November 1954 ♡ Marilyn went to see Ella Fitzgerald perform at the Tiffany Club. At first, the club didn't want Ella to perform, beacuse of her skin tone, so Marilyn personally called the owner of the of the club and fixed so that Ella could play there. Marilyn said to the owner that if they would let Ella play at the club, she would come and take a front table every night. The owner said yes, and beacuse of Marilyn's fame, it got a lot of attention. Here's a part of a lovely quote said by the amazing Mrs. FItzgerald in an article for MS Magazine, 1972;
"I owe Marilyn Monroe a real debt. It was because of her that I played the Mocambo, a very popular nightclub in the ’50s. She personally called the owner of the Mocambo (who had refused to book Fitzgerald because she was black), 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."
There are a lot of confusion around this, but the truth is that this is not about El Mocambo Club at all. Marilyn visited the Tiffany Club to hear Ella sing, not the Mocambo club. The Mocambo had black musicians performed there before this, but Ella certainly was the first Afro-american singer to perform at The Tiffany Club. Probably, Ella just mixed the two clubs up and that's why she mentioned the Mocambo. It is a true story overall, the only thigs is that the club´s name was wrong.
It´s a tragic strory, but at the same time beautiful, beacuse it ended up with everyone happy. Ella got to play at the club and it helped her career a lot, Marilyn and Ella got to know each other better, many people got to hear Ella´s beautiful voice and it was also a step forward in accepting black musicians.
xoxo
So interesting !