The Murkiness Around Marilyn Monroe’s Final Night: What Did We Miss?
The blueprint for blonde bombshells, Marilyn Monroe, lived a troubling and dark life in her short 36 years. As one of the biggest celebrities on the planet and a Hollywood legend, it’s astounding that, to this day, the circumstances around her death are muddy and obfuscated.
There are many gaps in the timeline of her final 48 hours, which was full of phone conversations that left people more puzzled than ever.
The details of her life paint a tragic picture, but her alleged last words alone are drenched in pain, causing us to consider the actress' affairs, associations, and demons more closely, as we try to piece together what happened during the last days of her life.
A Day Spent on the Telephone
The evening before Marilyn's passing, she made a myriad of phone calls, the recipients and order of which are hazy.
According to hairdresser Sydney Guilaroff, she was frantic "about being surrounded by danger, about betrayals by 'men in high places,' about clandestine love affairs," calling him in a desperate and manic state. When she phoned her psychiatrist Ralph Greenson, she expressed "feeling rejected by some of the people she had been close to," including "extremely important men in government."
According to reports, Marilyn fielded even more phone calls on August 4th, speaking to her friend Jeanne Carmen, dressmaker Henry Rosenfeld, ex-husband Joe DiMaggio, entertainment lawyer Milton Rudin, and other unidentified people.
The details of many phone calls are unclear, but our biggest questions revolve around the final call people believe Marilyn made. When her psychiatrist and housekeeper found her dead in her bed, they said she was clutching a phone. Many suspect she called JFK based on a crumpled note found in her hand, which had a White House phone number scribbled on it. However, no one knows for sure, raising questions about her true last words.
The Complexities Within Marilyn
The real Marilyn Monroe — Norma Jeane Baker/Mortenson — was far from the bodacious bombshell we see on screen. She had a severe stutter and dyslexia that weighed on her confidence and self-esteem.
Amy Greene, the wife of Marilyn's personal photographer, Milton Greene, recounts a poignant story about the duality of Marilyn/Norma. She explains how they were walking down the street in New York unnoticed when Marilyn asked, "Do you want to see me become her?" With a subtle but strong shift in demeanor, Norma Jeane transformed into Marilyn Monroe. Greene said, "Suddenly cars were slowing, and people were turning their heads and stopping to stare."
This telling story shows how Marilyn Monroe was a persona, an act, a character. She put on her Marilyn face, leaving plain old Norma Jeane behind, and became the fabulous movie star everyone loved. How can someone who exudes such immense confidence have crippling insecurities?
Marilyn's Lifelong Monsters
Her schizophrenic mother, Gladys Monroe Baker, was in and out of psychiatric facilities throughout Marilyn's early childhood. Various foster parents, an orphanage, and Gladys' friend Grace Goddard raised Marilyn, making for an unstable upbringing.
Marilyn faced her own mental illnesses, including bipolar disorder and insomnia, along with a host of other health problems. She suffered from endometriosis and chronic colitis, both of which caused severe pain and nausea.
Director Billy Wilder, who worked with Marilyn, explained, "She was slightly discombobulated at all times." Her mental struggles seemed to tear her up inside; as Wilder said, "I had no problem with Monroe…Monroe had problems with Monroe. She had problems with herself."
Understanding Her in Her Own Words
A robust collection of Marilyn's diaries, letters, and poems reveals the inner turmoil she battled. The first entry in one of the many black notebooks discovered among her belongings read:
"Alone!!!!!!! I am alone I am always alone no matter what"
These written archives reveal dark dreams Marilyn had about being cut open to reveal nothing inside her and her debilitating fear of disappointing those she loved. Despite all the glamour and fame, Marilyn continued to doubt her worth and face her lifelong demons. In another writing, she describes a grim image:
"on the screen of pitch blackness comes/reappears the shapes of monsters my most steadfast companions … and the world is sleeping ah peace I need you — even a peaceful monster."
Marilyn consistently sought inner and outer peace. Sadly, her mysterious death and many questions surrounding it have brought no peace to her memory.
Pills Take the Blame
Officially, Marilyn's cause of death is a drug overdose, possibly accidental but possibly purposeful. The LA Times reported her death with the headline "Marilyn Monroe Dies; Pills Blamed."
The toxicology report showed her blood contained high levels of the sedative chloral hydrate, common in sleeping medications and barbituates, like the ones Marilyn frequently took.
The autopsy report cited an abundance of such pills as the cause of death, but they found no capsules or traces of pills in her stomach. It's possible she consumed the drugs in other ways, such as an injection or enema.
