Naming Monroe

Laurette Luez (obituary, Sept. 18) may have claimed to have suggested to Norma Jean Baker to change her name to Marilyn Monroe, but that’s not how it came about. Allow me to set the record straight. Prior to Miss Baker signing her first movie contract on Aug. 26, 1946, Emmeline Snively, whose agency she worked for, persuaded her to consider a screen name. Ben Lyon, casting director at 20th Century Fox, and his actress wife, Bebe Daniels, invited her to their Malibu home to swap ideas for a new name. Lyon said she reminded him of actress Marilyn Miller, thus her first name; her last name Norma Jean chose from her mother’s maiden name.

DON AUSTIN

Cheviot Hills