The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe
Page 54
Shortly before midnight a dark Mercedes sped east on Olympic Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Estimating the car to be driving in excess of fifty-five miles per hour, Beverly Hills police officer Lynn Franklin flipped on his siren and lights and gave chase. When the Mercedes pulled to a stop, Franklin cautiously walked to the driver’s side and directed his flashlight toward the three occupants. He immediately recognized that the driver was actor Peter Lawford. Aiming his flashlight at the two men seated in the rear, he was surprised to see the attorney general of the United States, Robert Kennedy, seated next to a third man he later identified as Dr. Ralph Greenson. Lawford explained that he was driving the attorney general to the Beverly Hilton Hotel on an urgent matter. Reminding Lawford that he was in a thirty-five miles-per-hour zone, Officer Franklin waved them on.
At midnight on Saturday, August 4, 1962, Sergeant Jack Clemmons came on duty as watch commander at the West Los Angeles Police Department on Purdue Street. Clemmons’s duties proved to be routine until the call that came in shortly before dawn. The caller identified himself as Dr. Hyman Engelberg and said, “Marilyn Monroe has died. She’s committed suicide.”
Photographic Insert
Baby Norma Jeane in a matching hat and dress made by Ida Bolender. Robert Slatzer Collection
At the orphanage, Norma Jeane stands next to an unidentified friend. Robert Slatzer Collection
On the sands of Ocean Park: To the left is Gladys Baker behind Norma Jeane. Sitting next to Gladys is her brother Marion and his wife, Olive, with their baby, Ida May. Marion disappeared several years after this photo was taken. Fred Guiles Collection
Actor Murray Kinnell. He was the boarder at Gladys’s home when Norma Jeane was molested. Courtesy of the American Film Institute
Norma Jeane’s father, Stan Gifford, stands to the right at a Consolidated Laboratories party. Fred Guiles Collection
Jim Dougherty and Norma Jeane on Catalina Island. George Zeno Collection, courtesy of James Dougherty
By 1946 Norma Jeane Dougherty had become one of the Blue Book Agency’s most popular models. George Zeno Collection
Natasha Lytess and Marilyn at Fox in the early 1950s. Marilyn insisted that Natasha be hired by the studio as a drama coach. Robert Slatzer Collection
Director Billy Wilder looks on during rehearsals for the famous scene above the subway grate in The Seven Year Itch. Retna Ltd.
Marilyn and Robert Slatzer in 1952. Robert Slatzer Collection
Joe DiMaggio in one of his rare studio visits, on the set of Monkey Business with Marilyn and costar Cary Grant. Robert Slatzer Collection
Marilyn, in front of her home, with attorney Jerry Geisler as he announces the end of the DiMaggio marriage. MPTV Archives
Dancing with a big man in Hollywood, Johnny Hyde, who offered Marilyn $1 million to marry him. Bruno Bernard, courtesy of Susan Bernard
The Millers with Simone Signoret and Yves Montand at a studio party, celebrating Montand’s arrival in Hollywood for Let’s Make Love. George Zeno Collection
At the president’s birthday gala in Madison Square Garden, Marilyn sings “Happy Birthday” to Jack Kennedy, who can be seen behind the Presidential Seal. Bobby Kennedy is seated two rows behind him, several seats to the right. Foto File
Dr. Ralph Greenson, who began treating Marilyn in January 1960. Courtesy of the Los Angeles Psychoanalytic Institute
After her stay at the West-Side Hospital in Los Angeles, Marilyn returns to Reno to resume filming The Misfits. Miller clearly shows the strain of the production and their marital problems. MPTV Archives
Marilyn and Gable look to the stars in the final scene of The Misfits. It would be the last day of their last completed picture. George Zeno Collection
José Bolaños escorts Marilyn to the Golden Globe Awards in March 1962. Marilyn is wearing the diamond-and-emerald earrings given to her by Frank Sinatra. George Zeno Collection
Makeup artist Whitey Snyder and hairdresser Sidney Guilaroff prepare Marilyn for a scene in Let’s Make Love. Robert Slatzer Collection
Left to right: Jack Kennedy, Los Angeles Police Chief William Parker, and Captain James Hamilton of the Intelligence Division. Robert Slatzer Collection
Jack Kennedy and Peter Lawford at Lawford’s Santa Monica beach house. Robert Slatzer Collection
