IMAGE: Marilyn Monroe pauses for a photograph while in Korea for a USO tour, 1954. From USMC Archives on flickr. Some rights reserved. (This is a cropped photo.)

Oddly enough, just as Miss Mizzou was being introduced in the “Steve Canyon” comic strip in September of 1952, Marilyn Monroe showed up on the cover of “Look” magazine that month dressed as a college coed wearing a Georgia Tech sweater. This would have no doubt have appealed to the college audience who was obsessing on Miss Mizzou in Columbia. How did Monroe find herself in this role?

Georgia Tech had finished their 1951 season undefeated as the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Champions, which gave them optimism for their 1952 season. Monroe had apparently been hired to be on the cover of their 1952 football press guide, and the image was such a hit that “Look” magazine did a feature giving coverage to the hopeful team. (Georgia Tech won its second straight SEC crown that year.)

Higher education wasn’t something Monroe was usually associated with during her career though. Monroe had never finished high school, and only took a couple of college courses during her lifetime. In a way, Monroe’s real life lack of education reflected that of the Miss Mizzou character she inspired, who never did go to college in the comic strip.