The Secret Letters of Marilyn Monroe and Jacqueline Kennedy by Wendy Leigh

It was wonderful, but really Marilyn was far too professional. Marilyn knows exactly how to make love to a man. And I didn’t pay her afterward either …!”
    * Marilyn met Brando when he was shooting Désirée, and they continued to meet frequently in 1955, after Marilyn moved to New York; he may well have been instrumental in persuading her of the benefits of working with Lee Strasberg. Rumors made the rounds of an affair between these two stars, based on the many times they were seen out on the town, going to the theater or restaurants. In December 1955, Marilyn was Brando’s guest at the premier of The Rose Tattoo, after which they went to a celebration dinner at the Sheraton Astor Hotel on Forty-fourth Street (see Victor).
    In his biography of Marilyn, Anthony Summers writes that Marilyn told her friend Amy Greene that she secretly referred to Brando as “Carlo,” and that he was “sweet, tender.”
    Ironically, as was often the case between Jackie and Marilyn, both women were to fall under the same man’s sexual spell. Brando’s undeniably powerful erotic allure appealed to both of them.
    Sometime after Bobby’s death, Lee and Jackie had dinner with Marlon Brando and his best friend, George Englund, at the Jockey Club in Washington. As Brando confided to a friend, after dinner they danced and “she pressed her thighs against his and did everything she could to arouse him. They talked about going away on a skiing vacation together, just the two of them. Brando could feel Jackie’s breath on his ear. He felt Jackie expected him to make a move, try to take her to bed.” However, having drunk too much, Brando was fearful that he might be impotent, made his excuses, and left. (See Just Jackie, by Edward Klein [New York: Ballantine, 1998].)

Jackie Kennedy
     
    Suite 2222
    The Carlyle
    Marsha Marshall
    The St. Regis
    October 11, 1954
     
    Dear “Martha,”
    I was deeply saddened to hear of your impending divorce. * I just got into town and almost called you. But I imagine that at a time like this, you would probably rather be left alone. I want, from the bottom of my heart, to express to you how sorry I am that things didn’t work out between you and Joe DiMaggio. I know that you loved each other profoundly. It is unfortunate that your work came between you. I often dream of having a career, aside from helping Jack, but I think men generally find it intensely difficult to cope with women who forge separate identities.
    In your case, however, that is utterly unfair, because Joe was fully aware that he was marrying Marilyn Monroe. You were Marilyn Monroe when he met you—how could he have expected you to relinquish your identity? But who knows what goes on in the hearts and minds of men?
    You must never forget, Marilyn, that you are very special and verybeautiful and that you deserve love and happiness. Do you have a replacement for Joe in mind? Jack and I have been married for over a year now. Sometimes I still feel as if we are: gypsies. Jack makes speeches all over the city and is never home for more than two nights at a time. We stay with his family in Hyannis Port a lot, in a little room on the first floor where Jack used to sleep, so it: really isn’t big enough for more than one person.
    I truly wish that we had a home of our own. If we did, it might give our lives some roots, some stability so that Jack would be able to spend more time with me and the children we want to have.
    I realize this may not be the appropriate time (and forgive me for asking) but this morning, Jack was admitted to the Hospital for Special Surgery—Cornell Medical Center, here in Manhattan. He is having a very complicated operation—a double spinal fusion. Right now, he is in a lot of pain and feeling very low. It would greatly raise his spirits if you were able to find the time to send him a poster or a photograph of yourself. You could send it here to the Carlyle and I would bring it in to Jack when next I visit. Unfortunately