Marilyn and Bobby.

One of the biggest problems faced by Pat Kennedy Lawford in the early 1960s was her and Peter's reputation. Peter and his Rat Pack friends had used her home so often for their s.e.xual escapades with women that some wise guy renamed the place "High a.n.u.s Port." Jeanne Martin, Pat's good friend, said, "I truly don't know what Peter was thinking. How could he put himself and Pat in that position? It was always a mystery to me. He was not a careless man, but to do that to his wife..." Indeed, when Pat heard about the nickname, she was embarra.s.sed. However, there wasn't a lot she could do about it. Her brother, Jack, was president of the United States, and if he wanted to meet girls at her home when he came into town, she felt she had no choice but to allow it. "Obviously, Pat was not clueless," said George Jacobs. "She was just resigned. [But] Pat must have hated that her house was being used as a brothel for JFK." * * The only thing she believed she could do to keep her place of residence dignified was the occasional cla.s.sy dinner party-which she usually had when Bobby and Ethel were in town. No one seems to remember an occasion when she had such a party for JFK and Jackie, the reason being that when JFK came to the West Coast, he preferred leaving Jackie behind since her presence at his side usually cramped his style. The latest Kennedy gathering organized by Pat was to take place on February 1, 1962. Again, Pat was hosting for Bobby and Ethel since they were in Los Angeles on the first leg of a fourteen-country goodwill tour. The only thing she believed she could do to keep her place of residence dignified was the occasional cla.s.sy dinner party-which she usually had when Bobby and Ethel were in town. No one seems to remember an occasion when she had such a party for JFK and Jackie, the reason being that when JFK came to the West Coast, he preferred leaving Jackie behind since her presence at his side usually cramped his style. The latest Kennedy gathering organized by Pat was to take place on February 1, 1962. Again, Pat was hosting for Bobby and Ethel since they were in Los Angeles on the first leg of a fourteen-country goodwill tour.

With the telling of events leading up to this party, one can also begin to understand one of the reasons behind all of the rumors about Marilyn and Bobby. Prior to this evening, Marilyn-always one to embellish an already interesting story-spent at least two weeks calling people such as Danny Greenson (the doctor's son), Jeanne Martin, Henry Weinstein (producer of Something's Got to Give Something's Got to Give), among others to tell them exciting news: "I have a date with Bobby Kennedy."

Henry Weinstein recalled, "I get a call one day from her and she says, I have a very important date with a very important man. And I want to know from you what kinds of things I can say to him, what kinds of questions I may be able to ask him, that will be impressive. So I said, 'Fine, but who's the man, so I can think of topics for you.' She said, 'It's Bobby Kennedy.' I was a little floored. 'Seriously?' I asked. 'Yes,' she said, 'I have a date with Bobby Kennedy.' So, I said, 'Okay, well, we're right in the middle of the civil rights business, so ask him what he's doing to calm down the riots, how he feels about Martin Luther King, that sort of thing.' "

In subsequent years, sources who have said Marilyn told them she was "dating" Bobby Kennedy weren't fibbing. Apparently, she she was fibbing. In this case, it most certainly wasn't a date. It was a dinner party at Pat's, and she was just one of the guests. However, people heard from her that it was "a date," and then pa.s.sed that information on to reporters many decades later. Each person has told the same story: She wrote down all of the questions she was given on a napkin, so that she could remember them. They were inquiries about civil rights, about the country's support of the Diem regime in Vietnam, and also about the House Un-American Activities Committee. was fibbing. In this case, it most certainly wasn't a date. It was a dinner party at Pat's, and she was just one of the guests. However, people heard from her that it was "a date," and then pa.s.sed that information on to reporters many decades later. Each person has told the same story: She wrote down all of the questions she was given on a napkin, so that she could remember them. They were inquiries about civil rights, about the country's support of the Diem regime in Vietnam, and also about the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Marilyn showed up at Pat's that night dressed to kill. Years later, Joan Braden, who was present that night, recalled, "Bobby turned and I turned and there she was-blonde, beautiful, red lips at the ready, clad in a black-lace dress which barely concealed the tips of her perfectly formed b.r.e.a.s.t.s and tightly fitted every curve of the body unparalleled." Joan whispered in Bobby's ear, "Bobby, this is the the Marilyn Monroe, the genuine article." Then Pat came over and said, "Bobby, I'd like you to meet Marilyn." Marilyn Monroe, the genuine article." Then Pat came over and said, "Bobby, I'd like you to meet Marilyn."

While Bobby was mildly interested in meeting the screen star, his wife, Ethel, was much more starstruck. Unlike many of the Kennedys, Ethel was down-to-earth, not at all pretentious. She enjoyed a good time, loved playing football with the men in the family, and was considered something of a tomboy. She was also the life of any party, pretty much like her sister-in-law Pat. She'd wanted to be a nun before meeting Bobby, but then of course went on to marry Kennedy and give birth to eleven children by him. She was well-liked within the family, though she and Jackie often b.u.t.ted heads. Ethel, always one to speak her mind, was devoted to the Kennedy family and was Bobby's biggest supporter when it came to his political ambitions. Whereas the other women who'd married into the family-Jackie and Joan-had to apply themselves in order to be invested in their husband's careers, Ethel absolutely loved politics and hoped to one day be First Lady.

Ethel had wanted to meet Marilyn ever since deciding a year earlier that the actress should play her in a screen version of Bobby's book The Enemy Within The Enemy Within, which was about his investigation into the illegal activities of Jimmy Hoffa and the Teamsters union. It was presently being developed into a movie by Marilyn's studio, 20th Century-Fox. Budd Schulberg, who had written the screenplay for On the Waterfront On the Waterfront, was adapting the Kennedy work. In the end, it would not see completion, but Ethel's choice to have Marilyn play her in the movie is interesting just the same. On its face, it seems odd. The two were not at all alike, after all. Whereas Marilyn was a s.e.x kitten, Ethel was earthy and a more motherly figure. However, Ethel had seen many of Marilyn's films and was interested in her not for her looks but rather because she saw what a lot of people saw in Marilyn, a very good actress. "I think she's underrated," she told Joan Braden, a friend of the Kennedy family's. "I think she's done some very good work and I'd be honored to have her play me in the movie." Ethel's appreciation of Marilyn didn't last long after she actually had a chance to meet her-and see her interact with Bobby.

Joan Braden recalled, "Bobby ended up sitting right next to her at dinner, with Kim Novak, Angie d.i.c.kinson and me at the table. Who the men between us were, I can't remember. I can only remember the women and the dresses, which showed off their bosoms."

Of Marilyn and Bobby, Braden continues, "They had an instant rapport, not surprising in that they were both charismatic, smart people. Bobby enjoyed talking to intelligent, beautiful women, and Marilyn certainly fit the bill. She was also inquisitive in a childlike way, which I think he found refreshing. I found her to be delightful, and everyone at the party was completely enthralled by her and rather dazzled by her presence."

