to connect the patterns in her past to her current relationships with men.
As fragments of her history came out, she began to talk more and more about the traumatic experiences of an orphan child.
Dr. Romeo “Ralph” Greenson
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Narrator
Mental health expert
Jack Lemmon
Allan “Whitey” Snyder
Assistant director
Dr. Ralph Greenson
Emma Wyatt Hogan
Mr. Mulhall
Brad Hyland
Gary Vitacco-Robles
Chris Baetens
Kari Lova
Oscar Vitacco-Robles
Ron Hayden
Naomi Rohatyn
Randall Libero
Norma Jeane: Discovering Truths
COMPANION PODCAST
The series producers, Nina, Randall, and Gary investigate Monroe’s negative childhood memories and explain their use of creative license to dramatize factual events in her life. They discuss the episode’s depiction of Monroe’s psychotherapy sessions with Dr. Ralph Greenson as a window into viewing her family history of mental illness and other serious personal challenges. Gary responds to questions about the limits of Monroe’s treatment options in the late 1950s and early 1960s compared to today’s effective interventions.
