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History Daily

1190: The Most Iconic Marilyn Monroe Photograph

History Daily

History Daily

History

4.42.1K Ratings

🗓️ 15 September 2025

⏱️ 19 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

September 15, 1954. Marilyn Monroe films the now famous “subway grate” scene from The Seven Year Itch in New York City.


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Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:04.1

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0:06.0

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0:10.6

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0:20.4

Music It's 1 a.m. on September 15, 1954, on the corner of Lexington Avenue and 52nd Street in New York City.

0:34.4

Joe DiMaggio leaves his way through a crush of excited people standing behind a wooden barrier.

0:39.3

At 39 years old, DiMaggio is a Yankees legend, and he should be getting swarmed by fans in a crowd like this.

0:46.3

But no one is paying him any attention.

0:48.3

They're not here for a baseball player, because beyond the barrier, a movie is being filmed.

0:53.3

A new romantic comedy titled The Seven-Year Itch, a movie is being filmed, a new romantic comedy titled

0:55.4

The Seven Year Itch, and everyone's waiting to catch a glimpse of the star and Joe's wife, Marilyn

1:00.9

Monroe. Joe leans forward on the barrier as the crew hushes a crowd, and the cameras start to

1:07.2

roll. Director Billy Wilder shouts action, and the 28-year-old Maryland

1:11.6

glides into view. Her flowing white dress and platinum blonde curls seem to glow under the lights,

1:17.8

but Marilyn's smile shines even brighter. As she struts down the sidewalk, the crowd starts

1:23.4

spontaneously whooping and cheering. The noise, though, ruins the take. But that's not the point of

1:29.4

this exercise. This entire setup in New York is simply a publicity stunt for the movie. The rest of the

1:35.2

film is being shot in Hollywood. So the cameras keep rolling as Maryland jumps on a subway grate.

1:41.4

From just off camera, a wind machine blows directly at Maryland, sending her

1:45.5

white skirt billowing high above her waist. She giggles, playfully trying to push the skirt back

1:50.9

down as her long legs are exposed to the crowd. Most of the onlookers go wild, but not Joe DiMaggio.

1:58.2

Red in the face, he storms away, pushing past photographers and fans unable to

...

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