Romance Fan Fiction ❯ The Lookalikes ❯ Lookalikes ( Chapter 1 )

Nora Jane looked in the mirror and saw what everyone else sees. A very beautiful woman who resembles one of the most beautiful women in the world: Marilyn Monroe. But that's where the parallels cease. Nora may have been aware of the similarities between Marilyn and her but they couldn't be more different. For one she was never abused or shuttled from one foster home to the next. People were actually nice to her. Just one of the perks of being beautiful.

Nora Jane even sounded similar to Norma Jean, Marilyn's real name. But it was mere coincidence for Nora was actually named after Nora Ephron. The American journalist, writer, and filmmaker. Best known for the films Silkwood and When Harry Met Sally. Jane was her family name but she felt more like Jane Austen impetuous for her Mr. Darcy or hung Tarzan. Maybe even a sticky Spiderman. Nora tried to make a go at acting and modeling but usually ended up playing the dumb blonde. The real Marilyn was a bleached blonde, while Nora was a natural. She had more luck modeling. Getting print and ad campaigns for all the major brands. But noticed she would always be asked to mimic Monroe. She adored Marilyn, I mean who didn't. But constantly having to pretend to be her was quite the undertaking. While strolling down Hollywood Boulevard she accidentally bumps into this handsome young man. He apologizes, of course and hurries to get to his audition. Nora didn't think much of it. Her agent called her and told her that they were making a movie and asked for someone like her. So she goes to the audition looking like she normally does. Even though she'd rather be herself, for some reason she almost always end up looking like Marilyn. The audition goes well and she's then asked to act opposite another performer. The other person turns out to be the same guy she bumped into at the Hollywood Boulevard. He was so good looking yet shy, but came to life when he started to act. They both complemented each other in more ways than one. And soon would get the chance to be in a bonafide blockbuster.

JD was a spitting image of luminary James Dean, and his name, though identical, was actually taken from the Christian Slater character from the teen cult film 'Heathers'. As in Jason "J.D." Dean. JD was thrilled to find out that he was cast as one of the two leads in the modern day retelling of W. Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage. Which was retitled 'Beauty from Ashes'. As the story goes, after two unsuccessful years pursuing an art career in Paris, Philip Carey (JD) decides to study medicine. He meets and falls in love with Mildred Rogers (Nora), a low-class waitress who takes advantage of his feelings for her. When she leaves him to marry another man, Philip falls in love with Nora Nesbitt, a writer who encourages him to complete his studies. Mildred returns, pregnant and abandoned by her husband, and Philip takes her in and cares for her, ending his relationship with Nora. While staying with Philip, Mildred has an affair with his best friend Griffiths, and when Philip confronts her, she tells Philip she's repulsed by him and walks out. After earning his degree, Philip becomes a junior doctor at a London hospital. He learns Mildred is working as a prostitute and seeks her out at the brothel where she's living with her ailing child. He takes the two under his wing. But unlike the original story it's given a Hollywood ending. The two finally end up in each others arms, sealed with a kiss, under the moonlit sky.

JD and Nora work very closely together that they soon start to develop feelings for one another. But they decide to remain friends instead. When the long months of shooting had finally ended, the two made their separate ways. But would soon be entangled with each other even before the movie comes out. They would often meet sporadically, having to live on opposite sides of the spectrum. When they needed to do publicity for the film they would always be sandwiched together. Rumors started that they were secretly dating which only heightened the appeal for the movie. When the movie came out it was number one in several countries. The success of the film only prompted the producers to hire them to do yet another one.

So on a cloudy day they started shooting on their next potential hit, a science fiction romance. Nora would play an AI who falls in love with a human JD, but this time around there would be no happy ending. They were asked to do magazine shoots wearing the most extravagant clothes imaginable. A far cry from the more outlandish getups they had to endure in the making of the film. When the movie was released the reaction was tepid. Though the movie made bank the critics were less enthused.

