Marilyn Monroe (47 page)

Eager to keep herself in the public eye, Marilyn embarked on a series of PR exercises, one of which was the long-awaited
Vogue
photo spread with photographer Bert Stern, on 23–5 June. Then shortly after she undertook a variety of sessions for
Cosmopolitan
, with friend and photographer George Barris, during which time he took hundreds of photos on the sand behind the Lawford house and in a privately owned home in the Hollywood Hills.

On the surface at least, it appeared that Marilyn was taking control of her life and career: she attended several meetings to get
Something’s Got to Give
back into production, she went to a party for Robert Kennedy at the Lawfords’ beach house, and enjoyed the numerous photo sessions. But not everything was rosy, as Michael Selsman remembered: ‘She was upset about various things – always. It was clear she was unhappy 24/7.’ Some of her friends worried about her mental health, too, with the threat of an overdose being high on their list of concerns: ‘It was a problem for her friends,’ confided one associate. Meanwhile, she was not in the best physical health, still addicted
to pills and now receiving liver injections from Dr Engelberg in an effort to strengthen her system.

During interviews she did with George Barris, Marilyn spoke about the subject of adoption, declaring her belief that no single person should ever adopt a child, as ‘there’s no Ma or Pa there’. Considering her earlier plans to adopt the Mexican boy, these comments are intriguing and lead to questions about whether or not the adoption plans had fallen through.

Shortly after her death, it was reported in the Mexican press that Marilyn had become thoroughly depressed over a sudden coldness from José Bolaños, yet this seems an absurd notion, since the relationship never appeared to be anything but casual. What could be closer to the truth is that her depression was brought on by the realization that Bolaños was unable or unwilling to help with the adoption plans. In 1963, reporter Glenn Thomas Carter asked him why the adoption had fallen through, but he refused to answer, stating that it was between himself and Marilyn. If she had simply changed her mind, or if legal aspects had been the problem, surely there would be no reason to withhold his answer. But if Bolaños had decided not to help with the adoption, perhaps the fear that this had been what finally pushed her ‘over the edge’ was enough to stop him ever discussing his famous friend.

As for the child himself, reporter Glenn Thomas Carter found him in Mexico City a year after Marilyn’s death, where he was living with a couple and going to school. Describing her as a ‘beautiful friend’, the child told the reporter: ‘I was sad for many months because the beautiful blonde senorita did not come for me as she promised.’ He has never been found again.

Adding to the complications surrounding Marilyn’s life in 1962 is the rumour that, sometime during the summer, she either aborted a baby or suffered a miscarriage. There is no documented evidence to prove or disprove this, but press representative Michael Selsman insists that he heard the story at the time: ‘Marilyn didn’t directly tell me,’ he recalled; ‘Arthur [Jacobs] and I were told by Pat [Newcomb], in that we had to
know to counter any rumours – since the two major Hollywood columnists, Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper, had paid spies in the hospitals and labs, so they knew pretty much what was happening.’ Selsman believes the pregnancy to be a product ‘of either Jack or Bobby, she didn’t know which, since the switch had taken place recently’.

Adding to the mystery is a $25 invoice, dated 7 June 1962, from the office of Dr Steinberg and Dr Conti, which states Marilyn underwent an ‘X-ray of nasal bones’ procedure. This is an intriguing document for a variety of reasons, not least of which is the fact that Dr Steinberg was one of Marilyn’s gynaecologists, not a nasal specialist, while Dr Conti was his anaesthetist. Daughter Vanessa Steinberg was asked to comment on the invoice and had the following to say: ‘The procedure would have been performed at Cedars hospital in Los Angeles. [My father] saw her many times in Los Angeles and I am certain that the procedures did not involve x-raying of nasal bones. My father was not a nasal surgeon and I have no idea what the actual procedures where – I assume follow-on routine dilate and curette procedures for her gynaecological ailments, or else perhaps a termination or dilate and curette after a miscarriage? Apparently she suffered from severe endometriosis and this may have been a procedure in relation to that, which was written down as x-ray of nasal bones. I can only speculate that the procedure you refer to was something that she wanted to remain a secret and this is not an uncommon practice in medicine, particularly if the patient was a celebrity. I know that in New York she was treated and admitted to Mount Sinai under a pseudonym. I can say, with some certainty, that the procedure most likely had nothing to do with x-raying of nasal bones.’