After dinner, Marilyn pulled out her little napkin of questions and started asking them to Bobby. She really didn't need the crib sheet, though. She certainly knew how to engage in an intellectual conversation with someone like Bobby Kennedy. Soon, the two retired to the bar to discuss J. Edgar Hoover. Marilyn said she felt he was out of control. "Spying on this one and that one. He even spies on me, and what do I ever do?" she asked, according to Jeanne Martin, who was also at the party and overheard the conversation. "All I ever do is shop and make movies, yet he has his goons following me!" Marilyn had long felt she was being stalked. There was the incident where she called her pseudo-manager Lucille Carrol to tell her that someone was peeping in on her in her bedroom, even though no available ladder would have reached the third floor. There were many other times, as well. In fact, there's a very good adage that applies here: Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean someone's not following you. The fact that Marilyn actually was was being followed, and by Hoover's "goons," had to have fed into her sense of paranoia. Bobby said that he and his brother Jack felt the same way about Hoover-and they should have because he had agents tailing their every move as well!-but there was nothing they could do about it yet. being followed, and by Hoover's "goons," had to have fed into her sense of paranoia. Bobby said that he and his brother Jack felt the same way about Hoover-and they should have because he had agents tailing their every move as well!-but there was nothing they could do about it yet.

It should be noted that there have been many different accounts of Marilyn's first meeting with Bobby, going all the way back to dates in 1960. However, on the basis of information a.s.sembled for this book, February 1, 1962, marked the first meeting. Immediately afterward, on February 2, Marilyn wrote a letter to Isadore Miller, Arthur's father. She began it, "Dear Dad," and wrote of meeting Kennedy, "he seems rather mature and brilliant for his thirty-six years, but what I liked best about him, besides his Civil Rights program, is he's got such a wonderful sense of humor." She also wrote to Arthur's son, Bobby, to whom she was close. "When they asked him who he wanted to meet, he wanted to meet me," she wrote. "So I went to the dinner and sat next to him, and he isn't a bad dancer either." Based on Marilyn's words ("he wanted to meet me"), the two had not met before this evening. She wrote that she'd asked Bobby questions about the civil rights movement and that she was impressed with his answers. She further stated that Bobby had promised to send her a letter that would summarize their conversation. She promised to send Miller a copy of it, "because there will be some very interesting things in it because I really asked many questions that I said the youth of America want answers to and want things done about."

"Afterwards, we all started dancing and I remember Marilyn teaching Bobby how to do the twist," recalled Joan Braden. "The two were laughing and having a very good time together. That, I think, was really pushing it as far as Ethel was concerned. I remember wondering how Bobby could be so blatantly flirtatious with another woman knowing that Ethel was watching, and I was also worried about Ethel's feelings. People always thought Ethel Kennedy could take care of herself, more so than the other Kennedy women. But I always thought that underneath Ethel's bravado was a very sensitive, and often very hurt, woman."

It's been reported countless times over the years that Marilyn Monroe became so inebriated on this night that she could not drive herself home. Therefore, Bobby and his press aide Ed Guthman supposedly did so. Guthman has even been quoted as saying that this was true. Perhaps that happened on some other night-it's never been proven, though-but definitely it did not occur on this night.

Fresh research now establishes that Marilyn did not drive to the Lawford home. She was picked up at 8 p.m. by the Carey Cadillac Renting Company of California from her apartment on Doheny Drive and then taken to the Lawfords'. She stayed until three in the morning and then was driven back to her home. A receipt exists from the Carey Cadillac Renting Company proving as much.

Edward Barnes, who now owns his own valet service, was a young parking attendant at the Lawfords' that evening. He says that while Marilyn was waiting for her driver, there was a bit of chaos in front of the Lawford home. "One of the other valets broke a cardinal rule and asked Miss Monroe if he could take a picture of her," says Barnes. "She said, 'Of course.' And that very second, a Secret Service agent appeared from nowhere and grabbed the guy's camera. It stunned everyone. Marilyn was surprised, too, and she said, 'Wait a second. Who the h.e.l.l are you? Who the h.e.l.l are you?' He said, 'Secret Service, ma'am.' Just then, a Kennedy aide who I later learned was Ed Guthman said, 'We have agents here, Marilyn. It's okay.' And she said, 'Well, it is not okay to steal someone's camera.' She then turned to the agent and said, 'You give back that camera right now.' And he did! Then she posed for the picture. Everyone stood there with their mouths open, it was such a moment. I will never forget it. I thought to myself, Holy Christ, I can't believe that Marilyn Monroe just went up against the Secret Service... and won!"

"The next day, I asked her how the date with Bobby Kennedy went," recalled Henry Weinstein, "and she said it went great, and 'Guess what? I have another another date with him.' So I thought, wow, that's very nice. A few days went by and I didn't hear from her. I called her and said, 'So? How is it going with Bobby Kennedy?' She said, 'Well... let's put it this way. I don't need any more questions.' " date with him.' So I thought, wow, that's very nice. A few days went by and I didn't hear from her. I called her and said, 'So? How is it going with Bobby Kennedy?' She said, 'Well... let's put it this way. I don't need any more questions.' "

JFK: "Finally! You're Here!"

At the end of February 1962, Peter Lawford invited Marilyn to a dinner party in New York that was being held to honor President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy loved the Hollywood culture and was enamored of celebrities, especially beautiful actresses, or, more specifically, especially beautiful blonde blonde actresses-though, as was well known about him, he never tossed a brunette or redhead out of his bed either. Though Marilyn had met Kennedy back in the 1950s when he was a senator, she never had a chance to speak to him in depth. After having had the opportunity to meet Bobby, she was eager to know his brother Jack. She had no romantic designs on JFK. Not yet, anyway. actresses-though, as was well known about him, he never tossed a brunette or redhead out of his bed either. Though Marilyn had met Kennedy back in the 1950s when he was a senator, she never had a chance to speak to him in depth. After having had the opportunity to meet Bobby, she was eager to know his brother Jack. She had no romantic designs on JFK. Not yet, anyway.

The party was to take place at the home of Fifi Fell, the widow of a wealthy industrialist. Milt Ebbins, who was Peter Lawford's partner in his production company, recalled: "Dave Powers [a presidential aide] and I were supposed to escort Marilyn to the party. Dinner was at eight. We showed up at her place at 7:30. Of course she was nowhere near ready. Her maid came out of the bedroom and said something about her not being able to make up her mind about what to wear. Also, she had this hairdresser [Kenneth Battelle, her hairstylist] combing and teasing and combing and teasing. Finally, Dave said, 'I'm not going to sit here when I could be with the president.' So he took the car back to the party and then sent a limousine for us.

