Specific details surrounding Marilyn Monroe's death from a drug overdose remain a mystery but a new book has revealed that the Hollywood icon's close friend, Frank Sinatra, believed her death was neither accidental nor a suicide.
"Frank believed she was murdered, and he never got over it," writes Tony Oppedisano, Sinatra's confidant and former manager in his memoir, "Sinatra and Me: In The Wee Small Hours." An excerpt was published in this week's edition of People.
There have been mixed reports regarding the exact nature of the relationship, but Oppedisano explained that Sinatra and Monroe were just close friends. She did confide her secrets with him, including her affairs with John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, which Oppedisano wrote may have had something to do with how she died.
The weekend before her death on Aug. 4, 1962, Monroe spend time at Cal Neva resort, in Lake Tahoe, which Sinatra partially owned. Oppedisano revealed that she was there to spend time with her ex-husband, Joe DiMaggio. He stayed nearby and the pair were reportedly getting back together. They planned to announce the news at a press conference days later, Oppedisano explained, but rumors began circulating that Monroe was planning on sharing details of her affairs with JFK and RFK.
"Frank said she'd never have spilled about the Kennedys because she still had feelings for [Jack.]" Oppedisano wrote.
After her death, Sinatra's attorney Mickey Rudin, who also worked with Monroe, reportedly told the crooner that she had been murdered. Several sources reportedly came forth with similar stories.
"She'd been murdered with a Nembutal suppository and Robert Kennedy or the Mob was involved," Oppedisano wrote.
While there are conspiracy theories surrounding her death, it is most widely accepted that Monroe died from suicide. Numerous reports state that Monroe struggled with crippling depression and anxiety. Claudia Kalb, author of "Andy Warhol Was a Hoarder: Inside the Minds of History’s Great Personalities" said that Monroe suffered from a severe mental health disorder that impacted her life, work and relationships.
"I did not realize the extent to which she suffered. I knew her as the Hollywood actress with that beautiful, glamorous look. But I did not know the internal chaos that she struggled with throughout her life, or the extent to which she sought help and craved answers and wished she could make her life better," said Kalb, according to National Geographic.
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Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.