Brad Pitt, Joyce Carol Oates and the Road to Blonde

[James DiEugenio]

12 hours ago, Sandy Larsen said:

@James DiEugenio

Jim, do you know if there is any truth to what Robert said about Bobby pulling Marilyn off the set of her movie so she could sing "Happy Birthday" for JFK, and that this caused her problems with the studio bosses?

 

That is kind of ridiculous. I have never seen that any place and I read quite a few books on the subject.   In fact too many, since 90 per cent are rubbish.

Monroe was never on AF One and she was never in Washington DC while Kennedy was president.

This is provable because one can now compare two MM day books, by Rollyson and VeVea, with the daily planners of both RFK and JFK. 

As per the Krim party, again this has been discredited so many times its kind of silly.  MM came to that gathering with her fomer father in law, Arthur Miller's dad, as her escort.  She rented a limousine, and Gary Vitacco Robles found the receipts and time checked in and out.  After the Krim party, she took him home and asked her to come back to LA with her.  He said no but maybe later.  She then went back to her apartment where members of her fan club awaited her and she talked to them.  She went up to her room alone.

And that was that.

Repeat: there was never any credible evidence of anything between RFK and MM.  This is why cheapjack writers have to use fruitcakes like Jeanne Carmen as their evidence. But anyone who reads my two parter will know that she can never be taken as credible again.  And what Lawford did the night she died is not in any any way detrimental to his character.  In fact, he was trying to do the right thing.

As per the  Palm Springs story, up until the release of Gary VItacco Robles' book Icon Part 2, that had been the one place where there was supposed to be a one time dalliance between her and JFK.  But Gary presents evidence that might not even be the case, with stuff I had not seen before. (see p. 487)

But the underlying truth is that Robert Slatzer started an avalanche of trash about Monroe, and his book was really a trash compactor. It has no value at all today, period, and I can say that since I had to read the rubbish at the Hollywood Library on three separate days and take notes, while paying for parking. It slandered three people with a melange of BS, including made up and paid off witnesses. But incredibly it had an immediate impact, as I showed in my essay and it was a pernicious one.  Cheap sensationalism sells, particularly about celebrities. That avalanche of rubbish  eventually made MM into both a Mob moll, and a CIA honey trap: she was neither.  Some of these crazy books have her sitting in on meetings in Washington, where she never was while JFK was president.

It is really a crime against cultural standards as well as a cesspool of character assassination. Robert Slatzer suckered a lot of people who should have known better than to fall for a dyed in the wool con artist like himself.

Edited February 28 by James DiEugenio

[Robert Morrow]

1 hour ago, James DiEugenio said:

That is kind of ridiculous. I have never seen that any place and I read quite a few books on the subject.   In fact too many, since 90 per cent are rubbish.

Monroe was never on AF One and she was never in Washington DC while Kennedy was president.

This is provable because one can now compare two MM day books, by Rollyson and VeVea, with the daily planners of both RFK and JFK. 

As per the Krim party, again this has been discredited so many times its kind of silly.  MM came to that gathering with her fomer father in law, Arthur Miller's dad, as her escort.  She rented a limousine, and Gary Vitacco Robles found the receipts and time checked in and out.  After the Krim party, she took him home and asked her to come back to LA with her.  He said no but maybe later.  She then went back to her apartment where members of her fan club awaited her and she talked to them.  She went up to her room alone.

And that was that.

Repeat: there was never any credible evidence of anything between RFK and MM.  This is why cheapjack writers have to use fruitcakes like Jeanne Carmen as their evidence. But anyone who reads my two parter will know that she can never be taken as credible again.  And what Lawford did the night she died is not in any any way detrimental to his character.  In fact, he was trying to do the right thing.

