1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,400 Speaker 1: This episode contains content that may be disturbing to some listeners. 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: Please check the show notes for more information. Hollywood Land 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:18,960 Speaker 1: is a production of Double Elvis. 4 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 2: We must suggest for the audience that a beautiful girl 5 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:22,920 Speaker 2: is coming in. 6 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:33,000 Speaker 1: The stories about Marilyn Monroe are insane. She was, without 7 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:36,239 Speaker 1: a doubt, the biggest female star on the planet. She 8 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:39,559 Speaker 1: went from orphan to power player at a time when actors, 9 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:44,400 Speaker 1: never mind female actors, controlled little in Hollywood. Yet she 10 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:49,159 Speaker 1: was ravaged by anxiety, depression, addiction, and insecurity, but it 11 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:53,480 Speaker 1: didn't hold her back. She single handedly changed America's attitudes 12 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:57,160 Speaker 1: on sex posed nude in nineteen fifty two and didn't 13 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:02,320 Speaker 1: apologize for it. She betted and otherwise conquered America's most 14 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:06,880 Speaker 1: impressive men, Joe DiMaggio, Arthur Miller, Frank Sinatra, and President 15 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:10,319 Speaker 1: John F. Kennedy, to name a few. Her relationship with 16 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:14,280 Speaker 1: President Kennedy in rumored relationship with his brother, Attorney General 17 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:18,240 Speaker 1: Robert F. Kennedy, would prove disastrous and result in long 18 00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:21,920 Speaker 1: running rumors and conspiracy theories about her death that are 19 00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:25,400 Speaker 1: as hard to debunk as they are to dismiss, and 20 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:29,840 Speaker 1: up until her untimely death, Marilyn Monroe made great films, 21 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:32,760 Speaker 1: unlike the film clip I played for you at the 22 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:35,600 Speaker 1: top of the show that wasn't from a great film. 23 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:38,560 Speaker 1: That was a fair use sample from the Library of 24 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:42,759 Speaker 1: Congress of Fred Duprez in the nineteen fifteen vaudevillian production 25 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:47,559 Speaker 1: Desperate Desmond. I played you that clip because I can't 26 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:51,320 Speaker 1: afford the rights to sample James Nielsen's film bon Voyage. 27 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: And why would I play you that specific slice of 28 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: live action celluloid cheese. Could I afford it? Because that 29 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:03,320 Speaker 1: was the number one movie in America on May nineteenth, 30 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:07,480 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty two, And that was the day Marilyn Monroe, 31 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:10,680 Speaker 1: saying Happy Birthday to the President of the United States 32 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:15,160 Speaker 1: of America in front of the entire world infirmly cemented 33 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:18,680 Speaker 1: the rumors that they were both entangled in a scandalous affair, 34 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:21,920 Speaker 1: rumors that would prove to be at the center of 35 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 1: long running conspiracy theories surrounding Marilyn Monroe's death three months later, 36 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 1: on this episode Anxiety, Female Power, Moves, Sex, scandal, conspiracy, 37 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:39,639 Speaker 1: and the all time Great Marilyn Monroe. I'm Jake Brennan 38 00:02:40,240 --> 00:03:10,960 Speaker 1: and this is Hollywood Land. The Opulent Home of the 39 00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:16,000 Speaker 1: powerful Hollywood agent was packed. It was New Year's Eve, 40 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:19,680 Speaker 1: after all, nineteen forty eight was about to slide into 41 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:23,520 Speaker 1: nineteen forty nine, and the Agent's famous party was not 42 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:26,920 Speaker 1: to be missed. None other than the writer, director, and 43 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: star of the greatest film ever made to that point, 44 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:32,959 Speaker 1: Citizen Kane, had remarked that the agent's parties had the 45 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 1: quote best delicatessen and the best whoores in town. Other 46 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:42,320 Speaker 1: famous directors, Auto Premiger, John Houston, and William Wyler mingled 47 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:46,400 Speaker 1: amongst the housegirls a mix of call girls and young 48 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 1: attractive female contract players on loan from various studios. Tonight, 49 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 1: the escorts were on loan from Daryl Zannak and Harry 50 00:03:54,600 --> 00:04:01,080 Speaker 1: Cone's twentieth Century Fox and Columbia Pictures, respectively. Errol Flynn, 51 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:04,880 Speaker 1: the world's most handsome and openly Rakish screen star since 52 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 1: Douglas Fairbanks, was leaning against the Great Room's piano, boring 53 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:13,480 Speaker 1: anyone in earshot with his tired story. They had heard 54 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:16,560 Speaker 1: this one before, the one where W. C. Fields and 55 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:19,280 Speaker 1: some of the other Bundy Drive boys stole their friend, 56 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:22,880 Speaker 1: leading man John Barrymore's corpse from the morgue a day 57 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:26,600 Speaker 1: after his death smuggled him into Flynn's home, propped him 58 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 1: up in a high backed chair with a drink in 59 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:31,920 Speaker 1: one hand and a cigarette in the other. Flynn, when 60 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:34,800 Speaker 1: he came home to see John Barrymore waiting for him, 61 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:37,800 Speaker 1: or John Barrymore's corpse rather waiting for him with a 62 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:41,080 Speaker 1: drink in hand, Errol Flynn was so scared that he 63 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:43,560 Speaker 1: sprinted out of the house and dove into the bushes 64 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:48,119 Speaker 1: to hide. Yes, yes, yes, we've heard this one before. 65 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:48,400 Speaker 2: Arrow. 