He Dreamed of Flying to the Stars, And Practiced by Dancing With One
Just after he got his wings and on the eve of his 20th birthday, Navy aviator Len Cormier danced the night away with Norma Jeane Dougherty at Tommy Dorsey's Casino Gardens in Santa Monica, Calif. He loved to dance almost as much as he loved to fly.
It was a first date for the young pilot and the beautiful model-about-to-be-starlet, who had been introduced by a family friend. That night, they danced to big band music and walked along the midway, where Norma Jeane took aim at milk bottles.
"She was good at that," Mr. Cormier told his family. "I know I had a great time and seems like she did too."
On one of their dates, Mr. Cormier took Norma Jeane flying. "We did half rolls and slow rolls and loops," he recalled. "She's still the only civilian I've ever taken up in an airplane."
Before he left California for training in Florida, she asked his advice on a career move suggested by a 20th Century Fox executive. He disagreed.
"Norma Jeane asked me about changing her name to Marilyn Monroe, and I didn't think it was too good of an idea, because she would get mixed up with Marilyn Maxwell," Mr. Cormier said of the movie actress and entertainer who performed often with Bob Hope. "I don't know how many people remember Marilyn Maxwell these days, but it's kind of a 'How wrong can you be,' I guess."