Marilyn Monroe Read online

  Michelle Morgan was the president of the Marilyn Lives Society, a UK fan club, from 1991 to 2007. She is the author of Marilyn’s Addresses, Marilyn Monroe: Private and Undisclosed, and is the co-producer of the upcoming documentary Gable: The Ties that Bind, with Tegan Summer Productions. She lives in Northamptonshire.

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  A BRIEF GUIDE TO

  MARILYN MONROE

  Michelle Morgan

  Constable & Robinson Ltd

  55–56 Russell Square

  London WC1B 4HP

  www.constablerobinson.com

  First published in the UK by Robinson,

  an imprint of Constable & Robinson, 2012

  Copyright © Michelle Morgan 2012

  The right of Michelle Morgan to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

  All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  A copy of the British Library Cataloguing in Publication data is available from the British Library

  ISBN 978-1-78033-128-7 (paperback)

  ISBN 978-0-78033-129-4 (ebook)

  Printed and bound in the UK

  1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

  This book is dedicated to my dear friends Bill and Mac Pursel, whose support and friendship over the years has meant more than they’ll ever know.

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to once again thank the hundreds of people who helped with the first edition of this book. Without their help and support, I would have never written one biography, never mind a follow-up.

  In addition to that, I would like to thank the following people who have made this book into what you are holding in your hands today:

  Firstly to Eric Woodard, who not only sent me heaps of information on Marilyn’s doomed ‘Rain’ project, but spent hours finding the contact details of various Marilyn-related people for me. I am greatly indebted to him for this alone, as well as the countless other things he has helped me with during the writing of this book. Eric, you are truly one-in-a-million and I will always value our friendship.

  To Bill Pursel, for not only agreeing to be re-interviewed by me, but also for providing a letter Norma Jeane wrote to him in 1946. The letter shed much light on her feelings for Bill and her time in Las Vegas, and proved to be invaluable for this book. Bill and his wife Mac also spent hours researching the Willett family for me in Las Vegas and have patiently put up with my questions and emails over the course of the past five years. I am forever grateful for their friendship.

  To the members of the Knebelkamp family who trusted me with their memories, despite never publicly speaking about Marilyn before. Their generosity and kindness have been breathtaking and I am forever grateful for their trust in sharing their stories.

  To Janet Clarke, who helped me with much of the research on the Atkinson family, as well as helping with various aspects of the Willett family history, too. Janet spent hours trawling through family history resources and without her research that part of the book wouldn’t be half as memorable as it is now.

  To James Glaeg who sowed the seeds for my research into the Knebelkamp family and their friend, Catherine Larson. His insight and generosity have been boundless and have enabled me to finally uncover the truth about Marilyn’s early life and family.

  To all the people who agreed to be interviewed for my last book, and to the following ‘new’ people who agreed to share their memories for this edition: Bonnie Roth, Forrest Olmstead, Jo Olmstead, Bob Stotts, Michael Thornton, Alan A, Horace Ward, Darrell Von Driska, Jim Henaghan Jr, Howard Sheehan Jr, Christine Krogull, Mary Sims, Annabelle Stanford, Allison Ittel, Jon Ittel, Steve Hayes, Tony Hand, John Gilmore, John Thorndike, Peggy Heriot, Susan Elliott, Margaret Gibbon, Peter Evans, Alice Wexler, Sue Ellen McCann, Doris Drennen and Tom Tierney.

  To Lois Banner for allowing me access to her interview with Pat Traviss at Rockhaven Sanitarium and for many interesting conversations.

  To the following people who sent me photographs from their collections, some of which appeared in the first edition of this book, and others that have been exclusive to this one: Eric Woodard, Bill Pursel, Don Obermeyer, Kristen Obermeyer, Gus Zernial, Christine Krogull, Sandy Robinson, Mike Lawler, Doris Drennen, Christine Heas, Tina Garland, William Carroll, George Bailey, Greg Schreiner, Horace Ward, Jim Henaghan Jr, the late Paul Kanteman, Win Rossette, Albert Wimer, Sandy Robinson, Henry Doody, Greg Silva, Robert Siney, Andrea Pryke, Lasse Karlsson, George Finch and Evan Finch.