Robert Kennedy and three of his children as they arrive in San Francisco with Ethel on Friday, August 3, 1962. Robert Slatzer Collection
Marilyn’s last public appearance, at Dodger Stadium on June 1, 1962. Robert Slatzer Collection
A Los Angeles police officer stands in the forecourt of the Monroe residence. To his left is the door to the guest cottage. Reporters stand near the entrance of the home. Robert Slatzer Collection
Marilyn’s bedside table, where the pill bottles were found. On the floor to the right is what could be a drinking glass. Sergeant Jack Clemmons stated it was not there when he searched the room. Foto File—Walter Fisher
Pat Newcomb exits the house, followed by Norman Jefferies, Eunice Murray’s son-in-law, who was employed at the house as a caretaker. Foto File—Walter Fisher
A police officer restrains Pat Newcomb near the wooden entry gates as the coroner’s van prepares to leave. Foto File—Walter Fisher
Hockett prepares to drive out of the gates while the officer leads Pat Newcomb aside. Behind the officer is the guest cottage. Foto File—Walter Fisher
Norman Jefferies helps his mother-in-law, Eunice Murray, into her Dodge. Foto File—Walter Fisher
Norman Jefferies assists Pat Newcomb into the passenger side of Mrs. Murray’s car. Though Newcomb claims she drove to Marilyn’s that morning, her car was not there. Foto File—Walter Fisher
On Tuesday, August 7, Marilyn’s half sister Berneice Miracle exits the house with mortician Guy Hockett, who hands his son, Don, the dress and wig that would be used to prepare Marilyn’s body for the funeral. Black-Star—Eugene Anthony
The invited mourners gather by Marilyn’s tomb. Joe DiMaggio refused to invite the many Hollywood friends who wanted to attend. Black-Star—Eugene Anthony
Among the mourners were the Greenson family. Left to right: Danny, Dr. Ralph Greenson, Hildi, and Joan. Black-Star—Robert Smith
A grieving Joe DiMaggio with his son, Joe Jr. Black-Star—Eugene Anthony
Pat Newcomb yachting with President Kennedy aboard the Manitou off the coast of Maine on August 12, 1962—four days after Marilyn’s funeral. Left to right in the wheel well: Pat Newcomb (wearing the president’s jacket), Paul “Red” Fay, JFK, Peter Lawford, Patricia Lawford (standing). Robert Slatzer Collection
On Thursday, August 9, Eunice Murray returned to the house for the last time. Before leaving, she gazed into the guest cottage. It was on the floor, just beyond the window, the Marilyn died. Robert Slatzer Collection
Jack Clemmons (1922–1998), the officer called by Hyman Engelberg early on Sunday, August 5, 1962. Clemmons always believed that Marilyn Monroe was a homicide victim. Robert Slatzer Collection, courtesy of Eileen Clemmons
APPENDIX
Floor plan of Marilyn Monroe’s Brentwood residence in 1962.
This document, dated March 6, 1962, originated with the FBI in Mexico City. The subject, Marilyn Monroe, has the classification SM-C (Security Matter-Communist). Though the contents are obliterated, the FBI Freedom of Information attorney revealed that the document referred to transcripts of conversations between Frederick Vanderbilt Field and Marilyn Monroe recorded by electronic surveillance placed in Field’s residence. The conversation included the discussion of sensitive national security matters.
This CIA document, dated August 3, 1962, is an evaluation of wiretaps on the telephones of both Marilyn Monroe and syndicated columnist Dorothy Kilgallen. It discloses that Monroe had learned of top government secrets. Item 1 refers to a discussion between Dorothy Kilgallen and Howard Rothberg regarding Monroe’s troubled relationship with the president and the attorney general. Item 2 confirms that she was repeatedly calling Robert Kennedy wi
th complaints about being ignored by JFK. Item 3 verifies her threat to call a press conference. Item 4 reveals that she had been made privy to top secret security matters. Item 5 confirms that Monroe kept a “diary of secrets.” The document is signed by James Angleton, CIA chief of counterintelligence.
SOURCE NOTES
The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific passage, please use the search feature of your e-book reader.
NOTE: References to other publications are indicated by authors and titles listed in the bibliography. Unless otherwise indicated, all interviews (int.) were conducted by the author.
Chapter 1
Engelberg’s call: int., Jack Clemmons, 1993, 1997.
Conversations between Clemmons, the doctors, and Eunice Murray were reconstructed in the course of numerous interviews with Clemmons.