"The limousine arrived at 8:15 and she still wasn't ready. At that point, Peter called and said, 'What the h.e.l.l is going on? Does she realize that she's keeping the president waiting?' And when he said that to me, something clicked in my head and I thought, 'Hmmm, I wonder if that's the whole idea.' "

At 8:30, still no Marilyn-but the hairdresser came out of the bedroom very casually as if he had not a care in the world. Before breezily taking his leave, he said to Milt, "It's worth the wait. Believe me. She looks fabulous. fabulous."

At 8:45, another call came in from Peter to Milt. By now, Peter was frantic and, with Dave Powers cursing in the background, hollered into the phone, "Get her over here, G.o.d d.a.m.n it. The president wants her here, now. now." Milt replied, "I'm trying, I'm trying I'm trying." Peter bellowed, "Well, try harder," before slamming down the phone.

At 9 p.m., the telephone rang again and the maid said it was Peter. Milt told her to say they'd already left the premises. By now totally exasperated, he burst into Marilyn's bedroom. There she was, with her back to him, sitting at her vanity, staring into the mirror and, with what looked to Ebbins like an eyeliner pencil, darkening her famous beauty mark (a little mole on the right cheek of her face). "Marilyn, Jesus Christ, almighty!" Milt said. "Do you realize you're keeping the president waiting." She rose to face him. She was completely nude except for a pair of black high heels. "Oh, calm down, Milt," she said casually. "My goodness. Just help me put this dress on." After taking a casual sip of sherry, she lifted a little beaded and sequined number off the bed and put it over her head. Then she shimmied it down over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, to her hips.

For the next ten minutes, Milt Ebbins attempted to a.s.sist Marilyn into what he described as "the tightest G.o.dd.a.m.n dress I have ever seen on a woman. We couldn't get it past her hips. Of course, typical of Marilyn, she wasn't wearing underwear either. So there I was, on my knees in front of her, my nose an inch from her crotch, pulling this dress down with all my might trying to get it past her big a.s.s. And she kept saying, 'Keep pulling, Milt. Keep pulling. You can do it. You can do it.' " You can do it.' "

Finally, with one final tug, the dress gave way past Marilyn's hips and down to her knees. "Ah, perfect," she squealed. "I knew you could do it, Milt." She then put a red wig over her hair and sungla.s.ses over her eyes and then... back to the vanity where she sat down and began studying herself again. "Finally, I just grabbed her by the elbow," Milt recalled, "and said, 'That's it. We're leaving.'

"We got into the limousine and made it to Park Avenue. When we got out of the car, the place was mobbed with photographers waiting to see who the president's guests were. Not one person recognized her. We went up to the floor he was staying on and two Secret Service agents met us as soon as we got off the elevator. They escorted us to the apartment."

Standing in front of the closed door, Marilyn took off her wig and handed it to one of the agents. After fluffing up her halo of blonde hair, she took the gla.s.ses off and handed them to the other agent. Then she drew a deep breath, smoothed down her dress, and said, "Okay, shall we?" One of the agents opened the door and Marilyn walked into the apartment, followed by Milt Ebbins.

"When she walked in, Christ almighty, it was like the parting of the Red Sea," Ebbins recalled. "There were about twenty-five people in there, and the crowd divided into halves as she walked through the room."

The actress Arlene Dahl, who was married to Fernando Lamas and is actor Lorenzo Lamas's mother, was also at that party. "Marilyn walked in with her agent and, I'll never forget it, everything stopped, everyone stopped. It was magical, really. I've never seen anyone stop a room like that. The president turned around and noticed her and you could see that he was immediately attracted to her. 'Finally! You're here,' he said with a big smile as he walked over to her. 'There are some people here who are dying to meet you.' Then, she was descended upon. People just wanted to stand near her, smell her fragrance, breathe the same air as she."

JFK took Marilyn's arm and off she went with him. But not before turning to Milt Ebbins and giving him a wry little smile and a wink.

As it happened, JFK was immediately taken by Marilyn that night in New York-no surprise there. Before she left, he asked for her phone number. Of course, she gave it to him. He called her the very next day with a suggestion. He explained that he was going to be in Palm Springs on March 24. He would be staying with his friend and, as he understood it, hers as well-Frank Sinatra. Why not join him there? Oh, and incidentally, he told her, "Jackie won't be there."

Notorious Players.

Wasn't it remarkable enough that Marilyn Monroe had made plans for a romantic getaway with the president of the United States? Did fate also have to decree that their a.s.signation would occur in the center of a big melodrama involving both Kennedy brothers, Frank Sinatra, and Peter Lawford, the husband of Marilyn's friend Pat?

Everyone who knew Bobby Kennedy knew one thing about him: He was determined to bring down the underworld. Not only that but, as he had earlier indicated to Marilyn, he felt that J. Edgar Hoover was involved in certain illegal activities, too, and that he was using mob informants to beef up his scurrilous files on the Kennedy family. The sc.r.a.ppiest and most volatile of the brothers, Bobby spent most of 1960 and 1961 looking into these kinds of hunches. The irony was that pretty much everyone knew that his father, Joseph, had all sorts of underworld connections-and is there any doubt that a man as shrewd and savvy as Bobby knew about them, too? Still, in February 1962, his investigation of the underworld was completed and a report compiled by the Justice Department. Basically, it claimed that Sinatra was in so deep with the mob, he was practically running his own little syndicate.

Matters became even darker for Sinatra when, on February 27, 1962, FBI agents reported to J. Edgar Hoover that a woman named Judith Campbell Exner was sleeping with President Kennedy. Exner was one of the many girlfriends of leading Mafia kingpin Sam Giancana. It didn't take long for Hoover to figure out that Sinatra was the one who had introduced all these notorious players to one another. Finally, the FBI got it right!

As JFK had mentioned to Marilyn, he was scheduled to stay with Sinatra at his Palm Springs home. As it happened, Sinatra idolized JFK (whom he referred to as TP-The President) just about as much as he did any mobster he knew. Sinatra had spanking new cottages built on the property for JFK's visit. He also hung pictures of the Kennedys all over the main house, and even put up a gold plaque in the president's bedroom that said, "John F. Kennedy Slept Here." He had new phone lines installed for the Secret Service as well as a new helipad.

However, Sinatra was in for a rude awakening. Bobby told his brother Jack that due to the circ.u.mstances of Frank's mob ties, there was no way the president of the United States could stay in his home. JFK concurred. Of course, this sanctimonious reasoning was the height of hypocrisy, since one of the reasons Bobby and JFK agreed that Sinatra should be ostracized was because he was friends with Sam Giancana and his girlfriend, Judith Exner-a woman with whom JFK was having s.e.x! "President Kennedy liked to live on the edge and he liked to take chances," observed retired Secret Service agent Lawrence Newman, "and I think he was walking on the edge of issues that were dark and dangerous."