JD decided to pull the bull by the horns and asked Nora out on a date. Nora was receptive to his advances. The paparazzi snapped away and hailed them as the next It couple. Their long standing romance was at it's peak when the debris slowly started to fall. The tabloids were having a field day when a man claimed to be having an affair with JD. Nora was shocked and confronted JD. He admitted to seeing this man, but called it off when he fell for Nora. Nora was having a difficult time believing him and thought that it was for the best that they take a little break.

More pictures started to surface of JD and the man, named Marlon. Nora had moved on and met a singer named Aaron who bears a striking resemblance to the King of Rock & Roll, Elvis Presley. Aaron was Elvis' middle name. But Aaron was named after the prolific producer Aaron Spelling. Aaron was sweet and humble but somehow dull. He was romantic and kind and came to life every time he performed on stage, but unlike the real Elvis, Aaron was a teetotaler and never abused drugs. All was swell but something felt amiss.

JD was having a difficult time evading the press and Marlon simply would not leave him alone. He looks out his window to see a newly erected billboard of him and Nora just chillin' with Nora lying on the couch, one hand out, and JD sitting on the floor with his head resting on the edge of the sofa. A rose lies next to them. JD had an epiphany!

During one of his concerts, he calls out to Nora to please join him onstage. Nora complies and is shocked at the turn of events. Aaron: I know we've only known each other for a couple of weeks and this may seem sudden, but when you know, you know. He gets down on one knee and pulls out a giant diamond ring. "Will you marry me?" Nora is speechless, she hesitates and looks out at the crowd in anticipation. With a look of terror on her face she says "yes!" and the crowd goes wild. It's all over the entertainment news programs. Which JD naturally notices.

As the priest is about to declare "I now pronounce..." JD barges through the church doors and professes his undying love for her. "CUT! That's all for today folks". It was all just a movie. JD realized that he and Nora were destined for each other.

As fate would have it, Aaron collapsed on stage performing one day. And died! Aaron was quickly taken by ambulance to the Baptist Memorial Hospital and, after attempts to revive him failed, was pronounced dead at 3:30 pm. Though Aaron's actual cause of death appears to have been heart failure, the cardiac incident is now considered to be a result of the rock star's longstanding and serious drug abuse. Aaron was a heavy user of a number of prescription medications including opiates, barbiturates, and sedatives. When the toxicology analysis of the performer's blood came back several weeks after his death, it reportedly showed high dosages of the opiates Dilaudid, Percodan, and Demerol, as well as Quaaludes and codeine, among others.

At the funeral Nora was inconsolable. JD wanted to jump thru the TV screen and comfort her, for he wasn't even invited.

Months had passed and everyone went back to their daily mundane lives. Nora was shooting a hair commercial and JD was guesting on some primetime shows.

JD bought his first car, a classic Porsche 550 Spyder. In the nine days that JD owned the Spyder, it would appear to also be his last. At approximately 5:45 pm, just a few hours after getting ticketed for going 65 mph in a 55-mph zone, JD was speeding along Route 466 in Cholame, CA, having bypassed nearby Bakersfield and its lower speed limits. Also on the road was a 23-year-old college student driving a 1950 Ford Tudor coupe. When the car crossed over the center line, JD apparently attempted to side-step to avoid a crash. There simply was not enough time or space and instead, the two collided almost head-on. The sheer velocity of the impact sent the much heavier Tudor broad sliding nearly 40 feet westbound down Route 466, and the Spyder flipping into the air, landing back on its wheels in a gully. JD was thrown from the Spyder but miraculously survived.

The collision was reported on the news. Nora raced to the hospital as soon as she heard. She thought she had seen the last of her friend. When they wheeled out a covered body from his room. But JD was just sleeping it off in another bed. N: I'm so sorry I never bothered to reach out to you. And hear your side of the story. JD: I'm sorry. I never told you about Marlon. We used to just hang out at his place. And before you know it, we're holding hands and you know! It didn't last long. Marlon was pretty clingy and I just wanted my independence. I honestly thought I was gay. But then you showed up. And I genuinely felt something, the moment we kissed, while making that movie. I just want to know if you ever felt the same way. N: I do! JD: Really! So do you forgive me? N: If you forgive me. JD: Of course I forgive you! They fall into each others arms and then kiss passionately. Waiting to exhale.

