Driving Marilyn

Much has been written about Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe. Her work and legacy continue to generate more material about her in addition to inspiring more fans of her output, image, and story.

Joel Brokaw’s Driving Marilyn: The Live and Times of Legendary Hollywood Agent Norman Brokaw offers another perspective on Monroe, among many others, through the story of Hollywood agent Norman Brokaw. This narrative is shared by Brokaw’s son, Joel Brokaw, illuminating Brokaw’s rise to success in the film industry. From a humble beginning as a mailroom trainee to driving Monroe to auditions, Brokaw climbed the ladder of success off-screen and eventually became a chairman at the William Morris Agency. In addition to representing the likes of Elvis Presley, Natalie Wood, Loretta Young, Kim Novak, Danny Thomas, and more, Brokaw was also instrumental in the mainstream use of television.

This book is strongly recommended to fans of classic and contemporary Hollywood, particularly with an interest in the stories of individuals who were instrumental in the film industry off-screen as well as in the arena of publicity.


Driving Marilyn: The Live and Times of Legendary Hollywood Agent Norman Brokaw is available for purchase via Lyons Press.

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About Annette Bochenek

Dr. Annette Bochenek of Chicago, Illinois, is an avid scholar of Hollywood’s Golden Age. She manages the Hometowns to Hollywood blog, in which she writes about her trips exploring the legacies and hometowns of Golden Age stars. Annette also hosts the “Hometowns to Hollywood” film series throughout the Chicago area. She has been featured on Turner Classic Movies and is the president of TCM Backlot’s Chicago chapter. In addition to writing for TCM Backlot, she also writes for Classic Movie Hub, Silent Film Quarterly, Nostalgia Digest, and Chicago Art Deco Society Magazine.
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