66 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:51,719 Speaker 1: The drinks were hitting Errol Flynn hard. Not one to 67 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:54,880 Speaker 1: be embarrassed by the lack of response his story had generated, 68 00:04:55,279 --> 00:04:59,080 Speaker 1: Flynn decided to up the annie. If his famous stories 69 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:03,240 Speaker 1: wouldn't entertain the than his famous penis would, So out 70 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:05,839 Speaker 1: came little Aero Flynn, right there in the great room 71 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:08,800 Speaker 1: of the party for all to see. Flynn turned to 72 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:12,200 Speaker 1: the piano and plopped his significant manhood down onto the 73 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:16,320 Speaker 1: keyboard and began pecking out the keys to a familiar tune, 74 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:19,640 Speaker 1: and the guests were not all that surprised. This was 75 00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:22,800 Speaker 1: Aero Flynn after all, and though one of the housegirls 76 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: took note what men would do to avoid embarrassment, she 77 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:33,200 Speaker 1: thought her wonderment was soon disrupted by a call from 78 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:35,120 Speaker 1: the host to do a sweep of the room and 79 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:38,400 Speaker 1: freshen up the men's drinks, and when that was done, 80 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 1: to empty the ashtrays, and of course, to remember to 81 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 1: flash that smile at all times. She did what she 82 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:49,040 Speaker 1: was told. She knew the stakes. The men in this room, 83 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: not only the powerful agent who was hosting, but the directors, 84 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:55,760 Speaker 1: the producers, and of course the studio heads held her 85 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:59,240 Speaker 1: future in the palms of their slick hands. They were 86 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:01,760 Speaker 1: Hollywood's power and the only people in the world who 87 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:04,200 Speaker 1: could deliver on the promise she made to herself when 88 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:08,560 Speaker 1: she changed her name from Norma Jean Baker to Marilyn Monroe, 89 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:12,120 Speaker 1: a promise to become the most famous actress in the land. 90 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:16,200 Speaker 1: There were consequences, though. It was a given that you'd 91 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:18,279 Speaker 1: be called upon to enter into one of the homes 92 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:22,919 Speaker 1: many bedrooms, with whichever guest desired you. Marilyn knew this 93 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:26,320 Speaker 1: coming into it. It wasn't her first rodeo. She'd been 94 00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 1: filling her knights as a housegirl at various parties for 95 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:33,159 Speaker 1: some time now. Transactional sex didn't bother her. It was 96 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:36,080 Speaker 1: how the game was played in Hollywood, especially in the 97 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:40,200 Speaker 1: nineteen forties, but the thought of rape sent fear down 98 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:43,720 Speaker 1: her spine. It wasn't long ago that three men at 99 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:45,960 Speaker 1: one of the parties held her down and tried to 100 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:50,680 Speaker 1: assault her. She escaped barely. She hid the trauma, but 101 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:54,880 Speaker 1: the memories came flooding back. As a child, Marilyn had 102 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 1: been a victim of rape and sexual assault, going back 103 00:06:57,920 --> 00:06:59,760 Speaker 1: to the age of twelve, when she was first at 104 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:03,680 Speaker 1: a foster home and subsequently kicked out of the foster home. 105 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:06,440 Speaker 1: As if it was somehow her fall. Her mother blamed her. 106 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:09,279 Speaker 1: Of course, her mother blamed her for everything. Marilyn was 107 00:07:09,279 --> 00:07:12,560 Speaker 1: born out of wedlock, and Marilyn's mom, Gladys, was diagnosed 108 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:15,000 Speaker 1: as a paranoid schizophrenic who was in and out of 109 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 1: mental institutions, and the thought of said mental institutions would 110 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:22,760 Speaker 1: terrify future Normangeen aka Marilyn Monroe throughout the rest of 111 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 1: her life. When her mom Gladys was in the picture, 112 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 1: which wasn't often, she let young normal Gene know that 113 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:32,000 Speaker 1: she was born of sin and thus filled with sin. 114 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:35,120 Speaker 1: Of course, Normigene was sexually assaulted. 115 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:37,040 Speaker 2: Her mother thought she was. 116 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:42,520 Speaker 1: A very bad girl. A Normagene Baker was married off 117 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:44,880 Speaker 1: by her foster mother at the young age of sixteen 118 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:47,960 Speaker 1: to an older neighborhood boy, a twenty one year old. 119 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:51,080 Speaker 1: In order to make the nuptial's work, Norma Jean had 120 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:52,920 Speaker 1: a drop out of high school to take care of 121 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:56,360 Speaker 1: the home. Her newlywed husband soon after shipped off to 122 00:07:56,400 --> 00:08:00,240 Speaker 1: World War II, and Norma Jane needed to work. She 123 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:02,840 Speaker 1: founded at the Radio Plane Company near their home in 124 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:06,040 Speaker 1: San Fernando Valley, and it was there, working on the 125 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:09,200 Speaker 1: assembly line, that she was found by a US Army 126 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:12,560 Speaker 1: photographer for the first Motion Picture Unit who'd made the 127 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:15,960 Speaker 1: scene to document the women of the war. The photo 128 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:18,920 Speaker 1: session led to a modeling opportunity, which led to some 129 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:22,840 Speaker 1: of Norma Jean's pictures being published in Yank Magazine, which 130 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:25,840 Speaker 1: led to a screen test with the film studio twentieth 131 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:28,920 Speaker 1: Century Fox, which led to a gig as a contract 132 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 1: girl that spelled doom for her marriage, which led to 133 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:34,600 Speaker 1: the changing of her name to Marilyn Monroe, which led 134 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:38,480 Speaker 1: to her here now on the eve of nineteen forty nine, 135 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:42,040 Speaker 1: contemplating her ascent through the ranks of Hollywood to make 136 