The Following is the core of a Wikipedia entry for “The Death of Marilyn Monroe.” On the Wikipedia site, scrolling down, are several other sections including “Conspiracy Theories.”
Don’t wade through all this, unless you really want to. Much is misleading anyway.
We place all this text here because, below it, we’re going to discuss how it misinforms and misleads about Monroe, without intending to:
New York Daily Mirror front page article, August 6, 1962
Marilyn Monroe was found dead on August 5, 1962, at her 12305 Fifth Helena Drive home in Los Angeles of a barbiturate overdose. She was a major sex symbol and one of the most popular Hollywood stars during the 1950s and early 1960s. She was a top-billed actress for a decade, and her films grossed $200 million by 1962.[1]
At the time of her death, Monroe had suffered from mental illness and substance abuse for several years, and had not completed a film since The Misfits, released in 1961. She had spent 1961 preoccupied with her various health problems, and in April 1962 had begun filming Something’s Got to Give for 20th Century Fox, but was fired in early June. The studio publicly blamed her for the production’s problems, and in the weeks preceding her death, Monroe attempted to repair her public image by giving several interviews to high-profile publications. She also began negotiations with Fox on being re-hired for Something’s Got to Give and for starring roles in other productions.
Monroe spent her last day, Saturday, August 4, at her home in Brentwood, accompanied by publicist Patricia Newcomb, housekeeper Eunice Murray, photographer Lawrence Schiller and psychiatrist Dr. Ralph Greenson at various times. At Greenson’s request, Murray stayed overnight to keep Monroe company. At approximately 3 a.m. the next day, she noticed that Monroe had locked herself in her bedroom and was unresponsive. Murray alerted Greenson, who arrived soon after and broke into the room, finding Monroe deceased. Her death was officially ruled a probable suicide by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office, based on precedents of her overdosing and being prone to mood swings and suicidal ideation. No evidence of crime was found, and accidental overdose was ruled out due to the large amount of barbiturates she had ingested. Her funeral was held on August 8 at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, where she was interred at the Corridor of Memories.
Monroe performing at President John F. Kennedy’s birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden in May 1962, less than three months before her death.
Despite the coroner’s verdict, several conspiracy theories suggesting murder or accidental overdose have been proposed since the mid-1960s. Many of these involve President John F. Kennedy and his brother, Robert, as well as union leader Jimmy Hoffa and mob boss Sam Giancana. Due to prevalence of these theories in the media, the office of the Los Angeles County District Attorney reviewed the case in 1982, but found no evidence to support them and did not disagree with the findings of the original investigation.
By the early 1960s, Monroe had for several years been dependent on amphetamines, barbiturates and alcohol, and experienced various mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and chronic insomnia.[2] She had acquired a reputation for being difficult to work with, as she frequently delayed productions by being late to film sets and often had trouble remembering her lines. By 1960, this behavior was affecting her career. For example, although she was author Truman Capote’s preferred choice to play Holly Golightly in the film adaptation of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Paramount Pictures declined to cast her due to fear that she would complicate the film’s production.[3] The two films Monroe completed in the 1960s, Let’s Make Love (1960) and The Misfits (1961), were both critical and commercial failures.[4] During the filming of the latter she had had to spend a week detoxing in a hospital.[4] Her third marriage, to author Arthur Miller, also ended in divorce in January 1961.[5]
In one of her last photo shoots, by George Barris for Cosmopolitan in July 1962. The shoot was part of a campaign to counter the negative publicity after 20th Century Fox fired her.
