The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe

by J. Randy Taraborrelli

Overview

From New York Times bestselling author J. Randy Taraborrelli comes the definitive biography of the most enduring icon in popular American culture.

When Marilyn Monroe became famous in the 1950s, the world was told that her mother was either dead or simply not a part of her life. However, that was not true. In fact, her mentally ill mother was very much present in Marilyn's world and the complex family dynamic that unfolded behind the scenes is a story that has never before been told...until now. In this groundbreaking book, Taraborrelli draws complex and sympathetic portraits of the women so influential in the actress' life, including her mother, her foster mother, and her legal guardian.

He also reveals, for the first time, the shocking scope of Marilyn's own mental illness, the identity of Marilyn's father and the half-brother she never knew, and new information about her relationship with the Kennedy's-Bobby, Jack, and Pat Kennedy Lawford. Explosive, revelatory, and surprisingly moving, this is the final word on the life of one of the most fascinating and elusive icons of the 20th Century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780446505413
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	08/25/2009
Edition description:	Large Print
Pages:	976
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.10(h) x 2.40(d)

About the Author

J. Randy Taraborrelli is a respected journalist, a recognizable entertainment personality, and in-demand guest on many television programs including Today, Good Morning America, The Early Show, Entertainment Tonight, and CNN Headline News. He is the bestselling author of thirteen books.