As per the  Palm Springs story, up until the release of Gary VItacco Robles' book Icon Part 2, that had been the one place where there was supposed to be a one time dalliance between her and JFK.  But Gary presents evidence that might not even be the case, with stuff I had not seen before. (see p. 487)

But the underlying truth is that Robert Slatzer started an avalanche of trash about Monroe, and his book was really a trash compactor. It has no value at all today, period, and I can say that since I had to read the rubbish at the Hollywood Library on three separate days and take notes, while paying for parking. It slandered three people with a melange of BS, including made up and paid off witnesses. But incredibly it had an immediate impact, as I showed in my essay and it was a pernicious one.  Cheap sensationalism sells, particularly about celebrities. That avalanche of rubbish  eventually made MM into both a Mob moll, and a CIA honey trap: she was neither.  Some of these crazy books have her sitting in on meetings in Washington, where she never was while JFK was president.

It is really a crime against cultural standards as well as a cesspool of character assassination. Robert Slatzer suckered a lot of people who should have known better than to fall for a dyed in the wool con artist like himself.

Doyle Gene Whitehead, an Air Force steward for 20 years, says that he saw Marilyn Monroe on Air Force One twice and she was listed as a secretary on the Air Force One flight manifest.

https://www.enterprise-journal.com/doyle-whitehead-air-force-one-steward-three-presidents-dies-86 

QUOTE

He witnessed presidential womanizing and excess and said Marilyn Monroe was a frequent flier during the Kennedy administration, but Johnson also had plenty of private time with his masseuses, even when the First Lady was aboard. 

Of Monroe, Whitehead said, “She was beautiful until she opened her mouth. She was a drinker, and you know how drunks are they just go on and on. That’s what she did. Some of the filthiest things came out of her mouth; it was disgusting.”

UNQUOTE

Jimmy, I am assuming that you had never heard of 20 year Air Force force veteran and flight steward Doyle Gene Whitehead until today 2/28/2024?

Do you have any reasons why Whitehead would not be a completely truthful, accurate and honest witness who saw Marilyn Monroe on Air Force One twice disguised as a secretary?

I can think of no reason not to trust this man. He was on the Air Force One flight back from Dallas to Washington, D.C. on 11/22/1963;  it's not like he has to embellish things to have a compelling life story.

Here is another reason to trust Whitehead: HE LIKED JOHN KENNEDY! Whitehead even called JFK a "jewel" who "loved" the Air Force stewards! It is not as if Whitehead hated JFK and was operating with an agenda to tarnish his reputation. Objectively speaking Whitehead adored JFK.

Doyle Gene Whitehead at Find-a-Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/243253048/doyle-gene-whitehead

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 28 by Robert Morrow

[Robert Morrow]

Evelyn Lincoln on John Kennedy, the man she adored. She said “I spent half my time talking to women.” (She also thought LBJ murdered JFK.)

 http://www.cnn.com/US/9803/18/evelyn.lincoln.profile/

 March 18, 1998
Web posted at: 1:41 p.m. EST (1841 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- For more than a decade, Evelyn Lincoln was John F. Kennedy's personal secretary and one of his most trusted confidants.

Lincoln was by Kennedy's side from the time he became a U.S. senator until his death in Dallas, during his presidency. She kept hundreds of things she had collected from Kennedy until her own death in 1995, and she willed those items to collector Robert White.

"I one time asked her, 'Why pick through the trash and save his doodles?' and she said, 'because I knew he was special,'" White explained.

During Kennedy's presidency, Lincoln worked in a small room next to the Oval Office. In a 1989 interview with CNN's Larry King, Lincoln remembered Kennedy as a taskmaster.

"He wanted you to do the right thing at the moment. He wanted it done."

Lincoln said Kennedy even asked her to help sneak women into the White House.

"You know women chased him. Let's face it. There were young women. There were older women. They all did. I spent half of my time talking to women."

CNN's Tony Clark contributed to this report

[James DiEugenio]

Bob,

Monroe was never in Washington while JFK was president.  And its provable by the methods I just stated above. The last time she was in Washington was for the HUAC.

And yes, I can name a lot of reasons why guys in the Pentagon would say stuff like that.

Sy Hersh wrote a whole book based on sources like this in the government who did not like JFK.  Just read his chapter on the Missile Crisis.

If you want to see something funny, read what George Smathers said about JFK and Monroe.  That guy told so many whoppers he could not keep them all straight.

Now, do you want me to name all the books I have read on this subject?  I mean did you read Gary Vitacco Robles' landmark book that is over 1,100 pages long?  I did and I took 70 pages of notes. 