Instead of working, Monroe spent a large part of 1961 preoccupied with health problems and did not work on any new film projects. She underwent surgery for her endometriosis and a cholecystectomy, and spent four weeks in hospital care – including a brief stint in a mental ward – for depression.[6][a] Later in 1961, she moved back to Los Angeles after six years in New York, purchasing a Spanish hacienda-style house on 12305 Fifth Helena Drive in Brentwood.[8] In the spring of 1962, she received a “World Film Favorite” Golden Globe award and began to shoot a new film for 20th Century Fox, Something’s Got to Give, a remake of My Favorite Wife (1940).[9]
Days before filming began, Monroe caught sinusitis; despite medical advice to postpone the production, Fox began it as planned in late April.[10] Monroe was too ill to work for the majority of the next six weeks, but despite confirmations by multiple doctors, the studio tried to pressure her by alleging publicly that she was faking it.[10] On May 19, she took a break from filming to sing “Happy Birthday” on stage at President John F. Kennedy’s birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden in New York.[11] Monroe and Kennedy had mutual friends and although they sometimes had casual sexual encounters, there is no evidence that their relationship was serious.[12] After returning from New York, Monroe returned to filming and celebrated her 36th birthday on set on June 1.[13] She was then again absent for several days, which led 20th Century Fox to fire her on June 7 and sue her for breach of contract, demanding $750,000 in damages.[14] She was replaced by Lee Remick, but after co-star Dean Martin refused to make the film with anyone other than Monroe, Fox sued him as well and shut down the production.[15]
The studio publicly blamed Monroe’s drug addiction and alleged lack of professionalism for the demise of the film, even claiming that she was mentally disturbed.[16][b] To counter the negative publicity, Monroe gave interviews to several high-profile publications, such as Life, Cosmopolitan and Vogue, in her last weeks.[19] After successfully renegotiating her contract with Fox, filming with Monroe was scheduled to resume in September on Something’s Got to Give, and Monroe made plans for starring in What a Way to Go! (1964) as well as a biopic about Jean Harlow.[20]
Timeline[edit]
Monroe spent her last day alive, Saturday, August 4, at her Brentwood home.[21][22][23] In the morning, she met with photographer Lawrence Schiller to discuss the possibility of Playboy publishing nude photos taken of her on the set of Something’s Got to Give.[21][22][23] She also received a massage from her personal massage therapist, talked with friends on the phone, and signed for deliveries.[22][23] Present at the house in the morning were also her housekeeper, Eunice Murray, and her publicist Patricia Newcomb, who had stayed overnight.[22][23] According to Newcomb, they had an argument because Monroe had not slept well the night before.[22][23]
At 4:30 p.m., Dr. Ralph Greenson arrived at the house to conduct a therapy session with Monroe, and asked Newcomb to leave.[23][24] Before he left at around 7 p.m., he asked the housekeeper to stay overnight and keep Monroe company.[23] At approximately 7–7:15, Monroe received a call from Joe DiMaggio, Jr., with whom she had stayed close since her marriage to his father.[25][23] He told her that he had broken up with a girlfriend she did not like, and detected nothing alarming in her behavior.[25][23] She telephoned Greenson to tell him the news (about DiMaggio’s parting from his girlfriend) at around 7:40–7:45.[23][26][27]
Monroe’s house on 12305 Fifth Helena Drive
Monroe retired to her bedroom at approximately 8 p.m.[27] She received a call from actor Peter Lawford, who was hoping to persuade her to attend his party that night.[25][26] Lawford became alarmed as Monroe sounded like she was under the influence of drugs, and told him to: “Say goodbye to Pat, say goodbye to the president [Lawford’s brother-in-law], and say goodbye to yourself, because you’re a nice guy”, before drifting off.[25][26] Unable to reach Monroe, Lawford called his agent Milton Ebbins, who unsuccessfully tried to reach Dr. Greenson, and later called Monroe’s lawyer, Milton A. “Mickey” Rudin.[25][26] Rudin called Monroe’s house, and was assured by her housekeeper that she was fine.[25][26]
At approximately 3:00 a.m., the housekeeper woke up “sensing that something was wrong”, and saw light from under Monroe’s bedroom door, but was not able to get a response and found the door locked.[23][28] She telephoned Greenson, on whose advice she looked in through a window and saw Monroe lying facedown on her bed, covered by a sheet and clutching a telephone receiver.[23][28]Greenson arrived shortly after. He entered the room by breaking a window and found Monroe dead.[23][28] He called her physician, Dr. Hyman Engelberg, who arrived at the house at around 3:50 a.m. and officially confirmed the death.[23][28] At 4:25 a.m., they notified the Los Angeles Police Department.[23][28]
Inquest and 1982 review[edit]
