The creep in the picture
What would Joe DiMaggio think of the fuss over the one Marilyn Monroe-JFK photo?
The only known photograph of Marilyn Monroe and President John F. Kennedy(brother Robert Kennedy at left)
One of the many pictures of Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe that are part of thepublic record.Alfred Eisenstaedt
The only known existing photograph that shows Marilyn Monroe and John F. Kennedy together was made public today, creating a renewed national firestorm of buzz over the relationship between two American icons who both met an untimely demise. Even on the anniversary of Marilyn Monroe's birthday (she would have been 84 today), the world cannot get enough of the whole JFK-Marilyn affair and the lengths that were taken to cover it up.
In a way, you have to be happy that Joe DiMaggio isn't still around to see this day. Because the Yankee Clipper would have absolutely hated it.
DiMaggio wasn't the easy guy to get along with by any modern retelling. He had a Barry Bonds' attitude in the days before reporters told the truth about such things. He often treated his own son with horrible disdain.
But there's little debate over whether Joe really loved Marilyn Monore or not. DiMaggio had white roses placed on her grave at least two times a week for almost 20 years after her death. He continued long after the time that anyone would have noticed if he stopped. This was anything but a grieving publicity stunt.
In fact, it often seemed like DiMaggio was the only one grieving for Norma Jean rather than blown-up skirt pinup model she'd become.
And DiMaggio absolutely hated the Kennedys — both John F. and Robert. He told Morris Engelberg, his lawyer/trusted biographer/weirdly close next-door neighbor, — one of the only people he ever trusted with anything — that the Kennedys were responsible for Marilyn's death.
"They murdered the one person I loved," DiMaggio said according to an Engelberg book published after DiMaggio's death that had received the famous baseball star's blessing.
Whether DiMaggio meant the Kennedys literally had Marilyn killed or that they drove her to suicide is a little unclear from the statements he made to Engelberg (though the author tries to argue the former). It was probably easier for DiMaggio to believe that than to think that the woman he loved ended up killing herself in a haze of drugs.
JFK clearly treated Marilyn as something of a disposable plaything. Just the fact there is only one known photograph of the two together is testament to his attitude. The Secret Service allegedly confiscated and destroyed scores of other photos of the president and Monroe together. And the most remarkable thing about this just released picture is the pains JFK is clearly taking to turn away from the camera.
He didn't want any record of him with the buxom blonde. Meanwhile, DiMaggio — one of the most reclusive stars ever — let the world know two times every week, 104 times a year, what he felt for Norma Jean.
Yet, JFK still gets brought up first when Marilyn Monroe is mentioned. Not the guy who couldn't stop sending roses.
It's a sad story and a sad picture. One that mostly just shows off a creep.
