About Yvonne Expertise I can answer questions on most of Marilyn`s life, particularly her early years and the late fifties/early sixties. I have read a great deal on the conspiracy theories concerning her death.
Experience I have been a fan of Marilyn Monroe's for over ten years now, and have accumulated a sizeable collection of books and documentaries on her.
Organizations I below to three different Marilyn internet groups.
Education/Credentials I have degrees in Modern History and English. In the latter subject I studied film theory and completed my exam essay on Marilyn Monroe (movie screen as mirror) gaining a first.
Question Thanks so much! Could you please answer them as quickly as possible? I just found out that my deadline for it is Thursday, March 9, 2005 and it is Wednesday. Thanks again!
Interview Questions
1. How many conspiracies about Marilyn Monroe's death are there?
2. What are the conspiracies surrounding Marilyn Monroe's death?
3. Why did Marilyn's death get mixed up in these conspiracies?
4. Describe Marilyn's relations with JFK.
5. When and why did Marilyn start doing drugs?
6. Did Marilyn seem like the type to commit suicide?
7. What is the most realistic conspiracy theory on Marilyn Monroe's death?
8. Describe the conspiracy theory involving Marilyn Monroe and the mafia.
9. Did Marilyn Monroe have many enemies or was she everyone's favorite?
10. Is it possible that one of Marilyn Monroe's ex-husbands killed her?
Answer Hi Nisha,
I got your question late yesterday evening and this is the first chance I have had to look at your questions. I would need much longer to reply to them properly but in light of your emminent deadline, here are some answers...
The first answer combines questions 1,2,3,7 & 8:
1. How many conspiracies about Marilyn Monroe's death are there?
2. What are the conspiracies surrounding Marilyn Monroe's death?
3. Why did Marilyn's death get mixed up in these conspiracies?
8. Describe the conspiracy theory involving Marilyn Monroe and the mafia.
The conspiracy theories behind Marilyn's demise are many. No-one really knows the full truth simply because those directly involved won't talk about it (and anyway most have died by now). It is definitely a fact that there were people present in Marilyn's house on the day and morning of her death.
On Saturday morning August 4, 1962, Marilyn was up early for
breakfast(grapefruit) having not slept well for most of the night. Apparently she was in bad form complaining about her house guest's (her personal publicist, Pat Newcomb, who had spent the night, woke at 9 A.M.) ability to sleep well while she couldn't. "I had been able to sleep and Marilyn hadn't," said Newcomb in an interview. "When I came out looking refreshed, it made her furious."
According to Marilyn's neighbours, a man matching the description of Bobby Kennedy arrived at Marilyn's that afternoon. Hollywood detective Fred Otash claims that, "Marilyn and Bobby had a violent argument and she told him that she felt used and passed around." At the end of the argument Marilyn ordered Bobby out of her house. We only have one or two people to trust for this piece of information. It is generally accepted by researchers that he was indeed at her house the day she died. The controversy comes into play when some researchers claim he returned to the house and was actually there when Marilyn died. I don't believe this to be the truth but the facts of the night that Marilyn died are extremely shaky.
After this afternoon visit by Bobby, Marilyn's psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenson, arrived for a 90 minute session - which may have involved an injection of barbiturates to calm her down.
By 5:30 P.M, Greenson left. At this stage only Marilyn and her housekeeper Eunice Murray were in the house. During the afternoon Marilyn talked to several people on the phone, including her stepson, Joe DiMaggio Jr. - none of whom believed she was depressed or on drugs.
Despite the fact that the fifth is the given date in most non-Marilyn sources, she in fact died before midnight - on the fourth. Her housekeeper, whose story has changed over the years (it's hard to keep up!), has said at various times that it was the phone cord going under the door that alarmed her to Marilyn's wellbeing, or the fact that Marilyn's light was still on (not unusual for an insomniac surely) or that some sixth sense suddenly alerted her.... What doesn't stick with any of these claims is the fact that Marilyn never locked her door (partly an after effect of her spell in a psychiatric unit two years previously) and she had also just gotten in shag carpetting - too thick for the door to be
closed. Eunice said she called Dr. Greenson and he came to smash in a window to find Marilyn dead.