Monroe’s autopsy was conducted on the morning of Sunday, August 5 by deputy coroner Dr. Thomas Noguchi. The Los Angeles County coroner’s office was assisted in the inquest by psychiatrists Dr. Norman Farberow, Dr. Robert Litman, and Dr. Norman Tabachnik from the Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center, who interviewed Monroe’s doctors and psychiatrists on her mental state.[29][30] Based on her advanced state of rigor mortis at the time she was found, it was estimated that she had died between 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.[31] The toxicological analysis concluded that the cause of death was acute barbiturate poisoning, as she had 8 mg% of chloral hydrateand 4.5 mg% of pentobarbital (Nembutal) in her blood, and a further 13 mg% of pentobarbital in her liver.[29] Empty bottles of these medicines were found next to her bed by the police.[29] There were no signs of external violence on the body.[32]
Chief Coroner Theodore Curphey
The findings of the inquest were published on August 17, with Chief Coroner Theodore Curphey classifying Monroe’s death a “probable suicide”.[29][30] The possibility of an accidental overdose was ruled out as the dosages found in her body were several times over the lethal limit, and had been taken “in one gulp or in a few gulps over a minute or so.”[30] At the time of her death, Monroe was reported to have been in a “depressed mood”, and had been “unkempt” and uninterested in maintaining her appearance.[1] No suicide note was found, but Dr. Litman stated that this was not unusual, as statistically less than 40 percent of suicide victims leave notes.[1] In their final report, Farberow, Litman, and Tabachnik stated:
Miss Monroe had suffered from psychiatric disturbance for a long time. She experienced severe fears and frequent depressions. Mood changes were abrupt and unpredictable. Among symptoms of disorganization, sleep disturbance was prominent, for which she had been taking sedative drugs for many years. She was thus familiar with and experienced in the use of sedative drugs and well aware of their dangers. […] In our investigation we have learned that Miss Monroe had often expressed wishes to give up, to withdraw, and even to die. On more than one occasion in the past, she had made a suicide attempt, using sedative drugs. On these occasions, she had called for help and had been rescued. It is our opinion that the same pattern was repeated on the evening of Aug. 4 except for the rescue. It has been our practice with similar information collected in other cases in the past to recommend a certification for such deaths as probable suicide. Additional clews for suicide provided by the physical evidence are the high level of barbiturates and chloral hydrate in the blood which, with other evidence from the autopsy, indicates the probable ingestion of a large amount of drugs within a short period of time: the completely empty bottle of Nembutal, the prescription for which (25 capsules) was filled the day before the ingestion, and the locked door to the bedroom, which was unusual.[30]
Due to the claims that Monroe had been murdered that surfaced in the 1970s, Los Angeles County District Attorney John Van de Kamp assigned his colleague Ronald H. “Mike” Carroll to conduct a “threshold investigation” in 1982 to see whether a criminal investigation should be opened.[33][34][35] Carroll worked with Alan B. Tomich, an investigator for the district attorney’s office, for over three months on an inquiry that resulted in a thirty-page report.[35] They did not find any credible evidence to support the theory that Monroe was murdered.[35][36][34]
Dr Thomas Noguchi carries the body of Marily Monroe
In 1983, coroner Thomas Noguchi published his memoirs, in which he discussed Monroe’s case and the allegations of discrepancies in the autopsy and the coroner’s verdict of suicide.[37] These included the claims that Monroe could not have ingested the pills because her stomach was empty; that Nembutal capsules should have left yellow residue; that she may have been administered an enema; and that the autopsy noted no needle marks despite the fact that she routinely received injections from her doctors.[37]
Noguchi explained that hemorrhaging of the stomach lining indicated that the medication had been administered orally, and that because Monroe had been an addict for several years, the pills would have been absorbed more rapidly than in the case of non-addicts.[37] He also denied that Nembutal leaves dye residue.[37] He noted that only very recent needle marks are visible on a body, and that the only bruise he noted on Monroe’s body, on her lower back, was superficial and its placement indicated that it was accidental, and not linked to foul play.[37] He concluded that based on his observations, the most probable conclusion is that Monroe committed suicide.[37]
Now, almost all of us use Wikipedia, and on the whole it’s an absolutely wonderful resource. You can find some quick info about almost anything. Articles are usually edited to be more accurate than inaccurate, even the if the top experts in a field have not been invited as authors.
But at times Wikipedia badly disappoints us. On quite rare occasion (at least we like to think rare), an entry is grossly inaccurate, and egregiously misleading. (A case in point, within the wheelhouse of MindOverMystery, involves the complex Franklin Savings and Loan scandal out of Nebraska from the late 1980’s. Wikipedia’s entry on that case is an embarrassment of inaccuracy.)
More often, Wikipedia disappoints by thin research and lack of critical analysis. The writers mean well, the entry has some value, but if you took it as your only source on an issue or event you would never develop a rich understanding.
