Marilyn
Monroe was the epitome of Hollywood glamour. With coiffed platinum curls, a
classic red lip, and stunning blue bedroom eyes, she truly was stunning. Though
it was that beauty that got her into some difficult situations. Even now about
55 years since her passing rumors still hang around her past self. Many of
those whispers regarding alleged affairs with two of the Kennedy brothers, one
of which being the 35th president of the United States (“PEOPLE Explains: All
About Marilyn Monroe's Alleged Affairs with JFK and Brother Bobby”). Still, all
the same, it was that pretty face that started her career and is what cemented
her legacy. Fellow screen siren Elizabeth Taylor illustrated, “She seemed to
have a kind of unconscious glow about her physical self that was innocent, like
a child” (“Said About Marilyn Monroe”). She was lovely on the outside, but her
spirit was what really set her apart.
Marilyn
was extremely insecure. Yes, the famously gorgeous actress was extremely
self-conscious! This showed the single crack in her polished veneer. It led way
to her past self, Norma Jeane Baker, an orphaned child who married at the
innocent age of 16 to get out of a life in the system (Kashner). Marilyn recounts
of her short-lived marriage to James Dougherty, the first of three, in one of
her many diaries, “My relationship with him was basically insecure from the
first night I spent alone with him” (Kashner). This was presumed to be written
just about a year after she was first married to him. Later in her personal
journal, she writes of how she thinks she can’t live up to the past glory of
Dougherty’s past girlfriend, a Santa Barbara beauty queen:
She always struggled with the idea
that she was not good enough for people’s approval, even far into her
successful career (Kashner). She frequently wrote in her diary the
heartbreaking repetitive phrase “Alone!!!!!!! I am alone I am always alone no
matter what” (Kashner).
One
of Marilyn’s lesser-known qualities is that she was actually extremely
intelligent. Sam Shaw, a close friend of Monroe and legendary photographer,
once described her as, “Always joyful, witty, fun loving, and serious about
acting with a terrific desire to learn, to know about the arts, the theatre,
her craft, to read good books, to read poetry and try to reach ecstasy of
poetic thoughts.” (“Said About Marilyn Monroe”) Though many thought of her as
just a “dumb blonde” she was actually an impassioned poet who loved to read
(Kashner). She had a knack for collecting books, pretty much any that piqued
her ever-inquiring mind. Her personal library contained more than 400 books in
varying subjects including psychology, philosophy, history, politics, and
biographies; many of them first editions (Marilyn Timeline). They were much
more than just trophies on a shelf for her; they were her lifeline. Books
brought her back down to earth and kept her company during her bouts of
insomnia, which most likely stemmed from her time in foster care (Kashner). It
is clear how well read Marilyn was by the eloquence with which she spoke.
Marilyn
Monroe took her job extremely seriously. She worked hard at her craft, continually
trying to be the best, and always trying to get new job opportunities. Joshua
Logan, director of Bus Stop, said:
Marilyn
is as near a genius as any actress I ever knew. She is an artist beyond
artistry. She is the most completely realized and authentic film actress since
Garbo. She has that same unfathomable
mysteriousness. She is pure cinema. (“Said About Marilyn Monroe”)
She is best known for her roles in
All About Eve, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and of course The Seven Year Itch. In
Bus Stop Marilyn proved to critics that she could switch things up from her
usual role, and play a straight dramatic role. In 1960, Marilyn Monroe showed
just how all her hard work paid off when she won a Golden Globe for her
performance in Some Like It Hot (Biography). It is a tragedy that just as
Marilyn’s career was starting to pick up speed, she passed away.
Though
Monroe had a hard time loving herself, she took all that misplaced love and
sent it out into the world. Beneath all the glitz and glamour that was Marilyn
Monroe, was a compassionate human being who loved all living things. Throughout
her life, she donated time and money to charitable causes. For example in the
St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, Miss Monroe headlined the event and performed a
song from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. She even donated her earrings from the
world premiere of The Prince and The Showgirl to the milk fund for babies in
need! Ella Fitzgerald once said:
“I
owe Marilyn Monroe a real debt…she personally called the owner of the Mocamba and
told him she wanted me booked immediately, and if he would do it, she would
take the front table every night. She told him-and it was true, due
to Marilyn’s superstar status that the press would go wild. The owner said
yes, and Marilyn was there, front table, every night. The press went
overboard. After that, I never had to play at a small jazz club again. She
was an unusual woman—a little ahead of her times. And she didn’t know it.”
(Marilyn Timeline)
The
death of Marilyn Monroe still holds as much mystery as it did almost 55 years
ago. For a girl whose life was filled with passing rumors, it is only fitting
that her death has just the same. But, behind every lie, there must lay a
glimmer of truth, and today we just may be able to find that truth. The three
main conspiracies that have held the test of time surrounding this starlet’s
demise are: Marilyn committed suicide by overdosing, the government surrounding
JFK murdered Marilyn and staged it as a suicide, or lastly that medical
malpractice was at work and it all was just an accident. Look closely; we might
be able to solve the death of Marilyn Monroe.