[Robert Morrow]

On 2/28/2024 at 9:58 PM, James DiEugenio said:

Bob,

Monroe was never in Washington while JFK was president.  And its provable by the methods I just stated above. The last time she was in Washington was for the HUAC.

And yes, I can name a lot of reasons why guys in the Pentagon would say stuff like that.

Sy Hersh wrote a whole book based on sources like this in the government who did not like JFK.  Just read his chapter on the Missile Crisis.

If you want to see something funny, read what George Smathers said about JFK and Monroe.  That guy told so many whoppers he could not keep them all straight.

Now, do you want me to name all the books I have read on this subject?  I mean did you read Gary Vitacco Robles' landmark book that is over 1,100 pages long?  I did and I took 70 pages of notes. 

You are dodging the issue. Air Force Steward Doyle Whitehead, who I think is very credible and who you probably never heard of until this week, said Marilyn Monroe flew twice on Air Force One with JFK and she was listed as a secretary on the flight manifest. Whitehead did not say Monroe was in Washington, D.C.

Doyle Whitehead was a big fan of JFK; he even called him a "jewel" and a man who "loved" the Air Force stewards. so don't try some sleazy trick to slander Whitehead just because he was a low level man in the United States military. Read the article: WHITEHEAD LIKED JFK. 

There are a lot of wonderful and extremely accurate things in Seymour Hersh's book The Dark Side of Camelot: his interview with Hy Raskin (know what he said?), his interview with Burkett van Kirk (know what he said?) and information on JFK's sexual depravity, which has been confirmed from many diverse, credible sources a thousand times over. And, btw, I do think Bobby was out to kill Castro, just like he was out to destroy Lyndon Johnson in the fall of 1963. 

Did Gary Vitacco Roble ever interview Doyle Whitehead? Did Doyle Whitehead ever say Marilyn Monroe was in Washington, D.C. (nope).

Why do you think the Secret Service nicknamed JFK as "Lancer?" Yep, that is the reason why.

A side story about Sen. George Smathers: for a while I KNEW HIS DAUGHTER. She was the daughter of Sen. George Smathers and a 17-year-old model. Their child, my friend, was raised in a home for orphans in Florida. She contacted about 10 years ago whenever I was getting beat up on Education Forum whenever I talked about JFK's sex life. She was the daughter of JFK's running buddy and wing man for chick hunting: Sen. Smathers.

Sen. Smathers was also very close to LBJ in the 1950s.

I also know Layte Bowden Dopp (alive today) who was in a love triangle with Sen. George Smathers and Peter Lawford. Layte (pronounced "Late") was a complete and total insider in the Kennedy era as a beautiful, young stewardess for PamAm.

Layte Bowden Dopp also told me and wrote in her book that President Kennedy (her friend) made a hard pass at her in El Paso, TX in June, 1963 in his hotel room. In the process of Layte fighting off his advances, JFK wrenched his back badly and that is why he had to wear the body bandages for the rest of his life. In Dallas, on the night of 11/21 JFK invited Layte up to his hotel room and she declined the invitation fearing that it might be sex related.

Under the Radar During Camelot: My Front Row Seat to History: Bowden, Layte: 9780989548403: Amazon.com: Books

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 1 by Robert Morrow

[James DiEugenio]

Robert:

I am not dodging the issue.

Its you who is doing that.

Did you read the VeVea and Rollyson books?

Did you even know they existed?

Alright then if they were not going to DC where did Whitehead say they were going? 

Did MM just hitch a ride somewhere?  On AF One? Like from where to where?

That is some story about Lancer.   And whew, Smathers and Lawford in a triangle with a stewardess. And JFK wrenched his back in 1963?

Double whew.

 

 

Edited March 1 by James DiEugenio

[James DiEugenio]

As per Sy Hersh, I mean you cannot be serious.

The guy is a joke today.  And his Kennedy book started him down that path.  He fell for two hoaxes.