Poor Peter Lawford was the guy chosen by Bobby to break the news to Sinatra. Peter never had a chance, especially when he told Frank where JFK would be sleeping in Palm Springs. As expected, Sinatra hung up on him. Then Sinatra dropped the phone to the floor. Staring out at the hot desert, he said to his valet, George Jacobs, "You want to know where he's staying? Bing Crosby's house, that's where-and he's a Republican!" After that, Frank dropped Peter from two upcoming Rat Pack films, Robin and the 7 Hoods Robin and the 7 Hoods and and 4 for Texas. 4 for Texas. As far as he was concerned, Peter Lawford was history. As far as he was concerned, Peter Lawford was history.

Pat Kennedy Lawford was angry about this turn of events. Lately, Frank hadn't been on her list of favorite people anyway. That hadn't always been the case, though. In fact, it had been due to Pat that Sinatra and Peter Lawford reconciled after a spat in the 1950s over (Sinatra's) ex-wife, Ava Gardner. That argument marked the first first time Sinatra gave Lawford the heave-ho and didn't speak to him for a couple of years. But then he met Pat one night at a dinner party at actor Gary Cooper's home in Holmby Hills. Even though she was pregnant, she and Frank flirted a bit. Apparently, it then occurred to Sinatra that his former friend, Lawford, was actually time Sinatra gave Lawford the heave-ho and didn't speak to him for a couple of years. But then he met Pat one night at a dinner party at actor Gary Cooper's home in Holmby Hills. Even though she was pregnant, she and Frank flirted a bit. Apparently, it then occurred to Sinatra that his former friend, Lawford, was actually married married to one of the daughters of a family that had the potential to become one of the most powerful in the world. Sinatra always had his sights set on getting into politics and began to hope that the Kennedy family might a.s.sist him in that regard. The next thing everyone in his circle knew-voila!-he and Peter Lawford were best pals again. When Pat had the baby, sure enough, she and Peter named the girl Victoria Francis-after Francis Sinatra. Pat even put up her own Kennedy dollars to option the script of to one of the daughters of a family that had the potential to become one of the most powerful in the world. Sinatra always had his sights set on getting into politics and began to hope that the Kennedy family might a.s.sist him in that regard. The next thing everyone in his circle knew-voila!-he and Peter Lawford were best pals again. When Pat had the baby, sure enough, she and Peter named the girl Victoria Francis-after Francis Sinatra. Pat even put up her own Kennedy dollars to option the script of Ocean's 11 Ocean's 11, thinking it would star Peter with Frank. But guess who ended up starring in it? Frank. With Dean, Sammy, oh, and... Peter. "But after what Sinatra did to Peter where JFK was concerned, she was done with him for good," concluded her friend Pat Brennan.

Marilyn's Weekend with the President.

On Sat.u.r.day morning, March 24, 1962, Marilyn prepared for her date with presidential destiny.

As the plumbing wasn't functioning at her home, Marilyn had to race over to Dr. Greenson's to wash her hair on the morning of the twenty-fourth. Then she returned to her own home and got dressed. Meanwhile, Peter Lawford paced back and forth in her living room waiting for her to finish so that he could drive her to the desert. That Peter was still involved in any of this business suggests he was hopelessly hooked to the Kennedy-Sinatra-Monroe story and really didn't want it to end for him. Marilyn finally emerged from the bathroom with a black wig over her newly washed and styled hair. Lawford and Monroe then made the two-hour drive to Palm Springs.

In order to comprehend how Marilyn felt about this date with the president, one has to understand the woman Marilyn had become, and what she was accustomed to in her life. She had been much sought after for many years, the poster girl for human s.e.xuality in this country since the mid-1950s. She was long used to being the center of attention, to being the one focused on anytime she showed up at a party. In fact, it usually wasn't a party until she showed up! Also, she was used to being around smart and powerful men-such as Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller-and also used to them falling for her. So, while one might have thought she would be thunderstruck by the idea of meeting the president of the United States for a date while his wife, the First Lady, was not on-site, that wasn't really true. To her, it was... interesting-just another mad day in the mad life of a mad actress. This att.i.tude is borne out by a couple of credible sources.

Diane Stevens from the John Springer office recalled, "I telephoned her on March 22 to ask her a question about Something's Got to Give Something's Got to Give and said, 'So, what have you got planned for the weekend?' Very casually, she said, 'Oh, I'm going to Palm Springs to spend the weekend with Frank Sinatra and Jack Kennedy.' [Apparently, at this time, Marilyn didn't know that the locale for the party had been changed.] She was so casual about it, it was a little strange. I said, 'Wow! Marilyn, that's really something.' And she said, 'Really? Is it?' I said, 'Well, yeah!' And her reaction was, 'Well, you know, Bobby and I have had a couple of dates'-which was news to me-'and I met Jack in New York recently. He's a nice guy, so I'm just going to go and see what happens.' I hung up thinking to myself, wow. What a life!" and said, 'So, what have you got planned for the weekend?' Very casually, she said, 'Oh, I'm going to Palm Springs to spend the weekend with Frank Sinatra and Jack Kennedy.' [Apparently, at this time, Marilyn didn't know that the locale for the party had been changed.] She was so casual about it, it was a little strange. I said, 'Wow! Marilyn, that's really something.' And she said, 'Really? Is it?' I said, 'Well, yeah!' And her reaction was, 'Well, you know, Bobby and I have had a couple of dates'-which was news to me-'and I met Jack in New York recently. He's a nice guy, so I'm just going to go and see what happens.' I hung up thinking to myself, wow. What a life!"

Philip Watson, who was a former Los Angeles county a.s.sessor, actually met Marilyn while she was with Kennedy in Palm Springs, and he says she seemed quite calm and casual wearing what he described as "kind of a robe thing." He further recalled, "There were a lot of people poolside, and some people were wandering in and out of a rambling Spanish-style house. Marilyn was there and the president was there and they were obviously together. There was no question in my mind that they were having a good time." He added, "She obviously had a lot to drink. It was obvious they were intimate, that they were staying there together for the night."

While Marilyn was with JFK in Palm Springs-Jackie was in India-she telephoned her friend Ralph Roberts. The three had a conversation that suggests that she and the president either didn't understand how troubling it could be to so many people if word of their tryst got out, or they just didn't care. Marilyn told Roberts that she was with "a friend" who was having certain back problems. The two-she and Roberts-had previously discussed certain muscle groups and she believed these were the specific areas troubling her friend. She also wanted to ask him about the solus muscle, which she had read about in a book called The Thinking Body The Thinking Body by Mabel Ellsworth Todd. She wanted Roberts to talk to him. He agreed. The next thing he knew, he was talking to a man who sounding exactly like the president. They had a few words and Roberts hung up thinking that his friend Marilyn was, once again, up to no good. Later, she told him that it had most certainly been Kennedy and that he appreciated Roberts's quick diagnosis of his back problem. by Mabel Ellsworth Todd. She wanted Roberts to talk to him. He agreed. The next thing he knew, he was talking to a man who sounding exactly like the president. They had a few words and Roberts hung up thinking that his friend Marilyn was, once again, up to no good. Later, she told him that it had most certainly been Kennedy and that he appreciated Roberts's quick diagnosis of his back problem.

