DISGRACELAND – Marilyn Monroe (Part 2): The Three Deaths of an Iconic American Actress
Host: Jake Brennan
Published: May 21, 2024
Podcast: DISGRACELAND – Double Elvis Productions
Episode Overview
This gripping episode of DISGRACELAND explores the tangled, tragic, and sensationalized circumstances surrounding the death of Marilyn Monroe—a woman as mythic in her passing as she was in her life. Host Jake Brennan dissects the three dominant narratives of Monroe’s death: the official suicide report, explosive conspiracy theories of murder involving the Kennedy brothers, and a lesser-known but plausible account rooted in negligence. Through hard evidence, personal accounts, and his own trademark irreverence, Brennan reveals how Monroe was failed by Hollywood, the medical system, and ultimately, the people closest to her. This is the true crime–fueled chaos behind America’s most enduring sex symbol, told with both drama and a hunger for what really happened.
Key Discussion Points and Storylines
Introduction & Recap of Part One
- (03:23) Brennan summarizes Monroe’s turbulent rise: party girl, superstar, complicated wife, flawed productions (“The Misfits”), and the shadow hanging over her final year.
“Most people die once. Marilyn Monroe died three times.” – Jake Brennan (04:27)
The First Death: “The Probable Suicide”
- (04:58 – 11:05)
- August 4, 1962: Marilyn found dead in her Brentwood home.
- Series of phone calls from Peter Lawford to Monroe, last haunting words:
“Say goodbye to Pat, say goodbye to Jack, and say goodbye to yourself because you’re a good guy.” – As reported (07:10)
- Housekeeper Eunice Murray, not checking on Monroe despite warning calls.
- Psychiatrist Dr. Greenson only alerted by lawyer late at night, arrives, breaks window, finds Monroe face down “with the phone’s receiver by her head and an array of half empty pill bottles on the nightstand…” (09:08)
- Coroner and police call it “probable suicide” due to overdose and a history of fragility, but DiMaggio suspects foul play.
“I always knew who killed her, but I didn’t want to start a revolution in this country.” – Joe DiMaggio, as quoted by his biographer (10:48)
The Second Death: “Operation Mute Blonde”
- (14:40 – 21:48)
- Conspiracy Theory #1: Kennedy brothers—John and Robert—allegedly embroiled with Monroe.
- Claims Monroe was scorned, desperate to break up the Kennedys’ marriages, threatening scandal.
- The “Mute Blonde” plot: Bobby Kennedy, Peter Lawford, Dr. Greenson allegedly conspire to silence her—culminating in an imagined fatal injection after an explosive confrontation.
“She was Marilyn Monroe and she wouldn’t be treated like this, like an object used and abused and cast aside. It was the same old story her whole life…” (19:22)
- Brennan dramatizes, then debunks: no credible evidence for this theory.
“No, it wasn’t probable suicide, and no, she was not murdered by Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. There was a third way.” (21:41)
The Third Death: “The Eunice Scenario”
- (26:00 – 40:43)
- A Theory of Negligence, Not Malice or Suicide
- Monroe was not suicidal; she had new professional prospects and had rekindled her relationship with DiMaggio.
- She was, however, “dependent on prescription drugs…to slay the insomnia and anxiety. And she was dependent…on Dr. Greenson, not just for the pills but for emotional support.” (28:13)
- Medical Mishap:
- Dr. Greenson tried to wean Monroe off Nembutal with chloral hydrate but wasn’t aware her physician Dr. Hyman Engelberg had still prescribed her Nembutal.
- Day of her death: Dr. Greenson administers or orders a chloral hydrate enema via housekeeper Eunice Murray.
- Monroe (accustomed to enemas as a Hollywood weight loss trend) receives the enema after already taking Nembutal. The deadly interaction occurs.
- Eunice delays checking on Monroe and, upon eventually finding her, doesn’t call police for hours, possibly to allow time to stage a suicide scene and clean up—explaining her doing laundry at 4:35am (33:26).
“Why was Eunice Murray doing laundry at 4:35am at the exact moment police were arriving to deal with the matter of her dead boss lying naked in the bedroom?” (33:30)
- Autopsy shows no pill residue in her stomach and obvious evidence of an enema; Deputy DA John Minor and Dr. Thomas Noguchi support this as the cause.
- Multiple conflicting accounts and amended timelines from Eunice Murray and Dr. Greenson raise powerful suspicions about a cover-up.
“Marilyn Monroe died because of negligence. Not suicide, not murder. Negligence.” – Jake Brennan (36:53)
- A Theory of Negligence, Not Malice or Suicide
- The true disgrace is that the world was sold a story about suicide or murder, rather than the tragic mishandling and indifference at the heart of Monroe’s demise.
“Plenty of time for Dr. Greenson and Eunice Murray to clean up their mess and get the suicide story right, which they did. Unfortunately, America never did get the story right — and that is a disgrace.” – Jake Brennan (40:41)
Notable Quotes & Moments
-
On public appetite for conspiracy:
“The only way to explain her death and to make a couple easy bucks is to explain it through conspiracy theory. And for some fans who can't let go, they of course accept these theories.” – Jake Brennan (05:08)
-
On Norman Mailer’s confession:
“Even renowned Pulitzer Prize winner Norman Mailer admitted that he built wild speculation about Bobby Kennedy’s role out of unverified sources in his book ... Copping later to 60 Minutes that he’d gone all in on sensationalism because, quote, ‘I needed money very badly.’” (29:23)
-
On Marilyn’s drug dependency:
“She was dependent...on Dr. Greenson, not just for the pills but for emotional support. House calls were normal...” (28:35)
Important Timestamps
- 03:23 – Episode context and catch-up from Part 1.
- 04:27 – “Most people die once. Marilyn Monroe died three times.”
- 07:10 – Marilyn’s haunting last words to Peter Lawford.
- 09:08 – Discovery of Monroe’s body.
- 10:48 – Joe DiMaggio’s enduring suspicion.
- 14:40 – Start of conspiracy theory reenactment: Operation Mute Blonde.
- 19:22 – Dramatic confrontation; Monroe resists being silenced.
- 21:41 – Dismissal of both suicide and murder theories.
- 26:00 – The “Eunice scenario” begins; the account based on Donald Spado’s research.
- 33:26 – Discovery of Eunice Murray doing laundry at 4:35am.
- 36:53 – “Marilyn Monroe died because of negligence. Not suicide, not murder. Negligence.”
- 40:41 – Final indictment of the cover-up.
Conclusion
DISGRACELAND’s take on Marilyn Monroe’s final hours is as riveting as it is revealing. Eschewing both sensationalist murder theories and the stale assumption of suicide, Jake Brennan accuses Monroe’s inner circle of devastating neglect and self-preservation. Using substantial research, unverifiable legend, and his own sharp narrative, Brennan reconstructs Monroe’s death as a preventable tragedy—one perpetuated by myth and an unwillingness to confront the sins of Hollywood’s past. It’s a modern American tale of fame, exploitation, and the eager fabrication of legend, all at the expense of real human consequence.
For sources, credits, and further reading, visit: disgracelandpod.com