I don't give writers points for falling for  hoaxes.

https://www.kennedysandking.com/john-f-kennedy-articles/sy-hersh-falls-on-his-face-again-and-again-and-again

 

Edited March 1 by James DiEugenio

[Robert Morrow]

10 hours ago, James DiEugenio said:

Robert:

I am not dodging the issue.

Its you who is doing that.

Did you read the VeVea and Rollyson books?

Did you even know they existed?

Alright then if they were not going to DC where did Whitehead say they were going? 

Did MM just hitch a ride somewhere?  On AF One? Like from where to where?

That is some story about Lancer.   And whew, Smathers and Lawford in a triangle with a stewardess. And JFK wrenched his back in 1963?

Double whew.

 

 

As a matter of fact, no, I have not read the VeVea and Rollyson books. But I have just ordered some Roble books.

And I take it none of those people ever interviewed Doyle Whitehead, who I assume you never heard of until this week.

You were conflating "Marilyn being in Washington, D.C"  with "Marilyn being on Air Force One."

Those are not the same thing. JFK could have easily slipped Marilyn on Air Force One in any city in the USA which he was in. All you have to do is drive a car up to Air Force One and a woman wearing a scarf gets on the plane with Secret Service connivance.

As for Doyle Gene Whitehead - you pitifully try to tar him with member of the U.S. military as if he were Kennedy-hater Gen. Curtis LeMay.

In reality, as Whitehead's interviews make very clear: HE LIKED PRESIDENT KENNEDY almost as much as you and Lee Harvey Oswald did. He called JFK a "jewel." Have you ever done that. Whitehead said he felt LOVED by JFK. Kennedy used to joke about Whitehead being from Oxford College, when he was really from Oxford, Alabama (where I have relatives nearby).

The reason Doyle Gene Whitehead is so credible is because he was IN FACT an Air Force One steward and HE LIKED PRESIDENT KENNEDY.

Gore Vidal, who I don't like, once said something like that average person does not understand the sexual energy of presidents or the elites or maybe even corporate CEOs or Hollywood stars. Oftentimes they have a manic over-charged sexual energy and promiscuity. They often have a super overactive sex life that the average person does not understand. Combining their manic sex energy with being rich or famous, these people find it easy "to score."

In 2016 I was elected Chairman of the Travis County Republican party and garnered national attention for doing this. Guess what? I had (not very attractive) middle aged woman sending me nude pics all but telling me to come get it daddy. 

Now imagine if you are Derek Jeter, JFK or Bill Clinton or a younger Trump? No wonder Trump once said his Vietnam was fighting sexual diseases. Elon Musk (father of 9 kids) would be another perfect example of what I am talking about.

I want you to take a close look at this picture in this article: https://smdp.com/2013/11/21/laughing-matters-the-day-jfk-swam-in-our-bay/ 

Nobody ever acted like that when Lyndon Johnson was in a swimsuit, but totally disgusting LBJ was able to score at will too.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 1 by Robert Morrow

[Robert Morrow]

OMG - I just read this article. I was too focused on the "JFK in swimsuit" picture! Jack Neworth's mother, an official with the California Democratic party, told him in real time at the July, 1960 Democratic convention that JFK left a party to go rendezvous with Marilyn Monroe!

Laughing Matters: The day JFK swam in our bay (smdp.com)

OTE

Jack Neworth 11/21/2013 for Santa Monica Daily Press:

As we’ve been inundated for the past weeks, today marks the 50th anniversary of one of the darkest days in America’s history. In some aspects, I don’t think we’ve ever recovered.

On his 1,000th day in office, President John F. Kennedy was brutally assassinated in an open limousine motorcade in Dallas with his wife, Jackie, by his side. Eerily, Nellie Connally, wife of Texas Gov. John Connally, had just commented, “Mr. President, you can’t say Dallas doesn’t love you.”

In these cynical times it may be difficult for today’s youth to imagine, but JFK inspired much of my generation. With all that has been written about the dark side of Camelot, I still admire him. I suppose a boy’s hero stays with him forever.

JFK was handsome, charming and had a great wit. And the First Family was like no other before. Jackie was beautiful and elegant and the Kennedys had two adorable children. You could even say that I ditched school because of JFK. You see, Kennedy held frequent press conferences where he’d display charm and humor. (He was considered the first “TV era” president.) I somehow managed to see most of them, even if it meant cutting classes.