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 1: do on that promise to herself to become the most 137 00:08:45,880 --> 00:09:17,800 Speaker 1: famous actress in the land. Joe DiMaggio hated crowds. In fact, 138 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:20,200 Speaker 1: the verdict was out on whether or not the retired 139 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:23,600 Speaker 1: New York Yankee slugger even liked people, and that's what 140 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:27,200 Speaker 1: they said anyway. Joe Dee retired with a lifetime batting 141 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:29,840 Speaker 1: average of three twenty five and a famed hit streak 142 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:33,400 Speaker 1: of fifty six straight games, a record that still stands, 143 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:36,000 Speaker 1: a streak that accounted for roughly a third of the 144 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:40,240 Speaker 1: season that captivated the country and had everyone talking a 145 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:44,839 Speaker 1: true deform, Joe said little. It was just his way. 146 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:48,760 Speaker 1: He liked people. He was just quiet, stoic. He reserved 147 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:51,559 Speaker 1: his affection for those he truly loved and for moments 148 00:09:51,559 --> 00:09:55,800 Speaker 1: when it really mattered in these days, Joe DiMaggio really 149 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:59,720 Speaker 1: loved his wife, Marilyn Monroe. But now wasn't one of 150 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:03,920 Speaker 1: those moments. This moment, right now that he was navigating through, 151 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:06,679 Speaker 1: fighting his way through a massive bunched up New Yorkers 152 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:10,480 Speaker 1: on Lexington over by fifty second, was troublesome, to say 153 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:16,760 Speaker 1: the least. Joe, with syndicated and ruthless newspaper calumnist friend 154 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:19,360 Speaker 1: Walter Winterrell at his side, was trying to get to 155 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:22,880 Speaker 1: see his wife, but so too were a thousand strangers 156 00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:25,959 Speaker 1: jam tight under movie set clee lights trying to catch 157 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:31,439 Speaker 1: a glimpse of Hollywood's New Girl nineteen fifty four. Marilyn 158 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:34,320 Speaker 1: and Rose Starr have been in near constant ascent since 159 00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:37,160 Speaker 1: her days in the late forties as a Hollywood house girl, 160 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:41,840 Speaker 1: and this was no ordinary star turn. Maryland seemed to 161 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:45,200 Speaker 1: be not only blazing a lucrative and exciting career for herself, 162 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:48,480 Speaker 1: but to also be changing America's attitude on sex in 163 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:52,800 Speaker 1: the process. In the early fifties, while Marylyn was just 164 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:55,480 Speaker 1: starting to break through in the film business due in 165 00:10:55,600 --> 00:10:59,000 Speaker 1: part to her small role in John Houston's expertly made 166 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:02,880 Speaker 1: crime drama That Asphalt Jungle, nude photos of her from 167 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:07,080 Speaker 1: her modeling days had gone public. The studio heads at 168 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:10,480 Speaker 1: twentieth Century Fox begged Marylyn to deny that the photos 169 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:13,800 Speaker 1: were of her, which was ridiculous. I mean, they were photographs. 170 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:16,680 Speaker 1: The studio was nervous that all they had invested in 171 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:19,120 Speaker 1: this contract girl was about to go up and smoke 172 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:21,880 Speaker 1: just as she was breaking through because of the scandal, 173 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:25,160 Speaker 1: and they weren't wrong to be nervous. This was zeroly 174 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:29,319 Speaker 1: nineteen fifties, after all, attitudes on sex were light years 175 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:31,560 Speaker 1: from where they are today. To say it was an 176 00:11:31,640 --> 00:11:36,480 Speaker 1: ultra conservative mainstream culture as an understatement, but Marilyn refused 177 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:40,600 Speaker 1: to be shamed into denying the photos were hers. Instead, 178 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:43,480 Speaker 1: she leveled with the American people, explaining that she took 179 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:45,920 Speaker 1: the photos back in the forties at a time before 180 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:48,439 Speaker 1: she was the star, a time when she was behind 181 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:51,000 Speaker 1: on rent. It was on the verge of being evicted. 182 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:53,760 Speaker 1: But Marilyn was asked by a reporter if the rumor 183 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:56,240 Speaker 1: about the nude photos was true and if she had 184 00:11:56,280 --> 00:11:59,560 Speaker 1: anything at all on She replied that she had the 185 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:04,040 Speaker 1: radio on. Copping to the photos had the opposite effect. 186 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:08,239 Speaker 1: The studio feared being honest, authentic. It made Marilyn more relatable, 187 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:11,280 Speaker 1: and America opened their arms to the beautiful and now 188 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:17,479 Speaker 1: vulnerable blonde. Marilyn further cemented her status in American consciousness 189 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:20,840 Speaker 1: with a bit part showcasing not only her undeniable beauty 190 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:24,520 Speaker 1: but also her effortless sense of humor in All About Eve, 191 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:28,760 Speaker 1: a film that won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. 192 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:33,440 Speaker 1: She smoldered in the film Noir Niagara as the murderous seductress. 193 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:36,360 Speaker 1: Yet after these two films and a string of others 194 00:12:36,400 --> 00:12:40,480 Speaker 1: in between, Marilyn seemed to land on something crucial regarding 195 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:44,040 Speaker 1: her craft. She could easily grab America's attention with the 196 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:47,280 Speaker 1: sex appeal she put front and center in Niagara, but 197 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:50,680 Speaker 1: she could get America, all of America, men and women, 198 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:53,040 Speaker 1: to fall in love with her by using her sense 199 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:56,240 Speaker 1: of humor, which she definitely deployed, and all about eve. 200 00:12:57,480 --> 00:12:59,920 Speaker 1: Marilyn put it all together in her next film, Jumped, 201 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:04,400 Speaker 1: Men Preferred Blonde, starring alongside Jane Russell, another Hollywood sex 202 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:08,560 Speaker 1: symbol with brains, ambition, and experience that would inspire Marilyn 203 00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:13,240 Speaker 1: and gentlemen preferred Blondes. All of Marilyn Monroe is on display. 