Marilyn Monroe was already a star when The Seven Year Itch was released in 1955, but the picture elevated her to the status of an icon. Monroe had previously appeared in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire, and over two dozen additional films, changing herself from brunette Norma Jean to blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe.

Marilyn Monroe captivated a gathering of lucky bystanders sixty years ago today as her white dress flew suggestively beyond her legs — and occasionally over her head. It was 1954, when filmmaker Billy Wilder was filming a scene for his film The Seven Year Itch on Lexington Avenue in New York City, between 52nd and 53rd Streets.

The Seven Year Itch sequence went on to become one of the most memorable scenes in film history. But there was a lot more to the scene than what is depicted in filmmaker Billy Wilder’s picture. And the ramifications went well beyond making young moviegoers blush.

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There’s a tragic narrative behind this iconic photograph, one that depicts one of Monroe’s many dark periods.

Monroe’s path to stardom was marred by personal traumas and crises. Yes, the white halter dress sequence in The Seven Year Itch established Monroe as a legend, but it also caused her a significant personal loss.

Monroe and co-star Tom Ewell depart a movie theater in the screenplay, and a wind from the train passing below lifts Monroe’s skirt. Instead of covering her legs, as any civilized woman of the day would, Monroe exclaims, “Isn’t it delicious?”

According to The New York Times, “hundreds of gawkers, almost all men … catcalled and yelled things like, ‘Higher! Higher!’ as Ms. Monroe’s dress blew up over her head. For two hours, the men watched from surrounding buildings and from the street.”

Photo © Sam Shaw Inc.

Despite the applause from the crowd, DiMaggio was dissatisfied with what he saw as a “exhibitionist” scenario. Photographer George S Zimbel described a deathly silence as Monroe’s displeased husband rushed across the set and abruptly exited the scene. Following a violent confrontation at their hotel after the filming, Monroe filed for divorce from the baseball star on the grounds of “mental cruelty.”

The couple met in 1952. Monroe, then 25, was on the verge of international stardom after appearing in Monkey Business and Don’t Bother to Knock, while DiMaggio, 12 years her senior, had recently finished his storied career as a New York Yankee early due to injuries.

“The truth is that we were very much alike,” Monroe stated in Ben Hecht’s biography My Story. “My publicity, like Joe’s greatness, is something on the outside. It has nothing to do with what we actually are.”

“We knew it wouldn’t be an easy marriage,” Monroe told Hecht. “On the other hand, we couldn’t keep on going forever as a pair of cross-country lovers. It might begin to hurt both our careers.”

Although she grabbed the dress before it went up over her head, she still took care to ensure that anyone watching didn’t see too much: she wore two pairs of white underpants, so that after the fan blew up, no one got a good look.

Monroe described meeting the ballplayer in her biography, Marilyn: My Story, saying, ““I had thought I was going to meet a loud, sporty fellow. Instead I found myself smiling at a reserved gentleman in a grey suit, with a grey tie and a sprinkle of grey in his hair… If I hadn’t been told he was some sort of ballplayer, I would have guessed he was either a steel magnate or a congressman.”

She was likewise captivated by DiMaggio’s attentiveness.

She wrote: “Sitting next to Mr DiMaggio was like sitting next to a peacock with its tail spread… No woman has ever put me so much in the shade.”