The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe (58 page)

Floor plan of Marilyn Monroe's Brentwood residence in 1962.

This document, dated March 6, 1962, originated with the FBI in Mexico City. The subject, Marilyn Monroe, has the classification SM-C (Security Matter-Communist). Though the contents are obliterated, the FBI Freedom of Information attorney revealed that the document referred to transcripts of conversations between Frederick Vanderbilt Field and Marilyn Monroe recorded by electronic surveillance placed in Field's residence. The conversation included the discussion of sensitive national security matters.

This CIA document, dated August 3, 1962, is an evaluation of wiretaps on the telephones of both Marilyn Monroe and syndicated columnist Dorothy Kilgallen. It discloses that Monroe had learned of top government secrets. Item 1 refers to a discussion between Dorothy Kilgallen and Howard Rothberg regarding Monroe's troubled relationship with the president and the attorney general. Item 2 confirms that she was repeatedly calling Robert Kennedy with complaints about being ignored by JFK. Item 3 verifies her threat to call a press conference. Item 4 reveals that she had been made privy to top secret security matters. Item 5 confirms that Monroe kept a “diary of secrets.” The document is signed by James Angleton, CIA chief of counterintelligence.

The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific passage, please use the search feature of your e-book reader.

 

NOTE: References to other publications are indicated by authors and titles listed in the bibliography. Unless otherwise indicated, all interviews (int.) were conducted by the author.

Chapter 1

Engelberg's call: int., Jack Clemmons, 1993, 1997.

Conversations between Clemmons, the doctors, and Eunice Murray were reconstructed in the course of numerous interviews with Clemmons.

Description of death scene: Robert Slatzer,
The Life and Curious Death of Marilyn Monroe
, pp. 24–30; int., Clemmons, 1993.

Engelberg's comment about Marilyn's injection:
Marilyn Remembered
transcripts of March 22, 1991; int., Clemmons, 1996.

Chapter 2

“What day is it?” Norman Rosten,
Marilyn: An Untold Story
, p. 10.

Predawn call: int., Don Hockett, 1994.

Urgent call to Tommy Thompson: int., Richard Stolley, 1993.

Press reactions: int., Joe Hyams, 1994; Billy Woodfield, 1994; James Bacon, 1994.

Absence of drinking vessel: int., Clemmons, 1993.

Byron's observations: int., Robert Byron, 1993.

Chronology of events: Byron's report, August 5, 1962; and follow-up Report, August 6, 1962; int., Clemmons, 1993.

Tommy Thompson tape:
Time
and
Life
archives; int., Richard Stolley, 1993.

Eunice Murray's statements are taken from police reports and her statements in the
Los Angeles Times
and
Herald Examiner
, August 8, 1962.

Murray's Piscean qualities: Murray,
Marilyn: The Last Months
, p. 9.

Marilyn's telephones: From phone records reproduced in Anthony Summers's,
Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe
; int., Norman Jefferies, 1993; Ralph Roberts, 1993; Norman Rosten, 1994.

“Mrs. Murray was vague…”: Armstrong's police report, August 5, 1962.

Pat Newcomb stated…:
Los Angeles Times and Herald-Examiner
, August 6, 1962; int., Slatzer/Newcomb, 1973.

Clemmons didn't see Newcomb or Jacobs: int., Clemmons 1993, 1994.

Newcomb hysterical: Murray, p. 22; int., Jefferies, 1993.

“Rigor mortis was advanced…”: Summers, p. 357; Slatzer,
The Life and Curious Death of Marilyn Monroe
, p. 64; int., Don Hockett, 1994.

Hyams's account: int., Hyams, 1994, 1995; Hyams,
Mislaid in Hollywood; New York Herald-Tribune
, August 6, 1962.

Captain James Hamilton's presence at the death scene: int., Billy Woodfield, 1994; int., Joe Hyams, 1994, 1995; int., former officer of the Intelligence Division who requests anonymity.

Marilyn Monroe's body placed in the van: Newsreels and press photos; int., Woodfield, Hyams, Hockett, and United Press correspondent Joe Finegan, 1993, 1994.

Incidents at the Westwood Village Mortuary: int., Hyams, Woodfield, Hockett, and Alan Abbott, 1993, 1994.

Chapter 3

Slatzer was awakened…: int., Ron Pataki, 1995; transcript of Summers's interview with Dr. Firestone and Ron Pataki, 1983.

Arthur Miller quote:
New York Post
, August 6, 1962.

Clemmons's call to Dougherty: int., Clemmons, 1993.

Strasberg's comment:
New York Herald-Tribune
, August 6, 1962.

“Told what was good to tell at the time…”: Summers, p. 439.

“I had arrived at Marilyn's…”:
New York Journal-American
, August 12, 1962.

“I arrived there about eight-thirty…”: Murray's statements are from police reports; int., Slatzer/Murray, 1972; Summers, p. 348.

Lawford's story: Daryl Gates's “in-house” interview conducted by the LAPD in 1975;
Los Angeles Times
, 8/6/62,
Los Angeles Herald-Examiner
. 8/7/62.