Marilyn spent two nights with President Kennedy. It's not known that they were intimate on even one of those nights, let alone both. It can be presumed that they were, though, if only because JFK was used to having relations with a variety of beautiful women-and Marilyn was, no doubt, on top of any man's list of most desirable women, especially in 1962. Also, for her part, Marilyn would have found it hard to resist Kennedy. He was strong, powerful, and good-looking. Not only that, he was was the president. Indeed, to think that these two pa.s.sionate people did not find themselves in the throes of pa.s.sion would be a little naive. Rather, the question is whether it was on one or on both nights. As it would happen, though, this a.s.signation would be the first and last for Marilyn where Jack Kennedy was concerned. "That was really the end of it," Ralph Roberts recalled many years later. "She told me very specifically that they were together that one weekend, and that it was the only time. It wasn't until many years later that I had begun hearing rumors to the contrary, but I just didn't believe them because she was so specific in what she said back then when it happened." Indeed, according to Roberts and a number of other credible sources, including Secret Service agents whose job it was to keep track of the president's activities, this weekend was the only one ever shared by the movie star and commander in chief. One agent who asked for anonymity put it this way: "If there had been an affair, I would have known about it. There was no affair. Sorry. There just wasn't. It was one weekend, and that's it." Another agent further stated, "At the time [1962], we all knew about the weekend. It wasn't until she [Monroe] and the president were both dead that people started talking about an affair. Trust me, no one was saying anything about an affair in 1962. What we knew was that JFK and Marilyn had s.e.x at Bing Crosby's, and that's it. We didn't think it was a big deal. He had s.e.x with a lot of women. At the time, looking back on it now, she was just one of many and it wasn't that noteworthy. If there was more to it between them, they [Kennedy and Monroe] somehow managed to keep it from us-and I don't think you can keep something like that from the Secret Service." the president. Indeed, to think that these two pa.s.sionate people did not find themselves in the throes of pa.s.sion would be a little naive. Rather, the question is whether it was on one or on both nights. As it would happen, though, this a.s.signation would be the first and last for Marilyn where Jack Kennedy was concerned. "That was really the end of it," Ralph Roberts recalled many years later. "She told me very specifically that they were together that one weekend, and that it was the only time. It wasn't until many years later that I had begun hearing rumors to the contrary, but I just didn't believe them because she was so specific in what she said back then when it happened." Indeed, according to Roberts and a number of other credible sources, including Secret Service agents whose job it was to keep track of the president's activities, this weekend was the only one ever shared by the movie star and commander in chief. One agent who asked for anonymity put it this way: "If there had been an affair, I would have known about it. There was no affair. Sorry. There just wasn't. It was one weekend, and that's it." Another agent further stated, "At the time [1962], we all knew about the weekend. It wasn't until she [Monroe] and the president were both dead that people started talking about an affair. Trust me, no one was saying anything about an affair in 1962. What we knew was that JFK and Marilyn had s.e.x at Bing Crosby's, and that's it. We didn't think it was a big deal. He had s.e.x with a lot of women. At the time, looking back on it now, she was just one of many and it wasn't that noteworthy. If there was more to it between them, they [Kennedy and Monroe] somehow managed to keep it from us-and I don't think you can keep something like that from the Secret Service."

Indeed, contrary to decades of speculative reports of a long, protracted relationship with him, what Marilyn really shared with JFK was either one or two nights of-maybe-pa.s.sion. Of course, it's always possible there was more. Obviously, anything is possible. However, there's just no credible evidence to support the existence of a long affair between them. Anything more to tell about it would be strictly the product of many an overworked imagination.

Something's Got to Give.

Marilyn Monroe owed Fox one last picture under her 1956 contract and they wanted it in 1962. That one would be Something's Got to Give Something's Got to Give, a moderately budgeted remake of My Favorite Wife My Favorite Wife, the 1940 screwball cla.s.sic that starred Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Randolph Scott, and Gail Patrick.

At this time, the Fox executives were panicked because the studio was close to bankruptcy due to its losses on Cleopatra Cleopatra, the epic being filmed in Rome. Though Elizabeth Taylor was paid a million dollars to make that film-ten times what Marilyn was making for Something's Got to Give Something's Got to Give!-it would suffer numerous delays due to its leading lady's many different illnesses and missing days on the set. The studio couldn't afford any more problems on the set of one of its major films. It had already sold off its back lot to finance Cleopatra Cleopatra and it desperately needed the operating capital that a Marilyn Monroe picture would provide. Unfortunately, there was simply no way such an endeavor was going to be smooth sailing. Making a movie with Marilyn was quite often an ordeal under the best of circ.u.mstances due to her habitual tardiness. At this time, she was obviously not well at all, emotionally as well as physically. and it desperately needed the operating capital that a Marilyn Monroe picture would provide. Unfortunately, there was simply no way such an endeavor was going to be smooth sailing. Making a movie with Marilyn was quite often an ordeal under the best of circ.u.mstances due to her habitual tardiness. At this time, she was obviously not well at all, emotionally as well as physically.

As it turned out, there have been entire books and DVDs based on the troubled production of Something's Got to Give Something's Got to Give, that's how much of a mess it was from the start. As many as five different writers worked on the script, culminating with Walter Bernstein's final work, which was anything but stellar. The movie was over budget almost before it even began filming! Making matters even more confounding, Dr. Ralph Greenson found his way into this aspect of Marilyn's life as well, even if not completely by design. Fox studio head Peter Levathes must have known that his star Marilyn was going to cause all manner of problems on the production considering her condition, so he recruited Greenson as the point man responsible for making sure she showed up on set every day. Apparently, all Greenson needed was an invitation to partic.i.p.ate, because before anyone knew what had happened, somehow producer David Brown had ended up being replaced by Greenson's friend Henry Weinstein-much to director George Cukor's outrage.

Marilyn had the director of her own choosing, George Cukor, and the leading man of her choice, Dean Martin. She had Jean Louis creating her costumes. Her personal makeup man Whitey Snyder was on hand, as was MGM's Sydney Guilaroff, who gave her hair a flattering bouffanty flip and a stunning new platinum color. What she didn't have was the will to fight the demons that would keep her off the set for sixteen of the first seventeen days of filming. She would blame a slew of maladies for her nonappearance: sinusitis, insomnia, virus, loss of voice, physical exhaustion. The studio engaged three doctors to remain on the set daily-an ear, nose, and throat specialist, an internist, and a psychiatrist.