  To the members of the ‘Marilyn Monroe Question Group’ on Facebook; the members of Everlasting Marilyn; and visitors to my own Michelle Morgan Author Page on Facebook for providing inspiration and help.

  To Amy Condit, Stan Taffel, Helen Brown, Greg Schreiner, Mary Sims, David Stenn, Mona Miracle, Jill Adams, Merja Pohjola, Rebecca Staley, Shaney Evans, Sally Cretu, Julia Wilson, Lou Cella, Andrea Pryke, Jeane Trendhill, Dawn Jones, Tara Hanks, Robert Siney, Ruth Jenkins, Greg Silva, Sue Craft, Karen Hollis, Ian McMaster, Heather Driscoll-Woodford, Vicki Gardner, Lorraine White, Ben Kay, Alison Lowe, Katy Forrester, Elisa Jordan, Christine Heas, Leslie Summey, Jackie Craig, Marijane Gray, Lisa Burks, Ann Chamberlain, Anne Buchanan, Carla OrlandiSmith, Carla Valderrama, Melissa Gluck, Bob Vieten, Rupert Taylor, Carole Sampek, Carolien Krijnen, Caroline Mitchinson Lawther, Charles Casillo, Lucy Carr, Katie Bleathman, Jill Tivey, Darrell Rooney, David Marshall, Jennifer McLaughlin, Joey Traughber, Johan Grimmius, Lady Doryan, Leland D. Petty, Maureen Brown, Michelle Armstrong, Michelle Justice, Rebecca Swift, Roger G. Taylor, Ross McNaughton, Roy Turner, Sandie Bradley, Savvy Anka, Scott Fortner, Sunny Thompson, Ted James, Susan Rogers, Susan Griffiths, Svea Ross, Ron Steens, Tina Lindholm, Tina Garland, Mark Robinson, Richard Workman, Neva Kanteman, Bill Niles, Nick Homenda, Nancy Hunter, Valerie Hillyard-Samuel, Claire Welling, Suus Marie and Melinda Mason. All of the above have contributed support, information, friendship or a combination of all three.

  To Christina Rice from the Los Angeles Public Library, who went above and beyond the call of duty and gave me countless hours of help and ideas. To say I couldn’t have done this without her would be an understatement.

  The same goes for Stacey Eubank, who helped with articles and research for both this book and the previous one. Her kindness knows no bounds.

  To Leo Hollis and everyone at Constable & Robinson for making this book a reality, and to Robert Smith, my agent.

  To my friend and business partner Tegan Summer who has provided so much support and friendship over the past two years and has enabled me to truly believe in my abilities as a writer.

  To my friend Andrew Hansford for constantly inspiring me and making me laugh.

  During the course of a person’s lifetime, you meet many friends; some you keep, others you let go. I have
been extremely lucky in my life to have known a group of friends since I was a little girl. We all have vastly different personalities but have stuck together through thick and thin; they are my honorary sisters and I love each and every one. So for sharing my hopes and dreams and for keeping my secrets, I’d very much like to thank my dear friends Claire, Helen, Mandy, Sharon, Loraine, Katharine and Jackie. I am so happy to have you all in my life.

  To my whole family and particularly: Mum, Dad, Paul, Wendy and Angelina for encouraging me not only with this book but for my whole career as a writer. They must have lost count of the number of times they have heard the word ‘Marilyn’ over the years, but have continued to listen to my stories and encourage me in my dreams. Not a day goes by when I don’t thank God for letting me be born into such a sharing and funny family and I am extremely grateful for everything they do for me.

  Though they are no longer with us, I’d like to thank my wonderful grandparents who were all born in Marilyn’s era and constantly entertained me with tales of ‘the old days’. Through learning about their early lives, I grew to love everything about the 1920s, 1930s,1940s and 1950s, and their tales will continue to inspire me forever.