204 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:16,319 Speaker 1: She is a supernova talent that is as attractive as 205 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:20,000 Speaker 1: she is hilarious as she is talented. She sings, she dances, 206 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:22,600 Speaker 1: she entices, she plays the dits to get you to laugh. 207 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:25,520 Speaker 1: She's the most beautiful woman you've ever seen, but non 208 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:28,200 Speaker 1: threatening because it's all a joke to her. How could 209 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:31,599 Speaker 1: it not be? No blonde could be that dumb that 210 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:35,840 Speaker 1: Marilyn Monroe had created a character to inhabit the dumb blonde, 211 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:38,440 Speaker 1: a character that was at odds with who she really was. 212 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:43,199 Speaker 1: Intellectually curious, ambitious, serious minded about her craft and career, 213 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:46,719 Speaker 1: but at the same time, she was uneducated, a high 214 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:51,240 Speaker 1: school dropout, deeply insecure about her intelligence and talent, overly 215 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:53,960 Speaker 1: reliant on her beauty and the power that came with 216 00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:59,000 Speaker 1: her sex, appealing many men underestimated, but regardless with this 217 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:02,600 Speaker 1: new character on display and gentlemen preferred blondes. And later 218 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:05,240 Speaker 1: in How to Marry a Millionaire with Betty Grable and 219 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:07,839 Speaker 1: More of a Call, it was clear that whatever went 220 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:11,800 Speaker 1: into the character in persona Marilyn Monroe had created, America 221 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:16,760 Speaker 1: couldn't get enough. Both films were massive hits, and Marylyn 222 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:20,320 Speaker 1: was now one of the biggest stars on the planet. 223 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:33,160 Speaker 1: We'll be right back after this. We're were were judging 224 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:36,720 Speaker 1: by the crowd on Lexington Avenue on September fifteenth, nineteen 225 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:40,280 Speaker 1: fifty four, it was easy to tell just how famous 226 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:44,880 Speaker 1: Marilyn Monroe had become, and her newly wet husband, Joe DiMaggio, 227 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:47,440 Speaker 1: was not happy as he fought through the crowd that 228 00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:51,000 Speaker 1: was jamming up traffic in all directions there to catch 229 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:54,880 Speaker 1: a glimpse of his wife. Marilyn Monroe, was in town 230 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 1: to film the new Billy Wilder comedy The Seven Year Itch. 231 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:01,640 Speaker 1: Her arrival in New York and her on set appearances 232 00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:06,760 Speaker 1: had dominated newspaper coverage. Joe DiMaggio didn't sign up for this. 233 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:10,320 Speaker 1: This was something else. One thousand hard hats and pencil 234 00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:13,800 Speaker 1: Next wolf whistling at his wife in public, horny newspaper 235 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:18,160 Speaker 1: men documenting her every move in their daily column. Walt 236 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:20,280 Speaker 1: Winchell's eagerness to get up in front of the crowd 237 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:22,800 Speaker 1: to catch a glimpse of Joe's wife was fueling the 238 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:27,000 Speaker 1: Slugger's anchor. Joe knew going into his marriage with Marilyn 239 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:29,760 Speaker 1: back in January that their relationship would be fought her 240 00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:32,800 Speaker 1: for the press. He was arguably more famous than she 241 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:35,240 Speaker 1: was at the time, but at the end of the day, 242 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:38,880 Speaker 1: Joe wanted a wife, not a supernova sex symbol whose 243 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:42,680 Speaker 1: fame had grown so immense that American men felt entitled 244 00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:45,160 Speaker 1: to a piece of whatever action she was laying out 245 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:49,280 Speaker 1: for the world to see. Winchell grabbed the attention of 246 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:51,440 Speaker 1: two beat cups and pointed out that he was with 247 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:55,280 Speaker 1: Joe d mister Marilyn Monroe, formerly the Yankee Clipper, and 248 00:15:55,320 --> 00:15:57,560 Speaker 1: that the two of them needed help getting up front 249 00:15:57,560 --> 00:16:01,080 Speaker 1: to the set, where Marilyn was cleared the way and 250 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:04,920 Speaker 1: escorted Joe and Winchell to the set. When they finally 251 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:07,400 Speaker 1: got up closed, Joe couldn't believe what he was seeing 252 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:12,400 Speaker 1: his wife in a thin white dress under a searing 253 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:15,400 Speaker 1: barrage of four ten two came Mole Richards in motion 254 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:19,080 Speaker 1: picture lights, standing in heels over a subway grate with 255 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:22,320 Speaker 1: an industrial sized prop fan blowing her dress up above 256 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:27,360 Speaker 1: her thighs. Cameras rolling photos, snapping, director barking, extras, gawking, 257 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:29,640 Speaker 1: and New Yorker's as far as the eye could see, 258 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:32,560 Speaker 1: screaming in delight, Do it again, Do it again, and 259 00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:36,560 Speaker 1: Billy Wilder obliged. He kept calling for more shots. Marilyn's 260 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:39,760 Speaker 1: dress flapped over her bare legs. Higher, the crowd demanded, 261 00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:43,560 Speaker 1: cut action, higher, higher, and the fan roared, and so 262 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:46,400 Speaker 1: did the crowd. When the dress blew up to Marylyn's shoulders, 263 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:50,360 Speaker 1: her womanhood exposed. Joe could see it, so could most 264 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:56,000 Speaker 1: of Lexington Avenue, including Winchell the purf. Joe turned in 265 00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:58,320 Speaker 1: disgust and headed back to the couple suede at the 266 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:01,240 Speaker 1: Saint Regis, but not before shouting out to Winchell in 267 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:03,840 Speaker 1: earshot of everyone else around him in the crowd that 268 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:08,080 Speaker 1: he'd had it. He and Marylyn would remain married for 269 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:12,960 Speaker 1: another month, but effectively their marriage ended that night. All 270 00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:18,479 Speaker 1: in it was a nine month marriage. Marilyn Monroe, the 271 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:21,240 Speaker 1: most famous woman in the world, would once again be alone, 272 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:23,680 Speaker 1: an orphan, then a star, married to one of the 273 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:27,240 Speaker 1: most beloved men in America, and then shockingly alone once again, 274 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:31,560 Speaker 1: but not for long. Marilyn had rekindled a crush from 275 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:34,760 Speaker 1: some years back with another one of America's most interesting men, 276 00:17:35,359 --> 00:17:39,719 Speaker 1: this one with an intellect is accomplished as Joe DiMaggio's athleticism. 