Before you know it, they're getting married, making babies and genuinely having a swell time. When Nora is working, JD takes care of the kids and vice versa. Like one big happy family. THE END.

(This is just a very short story. I've always been a huge fan of Marilyn Monroe and obsessed with finding out her true cause of death. I just love the idea of Marilyn and James Dean working together. I found this article; Actor James Dean is the latest subject – or victim – of celebrity biographer Darwin Porter, whose 2012 book, Marilyn at Rainbow's End, was slated by fans. Co-written with Danforth Prince and due for publication in April, James Dean: Tomorrow Never Comes makes the eye-popping assertion that Dean was embroiled in a sado-masochistic relationship with Marlon Brando. And according to the Daily Mail, 'Dean supposedly also had a fling with Marilyn Monroe when they spent two weekends a beach house on Fire Island, an idyllic getaway East of New York.' The Daily Express has more detail, rendered in Porter's trademark purple prose:

"Amazingly Dean dreamed of marrying Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. Dean met Monroe in 1955 and the pair quickly adjourned to a romantic weekend at a beachfront cottage.

'He was very loving, very romantic,' Monroe told actress Shelley Winters. 'I've agreed to marry him one day.' But after several weeks they recognised that marriage would be disastrous.

'Let's admit the truth: both of us need babysitters,' said Dean. Monroe agreed: 'It wouldn't work. We'd end up destroying each other.' However even after they split Monroe remained possessive, berating him about his fling with Taylor."

Marilyn did, in fact, visit Fire Island on several occasions during 1955, as the Strasbergs owned a holiday home there. Dean was friendly with the Strasbergs due to his association with the Actors Studio. However, no such tryst has ever been mentioned until now. As with the Brando story, it seems unlikely that an encounter between such iconic stars would take so long to be revealed. (Porter has also claimed that Marilyn had affairs with Elizabeth Taylor and Ronald Reagan in his previous biographies, but once again, there is no solid evidence for this.)

In her 1989 memoir, Shelley Winters recalled seeing a Los Angeles preview of Brando's film On the Waterfront with Marilyn and James Dean in early 1954. As Marilyn had just married Joe DiMaggio and was spending most of her time in San Francisco while in dispute with Twentieth Century-Fox, this seems questionable. However, Winters did know both Marilyn and Dean quite well, and some fans have suggested that the preview may actually have been Brando's 1951 film, A Streetcar Named Desire.

In any case, Winters' memories did not suggest any intimacy between Marilyn and Dean. She recalled that after the movie, she and Marilyn drove to film director Nick Ray's bungalow at the Chateau Marmont, and that Dean rode ahead on his motorcycle, 'playing chicken' with them – which angered and upset Marilyn.

Needless to say, the quotations attributed to Winters in Porter's book do not appear in her own memoirs – which make no mention of an affair between Marilyn and Dean. And the quotations attributed to Marilyn do not appear in any other source.

Before his untimely death in September 1955, Dean was said to have been one of several actors considered as a possible co-star for Marilyn in Bus Stop (the part eventually went to newcomer Don Murray.) And director Henry Hathaway had hoped to pair Marilyn and Dean in a remake of Of Human Bondage. The film was later made with Kim Novak and Laurence Harvey.

Although they may have been united in countless tacky Photoshops, the only time Marilyn and Dean were connected publicly was at the 1955 premiere of his film, East of Eden. The event was a benefit for the Actors Studio, and Marilyn served as an 'usherette'. She was accompanied by Milton Greene, and was later photographed with comedian Milton Berle – but not with James Dean, because he wasn't there!)