By Eva Trieger
SOLANA BEACH, California — Every good conspiracy requires specific elements to make it compelling and spellbinding: A beautiful woman, men of power, and a secret so valuable, if leaked, heads would roll. Marilyn Monroe Declassified meets each of the aforementioned requirements and goes beyond the intrigue by measuring up to the burden of proof. Though the facts have been suppressed for 53 years since the actress’ death at age 36 in 1962, the dogged efforts of actor/producer, Paul Davids, have provided evidence that the starlet did not commit suicide but was eliminated because she posed a threat to national security. Davids agreed to a telephone interview about his new film.
America’s favorite dizzy, buxom blonde starred in over 29 films with such famous funny men as Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, larger than life greats such as Lawrence Olivier and Clark Gable, and she was married to icon Joe DiMaggio among others. Her tragic failed marriages and well documented drug use and the turbulent sixties synergistically created “a perfect storm” for America’s acceptance of the official announcement of her untimely death as “probable suicide.” Davids has concluded otherwise.
Paul Davids, a Princeton graduate, may well be considered a Renaissance man. He was involved in the creation production that gave birth to “the Transformers phenomenon” for which he was production coordinator of 79 episodes. In addition to having produced and or directed over ten features, most of which have gone to international TV via NBCUniversal, he also paints, writes poetry (and “Star Wars” books for Lucasfilm), acts and even performs magic! However, the story that nabbed his attention and would not let go was the jigsaw puzzle of Marilyn Monroe whose interlocking pieces did not snap together.
July 12th, at 6 pm, the JCC as a special premiere sponsored by the San Diego Jewish Film Festival will air Davids’ 99 minute documentary that will cause audiences, for perhaps the first time, to reconsider the demise of Monroe and the events that surrounded her death, while demonstrating the government’s role in the cover-up. Further, Davids hopes to connect the dots between Monroe’s murder as the trigger event that caused a cascade effect of violence and assassination beginning during the Kennedy Administration with regard to the Mafia, Teamsters and pursuant vendettas.
Monroe’s early life was tumultuous at best and set a precedent for a bumpy adulthood. Her mother was institutionalized and Norma Jeane (Marilyn Monroe) experienced nine foster homes and an orphanage before she accepted a marriage proposal at age 16. Her marriage to Jim Dougherty lasted four short years, and after her divorce Marilyn made the nude calendar that would stir controversy and sell better than any calendar in history. It came back to haunt her as her stardom exploded but ultimately helped the founding of Hugh Hefner’s Playboy.
Blatant sexuality aside, what brought Marilyn to the attention of the FBI and CIA was her relationship and marriage to Jewish intellectual playwright, Arthur Miller. Miller was a known Communist sympathizer, writing during a very anti-Communist era. His strong leftist leanings and attendance at Communist gatherings and written reviews for Communist publications made him a target for the House Un-American Activities Committee. Marilyn, who had converted to Judaism when she married Miller, suffered guilt by association.
After the demise of her marriage to Miller and coinciding with her friendship with JFK that began at actor Peter Lawford’s beach house, Fred Otash, a private investigator, wiretapped both Lawford’s and Monroe’s phones at the behest of Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa. While she was an “innocent caught in the middle,” Monroe’s affair with JFK was exposed to those who were listening. This liaison went largely unnoticed by the public until 1962, when the actress delivered a very breathy “Happy Birthday Mr. President” oozing intimacy and implying carnal knowledge of the Chief of State.
Joe Kennedy, the leader of the dynasty, was known to have been quite active during Prohibition, and his legacy of ties to the Mafia were generally accepted as fact. Sam Giancana, mafia don of the Chicago Syndicate, had helped put JFK in the White House (at the urging of Joseph Kennedy), but attorney general Robert Kennedy’s pursuit of the mob brought about intense levels of mutual hostility. All of these links to underworld crime figures and Jewish communist sympathizers caused the government to keep close tabs on Monroe. These files were sealed.
Davids shared that the Freedom of Information Act dictates that after 25 years, items are declassified unless they are deemed by the government to be a continued issue for national security. Some of Marilyn Monroe’s files were declassified, but some were re-filed by the FBI after declassification without being publicly released. In a rather random event, an FBI document involving both Robert Kennedy and Monroe’s death was dumped onto the FBI website in a massive release of declassified files, unnoticed until director Philippe Mora stumbled across it while researching a film. Of equal interest, Davids told me the autopsy report on Monroe showed no trace of drug capsules or alcohol in Monroe’s stomach. This flies in the face of the reports of “suicide by drug overdose.” And, while the FBI report made headline news in Australia, Moscow and Europe, it was not publicized in the United States and most of Philippe Mora’s efforts to expose this by using network TV in the U.S. resulted in canceled news shows.
Paul Davids’ documentary breaks new ground by using archival footage, original testimony and insightful interviews. The producer hopes that audiences will come away with a “strong sense of why she died at 36.” They will know it was “not because she swallowed pills.” In general they will have a less naïve understanding. Davids concluded that Marilyn Monroe was definitely not a depressed dizzy dame who took her own life but was caught up in politics with powerful men and was an innocent victim in what mushroomed into a series of national tragedies. Davids told me that in her own words, Marilyn had said, “It takes a smart brunette to play a dumb blonde” – and Marilyn’s natural hair color was chestnut brown.
Contributors to the film include noir literature’s John Gilmore, who wrote Black Dahlia and Laid Bare. An original musical score by Herman Beeftink amplifies the film’s tone, and the documentary also features a strong new song about Marilyn Monroe by British singer Maxi Wild.
Paul Davids will be in house for the advance preview screening of the director’s cut of Marilyn Monroe Declassified and will be on hand for an in-depth discussion following the film to elicit audience feedback and evaluation. Tickets are available at www.sdjff.org or by calling the JCC at 858.362.1348.
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Trieger is a freelance writer specializing in the arts. You may comment to her at eva.trieger@sdjewishworld.com or post your comment on this website provided that the rules below are observed.
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