277 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:44,400 Speaker 1: Arthur Miller arguably the country's greatest playwright, author of Death 278 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:46,920 Speaker 1: of a Salesman, the nineteen forty nine play that won 279 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:49,480 Speaker 1: both the Tony for Best Play and the Politzer Prize 280 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:52,439 Speaker 1: for Drama, and made Miller a household name and the 281 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:56,720 Speaker 1: envy of writers from Broadway to Hollywood. Arthur Miller was 282 00:17:56,760 --> 00:18:00,840 Speaker 1: not an obvious choice for Marilyn Monroe, America's girl, Compared 283 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:04,080 Speaker 1: to Joe D. Miller was a nerd and egghead, but 284 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:07,679 Speaker 1: from Maryland. He validated something in her, her need to 285 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:11,280 Speaker 1: be respected as a serious actor and as an artist herself. 286 00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:14,440 Speaker 1: If she could capture the heart and therefore the approval 287 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:16,760 Speaker 1: of none other than Arthur Miller, then it couldn't be 288 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:19,520 Speaker 1: said that she was just another dumb blonde, or so 289 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:22,879 Speaker 1: went her insecure thinking. The flip side was that the 290 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:26,560 Speaker 1: two really loved one another. Arthur Miller bestowed upon Marilyn 291 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:29,640 Speaker 1: Monroe the type of emotional attention and affection that Joe 292 00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:34,159 Speaker 1: DiMaggio was incapable of expressing, despite whatever sincere feelings he 293 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:38,800 Speaker 1: had for her. But the relationship, like all of Marilynd's relationships, 294 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:45,040 Speaker 1: would be short lived. John Houston sat in the dusty Reno, 295 00:18:45,119 --> 00:18:48,200 Speaker 1: Nevada bar with Arthur Miller and told him straight up 296 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:52,240 Speaker 1: his wife, the star of Houston's new film, The Misfits, 297 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:55,840 Speaker 1: was losing it. The Miller Monroe marriage had become a 298 00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:59,960 Speaker 1: braid of dueling destructive ironies. The Misfits was a screen 299 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:02,680 Speaker 1: play that Arthur Miller poured his heart and soul into 300 00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:05,680 Speaker 1: in an effort to satisfy his wife's desire to show 301 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:09,560 Speaker 1: off her serious acting chops. She was training with legendary 302 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:13,600 Speaker 1: acting coach Lee Strausburg, founding director of the Actors Studio, 303 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:17,359 Speaker 1: creator of the Method acting technique, and instructor to James 304 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:20,640 Speaker 1: Dean and a slew of other serious minded East Coast actors. 305 00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:24,399 Speaker 1: In The Misfits was a vehicle created by Arthur Miller 306 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:28,600 Speaker 1: to cast Marylyn opposite her childhood hero Clark Gable, to 307 00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:31,440 Speaker 1: cheer her up after she miscarried for the third time 308 00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:35,000 Speaker 1: in nineteen fifty eight, losing another baby. While unable to 309 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:39,160 Speaker 1: stop perspiraling use of barbituates and booze in her guilt 310 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:43,600 Speaker 1: ridden depression, Marilyn attempted suicide by overdose, and it was 311 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:46,960 Speaker 1: not her first time. The fear among those who cared 312 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:49,960 Speaker 1: about her was that her previous breakdowns in overdose is 313 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:53,560 Speaker 1: one in forty four and another in nineteen fifty were 314 00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:57,280 Speaker 1: either outright suicide attempts or at the very least cries 315 00:19:57,359 --> 00:20:01,520 Speaker 1: for help. After the most recent dose in nineteen sixty, 316 00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:04,720 Speaker 1: with her marriage to Miller falling apart, she was eventually 317 00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:08,840 Speaker 1: committed to New York's Pain Whitney Psychiatric Clinic. It was 318 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:13,240 Speaker 1: a nightmarish four day ordeal, locked in a literal padded cell, 319 00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:16,520 Speaker 1: subjected to forced baths, living out her worst fear of 320 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:19,960 Speaker 1: becoming her mother. The more Marilyn rejected this cruel form 321 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:22,760 Speaker 1: of quote unquote care, the more the doctors thought she 322 00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:26,880 Speaker 1: was in psychosis. It was her ex Joe DiMaggio, who 323 00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:32,399 Speaker 1: secured her release. But for Arthur Miller, the climax of 324 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:35,439 Speaker 1: this drama was still a few months away, and the 325 00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:38,679 Speaker 1: reno bar with John Houston cutting through the bullshit, he 326 00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:41,640 Speaker 1: still couldn't get over the irony, the irony that he'd 327 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:43,840 Speaker 1: written the screenplay out of a desire to help his 328 00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:46,800 Speaker 1: wife cope, and now the film was in danger of 329 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:50,160 Speaker 1: falling apart due to his wife's inability to hold herself together. 