The Secret Letters of Marilyn Monroe and Jacqueline Kennedy Read Online Free PDF Page B

will not be offended by my request—which I make at the risk of sounding like a soppy fan * —but if Clark Gable is affiliated—is that the right term?—with Twentieth Century-Fox and if you know him, I would adore meeting him, if only briefly. Primarily because of my passion for Gone With the Wind, and Rhett, but also because he is a dead ringer for my father, and I have been passionately in love with him since I was just knee-high. † In the eventuality that you can, indeed, arrange a meeting, I promise to be dignified, ladylike and not fling myself at Mr. Gable’s feet! I hope my request is not too troublesome, and shall, of course, fully understand if it is too difficult to arrange.
    Please give my best to Joe.
    Warm regards,
    Jackie
    __________________________
     
    * British movie actor Peter Lawford was sexually enthralled by both Marilyn and Jackie—as well as being Jack’s friend and, some say, pimp. Enamored of Marilyn (although never willing or able to consummate the relationship), he would also go on to have a 1967 dalliance with Jackie during her trip to Hawaii. “I only know that Patricia Kennedy was livid that Peter and Jackie were in Hawaii together. And I do think they had a flirtation. Jackie definitely was sexually attracted to Peter.” (Patricia Seaton Lawford quoted in Wendy Leigh, Prince Charming: The John F. Kennedy, Jr., Story [New York: Dutton, 1993])
    * Jackie’s fascination with Hollywood is a matter of record, and remained strong throughout her life (see Bob Colacello, Holy Terror: Andy Warhol, Close Up [New York: HarperCollins, 1990], for her curiosity about Elizabeth Taylor, and Prince Charming for her cross-examining her son, John, regarding Madonna).
    † Jackie says that she has always been in love with Gable since she was knee-high; however, her unconscious emotions came to the fore when writing this sentence, which reads that she has been passionately in love with her father since she was knee-high. Sarah Bradford noted that Jack Bouvier’s obsession with Jackie bordered on the unhealthy and was reciprocated in kind: “But his passion for Jackie (and hers for him) was overriding and semi-incestuous.”
    Because Marilyn never knew her father, and Jack Bouvier’s emotions and behavior toward Jackie (see Klein on the young Jackie’s favorite game with her father—guessing which women were his lovers) tended toward the inappropriate, neither woman grew up with the security generally provided by a traditional father. Consequently, Jackie and Marilyn always gravitated toward father figures in their romantic lives. Part of Jack’s attraction for both of them (Marilyn was nine years younger than Jack, and Jack was twelve years older than Jackie) lay in his ability to listen intently to their concerns and give stellar advice, which lent him a paternalistic patina and an authority both women found alluring.

M RS . J OE D I M AGGIO
     
    508 North Palm Drive
    Beverly Hills, California
    Senator and Mrs . John F. Kennedy
    3321 Dent Place
    Washington, D.C.
    May 30, 1954
     
    Dear Jackie,
    I was so happy to get your letter. I really wish I knew Clark Gable, but I only met him once, years ago, at Chasen’s and he signed my napkin. I think Joe used to play poker with him, but I’m a bit afraid to ask him to arrange an introduction. * Is the Senator a jealous man? † Because Joe goes really crazy if I talk about any other man, and I think he’d flip his lid if I asked him to set up a meeting with Clark. Even if I told him the truth that you, not me, want to meet him, he would still get mad. But maybe one day I’ll get to make a movie with Clark, then I’ll work it out so you can meet him as well.
    I called Mr. Lawford, but I’m not allowed to give anything away, just that your trip will be real fun. I can’t wait to meet you and the Senator at last.
    Love,
    Marilyn
    P.S. When I was a little kid in the orphanage, I used to dream all the time that Clark Gable was my real father. I even