This document not only adds fuel to the abortion/miscarriage rumour but also to a persistent story of Marilyn visiting plastic surgeon, Dr Gurdin, after what was described by Dr Greenson as a ‘fall in the shower’. Dr Gurdin had performed the slight plastic surgery on Marilyn’s chin all those years ago, and examined her in the summer of 1962, to determine if she
had broken her nose. She hadn’t, but the appointment has been tied in with the ‘x-ray of nasal bones’ procedure over the years, although in reality it is extremely unlikely that they were in any way related.

During the upheavals and obvious health problems, both Marilyn and her representatives continued their quest to get
Something’s Got to Give
back into production, with pressure being put on Fox by the White House itself and Robert Kennedy in particular. Meanwhile, Pat Newcomb tried to keep her friend upbeat by sending a letter on 11 July which listed nineteen magazine and newspaper articles that had appeared over the past few weeks, along with a variety of others to look forward to in the future. She also sent a copy of
Redbook
magazine on 19 July, for which Marilyn had done an interview. Both star and representative were disappointed that the article did not contain the human insight they had wanted to see, but Newcomb herself felt it was the first positive story she’d read in quite some time.

Newcomb was trying very hard to cheer her client and friend but it came at a price, as by now unfair and absurd rumours were beginning to spread that their friendship was more than platonic. ‘They were very close friends,’ remembered Michael Selsman. ‘I never saw them do anything of an intimate nature together, but there were rumours.’ Disturbingly, Selsman remembered the rumours coming principally from some of the main players in Marilyn’s circle – people who she trusted and should have known better than to gossip about their friend and employer.

On 19 July Marilyn hosted a dinner party for Greenson’s children at Fifth Helena, then on 21 July, according to some sources, she underwent a gynaecological procedure at Cedars and was picked up afterwards by Joe DiMaggio. She rested for several days afterwards, and then resumed her summer of interviews and photos, while her lawyers continued their negotiations with Fox. One of the interviews Marilyn gave during that time was with
Life’s
Richard Meryman. It was the last one she ever gave, and in it she complained magnificently about the studio and
the treatment of their stars, declaring for the first time in her career that fame was a burden. By the time the interview ended, Marilyn was beginning to worry about her comments and asked Meryman not to make her look like a joke. He promised he wouldn’t, and kept his word; when the article was published on 3 August 1962 it showed her as a mature, sensible woman, who was obviously learning much from the hand she’d been dealt.

On the weekend of 28–9 July, Marilyn travelled to Cal-Neva Lodge & Casino, in Lake Tahoe, where she visited with Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford and his wife Patricia. Much has been said about this weekend, from the depressing – Joe DiMaggio followed Marilyn but was not allowed on the premises, leaving her to watch him sadly from afar – to the truly disturbing – she was drugged and photographed in various states of undress in order to ensure her silence regarding her relationship with the Kennedys.

There is virtually no factual information available about the weekend at all, but there are several photos that appear to show Marilyn at the resort, and give us some insight into the mood surrounding her at the time. Much has been said about Frank Sinatra not being happy with his former girlfriend, and the photos show that to be most probably true. Singer Buddy Greco was performing at the resort at the time, and is seen in one photo sharing a friendly embrace with Marilyn, with both smiling broadly. However, Sinatra is also in the photo, sitting on a deck chair, holding a newspaper and looking up at the couple in a disapproving manner. Another photo shows Sinatra still sitting in the chair, continuing to look unhappy, while an unknown gentleman views Marilyn’s derrière as she walks away from the camera.

Regardless of the source, the general feeling is that the ‘Cal-Neva weekend’, as it has come to be called, was not a particularly happy one. Marilyn was said to be depressed and according to some sources almost overdosed in one of the bungalows, saved only by the fact that she had kept a telephone line open to the casino operator. There is also talk of Frank Sinatra being
so wound up by her drugged and drunken behaviour that he eventually asked both Marilyn and the Lawfords to leave the premises; Peter and Marilyn flew back to Los Angeles, while Patricia travelled to the Kennedy compound at Hyannis Port.

