The Final Years of Marilyn Monroe: The Shocking True Story (21 page)

The limousine didn’t go to waste, though. The Strasbergs made full use of it prior to the actress’s arrival. For instance, at 2.45pm on Thursday 8 February, while Marilyn was busy moving into her new home, a car collected Lee and Paula from Monroe’s apartment and escorted them first to the Actors Studio and then to the Savoy Hilton Hotel. After that, following a luxurious sightseeing cruise around the city’s streets, at 8.30pm they were dropped off at the Carnegie Hall to watch a vocal performance by American operatic mezzo-soprano Jean Kraft. The evening concluded at 12midnight when the Strasbergs were dropped back at Marilyn’s apartment.

While the actress fretted and socialised in the Big Apple, updates of how her Fifth Helena renovations were progressing were regularly fed to her. During one such telephone exchange, she was informed that the person now in charge of the makeover was Murray’s son-in-law, Norman Jeffries, along with his brother, Keith. This naturally astonished Marilyn. Just prior
to her trip to New York, she had personally employed local handyman Ray Tolman and carpenter Austin A. Innes to execute the necessary tasks. In her absence, they had been fired and the Jeffries brothers hired, at a combined cost of $360 a month. Marilyn’s authority had clearly been undermined.

Their appointment as the actress’s new handymen was a perfect example of Dr Ralph Greenson’s growing influence on Monroe’s life. Besides the appointment of Murray as Marilyn’s live-in companion and so-called housekeeper, her lawyer, Milton ‘Mickey’ Rudin, had also been appointed on Greenson’s recommendation; Rudin happened to be not only Greenson’s own lawyer but also his brother-in-law. The doctor was now even offering advice on her business affairs. And in the case of her new movie, he had been instrumental in the hiring of his friend Henry Weinstein – who had superseded Fox’s original choice, David Brown, at the end of December 1961 – as the picture’s producer.

Since the main job of any producer on a Monroe film was to get her to the studio and set on time, Fox thought the connection between producer and actress a vital one. Brown, a former top executive for the studio, had first encountered Marilyn back in 1952 when their paths crossed on the steps of the studio’s administration building, and later admitted he thought she was ‘the most beautiful girl in the world’. As the studio’s story editor, Brown had been responsible for purchasing the narrative featured in Marilyn’s 1953 box-office smash-hit comedy,
How to Marry a Millionaire
. Nine years on,
Something’s Got To Give
was set to be his first in the role as producer. So why was he replaced?

‘Nobody thought that my first project would attract (director) George Cukor,’ he later explained. But his conjecture was wrong. After all, Cukor had signed on to direct the movie while Brown was still engaged on the production. However, rumours soon began to circulate which insinuated that the order to dismiss Brown had emanated from Ralph Greenson, and the rumours proved to be true. Ominously, thanks to his appointment as both mentor and therapist on the film, Greenson’s presence would continue to linger throughout the making of Marilyn’s movie.

Away from
Something’s Got To Give
, in New Milford, Connecticut, on Saturday 17 February, Monroe’s former husband, Arthur Miller, married as expected for the third time. Marilyn was alerted well in advance of the nuptials, but to the outside world it was still a closely guarded secret. Even Miller’s father, Isidore, was kept in the dark about it. According to Eunice Murray, the wedding made the actress feel like a ‘neglected sex symbol’. Instead of returning to her Brentwood home that day, she chose to fly on to Florida. Her publicist, Pat Newcomb, and personal hair stylist, George
Masters, were there to meet her at Los Angeles International Airport to catch her afternoon flight.

The reasons for the actress’s decision to visit Miami were twofold. First, moved by his touching, handwritten letter on Thursday 8 February, in which he expressed both his loneliness at the Sea Isle resort where he was staying and despondency that he had ‘no one to enjoy all this beauty with’, she wanted desperately to catch up with her former father-in-law. Second, realising he was oblivious of the fact, she wanted to convey news of his son’s latest marriage. Monroe was extremely fond of Isidore and affectionately called him ‘Dad’. He loved this pet name and would even sign his letters to her with it.