To watch the DVD of the doc.u.mentary Marilyn: Something's Got to Give Marilyn: Something's Got to Give-a comprehensive look at the making of this movie-is difficult, made more so when one considers what Marilyn's life and career might have been had she not been so bedeviled with self-doubt, insecurities, unhappy relationships, paranoia, despondency, and drug dependency. Remarkably, though, Cukor was able to get a few excellent sequences on film, and Marilyn was-and this is without exaggeration-more beautiful, beautiful, more more appealing... indeed appealing... indeed more Marilyn Monroe more Marilyn Monroe, than ever. How she always looked so ravishing on film despite the nightmare of her private life remained, until the very end, one of the biggest mysteries about her. In fact, she dropped eighteen pounds before appearing on this set for makeup and costume tests, and as a result her figure was astonishingly young and toned. Of course, she was off her medication, which accounted for some of the weight loss (not to mention some of the problems she had on the set). Her trim figure gave her much more confidence. She was playful, like a little girl, as she posed for the camera in some of the outfits designed for her by Jean Louis. She walked with a new elegance. It's quite amazing to see. The test footage was included in the doc.u.mentary mentioned previously. Also included are the scenes Cukor shot. Indeed, for years it was thought that there was nothing left of the film, but in 1982 in a cluttered studio warehouse, eight boxes of raw film were discovered, some of its color faded, but in good enough condition to be useful. Some forty years after Fox fired Marilyn and closed down production, the studio salvaged thirty-seven minutes of film time and included some of it in the doc.u.mentary, which was shown as a television special.

What also has to be stated about this production is how cooperative Marilyn was on the days that she did show up. Certainly her selection of Cukor as director was one she regretted. She knew he was a good director and respected his work, but she also knew that he didn't have much regard for her, so in a sense it was very brave of her to hire him. Given that she had approved of Cukor as director of Let's Make Love Let's Make Love two years earlier, one would have to wonder why she would repeat that experience with him. "The mother was mad, and poor Marilyn was mad," he would later say of her. After she realized she would have a problem with Cukor, she tried to bring in screenplay writer Nunnally Johnson to replace him, but to no avail. "But the girl was neurotic beyond description," Johnson would recall. "Even if they were nutty enough to let me take George's place, two weeks later something would happen and she would come to hate me as much as she hated him. Marilyn kept retreating farther and farther from reality." In the end, Cukor had Marilyn doing the most ridiculous scenes over and over-such as one with a dog that would amount to just a few seconds in the final product. Her time could have been so much better utilized. Even in scenes where she was shot from behind-where her stand-in, Evelyn Moriarty, could easily have done the work-Cukor insisted that Marilyn be present and on set to do take after take after take. Never once did she lose her temper, though. two years earlier, one would have to wonder why she would repeat that experience with him. "The mother was mad, and poor Marilyn was mad," he would later say of her. After she realized she would have a problem with Cukor, she tried to bring in screenplay writer Nunnally Johnson to replace him, but to no avail. "But the girl was neurotic beyond description," Johnson would recall. "Even if they were nutty enough to let me take George's place, two weeks later something would happen and she would come to hate me as much as she hated him. Marilyn kept retreating farther and farther from reality." In the end, Cukor had Marilyn doing the most ridiculous scenes over and over-such as one with a dog that would amount to just a few seconds in the final product. Her time could have been so much better utilized. Even in scenes where she was shot from behind-where her stand-in, Evelyn Moriarty, could easily have done the work-Cukor insisted that Marilyn be present and on set to do take after take after take. Never once did she lose her temper, though.

Incidentally, 20th Century-Fox made the aborted film the following year with Doris Day and James Garner filling the Marilyn and Dean roles, and a new name, Move Over, Darling Move Over, Darling. What's funny about this finished film is that in scenes where Marilyn was dressed in the finest of c.o.c.ktail dresses with the most bouffant of hairstyles, Doris is seen in blue jeans with her hair pulled back in an ordinary ponytail-thus the personality differences between two great actresses, Misses Monroe and Day.

Marilyn's Fascination with the President.

It's safe to say that Marilyn's mind wasn't really on Something's Got to Give Something's Got to Give, even though she tried to do her best. Since her weekend in Palm Springs with him, Marilyn Monroe seemed to have only one preoccupation-President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. On the basis of newly a.s.sembled information it's clear that she wanted to see him again. Rupert Allan recalled, "All I know is that she seemed fixated on the president. It started to become unclear as to what was going on between them, even though I thought it wasn't much. She was acting like she wanted more, though." One Secret Service agent working for the Kennedy administration added, "She was calling, or trying to call him. A lot. She wanted to see him. She made that clear. Everyone knew it."

It's certainly not difficult to understand why Marilyn invested so quickly in President Kennedy. Suffering from borderline paranoid schizophrenia, she obviously had severe bouts of paranoia. We know she was being followed by the FBI. There may have been other political eccentrics after her too, just based on her affiliation with Arthur Miller. How could she not be concerned? In JFK, perhaps she thought she had found the ultimate of protectors. After all, he was a man who was in control of the entire nation's defense department. If there was anyone in the world who could protect her from real or imagined enemies, it had to be John Fitzgerald Kennedy. He was, bar none, the most powerful man she had ever met. The other noted men in her life-DiMaggio and Miller-had personal presence. Their power was in how they ruled a room-how people would react to them in a social situation. However, Kennedy was powerful on a global scale. He didn't command a room-he commanded the world.

In understanding Marilyn Monroe's overnight obsession with JFK, one has to also remember that she was a woman who was, above all things, scared when she was alone. Unfortunately, the circ.u.mstances of her life had arranged themselves so that she was, for the most part, by herself. There's little doubt that by 1962, the choices she was making were out of fear. They were made when she was by herself, alone in the dark, scared of what was to happen to her, what new ordeal she would face with the rising of the morning sun. If Dr. Greenson felt she would trust Eunice Murray, he was wrong. Years later, even Murray herself would have to admit that she didn't know a thing about the Kennedys in Marilyn's life, even though she was living right there in the house with her and snooping about trying to gather information. The people Marilyn trusted were people such as Pat Newcomb, her publicist-and she wasn't always sure about her, either-Joe DiMaggio; Pat Kennedy Lawford; maybe maybe Pat's husband, Peter; Ralph Roberts; and a few others. She'd kept a tight circle and her world was becoming even smaller in 1962. Even her half sister, Berniece, was on the outside looking in at this point. Lately, when the two talked on the phone, it was superficial. There's little doubt that Marilyn felt she needed help-maybe on some level she felt JFK could be her savior. Also, there was obviously a certain level of respect that could be achieved by such an a.s.sociation. Unfortunately, she would be the least of President Kennedy's concerns. He wasn't even returning her calls to the White House. Pat's husband, Peter; Ralph Roberts; and a few others. She'd kept a tight circle and her world was becoming even smaller in 1962. Even her half sister, Berniece, was on the outside looking in at this point. Lately, when the two talked on the phone, it was superficial. There's little doubt that Marilyn felt she needed help-maybe on some level she felt JFK could be her savior. Also, there was obviously a certain level of respect that could be achieved by such an a.s.sociation. Unfortunately, she would be the least of President Kennedy's concerns. He wasn't even returning her calls to the White House.