The
first and most readily accepted theory is that Marilyn committed suicide.
Marilyn Monroe was severely depressed, and after a long battle with it, took
her own life. The last few hours before her ultimate death went like this. At
8:00 p.m., August 4th, Dr. Greenson—remember that name—Marilyn’s psychiatrist
was getting ready to leave her house (Markel). Dr. Ralph Greenson frequently
used this unorthodox, and now very discredited, therapy known as adoption
therapy where he would either come to her home or her to his. It is also believed
that Dr. Greenson was one of Marilyn’s lovers, and used this time for more than
just counseling (Kashner). All the same, before he left, he asked Eunice
Murray, Marilyn’s live-in housekeeper, to keep a close eye on the famous
bombshell. Whether it had been because she was going through a depressive
episode or because of something else, the world may never know (Markel). At
this same time, Marilyn headed to sleep for the night. She is then thought to
have engaged in her nightly routine of popping a sleeping pill and washing it
all down with a flute of champagne. It was then at around 3:25 a.m. August 6,
that Mrs. Murray looked through Marilyn’s French doors and discovered an
unusually limp Monroe. Murray recalled of that night, “(Marilyn) looked
peculiar.”(Markel) She immediately called Dr. Greenson back to the house who,
upon arrival, broke through the glass door, and realized Marilyn was gone
(Markel). All that was left was a naked body—with one hand clutching a
telephone and the other hanging off the bed—and an empty pill bottle balanced
on the star’s nightstand (“From the Archives: Marilyn Monroe Dies; Pills
Blamed.”). Not too long after did Dr. Hyam Engelberg—also remember him—Marilyn’s
personal physician, a.k.a. the man who prescribed those life-ending pills just
three days prior, arrives at the scene. Fifty Nembutal capsules were found
missing and is what led coroners to mark her death down as a suicide (“From the
Archives: Marilyn Monroe Dies; Pills Blamed.”). Any barbiturate mixed with
alcohol creates a lethal cocktail, which is why either accidental or
intentional, the death of Ms. Marilyn Monroe is suspected to be a suicidal
overdose (“Nembutal: Indications, Side Effects, Warnings.”). Along with the
fact that Monroe was known to be depressed, and had dealt with years of abuse,
this theory is the most plausible of all.
The
second most popular theory surrounding Marilyn’s death is that the government,
more precisely the Kennedy’s, had something to do with her death. Though it was
never proven that there were any sort of affairs with John F. Kennedy (J.F.K)
or his brother Robert F. Kennedy, pictures speak a thousand words, and one look
at her sultry “Happy Birthday” performance just months before her death, is
enough for most to believe (“Marilyn's Last Day: Twenty-Four Hours In the Death
of a Legend.”). Marilyn’s biographer, James Spada, said, “it was pretty clear
that Marilyn had had sexual relations with both Bobby and Jack” (“PEOPLE
Explains: All About Marilyn Monroe's Alleged Affairs with JFK and Brother
Bobby.”). They might have had romantic relations, so what? Well, shortly after
the investigation, many government employed people who were involved were later
given high-profile new jobs. Perhaps an incentive to keep quiet? (“Marilyn's
Last Day: Twenty-Four Hours In the Death of a Legend.”). One strong believer
that the Kennedy’s were behind this murder was Monroe’s second husband, Joe
DiMaggio. He insisted for years, “I always knew who killed her, but I didn’t
want to start a revolution in this country. She told me someone would do her
in, but I kept quiet” (“PEOPLE Explains: All About Marilyn Monroe's Alleged
Affairs with JFK and Brother Bobby.”). Even eerier, this is not the first time
Marilyn had confided that someone in the government might be out to get her. In
her personal journal, she wrote about JFK’s brother-in-law Peter Lawford
saying, “Peter He Might Harm Me, Poison Me.” (Kashner) This note is believed to
have been written around 1956. For her to be poisoned a couple of years later,
under suspicious circumstances, seems strange to say the least. Could it have
been prophecy or all just a coincidence? Though this theory does not have as
much evidence as the first, it does still have substance and to this day is the
most well-believed conspiracy theory surrounding Marilyn Monroe’s death.
The
final theory is that Marilyn died as a result of medical malpractice. The two
doctors in question are Dr. Ralph Greenson and Dr. Hyam Engelburg. As reported
earlier, Dr. Greenson was Marilyn’s psychiatrist, and Dr. Engleburg was Marilyn’s
personal physician. As with most psychiatrists of this period, Dr. Greenson
pushed drugs onto Marilyn. The man himself once said of Monroe, “Give her
something of me to swallow, to take in, so that she could overcome the sense of
terrible emptiness that would depress and infuriate her” (Turner). As with Dr.