Marilyn’s eleventh-hour visit was announced by way of a telegram, which read: ‘Arriving Eastern Airlines Flight 605 at 9:05 tonight, have reservations at Fontainebleau. Love you, Marilyn.’ As Isidore waited for the actress at the airport, a man in pursuit of small-talk enquired who he was expecting. ‘Marilyn Monroe,’ Isidore proudly replied. By the reaction on the stranger’s face, Miller could see that he was shocked by this retort. The stranger clearly couldn’t comprehend how an elderly, quite ordinary man could possibly be waiting to meet one of the world’s most famous and beautiful movie stars. When the plane arrived and the passengers started to filter through into the airport’s welcoming area, the stranger apparently strolled over to the actress and informed her, ‘There’s a tall, elderly man looking for you.’ ‘Oh, that’s Mr. Miller,’ she replied. ‘I came to Florida to see him.’ The man was speechless.

Immediately after leaving the airport, and after saying farewell to Miller senior, the actress and her colleagues climbed into a taxi and headed straight to the safe haven of Miami Beach’s Fontainebleau Hotel. Upon her arrival, she checked in using yet another alias, this time ‘Gloria Lovell’, a name borrowed from Frank Sinatra’s secretary. During her three-day stay, she resided in a $125-a-night suite situated on the 17th floor, just down the hall from the hotel’s plush presidential suite. (Contrary to popular, long-standing myths, Marilyn did
not
meet up with President Kennedy during her stay at the hotel. During the weekend of 17 and 18 February 1962, President Kennedy was in Glen Ora, Middleburg, Virginia with his wife, and did not return to the White House until 10.10am on Monday 19 February.)

Later that evening, Marilyn joined Isidore for dinner at the Fontainebleau’s Club Gigi restaurant and ended the night by watching a show in the nearby Cabaret Minaret night club at the Sea Isle resort, where he was still residing. Unfortunately, the performance was less than satisfactory and Isidore suggested they leave. ‘We can’t do that,’ she protested. ‘It’d hurt the performers’ feelings.’ Once the show had reached
its natural conclusion, the actress and ‘Dad’ strolled along Collins Avenue where they came face-to-face with some pushy autograph hunters. He was aghast at such behaviour from total strangers and asked why she accommodated it. ‘When they stop doing it,’ she explained, ‘I’m finished.’

The following day, Miller invited some of his friends to meet Marilyn at the Fontainebleau. While the guests chatted, the actress happily mingled among them serving snacks and drinks. In a further display of generosity she insisted on taking them all out for dinner. Later that evening, after the sumptuous meal had been digested and Miller’s highly appreciative guests had departed, Marilyn and Isidore sat and relaxed in the actress’s suite. Their conversation focused on Arthur Miller’s marriage. Isidore made it clear he was upset at being kept in the dark about it. Noticing this, Marilyn quickly eased the situation by saying, ‘I’m sure a letter must be on its way.’

They bid their goodnights and Isidore immediately returned to his room at the Sea Isle. Later, preparing for bed, he discovered that the actress had slipped $200 into a pocket of the coat which he had hung up in the closet in her room. He immediately called Marilyn and insisted she take back the money. But she was insistent. She wanted him to have it. ‘I know you spent more than that on me,’ she protested. ‘Take it. I won’t feel right if you don’t.’

Three days later, Isidore typed a note to the actress to thank her for her visit. On Sea Isle Hotel notepaper, the letter, in part, read:

Dear Marilyn, I can’t tell you in mere words just how much your trip to Florida meant to me. I don’t ever remember having such a good time! The guests of the Sea Isle Hotel can’t get over how beautiful you looked the night you was there. They were so thrilled to see you in person. They are still talking about it. Your visit was the best excitement they have had all season and expect to have . . . Please let me hear from you soon. Again, many, many thanks for a
wonderful
visit. With love, Dad.

On Monday 19 February, Marilyn was on the move again. She flew out to Fort Lauderdale to visit Joe DiMaggio, who was with his former team, the New York Yankees, during their spring training session. In these turbulent and emotional times, she knew that Joe was one of the very few people in her life that she could truly rely on. She spent the first evening there in a secluded hotel under another assumed name. The second was spent with her former husband in his penthouse suite in the Yankee Clipper Motel, so-called in DiMaggio’s honour. Atypically, she checked in using her correct name.

A reporter tipped off about Marilyn’s low-key visit caught sight of the actress as she attempted to discreetly flee the building with DiMaggio on Wednesday morning. ‘Is there going to be any reconciliation?’ the journalist shouted. ‘Reconciliation?’ she asked, as she was hastily clambering inside DiMaggio’s car. ‘I don’t know what you mean. We’re still good friends. There’s nothing to reconcile.’ With Joe at the helm, the vehicle quickly sped away, heading for Miami Airport. Marilyn and her trusty companions would be taking a morning flight to Mexico City.