What is interesting to note, however, is that if the Cal-Neva weekend was as bad as rumoured, Marilyn felt stable enough not to call out either Dr Greenson or Dr Engelberg when she returned home on Sunday. Instead, she was driven to Greenson’s office the next day for a routine appointment, and did not see Engelberg again until two days later, on 1 August.

According to some sources, 1 August was a big day for Marilyn – Peter Levathes had visited the actress at home and, as a result, Twentieth Century Fox had renewed her contract, giving her a large pay rise and a promise that
Something’s Got to Give
would be resumed. However, there is some question as to whether or not the contract had actually been drawn up by the time Marilyn died. There is no trace of it in either the Fox or Arthur P. Jacobs archives, and no copies have ever been made public.

However, on 1 August she did speak on the telephone to Evelyn Moriarty, who remembered she was happy because negotiations were going well with Fox and she was sure they would be back in production soon: ‘that’s how close they were to settling their differences,’ said Moriarty. George Barris remembers speaking with Marilyn on 3 August and discovered her to be very excited as the studio were going to give her an increase and start the film again in a month. So certainly negotiations did seem to have been progressing, but it must be noted that Twentieth Century Fox never confirmed the contract renewal when she died, and the film continued to be described as ‘shelved’ in the newspapers.

Meanwhile, Joe DiMaggio was becoming deeply worried about the health and wellbeing of his former wife, and on 1 August he resigned his $100,000 a year job as a representative for military goods supply company V.H. Monette, and travelled back to San Francisco. According to
Where Have You Gone
Joe DiMaggio?
by Maury Allen, DiMaggio told his colleague, Sid Luckman, that he was leaving because he had decided to ask Marilyn to marry him once again. Unfortunately, his decision was in vain, as by the time he arrived in Los Angeles on 5 August, Marilyn was already dead.

Some authors have claimed that the couple were due to be remarried on 8 August – the date of Marilyn’s funeral – and that she even had a dress made for the occasion, but this seems highly unlikely, judging by Sid Luckman’s comments. It is more likely that DiMaggio planned to propose when he returned to Los Angeles, and the dress she had ordered was for the opening night of the Irving Berlin musical,
Mr President
, in the autumn of 1962.

It is also unlikely that Marilyn would have agreed to such a proposal as she preferred to think of herself and DiMaggio as just good friends. Speaking to Alan Levy during the summer of 1962, she explained, ‘Believe me there is no spark to be kindled; I just like being with him.’ She also repeated the statement almost word-for-word to reporter Helen Hendricks: ‘I’ve always been able to count on Joe as a friend but there is no spark rekindled. Now I like being with him and we have a better understanding than we’ve ever had.’

On 3 August Marilyn received an injection from Dr Engelberg and then filled a prescription for twenty-five Nembutal capsules, issued by the doctor. Then in the evening she went to La Scala with Pat Newcomb, who was suffering from bronchitis. Concerned when Newcomb told her she was planning to book into hospital for a rest, Marilyn invited her friend to stay at Fifth Helena to ‘bake it out’ next to the pool; Pat agreed and the two returned to Marilyn’s home.

On 4 August, Pat Newcomb slept late, while Marilyn pottered around her home and lounged in bed in her white towelling robe. ‘She wasn’t ill,’ said Eunice Murray, ‘she was just resting.’ She drank fruit juice and spoke to Mrs Murray about household matters, such as the three shipments of furnishings expected from Mexico, and a carpet which was being specially woven
there. ‘The development of the house was so important to her,’ said Murray. ‘In the past few weeks Marilyn had everything to live for. The plans we made were so wonderful.’

It has been claimed that when Newcomb eventually rose, an argument broke out between the two, a result, it is said, of an insomniac and depressed Marilyn being angry that her friend had been able to sleep for so long. However, peace must surely have been restored, since Newcomb stayed for hours afterwards, leaving around 6 p.m. that evening.

During the course of the day, Marilyn received several phone calls and visitors. One guest, photographer Larry Schiller, came to talk about the possibility of shooting a cover for the December issue of Hugh Hefner’s
Playboy
magazine. She had been aware of Hefner’s request since July, but had still not decided whether to do it, and told Schiller that she would give him an answer later.