Frank Sinatra's friend and valet George Jacobs enjoyed many conversations with JFK back when the president felt comfortable at the Sinatra home. "I spent enough time with the man to know that no woman, not even his wife, was sacred to him. His need was like that of Alexander the Great, to conquer the world. To him Marilyn was one more conquest, a trophy-maybe the Great White Shark of Hollywood, but still a record, not a romance."

"Jack was pretty much done with her after Palm Springs," said Senator George Smathers [Democrat of Florida], Kennedy's good friend. "I think he only saw her one more time, and that was when she came into Washington unexpectedly and we-he, I, and a few others-including Hubert Humphrey, if you can imagine it, took her sailing on a motorboat down the Potomac River. Marilyn and Hubert Humphrey-now that was funny. The two of them didn't have much to say to each other. We got back at 11:30 at night. She didn't stay at the White House, she stayed somewhere else. There was no hanky-panky between her and JFK that night, I know because I asked him the next day and he would have happily said so. But, anyway, Jackie knew about that trip. In fact, we were dancing at a White House ball and she said to me, 'Don't think I'm naive to what you and Jack are doing with all those pretty girls-like Marilyn-sailing on the Potomac under the moonlight. It's all so soph.o.m.oric, George.'

"Jackie was accustomed to Kennedy's indiscretions, but this one bothered her. She knew from what she'd heard and read that Marilyn was a troubled woman. 'Have some pity' on her, she said, according to what he later told me. It wasn't so much that she was angry as it was that she was just disgusted. So, Jack told me, 'It's not worth it, George. I have a free ride here with Jackie. She gives me great lat.i.tude. So, if this one is going to be an issue for her and cause me other problems with respect to her dealing with the other women I am interested in, then, fine, I can live without this one. I can live without Marilyn Monroe. No problem. So, look, let's just end it with Marilyn before it's too late.'

"I was surprised. I knew Jackie had influence but not that that much influence, not so much that she could cause the end of the president's relationship with a movie star. But, apparently, she did. So I called someone I knew, a friend of Marilyn's I could trust, and I said, 'Look, I need you to put a bridle on Marilyn's mouth and stop her from talking so much about what's going on with Jack. It's starting to get around too much.' That's all I did to end things, my little contribution. But I know what Jack did. He stopped taking her calls, if he ever took any. As far as he was concerned, he was done with her. But, Marilyn... well, she wouldn't be so easily rid of, let's put it that way." much influence, not so much that she could cause the end of the president's relationship with a movie star. But, apparently, she did. So I called someone I knew, a friend of Marilyn's I could trust, and I said, 'Look, I need you to put a bridle on Marilyn's mouth and stop her from talking so much about what's going on with Jack. It's starting to get around too much.' That's all I did to end things, my little contribution. But I know what Jack did. He stopped taking her calls, if he ever took any. As far as he was concerned, he was done with her. But, Marilyn... well, she wouldn't be so easily rid of, let's put it that way."

"If Kennedy had handled Marilyn differently, things might not have turned out so badly," said Rupert Allan. "But just ducking her as he did. Not good."

Moreover, JFK had apparently issued somewhat of a challenge to Marilyn in Palm Springs. George Smathers recalled: "JFK told me that they were talking about one thing or another and he happened to say something to her like, 'You're not really First Lady material, anyway, Marilyn.' He said it really stuck in her craw. She didn't like hearing that."

Kennedy never actually told Marilyn that he was finished with her and that whatever he shared with her in Palm Springs would be the extent of their relationship. As sources now indicate, he simply did not return her calls to the White House. It should also be noted, in his defense, that the man was running the country. He had other things on his mind. Marilyn, however, had him on her mind. "Marilyn was a very obsessive and neurotic person," said Diane Stevens. "She was mentally ill, let's face it. She was on drugs and not thinking clearly and just went over the edge when it came to this man and, truly, I do not know why. It had just been a weekend, after all. But for some reason, it became, looking back on it now, the catalyst to her total ruination. The fact that he would not return her calls drove her mad."

Marilyn's Surprise Visit to Pat.

Pat Kennedy Lawford had never before had a surprise visit from Marilyn, but on April 8, a couple of weeks after Marilyn's weekend with her brother Jack, she showed up unannounced. "Marilyn was cheery and upbeat," recalls a friend of Lawford's who was present. "She was wearing an orange silk blouse and black slacks and a matching black scarf with cat-eye sungla.s.ses. I thought she looked absolutely marvelous. I know she told Pat that she had been trying to call but her phone was busy."

Pat may have suspected that there was a reason for Marilyn's visit. Earlier, her brother-in-law Bobby called to ask her a series of cryptic questions about Marilyn. Had she seen her? What had she been talking about? Did she mention Jack? Of course, Pat wanted to know what the interrogation was really about. Bobby then told her that Marilyn had been calling the public number to the White House. Since that phone was mainly a message center for the executive branch, not a reliable way to actually speak to the president, Marilyn never got through. JFK, however, did hear about her numerous calls. "Pat was immediately suspicious," says Pat Brennan. "She asked Bobby why Marilyn would be trying to call Jack. He didn't have much of an answer. She knew something had happened, and she antic.i.p.ated the worst. She made a few calls and it didn't take her long to find out what had happened in Palm Springs. She wasn't happy about it, I can tell you that much."

According to a friend of Pat's who was present that day, Marilyn "bounced onto the beach," while Pat was on the sand winning an intensely compet.i.tive game of volleyball, leaping and flailing about without peer on her team. She stopped playing and walked over to Marilyn to embrace her. After a few minutes of small talk with Pat remaining uncharacteristically quiet, Marilyn brought up the subject of her brother, Jack. She said that Pat had been right, her brother did did have a powerful presence. Pat just stared at Marilyn. have a powerful presence. Pat just stared at Marilyn.

The full details of this tense conversation between Marilyn and Pat remain unknown because the two went into the house, alone. What is known-because Pat later disclosed it-is that Marilyn finally asked Pat for her brother's direct phone number at the White House. Pat refused to give it to her, explaining that the only number she had for him in Washington was his personal number, or as she called it, "his family family number." number."

Marilyn backed off the topic a few times, but always returned to it. This obsession about Jack's number frustrated Pat, who later said she had "never seen Marilyn so hyper and manic." Finally, when Marilyn asked if Pat thought her brother was happily married, Pat reached her breaking point. "Why don't you ask him yourself?" she said, grabbing a pen and paper. "I don't want to have anything to do with this." She wrote down a number and handed the paper to Marilyn. After taking it, Marilyn asked Pat if she were angry at her. Without specifically addressing what she now knew happened in Palm Springs between her friend and her brother, Pat was still able to be painfully clear. According to what she later recalled, Pat said, "I can get past it. You and I will be able to continue our friendship. But my family? My sisters and my sisters-in-law? I don't know... I just don't know."