Table of Contents

Preface xiii

Prologue 1

Part 1 The Beginning 7

Norma Jeane's Foster Mother, Ida 9

Norma Jeane's Grandmother, Della 12

Marilyn's Mother, Gladys 17

Norma Jeane Is Born 22

Della's Terrible Fate 25

Living with the Bolenders 28

A Frightening Encounter with Gladys 33

Ida Wants to Adopt Norma Jeane 37

"Now It's Time to Know Your Mother" 39

A New-and Temporary-Life 44

The Voices Return 50

Grace Is Norma Jeane's Legal Guardian 55

Norma Jeane's Troubling Visit with Gladys 58

Norma Jeane in an Orphanage 60

Grace v. Ida 66

Norma Jeane Learns She Has a Half Sister 70

Norma Jeane Marries 72

Part 2 Transitioning 79

Crazy? 81

Gladys's Clever Plan 84

Trouble in Paradise 87

Overnight Success 91

Gladys Is Released 94

Gladys's Plea to Norma Jeane 96

Jim Gets a Surprise: Gladys 99

How Gladys Lost Her Children 101

The First Norma Jeane 106

Jim's Ultimatum 108

Final Cofrontation

Norma Jeane Signs with 20th Century-Fox 112

Part 3 Marilyn 117

Marilyn Trying to Understand Gladys 119

Getting Through to Gladys? 124

Wayne Bolender's Fatherly Advice 128

Giving Up Her Soul 130

Natasha 135

Disappointment 138

Johnny Hyde 140

Gladys Marries 145

Fifty Bucks for Nudity? 147

Part 4 Stardom 151

Unwelcome Visitors 153

The Asphalt Jungle 156

All About Eve 158

Dumb as a Blonde Fox 161

Suicide over Johnny? 165

Marilyn Tries to Meet Her "Father" 168

Early Films 172

Jasper Dies 174

Don't Bother to Knock 177

Joe DiMaggio 180

The Nude Calendar Scandal 186

Gladys: "I'd Like to Have My Child's Love" 189

Marilyn and Joe: Tumultuous Already? 194

Gladys's Surprise Visit 196

Niagara 200

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes 202

Gladys Threatens Grace 205

Gladys's New Home 209

How to Marry a Millionaire 212

River of No Return 215

Part 5 Difficult Times 217

Grace's Upsetting Secret 219

Grace Learns About Marilyn's Troubles 221

A Graceful Exit 225

A Shocking Discovery About Grace 226

Marilyn's Rebellion 229

Natasha Continues Her Dual Purpose 232

Mrs. DiMaggio 234

There's No Business Like Show Business 239

The Seven Year Itch 242

Marilyn Divorces Joe 246

Sinatra 249

The Wrong Door Raid 253

Marilyn in New York 259

Arthur Miller 268

Why Marilyn Was Investigated by the FBI 272

Bus Stop 274

Natasha Non Grata 276

Part 6 Vioces 281

The Misery of Arthur Miller 283

Marilyn and Arthur Marry 285

The Prince and the Showgirl 287

Arthur Miller's Damning Journal 293

Quiet Before the Storm 296

Marilyn's Depression 301

Some Like It Hot 306

A Sign from God? 312

Part 7 Slow Death 315

Giving Voice to the Voices 317

Marilyn and Pat 323

The Misfits 331

No Relief 338

Marilyn Is Committed 344

"You Are a Very, Very Sick Girl" 347

"I'm Locked Up with These Poor Nutty People" 350

"How Dare You Betray Me!" 353

Gladys's Sheets, Soaked with Blood 355

Returning to the Safety of Sinatra 358

A Reunion with Berniece 365

Greenson's Diagnosis 370

A Second Opinion 374

Marilyn's Drugs of Choice 376

Dr. Greenson in Control 383

Eunice Murray 387

Part 8 The Kennedys 391

Kennedy Style 393

Marilyn and Bobby 398

JFK: "Finally! You're Here!" 403

Notorious Players 406

Marilyn's Weekend with the President 409

Something's Got to Give 412

Marilyn's Fascination with the President 415

Marilyn's Surprise Visit to Pat 419

An Overdose Because of JFK? 421

Were Marilyn and Bobby "The New Item"? 422

Bobby: "The President Wants It and I Want It" 428

"Happy Birthday, Mr. President" 433

Part 9 Sad Endings 441

Marilyn Fired 443

Gladys: "I Don't Say Goodbye" 449

Pat: "My Friend Is Dying" 457

The Lost Weekend 461

"Maybe" 467

Final Curtain 470

Appendices 477

After Marilyn 479

After Marilyn's Death 479

Glady's Life After Marilyn 482

Perspective: Marilyn and the Kennedys 485

The FBI's Files on Marilyn 489

The John Miner Transcripts 492

Acknowledgments 495

Sources and Other Notes 503

Marilyn Monroe Filmography 527

Index 542

Editorial Reviews

More years have now passed since the death of Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) than the span of her life, but her aura seems not to have faded at all. Indeed, pop culture tributes and remembrances continue to emerge. To the 300-plus Marilyn biographies in English alone, celebrity biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli (Jackie, Ethel, Joan; Elizabeth; Madonna) adds this full-length, 576-page life of a sex symbol who still speaks to us today. Timeless memories and new information.

Robert Petkoff's diligence as a narrator matches Taraborrelli's accomplishments in generating a fresh analysis of the iconic Marilyn Monroe. With Petkoff's Midas touch, the cast of characters comes to life with crisp clarity and attention to nuance. While there are too many good vocal characterizations to allow for a complete listing, some of the standouts include the mercurial husbands Arthur Miller and Joe DiMaggio as well as such Rat Pack figures as Peter Lawford and Frank Sinatra. Petkoff's delivery of DiMaggio and Sinatra's ill-fated attempt to spy on Monroe and her romantic companions creates palpable dramatic tension. And as Monroe herself, Petkoff creates a sublime breathy persona that shifts effectively from the girl-next-door Norma Jean to the glamorous Marilyn. Bonus features include a downloadable photo slide show. A Grand Central hardcover. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

No. 1 New York Times best-selling author Taraborrelli, who has previously written biographies of Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, and Michael Jackson, here takes on the legends, myths, and innuendos surrounding the life and death of Marilyn Monroe. Drawing on files released in 2006 under the Freedom of Information Act and interviews with key insiders, he speaks to how the actress's familial history of mental problems impacted the decisions she made throughout her life, reveals the identity of her biological father, details the extent of her relationship with the Kennedys, and more. Actor/narrator Robert Petkoff's (The Link) magnetic reading draws listeners in from the outset. Monroe devotees and celebrity bio fans will enjoy.—Pam Kingsbury, Univ. of North Alabama, Florence

Library Journal

The miraculous but short and tragic life of Norma Jeane Mortenson (1926-1962). Taraborrelli (Diana Ross: A Unauthorized Biography, 2007, etc.) delves beneath the legend of Marilyn Monroe to uncover the stark facts of the life and times of a singularly vulnerable woman woefully unequipped to deal with the quotidian business of "normal" life, much less the pressures of a Hollywood career and international celebrity. The author devotes much attention to Monroe's mother, Gladys Baker, who suffered from severe mental illness and was institutionalized for most of her adult life. A paranoid schizophrenic, Baker was emotionally distant and unpredictable, necessitating Monroe's years in foster care and, for a short period, an orphanage. Baker's mother, who also suffered from mental illness, committed suicide, and Monroe was haunted by the idea that her own mental health would inevitably fail. Tragically, her fears were well-founded, and, according to Taraborrelli, her entire adult life was a constant struggle to maintain some semblance of emotional equilibrium. Further complicating matters were Monroe's insatiable appetite for various prescription medications; deeply flawed marriages to baseball great Joe DiMaggio, who allegedly beat her, and playwright Arthur Miller, who condescended to her; callous treatment by movie studios; and a disastrous dalliance with President John F. Kennedy (and subsequent obsession with his brother, Robert), which, writes the author, precipitated the emotional spiral that ended in her fatal overdose, an event still shrouded in mystery and the subject of wild speculation. Taraborrelli clearly sympathizes with the beleaguered star, and his reliance on verifiable factsand copious interviews with Monroe's intimates supports his view of Monroe as a hapless victim of heredity and circumstance, an unwanted child who-by dint of an alchemy of physical beauty and sexual allure she herself did not fully understand-became the most wanted woman in the world. A painful and engrossing account of the profoundly damaged personality at the heart of the world's greatest sex symbol.

Kirkus Reviews

"Readable and mesmerizing...This will probably stand as the definitive Monroe biography..."
—Library Journal (starred review)

"As Taraborrelli brushes away cobwebs of myth and rumor, his remarkable research and fluid writing captures Marilyn's elan, sensitivity, desperation and despair with a haunting intimacy."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

From the Publisher