Marilyn Monroe was introduced to husband number two by an unlikely matchmaker – an “I Love Lucy” star.
The 25-year-old was dining out with her agent, Norman Brokaw, when William Frawley, who played Fred Mertz in 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 told 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.”
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“It didn’t take long before they were noticed,” Joel shared. “William Frawley … came over to the table and he said … ‘I’m having dinner with Joe D. He would like to meet the young lady. We’ll stop by your table after we’re done.’
“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 many other top stars, died in 2016 at age 89. Joel has written a new memoir about the late patriarch, “Driving Marilyn,” which details how he went from working in the mailroom of William Morris Agency to becoming its CEO.
DiMaggio, who was 12 years Monroe’s senior, had just retired from the New York Yankees. He was out dining with his close pal when he found himself captivated by the blonde beauty.
And Brokaw didn’t miss his chance to help bring the two together.
“[My father and Marilyn] finished their meal first,” said Joel. “They went over to the table, and the rest is history.”
Joel said his father met Monroe through his uncle, Hollywood talent agent Johnny Hyde. In her book “My Story,” Monroe said that Hyde was in love with her and had asked her to marry him.
“If you look at all the stories that have been written about Marilyn Monroe, Johnny Hyde is a prominent chapter,” Joel explained. “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 said that Hyde had “a very bad heart condition,” which prevented him from taking his dream client to functions. That’s when Brokaw stepped in.
“He had to take her to her auditions, which were for $55 a job, SAG minimum,” Joel explained. “He took her to acting lessons, went to premieres and television shows that she was doing. He got to spend a lot of time with her.
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“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 passed away in 1950. He was 55.
It was in 1952 when Brokaw and Monroe walked over to DiMaggio’s table to say hello. DiMaggio and Monroe went on to date for nearly two years before getting hitched at San Francisco City Hall in 1954.
Several months after the couple said, “I do,” Brokaw received a phone call. It was from DiMaggio. According to the book, Monroe was no longer his client at the time.
“Joe DiMaggio got a piece of advice from my dad that came at a very crucial time in their marriage,” said Joel. “Joe really wanted Marilyn to be a stay-at-home housewife. He was getting more and more upset about Marilyn’s higher 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,” said 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.”
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The power couple’s marriage lasted only nine months. Monroe filed for divorce from DiMaggio, citing “mental cruelty.”
Brokaw and Monroe crossed paths in a unique way once more in 1962.
At the time, Joel’s mother was hospitalized with schizophrenia. Brokaw needed someone to help watch over his sons. Monroe’s psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenson, who had also worked with Joel’s mother, suggested housekeeper Eunice Murray.
“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 explained. “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,” said 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 passed away from a barbiturate overdose in 1962. She was 36. It was DiMaggio, who had reentered her life in 1961, who planned her funeral.
“It was an undying love that he had for her for the rest of his life,” Joel remarked.
DiMaggio had fresh roses delivered to Monroe’s grave twice a week for 20 years. He outlived his ex-wife by almost four decades. He passed away in 1999 at age 84.
DiMaggio’s attorney later said that his reported last words were, “I’ll finally get to see Marilyn.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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