Description of death scene: Robert Slatzer, The Life and Curious Death of Marilyn Monroe, pp. 24–30; int., Clemmons, 1993.
Engelberg’s comment about Marilyn’s injection: Marilyn Remembered transcripts of March 22, 1991; int., Clemmons, 1996.
Chapter 2
“What day is it?” Norman Rosten, Marilyn: An Untold Story, p. 10.
Predawn call: int., Don Hockett, 1994.
Urgent call to Tommy Thompson: int., Richard Stolley, 1993.
Press reactions: int., Joe Hyams, 1994; Billy Woodfield, 1994; James Bacon, 1994.
Absence of drinking vessel: int., Clemmons, 1993.
Byron’s observations: int., Robert Byron, 1993.
Chronology of events: Byron’s report, August 5, 1962; and follow-up Report, August 6, 1962; int., Clemmons, 1993.
Tommy Thompson tape: Time and Life archives; int., Richard Stolley, 1993.
Eunice Murray’s statements are taken from police reports and her statements in the Los Angeles Times and Herald Examiner, August 8, 1962.
Murray’s Piscean qualities: Murray, Marilyn: The Last Months, p. 9.
Marilyn’s telephones: From phone records reproduced in Anthony Summers’s, Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe; int., Norman Jefferies, 1993; Ralph Roberts, 1993; Norman Rosten, 1994.
“Mrs. Murray was vague…”: Armstrong’s police report, August 5, 1962.
Pat Newcomb stated…: Los Angeles Times and Herald-Examiner, August 6, 1962; int., Slatzer/Newcomb, 1973.
Clemmons didn’t see Newcomb or Jacobs: int., Clemmons 1993, 1994.
Newcomb hysterical: Murray, p. 22; int., Jefferies, 1993.
“Rigor mortis was advanced…”: Summers, p. 357; Slatzer, The Life and Curious Death of Marilyn Monroe, p. 64; int., Don Hockett, 1994.
Hyams’s account: int., Hyams, 1994, 1995; Hyams, Mislaid in Hollywood; New York Herald-Tribune, August 6, 1962.
Captain James Hamilton’s presence at the death scene: int., Billy Woodfield, 1994; int., Joe Hyams, 1994, 1995; int., former officer of the Intelligence Division who requests anonymity.
Marilyn Monroe’s body placed in the van: Newsreels and press photos; int., Woodfield, Hyams, Hockett, and United Press correspondent Joe Finegan, 1993, 1994.
Incidents at the Westwood Village Mortuary: int., Hyams, Woodfield, Hockett, and Alan Abbott, 1993, 1994.
Chapter 3
Slatzer was awakened…: int., Ron Pataki, 1995; transcript of Summers’s interview with Dr. Firestone and Ron Pataki, 1983.
Arthur Miller quote: New York Post, August 6, 1962.
Clemmons’s call to Dougherty: int., Clemmons, 1993.
Strasberg’s comment: New York Herald-Tribune, August 6, 1962.
“Told what was good to tell at the time…”: Summers, p. 439.
“I had arrived at Marilyn’s…”: New York Journal-American, August 12, 1962.
“I arrived there about eight-thirty…”: Murray’s statements are from police reports; int., Slatzer/Murray, 1972; Summers, p. 348.
Lawford’s story: Daryl Gates’s “in-house” interview conducted by the LAPD in 1975; Los Angeles Times, 8/6/62, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner. 8/7/62.
“Mr. Rudin stated…”: int. of Rudin conducted by Lt. Grover Armstrong and obtained from the files of the LAPD by Robert Slatzer.
DiMaggio, Jr., confirmed…: Sgt. Byron’s police report, August 5, 1962; New York Post, August 6, 1962.
Murray’s statement regarding DiMaggio, Jr.’s call: Sgt. Byron’s police report, August 5, 1962.
“We won’t be going for that drive…”: Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, August 6, 1962.
Chapter 4
“Discovered something strange…”: The narrative of Thomas T. Noguchi’s assignment to the Monroe case is drawn from Noguchi’s Coroner; int., Slatzer/Noguchi, 1972.
Grandison soon discovered…: int., Grandison, 1993; transcript of Slatzer/Grandison interview, 1974.
Shortly after 9…: int., Slatzer/Grandison, 1973.
Noguchi was joined by…: Summers, p. 362.
Also attending the autopsy…: int., Grandison, 1993.
