oddetorium
19:16
Rare photos of Marilyn Monroe surface
What does it take to become a star? In the fall of 1948, Marilyn Monroe had just a few roles in box office flops on her resume -- but LIFE photographer J. R. Eyerman apparently saw enough of a glimmer in the 22-year-old starlet to follow her through the showbiz training that promised to make her big. The incredible -- and seldom seen -- images in this gallery are the first a LIFE photographer ever took of Monroe, though the magazine did not publish them at the time.