330 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:54,520 Speaker 1: But for Marilyn, the irony was darker, more bitter. As 331 00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:57,359 Speaker 1: Marilyn lost herself further in the hall of mirrors of 332 00:20:57,359 --> 00:21:00,359 Speaker 1: her own life, the reflection she saw looked more and 333 00:21:00,359 --> 00:21:03,520 Speaker 1: more like her cruel, unbalanced mother, who herself was an 334 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:08,600 Speaker 1: institutionalized schizophrenic who rejected Marilyn over and over again, just 335 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:13,199 Speaker 1: as Marilyn believed her body had rejected her babies. Marilyn's 336 00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:17,040 Speaker 1: deepest fear of turning out like her was coming dangerously 337 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:21,960 Speaker 1: close to being reality. John Houston told Arthur Miller Marilyn 338 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:24,119 Speaker 1: needed to get off the drugs and lighten up on 339 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:26,840 Speaker 1: the drinker. Not only would the film die on the vine, 340 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:31,920 Speaker 1: but so too would his wife. On some level, Arthur 341 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:34,719 Speaker 1: Miller knew this, but he was hapless to do anything 342 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:38,480 Speaker 1: about it. He tried, but Marilyn her fame, her problems, 343 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:43,119 Speaker 1: they were all consuming. She was, as he said, devouring me, 344 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:47,000 Speaker 1: and they separated during the shooting of the Misfits. There 345 00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:50,560 Speaker 1: was no saving America's girl. Arthur Miller found out what 346 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:53,800 Speaker 1: Joe DiMaggio knew. It was a fact. Frank Sinatra would 347 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:56,280 Speaker 1: soon learn the same hard truth, and so too would 348 00:21:56,320 --> 00:22:00,240 Speaker 1: his buddies, the Attorney General and President of the United States, 349 00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:02,040 Speaker 1: Robert and John F. 350 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:20,960 Speaker 2: Kennedy. 351 00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:27,600 Speaker 1: Marilyn Monroe wasn't alone in her Brentwood Haucienda style home, 352 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:31,960 Speaker 1: but she felt like she was. Her housekeeper, Yudus Mara 353 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:36,680 Speaker 1: was somewhere else in the house. Marilyn's blackout bedroom curtains 354 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:40,200 Speaker 1: were doing their best to keep the piercing California afternoon 355 00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:45,040 Speaker 1: sun outside where it belonged. Marilyn couldn't sleep the night before, 356 00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:49,679 Speaker 1: which wasn't unusual. The barbituates and Librium worked until they didn't, 357 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:52,159 Speaker 1: and then you were up all night biting your fingernails 358 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:55,280 Speaker 1: and staring at the ceiling making plans for your next 359 00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:59,199 Speaker 1: picture to start in order to produce. Marilyn won her 360 00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:02,080 Speaker 1: freedom from twenty a century Fox a few years back. 361 00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:05,320 Speaker 1: Freedom might be too strong a word, but compared to 362 00:23:05,359 --> 00:23:09,120 Speaker 1: other stars, it wasn't nothing. The ability to choose your 363 00:23:09,119 --> 00:23:12,679 Speaker 1: own director and cinematographer, the right to story approval and 364 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:15,480 Speaker 1: to star in your own films that you produce outside 365 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:18,280 Speaker 1: the studio for your own production company that you founded, 366 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:21,199 Speaker 1: and to command a competitive and respectable fee for the 367 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:23,960 Speaker 1: studio pictures you did choose to do. It was a 368 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:27,160 Speaker 1: major victory for Maryland, but it didn't come without a fight. 369 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:30,960 Speaker 1: She'd been battling with twentieth since her days with Joe. 370 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:34,200 Speaker 1: Joe knew about contract negotiations, and he helped her out 371 00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:38,119 Speaker 1: tremendously throughout the process as a good partner should he 372 00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:41,760 Speaker 1: was like that still was. He'd never really disappeared from 373 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:44,960 Speaker 1: her life completely. He still called in to check on her. 374 00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:47,440 Speaker 1: It was clear he still loved her and was there 375 00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:49,760 Speaker 1: for her if she wanted him. She was the love 376 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:52,800 Speaker 1: of his life. She knew this, but she was interested 377 00:23:52,840 --> 00:23:56,760 Speaker 1: in another man at the moment. Man actually one for 378 00:23:56,840 --> 00:24:00,280 Speaker 1: his brain, one for well, his brain too, but also 379 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:04,200 Speaker 1: everything else. A few weeks back, she'd been summoned by 380 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:07,280 Speaker 1: none other than John F. Kennedy, the thirty fifth President 381 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:10,440 Speaker 1: of the United States, to meet at Bing Crosby's house 382 00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:15,200 Speaker 1: in Palm Springs. The President made no pretenses about their meeting. 383 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:18,320 Speaker 1: They met in Bing's guest room, talked for a bit, 384 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:21,720 Speaker 1: and then had sex. Then they talked some more, and 385 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:25,280 Speaker 1: the President complained about his back. It was a constant problem. 386 00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:27,639 Speaker 1: He could barely walk. He was able to hide it 387 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:29,920 Speaker 1: from the public because the press was in no rush 388 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:32,480 Speaker 1: to let the public know about it. It was sort 389 00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:35,760 Speaker 1: of the same situation with his girlfriends. The press knew 390 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:39,679 Speaker 1: all about JFK's many, many women, but protected him. What 391 00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:41,800 Speaker 1: good would it do the country if the President woke 392 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:44,679 Speaker 1: up one morning embroiled in a public scandal surrounding his 393 00:24:44,760 --> 00:24:49,280 Speaker 1: extramarital affairs and so on? The thinking Jack Kennedy was 394 00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:52,480 Speaker 1: brazen about his adulty, so much so that he eagerly 395 00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:55,520 Speaker 1: jumped on the phone with Marilyn's doctor, doctor Greenson at 396 00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:57,960 Speaker 1: her insistence when she rang him up from Bed. Upon 397 00:24:58,040 --> 00:25:02,400 Speaker 1: hearing about Jack's back problems, Doctor Greenson was shocked. It 398 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:03,879 Speaker 1: was clear to him on