Many factors in this story Eunice tells do not add up - the locked door for one. Another is the fact that the glass found smashed lay outside the window - not inside(which it should have been if broken from the outside).
Another fact is that Marilyn's publicist Arthur Jacobs, Pat Newcomb's boss, received word at around 11 P.M., four hours prior to Eunice's discovery of the body - he then rushed to Monroe's house. That brings the number of people at Marilyn's house in the early hours of Sunday morning (before the police were called at half four in the morning) to about five or so (Pat Newcomb, Eunice Murray, Dr. Greenson, Dr. Engelberg, and Arthur Jacobs)
The first call from Monroe's house to the outside world came at 4:25 A.M. What had been going on in the hours in between?
Police sergeant Jack Clemmons took the call. It was Dr. Ralph Greenson who was so agitated that Clemmons couldn't understand him. "Marilyn Monroe is dead," the psychiatrist said, "she just committed suicide."
"Marilyn was lying face down in what I call the soldier's position," said Clemmons. "Her hands were by her side and her legs were stretched out perfectly straight. It was the most obviously staged death scene I have ever seen The pill bottles on her bedside table had been arranged in neat order and the body deliberately positioned. It all looked too tidy."
Up to his death a few years back Clemmons had always suspected foul play concerning Marilyn. He never considered it a straightforward suicide.
Another obvious fact in the case is the lack of pills in Marilyn's stomach (the autopsy brought this fact to light). Her stomach was empty - aside from the grapefruit she had had that morning. The only way she could have died was by an enema.
The theories are numerous when it comes to Marilyn. I remember being disgusted reading Donald Spoto's biography of Marilyn when he discarded the murder/conspiracy theory. Despite the fact that it is an extremely sad tale of a young woman cut down in her prime - the theories make intriguing reading. Here are just a few:
1. The Mafia did it in order to gain revenge against the Kennedys:
The main source for this theory is Chuck Giancana, brother of the famous Chicago mob boss, Sam Giancana, in the 1992 book "Double Cross" (a great read). Sam went back a long way with Joe Kennedy Sr., working with him during Prohibition days. They may also have helped Kennedy win his 1960 election. When JFK came to power he didn't help the Mob, instead, Robert Kennedy went gunning for organized crime. The theory goes that Giancana had Marilyn killed in order to implicate and embarass Bobby, but a neat little cover up ensued (those missing five hours were spent cleaning).
2. Robert Kennedy, aided by agents of the Secret Service and CIA :
Marilyn's greatest supporter of the murder theory is Robert Slatzer, in his book, "The Marilyn Files". Whatever about Slatzer's claims (that he was briefly married to Marilyn in 1946) he knows a helluva lot on the conspiracy side of things and has lobbied to have her case reopened (the biggest attempt being in 1982 - to no avail).
According to Slatzer, Bobby didn't actually apply the fatal dose of Nembutal himself. But that he gave the command to have her killed.
3. The mob and a mystery guest:
Milo Speriglio, a private eye, puts forward this theory in his book "Crypt 33." He investigated the death for 19 years. Speriglio states that Monroe was murdered by the Mafia. He claims that there is a connection to the Kennedys, but that the Kennedy brothers weren't directly involved in her death.
4. Dr. Ralph Greenson, Monroe's psychiatrist:
This theory is put forth by James Hall, an ambulance driver who claims to have been the ambulance driver called to the scene following the discovery of Monroe's body. This theory was put forward in his book, "Peter Lawford: The Man Who Kept the Secrets".
As Hall puts it, "Just as Marilyn started coming around, the doctor arrived... I believe it was Dr. Greenson (Marilyn's shrink). He... pushed her breast to one side and gave her an injection."
5. The Kennedys ordered the Mob to kill her:
In 1992 four psychics wrote a book having contacted the spirits of Marilyn and the Kennedys. Their theory was laid out in the very interesting "The Murder of Marilyn Monroe".