It's not known if Marilyn used the number she got from Pat Kennedy Lawford to call President Kennedy's private residence. However, something did occur at this same time that suggests that she may have done so, for it was in the spring of 1962 that Kennedy dispatched his attorney general, Bobby Kennedy, to inform Marilyn that she was not to call the White House. Also, he was told to make it clear that the relationship-or whatever it was she thought she had with him-was over, and that she should move on with her life. Bobby gave Marilyn the message.

An Overdose Because of JFK?

On April 10, 1962, Marilyn Monroe was scheduled to meet with the screenwriter of Something's Got to Give Something's Got to Give, Henry Weinstein. The day before, while at Fox for makeup and costume tests, she looked absolutely beautiful and performed quite well for many hours. However, for her follow-up meeting with Weinstein, she was late. That wasn't surprising. When he telephoned her to find out when she might be arriving, he was alarmed to find that there was no answer. After repeated attempts, she finally picked up the phone. "Oh, I'm just fine..." she told him. However, she didn't sound "fine" to him at all. Her voice was slurred and she seemed to be drifting in and out of consciousness. Alarmed, Weinstein told her that he would be right over and hung up. Then he called Dr. Greenson and the two rushed to Marilyn's Brentwood home. There they found her in bed, out cold.

"She was almost naked," Weinstein recalled. "And she was almost dead, as far as I could see. She was at least in a drug coma. I couldn't imagine what it was that had happened, why she did this to herself. The fact that she had been so upbeat one day and then in this state the next day was very disconcerting. Somehow, Dr. Greenson revived her. I was so shaken, I could not get over it. He kept coming over to me and saying, 'Don't worry, she'll be fine. She'll be fine.' It was as if he had seen this so many times, he was not alarmed by it. But for me, it was traumatic."

Later, it was determined that Marilyn had taken what could have amounted to a deadly combination of Nembutal, Demerol, chloral hydrate, and Librium. "Immediately afterward, I tried to get Fox to delay the movie. I said, 'Look, this girl is in no shape to make a movie. She needs time. She's very sick. She has severe mental problems.' The studio said, 'No. The movie goes on. If we had stopped production of a film every time Marilyn Monroe had a crisis, we would never have gotten a single movie out of her.'

"I don't think I ever got over the shock of finding her that way," said Weinstein. "You don't get past something like that easily. I spent hours trying to understand what had gone so wrong. I thought, well, [George] Cukor hadn't shown up to direct the costume tests the day before and maybe she was unhappy about that. Maybe she thought it was a slap in the face, or a rejection. But... I don't know... it had to be something more."

It was something more. One source who was close to Marilyn Monroe at that time and who asked for anonymity rather than risk the possibility of retaliation from any member of the Kennedy family summed it up this way: "JFK. That's what was wrong. She'd just been jilted by the president of the United States. Do you really think that after all she'd been through with moviemaking she was going to try to kill herself because a director hadn't shown up for a day's work at the studio? It was Kennedy. That's why. Kennedy."

Were Marilyn and Bobby "The New Item"?

It was clear to Marilyn that President John Kennedy was finished with her. There wasn't much she could do about it, especially since he was not going to take her calls. However, a very popular story concerning Marilyn and the Kennedys claims the following: When Bobby told Marilyn Jack was done with her, he couldn't help himself and he, too, ended up falling for her. The two then had a pa.s.sionate affair and Marilyn felt more strongly about him than she had about his brother. This scenario has been repeated in countless books over the years by many respected historians. Could this have happened? Were these people just that capricious and, dare it be said, foolish? Well, actually, in many ways, they were... but, that said, it simply doesn't appear to be true. New research now reveals that Bobby, who-at least at first-apparently decided to not be quite as coldhearted as his brother, felt sorry about the way Marilyn had been treated. He had enjoyed the times he met her, thought she was witty and intelligent as well as beautiful, and didn't feel the need to be cruel to her. "I think he told her, look, don't call the White House, call me," said the veteran entertainer Andy Williams, who was one of RFK's best friends. "Bob was that way. He was a compa.s.sionate person. He wasn't a jerk. He had no reason to be mean to the poor woman. I mean, why would he do that? What was the harm in giving her a friendly shoulder to lean on when she was in so much trouble?"

At around this time, Marilyn did indeed tell certain people that she and Bobby were involved. These people, of course, believed her. It's interesting in that many of them never believed anything she ever said about anything else, but this this, they believed. Could she really be trusted, though? Was she a reliable source for this kind of information, especially in the last six months of her life when she was in such a desperate emotional state and also addicted to drugs? Remember, this is a woman who first began creating fictions about herself years earlier. In 1958, for instance, she made this statement to a reporter: "When I lived with the minister and his wife, they told me that if I went to a movie on a Sunday, G.o.d would strike me dead. The first time I dared to sneak away and go to a Sunday movie, I was scared stiff to come out. When I did, it was raining. There was thunder and lightning and I ran all the way home, expecting to be dead any minute. Even after I was home and in bed underneath the covers, I was terrified." Marilyn never lived with a minister and his wife-she was obviously speaking of the Bolenders, with whom she lived during the first seven years of her life. If anyone believed Ida would have let her out of her sight at that age long enough for her to "sneak away" to the movies-about two miles from the Bolenders' home-they did not know Ida very well. As we've seen time and time again, for a variety of reasons, Marilyn often embellished the truth, and not just to the press, which would have been an acceptable form of public relations, but to her friends as well. Her publicist Pat Newcomb put it this way: "Marilyn told several people a lot of things, but she never told anybody everything." Indeed, just as recently as a few months earlier she had told many of her friends that she and Bobby Kennedy were about to go on "a date." It turned out, of course, that it was a dinner party attended by many others, not a date.

Still, some people were very convinced that she was in love with Bobby, even Michael Selsman, who was another in a string of publicists. "Oh, please, of course it was true," he says. "Everyone knew it even then, but the press was much more protective. It was our job to steer them away from it, anyway. But she couldn't stop talking about it. With Bobby, it was more serious than with JFK."

"Sometimes I think, yes, Bobby did end up with Marilyn Monroe," says Andy Williams. "But then I think, wait. Based on what? I know he never told me. Ethel never told me, and she's one of my best friends. Not that Bobby was a saint. He was like the Kennedys when it came to women. I know that Ethel was aware of it and, in some ways, maybe didn't have a problem with it. She would call me and say, 'Bobby is coming to town. Will you have him to dinner? And find the best-looking girl for him, as a dinner partner?' But where Bobby and Marilyn are concerned, the only