"You could smell the lust"

Monroe had hot quickie before Kennedy serenade

US President John F. Kennedy (with his back to the camera), US Attorney General Robert Kennedy (far left) and actress Marilyn Monroe at President Kennedy's 45th birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden in New York City

(Bild: picturedesk.com/Cecil Stoughton / Zuma / picturedesk.com)

The power of the Kennedys was still unbroken decades after the deaths of J.F.K. and his brother Bobby. In 1985, the ABC channel briefly broadcast a documentary that shed light on the Kennedys' direct involvement in Marilyn Monroe's death. In her new biography, author Maureen Callahan revisits the findings of that time. 

In a preprint published by the Daily News, she reveals that both Kennedys had an affair with Marilyn at the same time and that Monroe's ex-husband Joe DiMaggio thought the Kennedys were her killers.

"Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed" describes how Monroe met John F. Kennedy at a Hollywood party in 1954, and through him, Bobby. According to Callahan, both brothers began affairs with the actress, who originally had her sights set on the older man: "Marilyn had had Jack (JFK's private nickname, editor's note) on the hook for years and was convinced that JFK would leave his wife Jackie and marry her after his re-election. He had promised her that and Marilyn believed that she would be the next First Lady."

Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe in June 1955

(Bild: picturedesk.com/Uncredited / AP / picturedesk.com)

Quick sex with Bobby
Before the famous "Happy Birthday Mr. President" birthday serenade at Madison Square Garden on May 19, 1962, Monroe decided she wanted to look like Marlene Dietrich. She even contacted her German colleague. The "blue angel" even sent her the dress for the big performance, created by Dietrich's favorite designer Jean Louis. Half an hour before her performance, Bobby Kennedy appeared in Marilyn's dressing room. The two spent 15 minutes alone together. Callahan writes: "Marilyn knew that both Kennedys wanted her and she wanted them both. Jack had the power, but Bobby had a depth that attracted her. Red-cheeked after quick sex with Bobby, she showed up late and drunk on stage - where she stood in the spotlight in her skintight dress, attracting all eyes." JFK's friend Hugh Sidey described what followed: "You could smell her lust and Jack almost collapsed with desire." Later that night at a private party, the only photo showing the Kennedys and Monroe together was taken. The snapshot remained under lock and key until 2010. In the picture, Marilyn looks serious, while Jack and Bobby to her left and right have turned away from the camera.

(Bild: Little, Brown and Company)

Marilyn threatened with the dirty truth
After Monroe's appearance, Jackie Kennedy felt publicly exposed and gave her husband an ultimatum: no more Monroe or immediate divorce. This scandal would have cost Kennedy his re-election and he dismissed Marilyn coldly. She didn't know why, but consoled herself with the fact that she could have Bobby instead. But his job as attorney general meant he had little time for her. Callahan writes: "It was Jack and Bobby's sister Pat Lawford who explained to Marilyn that she could also forget about Bobby as a husband. She was inconsolable afterwards and numbed her grief with alcohol and pills." But then Monroe decided to threaten revenge if she continued to ignore the Kennedy brothers. She threatened to reveal the dirty truth at a press conference.

Whereupon Bobby Kennedy showed up at her home on August 4, 1962, the day before she was discovered dead. Callahan: "He yelled: 'Where the hell is it?' He had found out that her phone line had been tapped by the FBI and CIA and swore he wouldn't leave without the tape of the recordings of her phone calls. Marilyn didn't know what he was talking about."

Bobby's baby?
It wasn't until the 1980s that it came to light that Bobby and Marilyn had spoken on the phone eight times at the end of June 1962. What was so urgent? According to Callahan, Monroe had an abortion on July 20. She believes the reports that Bobby was the baby's father.

The Monroe called Peter Lawford around 7:30 p.m. on the evening of Aug. 4 and informed him that she would not be coming to a scheduled party. Her last words were: "Say goodbye to Pat, say goodbye to the president and also to yourself, because you're a really nice boy!" The next morning, the housekeeper found Monroe's naked body, with the phone still in her hand. The official version was accidental death or suicide by drug overdose and alcohol. What was missing from her house, according to Callahan, were her surveillance cameras with the tapes and her diary.

Robert F. Kennedy

(Bild: AP)

DiMaggio bans Kennedys
Both Kennedys were banned from the funeral and a private memorial service by Monroe's ex-husband Joe DiMaggio. According to Callahan, the baseball legend later said: "I always knew who killed Marilyn - but I didn't want to start a revolution in our country. She had told me that someone was going to take her around the corner, but I kept it to myself." To then add: "All the Kennedys were lady-killers and they always escaped the consequences!" These quotes would also have run in the planned documentary on ABC before the station boss Roone Arledge stopped the broadcast. Callahan: "He was a longtime friend of Bobby's widow Ethel Kennedy. He publicly justified his decision by saying that the whole documentary was just gossip and not good enough for the station's standards."

Callahan's book will be published in the USA and England on July 4.