Marilyn was accompanied as she made her entry into La Ciudad de los Palacios (‘The City of Palaces’) by the ever-present Pat Newcomb and George Masters. (Her live-in companion, Eunice Murray, had already been in Mexico for a week, staying with her brother-in-law, Churchill, who had offered to be a guide for Marilyn and her guests during their stay.) Immediately following their arrival, Monroe and her entourage took up residence in rooms 1110 and 1111 of the colourful Continental Hilton Hotel on Paseo de la Reforma. (Other establishments, such as the El Presidente in Acapulco, the Monte Cassino in Genova and the nearby, decidedly old-fashioned, Americana Reforma had also been considered.) And it was there, one day later, at 3pm on Thursday 22 February, in the building’s Grand Ballroom, to satisfy the press’s demands for a meeting with the actress, that Marilyn participated in her first and only Pat Newcomb-arranged Mexican press conference.

Characteristically, she was late. The assembled crowd of more than two hundred photographers and reporters were kept waiting for almost an hour before she finally arrived. Looking decidedly tired and slightly red-eyed, Marilyn swanned into the cigarette smoke-drenched room wearing a tight-fitting, lime-green silk Gucci jersey dress and clutching a matching transparent lime-green silk scarf. Her blonde hair shone under the bright, unceasing camera flashes. Women as well as men excitedly clambered on to chairs just to get a better glimpse of the actress, who took the opportunity to proudly display her new slimline figure and in doing so, effectively kill off rumours that she had lost her battle with her weight. She had dropped over 25 pounds, reaching the lowest weight of her adult life, and naturally, everyone at the event remarked how wonderful she looked.

Marilyn’s graceful poses for the cameras soon gave way to a brief but energetic demonstration of the twist, following which she positioned herself on a settee and began parrying, through an interpreter, a wide range of questions, some of which were quite personal.

‘Would you pose again in the nude for a calendar?’ a reporter cheekily asked in reference to Marilyn’s notorious 1952 picture. ‘Under the same circumstances, yes,’ she replied, champagne glass in hand. ‘I got $50 for
the picture. I needed the money badly at the time.’ A roar of laughter reverberated around the room when she added, ‘I’m more particular now about who sees me in the nude.’

The questions were ceaseless. ‘Are your measurements the same as they were when the calendar picture was taken?’ asked another journalist. ‘I never measure myself, but without wanting to boast, I think the measurements are better now than when that picture was taken . . . I think they’re
larger
now,’ she quipped. The actress was in fine form and frequently made the assembled crowd chuckle and cheer. When one newsman enquired whether she was dating any Hollywood actors, Marilyn pondered for a moment before replying, ‘No, I’m not dating any actors . . . just intelligent Mexican businessmen!’ The remark naturally prompted one reporter to enquire, ‘What do you think of the country’s men?’ Her response, ‘Mexican men are very warm and very intense . . . and Mexican women are very beautiful,’ drew wild, enthusiastic cheers from the gathered crowd.

When the applause died down, a sharp-eyed reporter switched the focus to the actress’s dress, which he observed was more clinging than usual. To which Marilyn quipped, ‘You should see it on the hanger!’ ‘You were referred to recently as a female Charlie Chaplin,’ asked another journalist. ‘Any comment?’ The actress replied, ‘I consider that a flattering exaggeration.’ One reporter then asked her if she thought Jayne Mansfield’s recent headline-making stay on a remote island was a publicity stunt. ‘Personally,’ she wittingly replied, ‘I wouldn’t get lost on an island with a publicity man.’ Laughter once more echoed around the room.

Unsurprisingly, questions relating to matrimony and men soon followed. ‘What do you like best in a man?’ asked one reporter. ‘Masculinity,’ Marilyn replied with a broad smile. ‘Do you think you’ll marry again?’ ‘I’m keeping my eyes open,’ she responded. ‘Even though my three marriages failed, I haven’t given up.’ ‘Do you have anyone in mind?’ enquired another journalist. ‘I’m keeping my eyes open,’ the actress reiterated, while taking another sip of champagne. ‘Which of your marriages were the happiest?’ asked a reporter. Marilyn thought for a second before replying, ‘The last two.’

The interrogations now focused on the two men in question, and the atmosphere in the room became decidedly icy. Asked about the recent marriage of ex-spouse Miller, the actress retorted, ‘I’m happy he remarried. I learnt a lot from him. I wish him all the best.’ When approached about the recurring rumours she might wed Joe DiMaggio again, Monroe shook her head and interestingly replied, ‘No. We tried that once and it didn’t work.’