Marilyn and Joe...Crazy Love?

Have you ever heard of The Wrong Door Raid? Possibly, if you're a Marilyn fan or Rat Pack fan, but surprisingly, many haven't heard of this outrageous tale.

Although Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio had quite the love affair, their union ended in divorce after less than a year of marriage. However, it's fair to say that Joe had a hard time getting over Marilyn.

(The following info / retelling is from June 5, 2011 L.A. Time article by Steve Harvey)

One version of the story holds that Joe DiMaggio and Frank Sinatra were having dinner at the Villa Capri restaurant in Hollywood on a November evening in 1954 when they got the tip: A private investigator phoned to say the ballplayer's estranged wife, Marilyn Monroe, was inside a nearby apartment building, possibly with a lover.

Without bothering to pay the bill, DiMaggio stormed out of the eatery, followed by Sinatra and various associates, as well as Billy Karen, the restaurant maitre d'.Someone volunteered to pay the bill later, but the maitre d' responded that the bill was no problem, he just wanted "in on this thing."

A few minutes later, the group kicked in an apartment door on Waring Avenue. They found not Monroe but a lone resident, Florence Kotz, who was in her bed, screaming in terror, witnesses later related.
 

 

One of the fascinating aspects of the Wrong-Door Raid, as it came to be known, was how easily it was covered up. Half a century ago, paparazzi didn't stake out celebrity haunts, so there was no initial alert that anything was up.

 

Later, police were called to the apartment building but, as was their job back then when big celebrities were involved in some sort of mischief, they just took a report and calmed everybody down.

No charges were filed.

Kotz didn't rush out and file a lawsuit.

And the scandal-wary Times published no story on the affair for more than two years.

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 Pictures of Marilyn from the press conference, where she announced her separation / divorce from Joe.

 

I've read a few accounts of The Wrong Door Raid. Some contend that Sinatra stayed in the car, others say he was part of breaking down the door--and that the door was broken down with an axe!

 

I've also read that Florence filed charges a year later and settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. 

 

Marilyn WAS in the apartment building, which was not a typical apartment complex that we tend to think of nowadays. She was in the apartment next door, visiting her friend Sheila.

 

Ah, the scandals of Old Hollywood.

 

 

 

 

 

Marilyn's Lost Loves, pt. 3

Joe DiMaggio

(most info from history.com)

It was the ultimate All-American romance: the tall, handsome hero of the country’s national pastime captures the heart of the beautiful, glamorous Hollywood star. But the brief, volatile marriage of Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio–the couple wed on this day in 1954–barely got past the honeymoon before cracks began to show in its brilliant veneer.

In 1952, the New York Yankees slugger DiMaggio asked an acquaintance to arrange a dinner date with Monroe, a buxom blonde model-turned-actress whose star was on the rise after supporting roles in films such as Monkey Business (1952) and a leading role in the B-movie thriller Don’t Bother to Knock (1952). The press immediately picked up on the relationship and began to cover it exhaustively, though Monroe and DiMaggio preferred to keep a low profile, spending evenings at home or in a back corner of DiMaggio’s restaurant. On January 14, 1954, they were married at San Francisco City Hall, where they were mobbed by reporters and fans. Monroe had apparently mentioned the wedding plans to someone at her film studio, who leaked it to the press.

While Monroe and DiMaggio were on their honeymoon in Japan, Monroe was asked to travel to Korea and perform for the American soldiers stationed there. She complied, leaving her unhappy new husband in Japan. After they returned to the United States, tension continued to build, particularly around DiMaggio’s discomfort with his wife’s sexy image. One memorable blow-up occurred in September 1954, on the New York City set of the director Billy Wilder’s The Seven Year Itch. As Monroe filmed the now-famous scene in which she stands over a subway grate with the air blowing up her skirt, a crowd of onlookers and press gathered; Wilder himself had reportedly arranged the media attention. As her skirt blew up again and again, the crowd cheered uproariously, and DiMaggio, who was on set, became irate.

DiMaggio and Monroe were divorced in October 1954, just 274 days after they were married. In her filing, Monroe accused her husband of “mental cruelty.”

In February 1961, she was admitted to a psychiatric clinic; it was DiMaggio who secured her release, and took her to the Yankees’ Florida spring training camp for rest and relaxation. Though rumors swirled about their remarriage, they maintained their “good friends” status. When the 36-year-old Monroe died of a drug overdose on August 5, 1962, DiMaggio arranged the funeral. For the next two decades, until his own death in 1999, he sent roses several times a week to her grave in Los Angeles.

Although Joe made his mark as husband no. 2, it's fair to say that their relationship lasted beyond their marriage. In fact, Joe and Marilyn had reconnected, and shortly before her death, there was even talk of them reuniting. Perhaps, despite his flaws, Joe was the love of her life. They made a decent couple, both had a lot going for them. Even in this picture, it's obvious they had chemistry and seemed to be a good fit. Reportedly, the last words on Joe's lips? "At last, I get to see Marilyn."