‘I Love Lucy’ star William Frawley played…
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 played Fred Mertz within the sitcom, approached them. He had an offer 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 informed Fox News 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 mentioned … ‘I’m having dinner with Joe D. He wish to meet the younger woman. We’ll stop by your desk after we’re finished.’
“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 high stars, died in 2016 at age 89. Joel has written a new memoir in regards to the late patriarch, “Driving Marilyn,” which particulars how he went from working within the mailroom of William Morris Agency to turning into its CEO.
Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio on the premiere of her film “The Seven Year Itch” on June 2, 1955. AP
DiMaggio, who was 12 years Monroe’s senior, had simply retired from the New York Yankees. He was out eating together with his close pal when he discovered himself captivated by the blonde magnificence.
And Brokaw didn’t miss his probability to help convey the 2 collectively.
“[My father and Marilyn] finished their meal first,” mentioned Joel. “They went over to the table, and the rest is history.”
Joel mentioned his father met Monroe by means of his uncle, Hollywood expertise agent Johnny Hyde. In her ebook “My Story,” Monroe mentioned that Hyde was in love along with her and had requested her to marry him.
According to a new ebook, Monroe and DiMaggio had been first launched to one another by “I Love Lucy” star William Frawley (far proper) whereas out to dinner. Getty Images
“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 mentioned that Hyde had “a very bad heart condition,” which prevented him from taking his dream consumer to features. That’s when Brokaw stepped in.
DiMaggio and Monroe’s marriage solely lasted 9 months. Associated Press
“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 received to spend a lot 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 howdy. DiMaggio and Monroe went on thus far for almost two years earlier than getting hitched at San Francisco City Hall in 1954.
Several months after the couple mentioned, “I do,” Brokaw acquired a cellphone call. It was from DiMaggio. According to the ebook, Monroe was no longer 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,” mentioned Joel. “Joe actually needed Marilyn to be a stay-at-home housewife. He was getting more and more upset about Marilyn’s larger 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,” mentioned 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 energy couple’s marriage lasted solely 9 months. Monroe filed for divorce from DiMaggio, citing “mental cruelty.”
Brokaw and Monroe crossed paths in a distinctive method as soon as more in 1962.
At the time, Joel’s mom was hospitalized with schizophrenia. Brokaw needed somebody to help watch over his sons. Monroe’s psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenson, who had additionally labored with Joel’s mom, steered housekeeper Eunice Murray.
DiMaggio deliberate his ex-wife’s funeral when she handed in 1962. Bettmann Archive
“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,” mentioned 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 recent roses delivered to Monroe’s grave twice a 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 lawyer later mentioned that his reported final phrases had been, “I’ll finally get to see Marilyn.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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