To show how subtle Narrative hangs by a thread, by a word, and by interpretation, let’s dissect select passages from this Wikipedia summary.
Beginning in the fifth paragraph, where the entry backs up to Marilyn’s recent history:
“By the early 1960s, Monroe had for several years been dependent on amphetamines, barbiturates and alcohol, and experienced various mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and chronic insomnia.[2] She had acquired a reputation for being difficult to work with, as she frequently delayed productions by being late to film sets and often had trouble remembering her lines.”
In one sense, yes. All true enough.
But misleading, without meaning to be. Professionals in mental health may debate her mental make-up forever, and it had it’s desperate components, a few overdoses that certainly looked like suicide attempts. But she also drew on enormous strength, resilience, and kindness. More often than not, people who got to know her well, personally, were impressed not just by her clever intelligence but by her kindness, attentiveness to the lives and needs of others, and loyalty to persons she judged worthy of loyalty. In more than one professional relationship, she provided the strength to another actor. Her personality was very distinct from the self-absorbed narcissist we’ve come to think of as the clichéd, selfish star.
And stories of Hollywood excess usually create a scale in which Marilyn’s abuse or dependence on various crutches were, sadly, only about average. On “The Misfits she was a mess, for reasons (mostly not her fault) too complex to outline here. But she only came in third or fourth in the mess-competition: her director (Huston) was drunk and gambling every night, and endangering the film’s budget; a couple of other co-stars were three sheets to the wind most of the time. But the legendary narrative focuses on her problems, not theirs.
As far as chronic lateness, yes. She drove her co-star on “The Misfits,” Clark Gable, absolutely bonkers by leaving the cast hanging as she obsessed about her appearance, and her readiness to perform. Yet he became a believer in her greatness-“When she’s there, she’s really there” he said of her locked-in performances–and he developed a tremendous avuncular fondness and respect for her as a young woman as well. In similar fashion, on the set of “Something’s Got to Give” the superstar Dean Martin was left cooling his heels for infuriating stretches while Marilyn tried to get it together. Yet he respected her enormously, and when the studio tried to jettison her for a replacement actress he said, No Dice. You either keep Marilyn on this picture, or you’ll be replacing me as well. She often engendered this level of loyalty and caring in people who would seem to have every reason to strangle her.
All of this to illustrate the point that the Wikipedia lines above were true, sort of, but very far from the whole truth.
From the next paragraph in Wikipedia:
“Instead of working, Monroe spent a large part of 1961 preoccupied with health problems and did not work on any new film projects.”
Well, the real story, in context, would keep you up all night reading detail, although it makes an interesting study. Two of the broad strokes are:
- She felt exploited by Hollywood in several ways (she was) and she and her advisors and attorneys worked hard in the late 50’s and early 60’s to turn that around.
- Many delays on starting new films were negotiations, as the studio predictably wanted stars to sign on at modest compensation. Superstars like Marilyn wanted more money and more importantly (at least for her), dignified roles and more artistic control–she was always reading scripts, looking for good ones.
That’s much closer to the story of the final years of her career than some image or her wallowing around in health problems, unable or unwilling to work.
From a following paragraph, discussing her last fateful months alive:
“On May 19, she took a break from filming to sing “Happy Birthday” on stage at President John F. Kennedy’s birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden in New York.[11] Monroe and Kennedy had mutual friends and although they sometimes had casual sexual encounters, there is no evidence that their relationship was serious.[12]”
Wow, talk about a misleading declaration! It’s so off-target as to be essentially worthless.
That “Happy Birthday” rendered to the President made for one of the most iconic, and gossiped-about, birthday parties in world history. And therein lies the rub, the high-gossip-profile of his relationship with Marilyn, and his decision to cut her off quickly, like a macheté chopping a branch, occurred right after his very special Happy Birthday.
JFK had a endless procession of casual lovers, but it wasn’t that meaningless to all of them. Marilyn had captivated both Kennedy brothers, and had been Jack’s lover on and off for years. At one point she actually thought that his marriage to Jackie would be ennulled, and she’d be the new Mrs. Kennedy, perhaps with encouragement from the young Senator.
As he ascended to become President, and had to consider image all the more, he tried to make the casual and secret nature of their liaison clear to her. But eventually Marilyn became enraged, absolutely livid! Here was one more person who had simply used her and would discard her when convenient, a very painful pattern in her life.