“Mr. Rudin stated…”: int. of Rudin conducted by Lt. Grover Armstrong and obtained from the files of the LAPD by Robert Slatzer.

DiMaggio, Jr., confirmed…: Sgt. Byron's police report, August 5, 1962;
New York Post
, August 6, 1962.

Murray's statement regarding DiMaggio, Jr.'s call: Sgt. Byron's police report, August 5, 1962.

“We won't be going for that drive…”:
Los Angeles Herald-Examiner
, August 6, 1962.

Chapter 4

“Discovered something strange…”: The narrative of Thomas T. Noguchi's assignment to the Monroe case is drawn from Noguchi's
Coroner
; int., Slatzer/Noguchi, 1972.

Grandison soon discovered…: int., Grandison, 1993; transcript of Slatzer/Grandison interview, 1974.

Shortly after 9…: int., Slatzer/Grandison, 1973.

Noguchi was joined by…: Summers, p. 362.

Also attending the autopsy…: int., Grandison, 1993.

Number of pills: Lieutenant Armstrong's police report, August 5, 1962.

Miner's statements about the autopsy: int., Miner, 1993, 1995; Summers, p. 357; int., Slatzer/Miner, 1973.

The case of John Belushi: Noguchi, p. 197.

livor mortis: int., Dr. Kay Cassell, 1993; int., Robert Cravey, 1993; int., Alan Abbott, 1994.

“a slight ecchymotic area…”: Medical Examiner's report, 1962.

Grandison and Miner about the bruises: int., Grandison, 1994; Slatzer,
Marilyn Files
, p. 135.

“…It is a sign of violence.”: Noguchi,
New York Times
, November 13, 1982.

The autopsy process is taken from the autopsy report; Noguchi's account in
Coroner
; int., Slatzer/Noguchi, 1972; int., Miner, 1993.

Lytess and previous suicide attempt: Lytess,
My Years With Marilyn
, unpublished manuscript in the Zolotow collection, University of Texas, Austin.

“odor of pear” as a factor: int., Dr. Kay Cassell, 1993.

“Unembalmed blood is taken…”: autopsy report, p. 6.

Wiener photos: int., Leigh Weiner, 1992; Summers, p. 357.

Chapter 5

The tests showed…: R. J. Abernethy's reports, August 8 and 13, 1962.

Correlating the forensic…: coroner's report, file #81128.

UCLA Toxicological Laboratory: Medical Records Department, UCLA Medical Center, Marilyn Monroe file, 8/6/62.

“As I analyze my participation…”: Slatzer,
The Marilyn Files
, p. 143.

Grandison's comments on the autopsy procedure: transcripts of Slatzer/Grandison interview, 1974; int., Grandison, 1994.

diary or book of secrets: obtained from the CIA through confidential source.

Another witness who viewed…: int., Mike Rothmiller, 1998.

Jefferies's verification: int., Norman Jefferies, 1993.

Grandison and diary: transcripts of Slatzer/Grandison interview, 1974.

Curphey's press conference and “Suicide Squad”:
Los Angeles Herald-Examiner
, August 6, 1962.

Litman, Farberow, and Tabachnik as associates of Greenson and members of the ACLU: documented in Greenson's FBI file.

The Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Team receiving a sizable grant from the National Institute of Mental Health: documented in the files of the NIMH.

Press conferences of the Suicide Prevention Team were covered by the
Los Angeles Herald-Examiner
, August 7, 8, and 14, 1962.

The Greenson/Miner interview: int., Miner, 1993, 1997; Slatzer,
The Marilyn Files
, p. 148; Summers, p. 330.

“If Miner's evaluation…”: Noguchi, p. 87.

Grandison's account of signing the death certificate: Slatzer,
The Marilyn Files
, p. 220; int., Grandison, 1993.

Curphey's press conference:
Los Angeles Times
, August 22, 1962;
Los Angeles Herald-Examiner
, August 21, 1962; and the files of the coroner's office.

Computer analysis of Case #81128 was obtained through the facilities of Dr. Kay Cassell and INFORM.

Table 1 prepared by toxicologist Robert H. Cravey.

The victim's dying before the fatal concentrations could approach such high blood levels is the opinion of numerous pathologists, including Dr. Sidney Weinberg, and demonstrated by Robert H. Cravey and in cases cited by INFORM.

Chapter 6

Brown: Summers, p. 327.

scribbled note: int., Slatzer/Grandison, 1978.

Slatzer spoke to Marilyn…: int., Slatzer, 1994; int., Pataki, 1995.

Lawford statements:
Long Beach Star
, February 17, 1976.

St. Francis Hotel operator: Slatzer,
The Life and Curious Death of Marilyn Monroe
, p. 27.

“Marilyn Mystery Call”:
Los Angeles Times
, August 7, 1962.

Rosenfeld call: Summers, p. 310.

Guilaroff call: int., Sidney Guilaroff, 1996; Guilaroff,
Crowning Glory
, p. 165.

Carmen call: int., Jeanne Carmen, 1997; Summers, p. 311.

Bolaños call: Summers, p. 310.

