I owe Marilyn Monroe a real debt. It was because of her that I played the Mocambo, a very popular [Hollywood] nightclub in the ’50s. She personally called the owner of the Mocambo, and told him she wanted me booked immediately, and if he would do it, she would take a front table every night. She told him--and it was true, due to Marilyn’s superstar status--that the press would go wild. The owner said yes, and Marilyn was there, front table, every night. The press went overboard…After that, I never had to play a small jazz club again. She was an unusual woman--a little ahead of her times. And she didn’t know it.
--Ella Fitzgerald, 1972
(Ella's memory of this event has come into question--but so what? That was the impression she was left with, and it's not like anybody's being libeled--Kirk)
