Marilyn Monroe was launched to husband quantity two by an unlikely matchmaker – an “I Love Lucy” star.
The 25-year-old was eating out along with her agent, Norman Brokaw, when William Frawley, who performed Fred Mertz within the sitcom, approached them. He had a suggestion that the actress couldn’t refuse.
“[My father] took her to a television program called ‘Lights, Camera, Action,’ which was a showcase for up-and-coming talent,” Norman’s son Joel Brokaw instructed Fox Information Digital. “[It was] a live show in Hollywood that all the casting agents would tune in to watch. They went and did this television show, and then he said, ‘Let’s go down the street and go to The Hollywood Brown Derby and have a meal.’ It was the place to be seen.”
“It didn’t take long before they were noticed,” Joel shared. “William Frawley … came visiting to the desk and he stated … ‘I’m having dinner with Joe D. He want to meet the younger girl. We’ll cease by your desk after we’re performed.’
“Marilyn turned to my dad and said, ‘Who’s Joe D?’ She had no idea who Joe DiMaggio was. She obviously wasn’t a baseball fan. So, he had to give her a quick history of the importance of Joe DiMaggio.”
Brokaw, who represented Elvis Presley, Clint Eastwood and plenty of different prime stars, died in 2016 at age 89. Joel has written a brand new memoir concerning the late patriarch, “Driving Marilyn,” which particulars how he went from working within the mailroom of William Morris Company to turning into its CEO.
DiMaggio, who was 12 years Monroe’s senior, had simply retired from the New York Yankees. He was out eating along with his shut pal when he discovered himself captivated by the blonde magnificence.
And Brokaw didn’t miss his probability to assist carry the 2 collectively.
“[My father and Marilyn] finished their meal first,” stated Joel. “They went over to the table, and the rest is history.”
Joel stated his father met Monroe via his uncle, Hollywood expertise agent Johnny Hyde. In her e book “My Story,” Monroe stated that Hyde was in love along with her and had requested her to marry him.
“If you look at all the stories that have been written about Marilyn Monroe, Johnny Hyde is a prominent chapter,” Joel defined. “He was the big-shot superagent who believed in Marilyn. He was also living with her as well. He staked his entire reputation on advancing her career.”
“At the time, a lot of the attitudes of his peers were, ‘That’s his lover, and she’s this year’s blonde,’” Joel shared. “A lot of people didn’t see anything really special in her. But finally, towards the end of his life, he got her a contract with 20th Century Fox. At that point, my father had just been promoted to be a junior agent.”
Joel stated that Hyde had “a very bad heart condition,” which prevented him from taking his dream consumer to capabilities. That’s when Brokaw stepped in.
“He had to take her to her auditions, which were for $55 a job, SAG minimum,” Joel defined. “He took her to performing classes, went to premieres and tv reveals that she was doing. He acquired to spend so much of time along with her.
“From what he told me about her, they really hit it off very well. He really liked her. He thought that she was incredibly intelligent. They just had a great relationship.”
Hyde handed away in 1950. He was 55.
It was in 1952 when Brokaw and Monroe walked over to DiMaggio’s desk to say hi there. DiMaggio and Monroe went on to this point for almost two years earlier than getting hitched at San Francisco Metropolis Corridor in 1954.
A number of months after the couple stated, “I do,” Brokaw acquired a telephone name. It was from DiMaggio. In response to the e book, Monroe was not his consumer on the time.
“Joe DiMaggio got a piece of advice from my dad that came at a very crucial time in their marriage,” stated Joel. “Joe actually wished Marilyn to be a stay-at-home housewife. He was getting increasingly upset about Marilyn’s increased profile and being out in public.
“And so, my father said to him, ‘I don’t know of a woman who could convince you not to go up to bat to hit for the 56th straight game. And I don’t know of a man who could convince a young actress not to star in a movie with Clark Gable or Spencer Tracy.’”
“That made [a] lightbulb go on in Joe DiMaggio’s mind,” stated Joel. “He credited that advice for keeping the marriage alive a bit longer. . . . It also cemented a lifelong friendship that my father had with Joe DiMaggio.”
The facility couple’s marriage lasted solely 9 months. Monroe filed for divorce from DiMaggio, citing “mental cruelty.”
Brokaw and Monroe crossed paths in a singular means as soon as extra in 1962.
On the time, Joel’s mom was hospitalized with schizophrenia. Brokaw wanted somebody to assist watch over his sons. Monroe’s psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenson, who had additionally labored with Joel’s mom, urged housekeeper Eunice Murray.
“She was a person whom he placed with a lot of his patients to help them handle their day-to-day responsibilities and to have a watchful eye over them,” Joel defined. “A few weeks earlier, Eunice Murray had walked in and found Marilyn Monroe dead. That was a really strange episode in my life.”
“I really liked Mrs. Murray,” stated Joel. “But I also felt like the energy was strange about her. . . . That was part of growing up in Hollywood – a lot of strange stuff.”
Monroe handed away from a barbiturate overdose in 1962. She was 36. It was DiMaggio, who had reentered her life in 1961, who deliberate her funeral.
“It was an undying love that he had for her for the rest of his life,” Joel remarked.
DiMaggio had contemporary roses delivered to Monroe’s grave twice per week for 20 years. He outlived his ex-wife by nearly 4 a long time. He handed away in 1999 at age 84.
DiMaggio’s legal professional later stated that his reported final phrases have been, “I’ll finally get to see Marilyn.”
The Related Press contributed to this report.