“Bullets” Durgom confirmed…: Summers, p. 343.

The Naars' account: James Spada,
The Man Who Kept the Secrets
; Summers,
Goddess
; and Slatzer,
The Marilyn Files
.

Marilyn's telephone records: int., Joe Hyams, 1994; Summers, p. 334.

Reddin and Yorty statements: Slatzer archives.

Hamilton correspondence: The Kennedy Library, Attorney General's personal correspondence.

Tobin statement: Summers, p. 337.

“Strange pressures…”:
New York Daily News
, August 8, 1962.

“I asked her what…”: int., Robert Slatzer, 1995.

Bates: The Kennedy Library, Attorney General's personal correspondence.

Bates statement: Spoto, p. 561.

RFK's attendance at mass:
Gilroy Dispatch
, August 6, 1962.

Thad Brown discovered…: Summers, p. 356.

“Where Hamilton and…”: Ibid., p. 337.

Chapter 7

“Mrs. Eley has never…”:
Los Angeles Herald-Examiner
, August 7, 1962.

Snyder and funeral: int., Snyder, 1993.

Hockett's assistant: int., Alan Abbott, 1994.

“Everybody is always…”: Meryman int.,
Life
, August 3, 1962.

Strasberg's eulogy: the collection of Alan Abbott.

Chapter 8

Marianne Means interview:
Washington Times-Herald
, August 11, 1962.

Manitou
voyage: Julius Fanta,
Sailing with Kennedy
, p. 53.

Wood saw Bobby Kennedy: Ibid., p. 351.

Hyams/Woodfield investigation: int., Hyams, 1994; int., Woodfield, 1995; Summers, p. 352.

“Look, I cannot explain…”: Ibid., p. 332; int., Woodfield, 1995.

Slatzer and Melson: int., Slatzer, 1994.

A-1 Lock and Safe Company: Monroe probate papers.

Slatzer and Monroe in Malibu: int, Slatzer, 1994, 1995.

Chapter 9

Clemmons returned…: int., Clemmons, 1993, 1996.

Slatzer…returned…: int., Slatzer, 1995.

“Marilyn's death was…: Farber and Green,
Hollywood on the Couch
, p. 107.

“There is no way…”: Ibid., p. 106.

“In 1962 Chief Parker…”: Summers, p. 329.

Parker/RFK correspondence: Kennedy Library, Attorney General's correspondence file.

Hamilton's reassignment: Daryl Gates,
Chief
, p. 70; int., Gates, 1996.

Pat Newcomb's return: Newcomb/RFK correspondence, Kennedy Library, Attorney General's correspondence file; USIA employment records.

Chapter 10

Hoover memo: Bureau Chief's personal and confidential file.

Guiles and Monroe: int., Fred Guiles, 1994, 1995.

Slatzer and Monroe: int., Slatzer, 1994.

Quinn/Slatzer: int., Slatzer, 1994; Slatzer,
The Life and Curious Death of Marilyn Monroe
, pp. 248–252.

“Every implication of…”: Mailer interview with Mike Wallace, 60
Minutes
, July 13, 1973.

Gates in-house report: int., Daryl Gates, 1995; Gates,
Chief
, p. 142; int., Neil Spotts, 1998.

Lawford interview: Gates, p. 143.

Greenson: Farber and Green, pp. 83–95.

Miner: int., John Miner, 1994, 1997.

Chapter 11

Van de Kamp and grand jury:
Los Angeles Times
, August 12, 1982.

Van de Kamp's 1982 report: courtesy of Press Relations Office of the Los Angeles District Attorney.

“Hot shot”: int., Dr. Kay Cassell, 1993; Noguchi, p. 87.

Absence of chloral hydrate in liver: Abernethy's toxicology report.

Signs of cyanosis: Internationally renowned pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht states: “When the body is cyanotic, then the pathologist usually looks for the means of death to be other than by an oral overdose”; Milo Speriglio,
Crypt
33, p. 244.

Blue cast of skin: int., Leigh Weiner, 1992.

James Hall's account: int., James Hall, 1993, 1996;
Globe
, November 23, 1982; int., Rick Summers, 1993.

Ken Hunter's account: District Attorney's report, 1982.

“There was no ambulance…”: int., Clemmons, 1995.

Bellonzi on Hunter: int., Carl Bellonzi, 1993.

Slatzer and Schaefer: int., Slatzer, 1994.

Hunter and Summers: Summers, p. 345.

Hall's social security records, payroll, and photo: In 1993 Hall showed the author copies of his social security records and payroll stubs. A photo of Hall wearing a Schaefer uniform appeared in the
Santa Monica Evening Outlook
on September 24, 1962.

Polygraph expert and Koder: int., Hall, 1993.

Identi-Kit drawing:
Globe
, November 23, 1983.

Don Fraser polygraph: int., Fraser, 1993.

“It wasn't natural…”: int., Clemmons, 1993.

Liebowitz admission: int., Murray Liebowitz (Leib), 1993.

Pilot Bob Neuman's statements: int., 1995.

“Arthur absolutely…”: Summers, p. 286.

Chapter 12