the other end of the 399 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:07,000 Speaker 1: line that the couple had just had sex. Jack didn't care. 400 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:10,520 Speaker 1: The doctor wouldn't say anything. Just like the press, Just 401 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:12,880 Speaker 1: like Bing, and just like all the guests milling about 402 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:15,240 Speaker 1: Bing's property who were there to welcome the President and 403 00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:21,719 Speaker 1: show him a good time, nobody would say anything. The 404 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:24,119 Speaker 1: party at Bing Crosby's was supposed to be at the 405 00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:27,879 Speaker 1: Palm Springs home of another recent flame of Maryland's, Frank Sinatra, 406 00:25:28,359 --> 00:25:31,600 Speaker 1: but at the last minute, the president's brother, Robert F. Kennedy, 407 00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:35,359 Speaker 1: insisted that they moved the location. Frank kept company with 408 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:38,920 Speaker 1: disreputable men, the type of men that Jack and Bobby's 409 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:41,920 Speaker 1: own father, Joe Kennedy Senior, made his fortune with the 410 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:48,920 Speaker 1: generation prior qualified men, connected men, Italian men, gangsters. Jay 411 00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:53,000 Speaker 1: Edgar Hoover, director of Bobby Kennedy's FBI, knew all about it, 412 00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:55,560 Speaker 1: and as of late, was delighted to let Bobby know 413 00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:59,280 Speaker 1: that he knew. Hoover that duplicit at scheming phony, had 414 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:01,119 Speaker 1: a heart on it for the Kennedy's The size of 415 00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:05,360 Speaker 1: Lyndon Johnson's ego, that is to say, the size of Texas. 416 00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:09,080 Speaker 1: In private, Frank Sinatra made no secret about his friends. 417 00:26:09,359 --> 00:26:11,600 Speaker 1: He was who he was, and if Jaguar Hoover Bobby 418 00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:13,800 Speaker 1: Kennedy didn't like it, they, along with the rest of 419 00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:17,000 Speaker 1: the world, could go pound sand. Frank gave Marilyn a 420 00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:20,200 Speaker 1: Maltese puppy during their time together. She named it maf 421 00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:25,600 Speaker 1: short for Mafia. Marilyn knew what her fling was with 422 00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:28,960 Speaker 1: the President. It was just that, a fling, nothing more, 423 00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:31,960 Speaker 1: but still she was eager to cozy up to him again, 424 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:36,200 Speaker 1: though it never happened. So his brother R. FK arguably 425 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:38,960 Speaker 1: the second most powerful man in the United States given 426 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:41,760 Speaker 1: his role as Attorney General in closeness with his brother 427 00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:45,639 Speaker 1: the president, would have to do. She tried impressing him 428 00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:48,000 Speaker 1: at a party for the Attorney General in Santa Monica 429 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:51,760 Speaker 1: at his brother in law, Peter Lawford's house. She succeeded, 430 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:54,720 Speaker 1: but not in the way she wanted. It was hard 431 00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:57,840 Speaker 1: for marilynd not to impress wearing a strapless black dress 432 00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:01,280 Speaker 1: with peekaboo fabric, but mal and drank too much. Don 433 00:27:01,359 --> 00:27:04,760 Speaker 1: Perion nearly passed out and ultimately needed to be driven 434 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:07,879 Speaker 1: home by Bobby himself, joined by his press aide Ed 435 00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:10,719 Speaker 1: mc guthman, so that nobody would get the wrong idea. 436 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:15,760 Speaker 1: After all, despite her drunkenness, the Attorney General found Marilyn interesting, 437 00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:19,399 Speaker 1: as most men did. While at the party, Marilyn pressed 438 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:22,320 Speaker 1: Bobby for information on his efforts to advance the civil 439 00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:25,439 Speaker 1: rights movement. She aimed to show him her passion for 440 00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:29,040 Speaker 1: the same issue. It worked. Bobby gave her his office 441 00:27:29,119 --> 00:27:31,439 Speaker 1: number and told Marilyn he'd be happy to discuss the 442 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:35,719 Speaker 1: matter further whenever she had the time. So here she 443 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:39,240 Speaker 1: was lying in her bed on a sunny afternoon, wearing 444 00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:42,560 Speaker 1: nothing but an untied bathroom, biting her nails on one hand, 445 00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:45,199 Speaker 1: pressing the phone to her head, with the other hanging 446 00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:48,760 Speaker 1: on the Attorney General's every word. He was entertaining her 447 00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:52,200 Speaker 1: and himself, who was an indulgence he hardly had time 448 00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:55,800 Speaker 1: for about when he relish. Nonetheless, she was, after all, 449 00:27:55,840 --> 00:27:59,320 Speaker 1: Marilyn Monroe, and next to his brother's wife, First Lady 450 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:03,000 Speaker 1: Jacqueline care Nity, Marilyn was arguably the most famous and 451 00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:08,560 Speaker 1: most beautiful woman in the world. In that voice, breathy, eager, 452 00:28:08,880 --> 00:28:11,919 Speaker 1: always on the verge of excitement. Sure, he'd let her 453 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:14,359 Speaker 1: ramble on for a few minutes about Martin Luther King 454 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:17,959 Speaker 1: Junior or Thurgood Marshall. The women in the office snicker. 455 00:28:18,359 --> 00:28:21,439 Speaker 1: They knew about Marilyn's calls. Bobby didn't hide them. It 456 00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:25,200 Speaker 1: was completely innocent when it came to politics or anything 457 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:28,240 Speaker 1: else rather that didn't involve acting or sex. None of 458 00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:32,479 Speaker 1: them took Marilyn Monroe seriously. Marilyn was an entertainer and 459 00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:36,600 Speaker 1: should stick to that entertaining. So it was that she 460 00:28:36,760 --> 00:28:40,440 Speaker 1: was invited, along with other entertainers Ella Fitzgerald, Bobby Darren, 461 00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:44,080 Speaker 1: Maria Kallis, and host Peter Lawford to the President's birthday 462 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:48,840 Speaker 1: party on May nineteenth, nineteen sixty two, at Madison Square Garden. 