New book revealed:

Marilyn Monroe almost died of an overdose as early as 1956

According to a tell-all book, Marilyn Monroe almost died of a drug overdose in 1956.

(Bild: Ronald Grant Archive / Mary Evans / picturedesk.com)

There is still speculation about the true circumstances of her alleged accidental death in 1962 from a drug overdose. Now a duo of authors have shocked the public with the revelation that Marilyn Monroe had almost died six years earlier from a heroin overdose under even more dubious circumstances.

In "The Fixer", Josh Young and Manfred Westphal tell the true story of private detective Fred Otash. According to a pre-print of the memoirs in the Daily Mail, he was invited to a secret meeting by the boss of 20th Century Fox in 1956. E. Maurice Adler had just signed Monroe to a seven-year contract and filming of the romantic comedy "Bus Stop" was in full swing.

"Marilyn has disappeared"
At the meeting in the breakfast restaurant "Nate 'n' Al's" in Beverly Hills, Adler came straight to the point: "Marilyn has disappeared!" He explained to Otash that his leading lady had not shown up for the set the day before. Even her husband-to-be, the writer Arthur Miller, had not heard from his fiancée for 24 hours and was terribly worried in New York.

According to the authors, Marilyn Monroe simply disappeared during the filming of the movie "Bus Stop".

(Bild: Ronald Grant / Mary Evans / picturedesk.com)

For Adler, a lot of money was at stake: "His studio was losing 40,000 dollars a day (out of a total budget of 2.2 million) and the film was already halfway through shooting. So he had to find Monroe as quickly as possible or stop filming altogether at a huge financial loss."

Traveled under a false name
Otashe's investigation was made more difficult because he didn't want the media to find out that Hollywood's most famous sex bomb had disappeared. The ex-cop received a tip from a gossip columnist friend that Marilyn had traveled under a false name in the past - in order to disappear. And that she had used a certain travel agency to do so. Otash bribed an employee and discovered the name "Pearl Baker" - the nickname and surname of Monroe's mother - in the booking documents. She had booked herself into a cheap, run-down motel in Santa Barbara.

Otash sent over two employees who knocked on the door and pretended to be hotel staff. Young and Westphal write: "A man the private investigators recognized as a known heroin addict and dealer from LA answered the door. He was wearing only boxer shorts. They pushed him aside and stormed into the hotel room."

"Naked and motionless" on the bed
There, the men were presented with a shocking sight: "Monroe was lying naked, motionless and curled up on the bed. There were needles and other drug paraphernalia all over the room." One of the detectives checked Marilyn's pulse and realized that she was only unconscious but still alive. He covered her body with a bed sheet.

Otash informed studio boss Adler, who sent over a private ambulance. Without anyone else noticing, Monroe was taken to a private clinic in Hollywood for medical treatment. Three days later, she was back on set and finished shooting her movie without any further interruptions. In a statement to the media, the studio claimed that Monroe had been prescribed a few days of total bed rest by the doctor due to exhaustion.

New revelations about Marilyn Monroe come to light in the book "The Fixer: Moguls, Mobsters, Movie Stars, and Marilyn".

(Bild: Viennareport)

Monroe's drug-addicted lover was "made to understand emphatically by Otah's people that the whole thing never happened". Officially, the man was then given a one-way ticket for a bus ride to San Francisco. However, the authors write: "The last time he was seen hitchhiking was on the Pacific Coast Highway."

Monroe highly praised for movie
Interesting fact: Marilyn probably received the best reviews of her life for her performance in "Bus Stop". The New York Times raved: "Marilyn Monroe has finally proved that she can act!"

The book "The Fixer: Moguls, Mobsters, Movie Stars, and Marilyn" will be published in the USA on April 16.