So yes, the relationship was “casual,” not “serious,” but there was nothing casual in Marilyn’s growing anger, and there was everything serious about the panic that set in to the Kennedy camp. Among other things, the brothers had discussed sensitive matters of state in her presence, and apparently J. Edgar Hoover brought them transcripts and dossiers and read them the riot act! A furious Marilyn, a loose canon they’d stuffed with gunpowder, was threatening to go public, and the Kennedys saw their political lives flash before their eyes, possibly disintegrating into fireworks.
So the sentence in Wikipedia about casual trysts, yes you could call it accurate, but it tells only five per cent of the story.
Speaking of missing critical dimensions of truth, sometimes a single sentence carries hidden bombshells…from an introductory paragraph:
“(Eunice) Murray stayed overnight to keep Monroe company”
Factually accurate, that statement about her last night alive. But what a backstory is neglected!
Live-in housekeeper Eunice Murray was close to Dr. Ralph Greenson, in fact it’s now recognized he placed her in Marilyn’s home as basically a live-in informant, a snoop. We don’t have time or space to fully discuss Greenson as a psychiatrist here, but it’s now accepted he crossed numerous boundaries with Monroe, committing some of the great sins of his profession. There’s evidence Monroe was increasingly fed up with everyone using her, in some way, in their own image. She was getting rid of Murray immediately and, some Marilyn-historians say, preparing for a break in the coming weeks with the overly controlling Greenson.
Marilyn had told Eunice that very day to pack up and get out, and thus “Murray stay(ing) overnight” was Murray hanging on a last day, at Greenson’s request, on what was a fiery day in Marilyn’s emotional life.
But the Eunice Murray story goes deeper, and gets much worse. Based on files released over the years under FOIA requests, and other documents and reminiscences of numerous individuals, Ralph Greenson was deeply committed to the far, essentially Communist, left. So was Eunice Murray’s family, and apparently “red” politics was the basis of their connection. Although the wretched excesses of the McCarthy era were now fading, it wasn’t unreasonable for the Feds to be concerned about some relationships.
Not to put too fine a point on it, if Kennedy-Monroe pillow talk contained sensitive information, got back to the ear of a certain psychiatrist, and then passed on to post-Stalinist Russia, that’s a National Security issue. To be clear, there’s no evidence that any specific secret ever travelled the wrong channel and ended up in Moscow, but the concern was active.
All this going on in the background, and our Wikipedia narrative merely intimates that a kindly old housekeeper stayed over with a troubled starlet…
Finally, from a later paragraph discussing the night she died:
“At approximately 3:00 a.m., the housekeeper woke up “sensing that something was wrong”, and saw light from under Monroe’s bedroom door, but was not able to get a response and found the door locked.[23][28] She telephoned Greenson, on whose advice she looked in through a window and saw Monroe lying facedown on her bed, covered by a sheet and clutching a telephone receiver.[23][28″
The Wikipedia discussion of the death, and how it was handled, should have framed those initial reports with language like: “According to the initial story that police received, now largely discredited….”
We assert this because discrepancies in testimony, in timeline, missing or altered evidence, and common sense inferences from all the circumstances make clear: someone was staging the scene and covering their rear ends before they officially summoned the authorities.
Does that mean a cover-up of dramatic scandal, such as RFK and his henchmen arranging the execution of a troublesome Marilyn? No, that’s absolutely not proven. It may have been something as simple as two doctors horribly overdosing the star, not aware of the drugs each had given her, and scrambling to cover their butts. What does seem clear is that those at the scene certainly weren’t candid with authorities.
Admitting we may never know exactly what happened, which acts by whom in what sequence, is different from taking the official cover story–pushed by Ralph Greenson and others that night–seriously. It’s simply not credible, for the myriad reasons referred to.
Then, why include the long song and dance of the story that authorities were fed, without the immediate disclaimer? Anyone who takes a sober look at the case knows there was clean-up, staging, lies for self-preservation.
The Wikipedia narrative doesn’t get all that across, and the casual reader can be badly misled.
We could discuss a dozen other examples of a misleading narrative, but that would go on all day, we think you get the idea….
The purpose of all the discussion above is not to unduly criticize Wikipedia, one of the fine resources of the cyber-age, but to ask broader questions. Where does our internal narrative on a given issue come from? Usually from one or two articles we’ve briefly scanned. So often, as those articles scratch the surface, they leave us with misconceptions.