Engelburg, not only was he the person to prescribe the medication that
theoretically killed her, he was also the person who called the police. ”Marilyn
Monroe has died. She's committed suicide," the doctor reported at 4:25
a.m. on Aug. 5, 1962, in a phone call to the Los Angeles Police Department.
"I'm Dr. Hyman Engelberg, Marilyn Monroe's physician. I'm at her
residence. She's committed suicide” (Oliver). All of this is pretty convenient,
one doctor who pushes drugs, another who writes the prescription, and both end
up at the scene of the crime together with just enough time to do something
before the police arrive. A key factor to look at is that Marilyn had 15 other
bottles of medicine on her nightstand, and the only one that was empty was the
one that Dr. Engelburg later falsely claimed he had never prescribed
(Creighton). Could the doctors have figured out that they had essentially
poisoned Marilyn, and quickly staged it all as a suicide to avoid the revoking
of their medical licenses? Or could it have been planned, and that instead of
overdosing on just one type of pill, Marilyn simply followed doctors orders and
taken what she was told, while later the single pill bottle was emptied? Due to
a lack of substantial evidence, either theory is plausible; however, neither
have even documentation or data.
So
what really happened? There are countless possibilities and small details to
look into, however seeing as this death took place over half a decade ago, it
would be nearly impossible to dig up the absolute truth. In a locally run
survey, 57.6 percent of people believe Marilyn Monroe committed suicide; 30.3
percent believe the government was somehow involved, and 12.1 percent believe
her doctors were the ones at fault. Throughout the years, key witnesses from
that night—friends, her psychiatrist, her press agent, an attorney, and the
police—have tweaked their stories, and all of them are filled with
contradictions (“Marilyn's Last Day: Twenty-Four Hours In the Death of a
Legend.”). This case may have been closed as a “Possible Suicide,” however the
truth is still out there waiting to be discovered.
Works Cited
“Biography.” IMDb, IMDb.com,
www.imdb.com/name/nm0000054/bio?ref_=nm_ql_1. (Biography)
Creighton, Sam. “Marilyn Monroe
Died as Result of 'Medical Negligence' .” Daily Mail Online, Associated Newspapers, 13
May 2015, www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ article-3080063/Marilyn-Monroe-died-result-medical-negligence.html.
(Creighton)
“From the Archives: Marilyn Monroe Dies; Pills
Blamed.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles
Times, 6 Aug. 1962,
www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/archives/la-me-marilyn- monroe-19620806-story.html. (“From
the Archives: Marilyn Monroe Dies; Pills Blamed.”)
Kashner, Sam. “Marilyn and Her
Monsters.” Vanity Fair, Vanity Fair, 17 Nov. 2017, www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/11/marilyn-monroe-201011.
(Kashner)
“Marilyn's Last Day: Twenty-Four Hours Inthe
Death of a Legend.” The Independent,
Independent Digital News and Media, 23 Oct. 2011,
www.independent.co.uk/news/ world/americas/marilyns-last-day-twenty-four-hours-inthe-death-of-a- legend-422034.html.
(“Marilyn's Last Day: Twenty-Four Hours Inthe Death of a Legend.”)
Marilyn Timeline See All,
marilynmonroe.com/about/see-all/. (Marilyn Timeline)
Markel, Dr. Howard. “Column:
Marilyn Monroe and the Prescription Drugs That Killed Her.” PBS,
Public Broadcasting Service, 5 Aug. 2016,
www.pbs.org/newshour/health/marilyn-
monroe-and-the-prescription-drugs-that-killed-her.
(Markel)
“Nembutal: Indications, Side Effects,
Warnings.” Drugs.com, Drugs.com, www.drugs.com/cdi/ nembutal.html. (“Nembutal: Indications, Side Effects,
Warnings.”)
S Oliver, Myrna | Times Staff
Writer. “Dr. Hyman Engelberg, 92; Marilyn Monroe's Personal Physician.”
Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2005, articles.latimes.com/2005/dec/21/local/me-engelberg21.
(Oliver)
“PEOPLE Explains: All About Marilyn Monroe's
Alleged Affairs with JFK and Brother Bobby.”
PEOPLE.com, people.com/politics/marilyn-monroe-affair-john-f-kennedy- robert-f-kennedy/. (“PEOPLE
Explains: All About Marilyn Monroe's Alleged Affairs with JFK and Brother Bobby.”)
“Said About Marilyn Monroe.” Retrorambling,
19 Feb. 2011, retrorambling.wordpress.com/ articles/tinsle-town-royalties/said-about-marilyn-monroe/.
(“Said About Marilyn Monroe”)
Turner, Christopher. “Marilyn
Monroe on the Couch.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 23 June 2010,
www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/7843140/Marilyn-Monroe-on-the- couch.html.
(Turner)
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