463 00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:52,480 Speaker 1: The First Lady wouldn't be attending. It was a big 464 00:28:52,520 --> 00:28:56,880 Speaker 1: bash a listers. The President's availability would be limited. Marilyn 465 00:28:56,920 --> 00:29:01,200 Speaker 1: would need to make an impression. The mid political discussion 466 00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:03,720 Speaker 1: wasn't going to be an option. She'd need a weapon. 467 00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:09,040 Speaker 1: She was more familiar with sex, and she had two bullets. One. 468 00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:13,200 Speaker 1: The song she was singing the innocuous Happy Birthday, but 469 00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:16,120 Speaker 1: she would work it up into a steamy sultry ballad 470 00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:20,120 Speaker 1: all breath and whisper in your ear innuendo. The second 471 00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:23,880 Speaker 1: bullet was the dress. She'd use that for the kill. 472 00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:26,720 Speaker 1: Shot Bang bang, shoot him down, the President of the 473 00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:29,800 Speaker 1: United States, right there in public, and she knocked the 474 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:32,440 Speaker 1: rest of them dead too, with her sequin Jean Louis 475 00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:35,400 Speaker 1: skin and beads gown. She was being sewn into it 476 00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:38,719 Speaker 1: at the moment, hours before the event and practicing her 477 00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:41,760 Speaker 1: version of the song. Everyone she knew begged her not 478 00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:44,360 Speaker 1: to go through with it. With this particular rendition of 479 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:48,640 Speaker 1: the song, hyper sexualized, and the dress, a dress that 480 00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:52,479 Speaker 1: gave the impression that she was actually nude, accenting her 481 00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:55,480 Speaker 1: curves and nearly see through. She would wear no wonderwear 482 00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:58,440 Speaker 1: to further drive home the point she was Marilyn Monroe. 483 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:01,120 Speaker 1: She may no longer be miss Arthur Miller or missus 484 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:04,200 Speaker 1: Jo Diomaggio, and she may never be missus Bobby Kennedy 485 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:07,360 Speaker 1: or missus JFK. But she'd make them all feel the 486 00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:10,920 Speaker 1: pain of not being with her that loneliness. Even if 487 00:30:10,960 --> 00:30:13,840 Speaker 1: they felt a small fraction of the longing, she felt 488 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:19,680 Speaker 1: it would be worth it. She wasn't a vindictive woman, 489 00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:22,760 Speaker 1: but life's injustices had been adding up. As of late, 490 00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:26,320 Speaker 1: she was thirty five years old, with three failed marriages, 491 00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:30,080 Speaker 1: a tumultuous relationship with the movie studio she felt perpetually 492 00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:33,240 Speaker 1: at war with, having been suspended for turning down the 493 00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:36,520 Speaker 1: comedy The Girl in the Pink Tights, dragged through contract 494 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:39,560 Speaker 1: fights in the press, and even now fighting with Twentieth 495 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:41,600 Speaker 1: to take the days off to visit New York for 496 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:46,680 Speaker 1: this performance, and as of late she'd grown increasingly dependent 497 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:50,040 Speaker 1: on the pills prescribed by doctor Greason in the psychoanalysis 498 00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:52,760 Speaker 1: he was providing for her. It was all adding up 499 00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:56,520 Speaker 1: to an insurmountable tangle of anxiety, like a net closing 500 00:30:56,560 --> 00:30:59,000 Speaker 1: in on her that resulted at the end of the 501 00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:01,920 Speaker 1: day when she drew the blackout curtains and tried to 502 00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:05,080 Speaker 1: escape into hard to find sleep, into a feeling of 503 00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:08,959 Speaker 1: being utterly alone. So tonight, in front of the world, 504 00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:11,640 Speaker 1: she'd make them all feel the pain of what they 505 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:19,440 Speaker 1: were missing her. She took the stage and killed with 506 00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:22,240 Speaker 1: one of the most iconic public performances of all time. 507 00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:25,680 Speaker 1: Marilyn Monroe made Happy Birthday sound like a poem by 508 00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:30,120 Speaker 1: one of Caligula's chambermaids. Madison Square Garden couldn't believe it, 509 00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:34,640 Speaker 1: America couldn't believe it. The President couldn't believe it. After 510 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:38,520 Speaker 1: the performance, Jack Kennedy took the stage and his first 511 00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:41,680 Speaker 1: words into the mic were, thank you. I can now 512 00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:44,880 Speaker 1: retire from politics having happy birthdays sung to me in 513 00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:48,920 Speaker 1: such a sweet, wholesome manner. If only that were true. 514 00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:53,840 Speaker 1: But this story, Marilyn Monroe's story it's ending, is anything 515 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:58,040 Speaker 1: but sweet and wholesome. In our next episode, why everything 516 00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:01,360 Speaker 1: you think you know about Marilyn Monroe's day is probably wrong? 517 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:04,880 Speaker 1: And a shocking answer to the question that's haunted true 518 00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:09,760 Speaker 1: crime fans for decades, Who really killed Marilyn Monroe? I'm 519 00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:13,880 Speaker 1: Jake Brennan In this episode of hollywood Land. Is to 520 00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:14,840 Speaker 1: be continued. 521 00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:31,320 Speaker 3: Hollywood Land was created by Years Truly and is produced 522 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:35,200 Speaker 3: in partnership with Double Elvis. Follow like, rate and review 523 00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:37,480 Speaker 3: hollywood Land wherever you get your podcasts, and get in 524 00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:40,840 Speaker 3: touch with us on social media at double Elvis. If 525 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:42,720 Speaker 3: you like hollywood Land, check out my other show, the 526 00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:45,800 Speaker 3: award winning Disgraceland, which looks at the world of music 527 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:46,640 Speaker 3: through the lens. 528 00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:49,080 Speaker 1: Of true crime. Just search for Disgraceland or wherever you 529 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:49,920 Speaker 1: get your podcasts 530 00:32:55,640 --> 00:32:56,760 Speaker 2: Good, he's al