  To my daughter, Daisy, who was born during the writing of my last book. She is now growing into a bright, artistic, talented young lady and continues to teach me so much every day. She picked out most of the photos for this book; she is the inspiration behind everything I do and I am extremely lucky to have her.

  To my husband Richard, who has been my better half for the past twenty-four years. We have been through so much together and I can’t even remember what life was like before he came into my world. He is the love of my life and the person who has always encouraged me to live my dreams. I am very grateful to have him in my life.

  And to anyone I may have missed . . . I’m sincerely sorry for the oversight but thank you too!

  Contents

  Preface

  1 The Lady with the Red Hair

  2 Dreams and Nightmares

  3 ‘Norma Jeane, Human Bean’

  4 Mrs Dougherty

  5 Model Girl

  6 ‘This is the end of Norma Jeane’

  7 Starlet

  8 Highs and Lows

  9 Miss Cheesecake

  10 The Past versus the Future 11 ‘I’m trying to find myself’

  12 ‘Whatever I am, I am the blonde’

  13 Mrs DiMaggio

  14 New York, New Marilyn

  15 Great Hopes

  16 Sir Laurence and the Showgirl

  17 Mrs Miller

  18 Catastrophe

  19 ‘I’m working on the foundation’

  20 Cursum Perficio

  21 ‘Say a prayer for Norma Jeane’

  Postscript

  Remembrance: Lamenting Marilyn Monroe

  References

  Index

  List of Illustration

  Preface

  I have been a huge fan of Marilyn Monroe since I ‘discovered’ her whilst on holiday as a teenager in 1985. I was drawn to her beauty – both inside and out – and the fact that, despite her insecure early years, she went on to become the most famous movie star in the world. That was quite an achievement and her determination and strength inspired me.

  Over the years I have read many books about Marilyn; many good, some not so good, and a few just plain awful. I got so tired of reading scandal, gossip and made-up tittle-tattle that I decided to write my own biography; the conclusion of which was my 2007 book, Marilyn Monroe: Private and Undisclosed.

  The book took me four years to write and research, and I was – and still am – hugely proud of it. Miraculously, after writing the book, other people in Marilyn’s life could see that I was no scandal-driven author, and began to come forward to share stories that proved once again that Marilyn was not constantly depressed, nor was she a tragic dumb blonde. The information I have obtained over the past four years has now been included in this new edition, and I am positive that it shows Marilyn’s story in the truest way yet. I hope that readers will agree with me.

  Michelle Morgan

  [email protected]

  Chapter 1

  The Lady with the Red Hair

  Marilyn Monroe’s mother – Gladys Pearl Monroe – was not a happy child. She was born on 27 May 1902, to Della and Otis Monroe, and together with her brother, Marion, spent her first few years constantly on the move. When she was seven years old her father died within the confines of the California State Hospital for the mentally ill, and although it was later revealed that the cause was syphilis of the brain, his relatives believed he had died insane, hence beginning a legacy of fear that would haunt the entire family.

  By 1910 Gladys was living with her mother, brother and ten lodgers at 1114 East 10th Street, Los Angeles, and by 1912 Della had married Lyle Arthur Graves, a switchman who had once worked with Otis. The marriage was short-lived, and the two eventually divorced in January 1914 when Lyle moved to Ohio, where he later remarried. Della, too, was on the lookout for new adventures and by 1916 had sent her son Marion to live with a cousin in San Diego, while she moved with Gladys to a boarding house at 26 Westminster Avenue, Venice, Los Angeles.

  Shortly afterwards Della met and fell for Charles Grainger, a widower who worked in the oil industry. He had been working in Rangoon since April 1915 and had arrived back in the United States on 19 July 1916, just months before he met fortyyear-old Della. She wished to live with him at his home at 1410 Carrol Canal Court, but Gladys’ disapproval and Grainger’s reluctance to take on the judgemental offspring put a spanner in the works, and Della was left wondering how she could rid herself of her fourteen-year-old daughter. She didn’t need to wonder long, however, as along came Jasper Newton Baker, who, despite being twelve years her senior, courted Gladys and shortly afterwards made her pregnant. This, of course, gave Della an instant reason to rid herself of the teenager; she insisted that the pair marry on 17 May 1917 and even swore Gladys to be eighteen years old, when actually she was just shy of her fifteenth birthday.