A mysterious and small bruise on her lower body could support the theory of injection, but there's not enough evidence to state definitively. However, the formidable and corrupt men that surrounded her had the means and motive to commit such a covert kill.
Suspicious Characters in Her Orbit
Marilyn's love affairs and friendships often involved high-profile people, from John F. Kennedy to Charlie Chaplin Jr. to Joe DiMaggio to Arthur Miller.
Her associations with Attorney General Robert Kennedy and President John F. Kennedy are the most notable and possibly led directly to her death. These relationships also connected her to other prominent figures, like union leader Jimmy Hoffa and mob boss Sam Giancana.
Ultimately, Marilyn was nothing but a pawn or plaything for these men. As she had told Guilaroff, she was surrounded by dangerous men in high places and found herself entangled in their political affairs, personal pursuits, and corrupt actions.
Many speculate that Robert Kennedy plotted her murder to protect his brother's reputation and prevent Marilyn from going to the press with the sensitive information she had. Her ex-lover, Gianni Russo, boldly supports this theory, writing about it in his book and telling the New York Post, "It had to be Bobby. No one else would kill her. The mob would not have done it."
Her official cause of death remains unchanged, but the conspiracy theories persist.
All the Conspiracies: FBI, CIA, Mafia, and More
Those who doubted that she took her own life or accidentally overdosed came up with many sensational theories, mostly concerning her high-profile associations.
Some believe the mafia killed her due to friction between them and JFK. Union leader Jimmy Hoffa could have killed her as revenge on Robert Kennedy. Others suspect executives at the studio she recently left were behind her death.
Certain theories suggest that the FBI or CIA murdered her to keep classified information secret. She potentially knew about international murder plots and nuclear warfare, in addition to the personal information she knew about the powerful men around her.
Was It Heartbreak or Homicide?
The questions remain: Did Marilyn end her own life? Was it an accident? Was she the victim of a meticulously planned murder? Marilyn once said, "To be happy is almost as difficult as trying to be a good actress. You have to work at both of them."
According to some people close to her, Marilyn could not have purposefully taken her own life, as she was in high spirits just a couple of days before. They cite her plans to vacation in Mexico and her optimism about her career.
Unfortunately, people are often in denial that someone they love could end their own life. Furthermore, Marilyn was bipolar, so a positive, happy mood one day is not necessarily indicative of her overall mental wellness. Ultimately, we have little to reveal her mental state in her final days, as people present conflicting statements and there’s no evidence of her writing journal entries around this time.
Her Last Known Words
Marilyn Monroe's supposed final words, delivered over a telephone call to Peter Lawford, JFK's brother-in-law, seem to be a heartfelt goodbye. Lawford reported that she said, in a slurred voice, "Say goodbye to Pat. Say goodbye to the president. And say goodbye to yourself, because you're a nice guy."
Was this an honest-to-goodness farewell to the world or a dramatic, intoxicated lamentation? Is it a sarcastic jab at some of the men who hurt her? Were these even her final words?
Many still suspect she spoke to JFK or another Kennedy in her bedroom just before her passing. Whether or not her solemn goodbye to Peter Lawford were indeed her final words, they speak volumes about Marilyn's state.
Left Without a Note
Some things still don’t add up. One is the lack of a goodbye note, which people believe Marilyn would have written. This isn’t something anyone can know definitively about someone who commits suicide, but many people close to her felt strongly about this.
Vanity Fair writer Sam Kashner explains that the archive of Marilyn's journals "reveals a young woman for whom writing and poetry were lifelines." One would think that someone so expressive in their writing would leave a note for loved ones, but Marilyn left no such note.
Instead, we are all left to contemplate her final words, probe her many complex relationships, and mourn the beautiful life the star could have had after August 5th, 1962.
Still Glamorous, Even in Death
In death, Marilyn is perhaps more famous than she was in life, furthering the objectification and romanticism of this woman.
Upon hearing of her passing, author Truman Capote wrote, "She was such a good-hearted girl, so pure really, so much on the side of the angels. Poor little baby." People paint her as a tragic victim, tortured artist, innocent angel, Hollywood bombshell, alluring goddess, and everything in between. They neglect to see her as anything but a fantasy.
On the subject, in Last Talk With a Lonely Girl: Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn said, "It's nice to be included in people's fantasies but you also like to be accepted for your own sake. I don't look at myself as a commodity, but I'm sure a lot of people have."
She is still used to fuel people's fantasies, most recently via an AI program that shows a digital Marilyn users can interact with.
Marilyn's death was a real-life tragedy, not a dramatic ending to a Hollywood movie. There was nothing glamorous about how she went, despite how some romanticize or sensationalize her passing.
