As New York’s Waldorf Astoria prepares for its grand reopening in September, LIFE looks back on the lavish gala where Marilyn danced with Arthur Miller on April 11, 1957. The article details how socialite Elsa Maxwell – who had interviewed Marilyn for her gossip column at the same hotel in 1956 – was said to have used the star as a pawn in her ongoing feud with the Duchess of Windsor. (According to LIFE‘s original report, however, Mrs. William C. T. Gaynor was the general chairman of that year’s ball.)
“The organiser of the April in Paris Ball was Elsa Maxwell, who had a well-developed grudge with the Duchess of Windsor, another one of the attendees. As reported by the Times-Standard newspaper, Maxwell invited Monroe with the idea of upstaging the Duchess of Windsor, who was the honorary chair of the event and the supposed star of the evening.
That star status apparently dimmed when Monroe showed up fashionably late and immediately became the centre of attention. ‘More than 30 photographers abandoned the Duchess’ table in a body,’ the newspaper reported. ‘They were followed at a pace only slightly more sedate by some of New York’s upper crust society dowagers, waving programs for autographs.’
“Among those photographers with their lens on Monroe was LIFE’s Peter Stackpole, who captured the actress chatting and dancing with Miller and also talking to Winthop Aldrich, a banker who was coming off a four-year stint as ambassador the United Kingdom. Monroe looked both glamorous and delighted with her company.
While it is entirely unfair to read too much into a single still photo taken during an hours-long party, the one photo of Stackpole’s which included the Duchess of Windsor was not nearly as festive.”
Although Marilyn seemed blissfully happy that night – and perhaps unaware of the Elsa-Wallis spat – she was also waging her own legal battle. Earlier that day, she had accused Milton Greene of mishandling finances for Marilyn Monroe Productions. This very public row would continue for months until Greene left the company, thus severing a three-year alliance that began with such promise.
And finally, the newly elected Senator for Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy, also attended the April in Paris gala with his wife Jacqueline, although they weren’t photographed with the Millers. In fact, it’s unknown if the two couples met that evening. When Kennedy ran for the presidential nomination in 1960, many still underestimated him – including Marilyn, who told New York Times editor Lester Markel that Kennedy would go ‘back to Boston by Xmas.’
The Marilyn Report 