As JFK playfully bantered with the press, I found myself unwittingly imitating his Boston accent. Eventually I could impersonate all three Kennedy brothers. Four decades later, in 2004, Santa Monica City Council candidate Bobby Shriver (JFK’s nephew) left me a voicemail. In returning his call, fortunately I did not to do my Kennedy impression.

As his sister Pat lived in Santa Monica with her husband, actor Peter Lawford, Kennedy often visited here. To see his remarkable charisma go to YouTube and type “President Kennedy takes a swim.” It’s an absolutely riveting one-minute video.

On that Aug. 19, 1962 day, L.A. Times photographer Bill Beebe was covering Kennedy’s visit to Santa Monica. When JFK spontaneously took off his shirt and dove into the water, Beebe, in a suit and tie, followed.

Beebe went into the water to above his knees just to get the photo. And then he almost lost the shots by inadvertently opening the camera while he was still wet. Though the classic image didn’t win a Pulitzer, it did win “Photo of the Year” in many competitions.

As it happens, my late mother met JFK and his brothers at the Democratic Convention in 1960. It was staged in Los Angeles at the Sports Arena and my mother, who was an officer in the California Democratic Council, was in charge of the seating.

At the convention she met just about every important dignitary, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Adlai Stevenson and LBJ. (Just turned 16, I attended and was fairly awestruck.)

After JFK won the nomination there was a party to celebrate at the Lawford’s beachfront house. (Once owned by Louis B. Mayer.) And my mother was among the hundreds who were invited. Such a Kennedy fan, I stayed up late until she got home.

When she arrived home, I eagerly grilled my exhausted mother for details from the party. However briefly, did she get to talk to JFK? Knowing my admiration for him, she reluctantly confessed that JFK had disappeared from the party and the Secret Service, climbing a fence, to rendezvous with ­– Marilyn Monroe!

Like a poor man’s Biff in “Death of a Salesman,” I was mortified. Actually, I refused to believe it. “Mother, he’s only married to Jackie!” (Who me, naive?)

Under my breath (and obviously my father wasn’t within earshot) I compared my mother to gossip columnist “Hedda Hopper.” Ouch. Decades later, when JFK’s affair with Monroe was fairly well documented, I apologized, though fortunately my mother hadn’t heard me in the first place.

Fifty years have passed, but the debate still rages about who murdered JFK. At the risk of receiving e-mails labeling me a “conspiracy nut” or a “Commie” (which happens), how, after defecting to the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War, did Oswald waltz back into the U.S. and not be constantly tailed like he was in Russia?

But the files are sealed until 2025. President Johnson justified it as “sparing the Kennedy family.” But Jackie died nearly 20 years ago. As for “national security,” the Cold War ended in 1991.

The mayor of Dallas has called for cities nationwide to ring church bells at 12:30 p.m. CST to commemorate the moment of JFK’s assassination. A better idea, and perhaps to finally heal from the nightmare of that day, would be to unseal the files. While I can think of lots of bad ones, I can’t think of any good reason for the files to remain sealed. Can you?

Then again, I’m admittedly biased. It might have something to with forever revering one’s boyhood hero. So I’ll close in the spirit of the 1770s Irish folk song, “Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye.” John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963) R.I.P.

To see JFK’s swim go to: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEHEw-dop00. Jack can be reached at facebook.com/jackneworth, twitter.com/jackneworth or via e-mail at jnsmdp@aol.com.

 

 

UNQUOTE

 

Edited March 1 by Robert Morrow

[James DiEugenio]

Another BS story.

As I showed, MM was in New York during that convention in preparation for The Misfits.

You could have easily found that out if you wanted to.

Your tendency to funnel BS stories, from sources like Vidal and Hersh impugns your image on the JFK case.  

Maybe you do not know that or maybe it just does not matter to you. 

 

[James DiEugenio]

BTW, one of the things I discovered while researching this two parter was the work of Sarah Churchwell.

Churchwell is a real scholar in the field who wrote a fine book about Monroe.