Number of pills: Lieutenant Armstrong’s police report, August 5, 1962.
Miner’s statements about the autopsy: int., Miner, 1993, 1995; Summers, p. 357; int., Slatzer/Miner, 1973.
The case of John Belushi: Noguchi, p. 197.
livor mortis: int., Dr. Kay Cassell, 1993; int., Robert Cravey, 1993; int., Alan Abbott, 1994.
“a slight ecchymotic area…”: Medical Examiner’s report, 1962.
Grandison and Miner about the bruises: int., Grandison, 1994; Slatzer, Marilyn Files, p. 135.
“…It is a sign of violence.”: Noguchi, New York Times, November 13, 1982.
The autopsy process is taken from the autopsy report; Noguchi’s account in Coroner; int., Slatzer/Noguchi, 1972; int., Miner, 1993.
Lytess and previous suicide attempt: Lytess, My Years With Marilyn, unpublished manuscript in the Zolotow collection, University of Texas, Austin.
“odor of pear” as a factor: int., Dr. Kay Cassell, 1993.
“Unembalmed blood is taken…”: autopsy report, p. 6.
Wiener photos: int., Leigh Weiner, 1992; Summers, p. 357.
Chapter 5
The tests showed…: R. J. Abernethy’s reports, August 8 and 13, 1962.
Correlating the forensic…: coroner’s report, file #81128.
UCLA Toxicological Laboratory: Medical Records Department, UCLA Medical Center, Marilyn Monroe file, 8/6/62.
“As I analyze my participation…”: Slatzer, The Marilyn Files, p. 143.
Grandison’s comments on the autopsy procedure: transcripts of Slatzer/Grandison interview, 1974; int., Grandison, 1994.
diary or book of secrets: obtained from the CIA through confidential source.
Another witness who viewed…: int., Mike Rothmiller, 1998.
Jefferies’s verification: int., Norman Jefferies, 1993.
Grandison and diary: transcripts of Slatzer/Grandison interview, 1974.
Curphey’s press conference and “Suicide Squad”: Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, August 6, 1962.
Litman, Farberow, and Tabachnik as associates of Greenson and members of the ACLU: documented in Greenson’s FBI file.
The Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Team receiving a sizable grant from the National Institute of Mental Health: documented in the files of the NIMH.
Press conferences of the Suicide Prevention Team were covered by the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, August 7, 8, and 14, 1962.
The Greenson/Miner interview: int., Miner, 1993, 1997; Slatzer, The Marilyn Files, p. 148; Summers, p. 330.
“If Miner’s evaluation…”: Noguchi, p. 87.
Grandison’s account of signing the death certificate: Slatzer, The Marilyn Files, p. 220; int., Grandison, 1993.
Curphey’s press conference: Los Angeles Times, August 22, 1962; Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, August 21, 1962; and the files of the coroner’s office.
Computer analysis of Case #81128 was obtained through the facilities of Dr. Kay Cassell and INFORM.
Table 1 p
repared by toxicologist Robert H. Cravey.
The victim’s dying before the fatal concentrations could approach such high blood levels is the opinion of numerous pathologists, including Dr. Sidney Weinberg, and demonstrated by Robert H. Cravey and in cases cited by INFORM.
Chapter 6
Brown: Summers, p. 327.
scribbled note: int., Slatzer/Grandison, 1978.
Slatzer spoke to Marilyn…: int., Slatzer, 1994; int., Pataki, 1995.
Lawford statements: Long Beach Star, February 17, 1976.
St. Francis Hotel operator: Slatzer, The Life and Curious Death of Marilyn Monroe, p. 27.
“Marilyn Mystery Call”: Los Angeles Times, August 7, 1962.
Rosenfeld call: Summers, p. 310.
Guilaroff call: int., Sidney Guilaroff, 1996; Guilaroff, Crowning Glory, p. 165.
Carmen call: int., Jeanne Carmen, 1997; Summers, p. 311.
Bolaños call: Summers, p. 310.
“Bullets” Durgom confirmed…: Summers, p. 343.
The Naars’ account: James Spada, The Man Who Kept the Secrets; Summers, Goddess; and Slatzer, The Marilyn Files.
Marilyn’s telephone records: int., Joe Hyams, 1994; Summers, p. 334.
Reddin and Yorty statements: Slatzer archives.
Hamilton correspondence: The Kennedy Library, Attorney General’s personal correspondence.