by Dave O’Brien

Iconic Hollywood heart-throb Marilyn Monroe may have found out that movies and politics were an even deadlier combination than alcohol and prescription drugs.

To this day, it is not clear which combination killed her.

We do know that on August 5, 1962, the legendary screen siren was found dead in her home from a fatal overdose of barbiturates. She will forever remain age 36.

Ms. Monroe was also known as a heavy drinker, causing her to spiral into repeated bouts of depression and irrational behavior.

She became difficult to work with on film sets and would shut down production for days at a time with absentee sessions of drug and alcohol binging.

She was also prone to distorted reality, which is where John and Robert Kennedy come into the picture.

After a failed marriage as a teenage Norma Jean Baker to boyfriend James Dougherty, the re-branded Marilyn Monroe married and then divorced playwright Arthur Miller and legendary Yankee’s slugger Joe DiMaggio.

She was quoted as saying, “It’s better to be unhappy alone than be unhappy with someone.”

On screen, Monroe starred in classic movies such as Some Like it Hot and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Regardless of her role, she could never escape her film persona as a sex kitten.

NO ACT

Off screen, she could not appreciate the fame and status she earned as a Hollywood star.

Alcohol and prescription drugs became her crutches for bouts of depression and her troublesome lack of self-esteem. Somehow, she could not accept her right to celebrate and enjoy her accomplishments.

She had lots of lovers, but her dream of becoming a happy ‘Mrs. Someone’ eluded her until friend Peter Lawford introduced her to his equally famous brother-in-law, the dashing young President of the United States.

The 1962 encounter turned into a steamy affair with one difference between the two lovers – JFK saw the fling for what it was whereas Marilyn saw it for what she perceived it could be.

To the Catholic John Kennedy, the thought of divorcing his wife Jackie was absurd, not to mention the political carnage it would create. In Washington’s ‘Camelot,’ Jackie was even more beloved than Jack.

Ms. Monroe, on the other hand, was not restrained by reality. She was so smitten with her ‘Prince Charming,’ she not only saw the relationship leading to the alter, but also the White House with her starring in a new role – First Lady.

BEGINNING OF THE END

The opposing realities started to clash when Ms. Monroe began making phone calls to the White House in search of her beau. The calls became frequent and ill-tempered when they were not returned promptly.

But according to author Christopher Andersen in his book These Few Precious Days: The Final Year of Jack with Jackie, one call in particular caused havoc and spelled the end of the affair.

Apparently, she had no intention of auditioning for the role of Mrs. John F. Kennedy. Ms. Monroe placed a call to Jackie, brazenly announced the affair and declared herself the incoming First Lady.

Jackie, who was well aware of her husband’s frequent infidelities, reportedly conceded the role of First Lady to Ms. Monroe ‘and all the headaches that come with it!”

The result was a prompt end to the affair by President Kennedy, which sent her deep into depression.

She asked Kennedy brother-in-law Peter Lawford to smooth things over with the President, apparently threatening to go public with the affair. She even talked of suicide.

It’s the way that JFK reacted that has given birth to conspiracy theories about Marilyn Monroe’s death just months later.

BROTHERLY LOVE TRIANGLE

Just as Bobby had helped conceal his brother’s sexual encounters in the past, he stepped in once again at Lawford’s urging.

Not only would public knowledge of the tryst be detrimental to the Kennedy marriage and presidency, there were rumors that Ms. Monroe kept a diary that may contain ‘pillow talk’ between the two lovers that could be sensitive to U.S. national security interests.

Only this time, the Attorney General’s efforts to calm things down involved taking it a step further – Bobby Kennedy replaced his brother as Marilyn Monroe’s lover!

Soon after, things got too serious for RFK’s liking and he called it off. While Ms. Monroe went back into an emotional tailspin that she would never recover from, Kennedy insiders say it gave Bobby the time to establish that the double jilted lover had nothing on the brothers beyond the sexual liaisons.

In other words, the situation was deemed to be manageable.

Others say that Bobby used his time with Marilyn to ascertain exactly what information she had and that on the night of her death before authorities were alerted, he personally flew in, linked up with Lawford and the two scoured her room, removing her diary and any other information linking her to the Kennedys.

AFFAIRS TO DIE FOR

Still others maintain that so long as the unstable actress was alive, the situation was potentially perilous for the Kennedy presidency.

And for that, Marilyn Monroe paid the ultimate price. It is alleged the Attorney General had her killed just before sweeping her room for incriminating evidence against the Kennedys.

Doubters of such Kennedy involvement point to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover’s hatred of the brothers.

While Hoover was aware of JFK’s sexual adventures and helped keep them quiet, they can’t see Hoover conspiring to conceal the murder of an American icon.

This would have been the ideal opportunity for Hoover to bring the Kennedy White House down.

A compromise is a more likely scenario regarding the tragic death of Marilyn Monroe.

While it is highly unlikely the Kennedy’s had her killed to shut her up, they are not without responsibility.

There is simply no evidence to prove that Marilyn Monroe was murdered by anyone.

However…

The President of the United States and the Attorney General are both complicit in her death by the way they treated her.

Clearly, both brothers contributed to Ms. Monroe’s mental anguish in the final months of her life that caused her to be reckless with alcohol and prescribed drugs.

In the end, it was likely an accidental overdose that killed the Hollywood legend.

While that overdose was not physically administered by John or Robert Kennedy, both men contributed to the emotional abyss that caused death way too early for Marilyn Monroe.