From the time of Mailer and Slatzer, it was really MM who was being character assassinated and this rose to stratospheric heights in the eighties.

When you read up on the actual facts, you understand that, first Monroe did not have multiple abortions.  In fact, her doctor said she did not have any.

She did not have an ongoing decade long menage a trois with the sons of Chaplin and Robinson.  There is no evidence of that in their books.

Sam Giancana did not have any interest at all in her contract as that novel Double Cross says.

She was not a Mob moll, and she was not a honey pot for the CIA.

None of the above is true.

MM really tried to educate herself by taking UCLA extension classes on literature. Although she was an accomplished comedienne she wanted to be a real actress, that is why she left Hollywood to attend the Actor's Studio. She also wanted to produce her own films, that is why she formed her own company.  The first female since Pickford. She was all for civil rights also, she was a real progressive.  

As Churchwell notes, this is the MM that Oates' Blonde ignores and pretty much eliminates. But yet, this is the real Monroe.

In that sense, her tragic drug addiction and her demise, whether it be accidental or deliberate is really a personal and professional tragedy.  The latter owing to her doctors failure, as Cyril Wecht noted.  Giving someone over 800 pills in two months is not weaning, it is feeding an addiction.

BTW, the reason she studied literature is because those are the parts she wanted to play.  This is why she did a scene from Anna Christie at the Actor's Studio..

 

[James DiEugenio]

I posted this awhile back, but to repeat my point about her being a really accomplished and underrated comedienne, just watch what she does with this TV skit with Jack benny.  Her   facial expressions, her carved delivery of each line, her inflections and her pacing are just first rate.  Really exceptional.

I saw this same skit performed by Benny and Jayne Mansfield.  It was night and day, Monroe was that much better in every way.

 

Edited March 2 by James DiEugenio

[James DiEugenio]

I found the Mansfield one.  Here it is.

Even if you don't know anything about acting you can see the difference. Monroe brings a real vitality and professionalism to the role that Mansfield cannot approach.

 

 

Edited March 2 by James DiEugenio

[James DiEugenio]

One of the more surprising things I discovered while working on this subject was this:  Paul Hoch helped research Goddess.

You know, Mr. Purity on the JFK case, the man who assails people for taking New Orleans and Jim Garrison as credible.

In his acknowledgments, Summers credits Hoch.

So I guess Hoch, Mr. Purity did not mind being part of a book with the likes of Jeanne Carmen? Or Robert Slatzer.

Whew.

[Robert Morrow]

On 2/28/2024 at 2:46 AM, Sandy Larsen said:

@James DiEugenio

Jim, do you know if there is any truth to what Robert said about Bobby pulling Marilyn off the set of her movie so she could sing "Happy Birthday" for JFK, and that this caused her problems with the studio bosses?

 

I don't know if the following is true, but it probably is. Obviously the Kennedys wanted Marilyn at JFK's 45th Birthday party/ fundraiser/ stag party. And at great personal cost to herself Marilyn attended. As for what Jackie Kennedy thought about all this - She told photographer Cecil Stoughton "Screw Jack" and she left the room. - https://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/06/01/marilyn.monroe.birthday.photo/index.html

According to Morris Engelberg, Robert Kennedy told 20^th Century Fox executive Milton Gould that JFK wanted Marilyn Monroe to be at JFK’s 45^th Birthday party at Madison Square Garden

 QUOTE

 The filming was anything but smooth. Some days Marilyn showed on the set, on other days she didn’t. She interrupted production to fly to New York, slither into a dazzling gown, and sing “Happy Birthday” to JFK at Madison Square Garden. Her departure caused an uproar at 20^th Century Fox, but the president’s brother, Robert Kennedy, told Fox executive Milton Gould that the president wanted Marilyn to be there, and that was that. As usual, Marilyn was tardy, and that time she kept a packed arena waiting leading to Lawford’s prophetic introduction, “the late Marilyn Monroe.” In less than three months she would be indeed dead.

 UNQUOTE

 [Morris Engelberg and Marv Schneider, DiMaggio: Setting the Record Straight, p. 275]

 

 

 

Edited March 8 by Robert Morrow