  Della was then free to move in with Grainger and Gladys. Her new husband lived at 1595 21st Street, while he worked as a hotel manager at 219 South Spring Street. Eight months after the wedding, Gladys bore Baker a son called Robert Jasper (aka Jackie or Kermitt), and several years later a daughter named Berniece Gladys. The marriage was not a happy one, and by 1920 both Gladys and Baker were broke and living at 343 Fifth Avenue with Baker’s eighteen-year-old brother Ardry, a concessionaire at an amusement park.

  Jasper believed Gladys to be an unfit mother, especially as their son, Robert, had once almost lost an eye when Gladys left some broken glass in the trash. Then on another occasion the Bakers were arguing in the front seat of their car, whilst Robert managed to open the door in the back, falling from the seat and severely injuring his hip in the process. It would be unfair to blame Gladys directly for Robert’s problems, but Jasper never forgot the incidents: ‘Your mother was a beautiful woman,’ he told Berniece, ‘but she was also very young, too young to know how to take care of children.’

  Baker was also known to beat his wife, and on one occasion whilst visiting relatives in Kentucky he took offence at her spending time in the company of one of his brothers, beating her across the back with a bridle until she bled. Terrified of her husband, Gladys finally filed for divorce in 1921, and during divorce proceedings (in which she claimed they were married one year earlier in order to cover up the fact that she was pregnant) she disclosed that Baker had called her vile names, had beaten and kicked her, and had caused ‘extreme mental pain, anxiety and humiliation, as well as to suffer grievous bodily pain and injury’. The divorce became official in May 1922 but this was not the end of the drama, as during one fateful weekend Baker decided he no longer wanted his children in the care of Gladys, and snatched them out of California to live a new life with his mother in Kentucky.

  Gladys was understandably devastated by this turn of events, and spent al
l her savings trying to get her children back. She went to Kentucky and begged Baker’s sister for help. However, instead of gaining assistance, Gladys found herself banned from visiting her daughter and unable to take her son, who had been admitted to hospital to try and fix his ongoing hip problems.

  Waiting for Robert to be released from hospital, Gladys gained temporary employment at the home of Harry and Lena Cohen, who lived at 2331 Alta Avenue in Louisville. There she acted as housekeeper and looked after the Cohens’ daughters, Dorothy and Norma Jean. The family were used to having staff around the house: according to census reports, in 1920 eighteen-year-old Effie Newton worked as a servant for them, and by 1930 they had grown to employ not only a maid but a chauffeur, too. So the arrival of Gladys in the Cohen home caused not even a stir, and her presence and departure were all pretty uneventful. Later rumours would surface that Gladys caused many ‘uncomfortable’ moments in the Cohen household, but in fact so unmemorable was Gladys that the family did not even realize she went on to become Marilyn Monroe’s mother until many years later, and long after the death of both Harry and his wife Lena.

  Norma Jean Cohen’s daughter Bonnie confirmed this in 2009: ‘There were no letters or stories, and we know that my grandmother, Lena Cohen, had no idea that her ex-employee was Marilyn Monroe’s mother. I knew my grandmother for over thirty years so I know this is true. Plus this would have been good “family history” information but it was never discussed; and it would have been if we had known.’

  After working with the Cohen family for a short time, Gladys became disillusioned about regaining her children. Baker had remarried and the family seemed settled, so Gladys reluctantly accepted the fact that she’d lost them. She visited the family to say goodbye and then disappeared from their lives.

  On her return to Los Angeles, Gladys obtained a job at Consolidated Film Industries, where she became friends with a colleague called Grace McKee. The two spent quite some time together, going out dancing, having fun and gaining something of a reputation among the male employees at Consolidated.