6. Marilyn herself:
This theory was first put forth in the 1962 Los Angeles County Coroner's report, which listed her cause of death as a suicide, with a hastily added 'possible' before it.
Well there you have it - all the theories.
Personally I've never believed that Marilyn killed herself - either intentionally or by accident. Somewhere along the line her 'friends' seriously failed her - again either by accident or on purpose. For Marilyn to ingest that much Nembutal (I can't remember the exact amount but apparently it was enough to kill several people) without any liquids (no containers were found in her room) and then to die in a swanlike position on the bed with the phone in her hand.... It just doesn't stick with me.
Unfortunately anyone responsible, as I said already, have passed on. I suppose they can only be judged by a higher power.
4. Describe Marilyn's relations with JFK.
"During the 1960 presidential campaign, Marilyn allegedly continued her affair with JFK. At Kennedy's July 1960 Romanoff's bash, Marilyn was seen with the president-to-be. She was also seen coming and going - frequently - from Kennedy's penthouse suite at the Carlyle Hotel in New
York.There have also been several reports that MM spent the weekend of March 24, 1962, at Bing Crosby's Palm Springs home with JFK. And, in her last years, Marilyn was a frequent visitor to Peter Lawford's Santa Monica beach house, which, in the early 1960s, served as the Los Angeles base for the Kennedy family." (The Unabridged Marilyn by Randall Riese & Neal Hitchens)
Pete Summers, a Kennedy aide, recalls that "They were very close friends. I would say that she was a very special guest - the President was really very, very fond of Marilyn."
It is believed that Marilyn's relationship with JFK may have began in the early fifties - it certainly escalated after 1960. As both the parties involved - that is, MM herself and JFK, the full details of their relationship will never be known. Assumedly the reason for their break-up
was because of pressure on JFK from those around to cease such a high profile affair which could ruin his chances of a second term in the presidency or she just got too troublesome.
The Monday after Marilyn died she was to give a press conference - it is speculated that she may have wanted to expose JFK as a liar and an adulterer. She was a woman scorned in many ways. In my own opinion I don't think she would have exposed the Kennedys - it would have
been detrimental to her career, but certainly she was mighty annoyed with JFK for cooling down the relationship.
5. When and why did Marilyn start doing drugs?
Marilyn's drugtaking escalated as her career took off. She was certainly taking them (although probably not addicted to them yet) in the early fifties. Ten years later she was almost certainly dependent as her insomnia grew worse.
6. Did Marilyn seem like the type to commit suicide?
At certain points in her life, more as a cry for help than a real effort to end her life, she did attempt suicide. Once when her close friend and mentor Joseph Schenk died in 1951 (he had helped get Marilyn's career off the ground - his wife blamed his death on MM), then again once or twice in the fifties and the last attempt (if you don't consider her death a successful suicide) was in 1960 while filming The Misfits. She attempted suicide at points in her life when she needed help and wasn't handling anything very well. In 1962 when she died her life was getting back in track in every way. She had indeed been fired from her MGM movie a month before, but they had renegotiated the contract and were to begin filming again in September. She was regaining control in many areas of her life and giving photo shoots and interviews which portrayed her as an independent strong woman. This was certainly the image she gave off in her last days, and none of her friends saw her a suicidal.
9. Did Marilyn Monroe have many enemies or was she everyone's favorite?
Marilyn, if murdered, was not murdered because she was hated, she was merely a pawn in someone's game. As it was there were certainly people who did not like Marilyn (mostly directors or co-stars who did not like her lateness onset etc.) When it came to her personally most men and women were charmed by Marilyn, for she was friendly, witty, interesting, and kind.
10. Is it possible that one of Marilyn Monroe's ex-husbands killed her?
Absolutely not. The marriages may not have worked but (particularly in the case of Joe DiMaggio) all three were very fond of Marilyn and would never have wished her harm.
Well there you go Nisha - I hope you didn't miss the deadline! I sincerely hope that this cursory glance into Marilyn Monroe helps you in your research! If you need any more help I would be more than glad to give it. You can contact me anytime on this website.
