Marilyn Monroe's Imagined Affair: Revisiting JFK's Womanizer Reputation
The Scandalous Saga of JFK and Marilyn Monroe: A Legendary Affair Exposed
For decades, the tantalizing tale of President John F Kennedy's torrid affair with Hollywood siren Marilyn Monroe has captivated the public imagination. But now, a respected Kennedy historian is blowing the whistle on this Camelot legend, claiming that the entire ordeal may have been nothing more than a product of Marilyn's fevered imagination.
In his explosive new memoir, JFK: Public, Private, Secret, J Randy Taraborrelli, a leading authority on the Kennedy family, sets out to debunk the myths surrounding JFK and Monroe's alleged romance. According to Taraborrelli, the evidence supporting their affair is laughable at best, despite what appeared to be a sultry birthday performance by Marilyn at Madison Square Garden in May 1962.
The supposed origin of their illicit love was allegedly a March 1962 weekend getaway at Bing Crosby's California estate, where they were joined by comedian Bob Hope and JFK's brother, Robert "Bobby" Kennedy. However, under closer scrutiny, the accounts of those who claim to have witnessed the affair are riddled with holes.
Taraborrelli begins his investigation by questioning Marilyn herself, noting that she was notorious for her wild imagination and emotional problems that often led her to fabricate events. "We can't know what was going through Marilyn Monroe's head," he writes, "but we do know she had emotional problems that sometimes caused her to imagine things that weren't true. Even her closest friends and staunchest defenders acknowledge it."
But what about the other sources who have fueled tales of an affair for decades? Taraborrelli takes aim at Ralph Roberts, Marilyn's masseuse, who claimed that the actress called him from her room at Crosby's Rancho Mirage estate to put JFK on the line. "Would the President of the United States hop on the phone with a total stranger while having what was supposed to be a secret rendezvous with Marilyn Monroe?" Taraborrelli asks skeptically.
The bestselling author also scrutinizes Philip Watson, an assessor who attended Crosby's home that weekend and reported seeing JFK and Marilyn together. However, Watson's daughter, Paula McBride Moskal, whom Taraborrelli interviewed for the book, insists that her father never mentioned the affair to his family, despite being present at the party.
Taraborrelli also finds inconsistencies in the stories of other sources, including Pat Newcomb, a publicist and producer who was close to Marilyn. When asked about the supposed weekend getaway, Newcomb replied, "I don't know anything about Marilyn ever being at Bing Crosby's home for any reason whatsoever, let alone to be with the President." While this could be seen as an attempt to protect Marilyn's reputation, Taraborrelli notes that if Newcomb were hiding something, it would be surprising that she didn't simply decline to comment.
What is known for certain is that Marilyn began bombarding JFK with calls in April 1962, which were logged in official records. She never got through to the president, and legend has it that Jack soon dispatched his brother Bobby to make her stop. However, Taraborrelli finds no evidence of a romantic tryst between RFK and Monroe.
Despite his conclusion that the JFK-Monroe affair may have been nothing more than a product of Marilyn's imagination, Taraborrelli believes that the Kennedys still treated the emotionally spiraling actress in an appalling manner. He claims that even JFK's wife Jackie confronted her husband about their exploitation of Marilyn, begging them to stop.
"Marilyn had obviously been trying to reach out to them," Jackie reportedly said, "and they had continually rebuffed her. Either they wanted her in their lives, or they didn't."
In his book, Taraborrelli paints a picture of two celebrated individuals who were seemingly more interested in using each other than genuinely connecting. He concludes that while the absence of evidence is not necessarily evidence of absence, there is simply no convincing proof to support the claim that JFK and Marilyn Monroe ever had a romantic encounter.
JFK: Public, Private, Secret, by J Randy Taraborrelli, is published by St Martin's Press. The book offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives of two American icons, raising questions about the nature of their relationship and the exploitation they allegedly perpetrated against each other. With its wealth of new information and provocative insights, this memoir is sure to spark heated debate among historians and fans of JFK and Marilyn Monroe alike.
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