JEANNE CARMEN at CINE KOLOSSAL in ITALY

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Read the article published in Italy at this link

http://www.cinekolossal.com/star2/c/carmen/

Her full name was Jeanne Laverne Carmen. American actress, queen of pin-up ’50s, in the period, dominating the b-movie

Famous not so much for the performances as for outrageous flirt, true, false or assumed, undertaken with famous celebrities and not only (from Kennedy brothers to Clark Gable, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Tony Curtis, Bob Hope, Errol Flynn and many others), such that they end up repeatedly on the front pages of newspapers and the most important American magazines.

Platinum blonde, sultry voice, voluptuous and exuberant in its provocative behavior, without basic education in compulsory schooling, only thirteen left her family and moved from Arkansas to New Orleans where she works as a waitress at a popular restaurant. Here, he is discovered by Italian singer Sandy Scott (who will become her husband, for a short time, 15 years apart), on tour in the US, that will start to her artistic career.

She moved to New York, is a model for sports clothes and soon became an icon of the first female golfer.

Tightens ties with the celebrities of the silver screen and in particular with Marilyn Monroe, close friendship and confidence that allows her to appear in several films, all second-rate: The three outlaws (1956), War Drums (1957),  and the horror, unprecedented in Italy, The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959).

The visits with celebrities, politics and shady business (known her relationship with the alleged gangster John Rosselli), on the one hand in favor of the celebrities on the other,

After the death of Monroe, received death threats for revelations about the death of her friend, She abandons the set and retired to Arizona. Only in 1978 is back in California,  Later appears in a TV special dedicated to her.

Suffering from cancer, she died two years later at 77 years.

THE EMPTY GLASS. New Movie about MARILYN MONROE featuring JEANNE CARMEN

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The movie rights to the fascinating film noir crime novel THE EMPTY GLASS by J.I. Baker (Penguin Books, 2012) has been optioned by legendary Hollywood Mega Producer IRWIN WINKLER.  Winkler is the producer on such iconic American films as WOLF OF WALL STREET, GOOD FELLAS, THE RIGHT STUFF, RAGING BULL and all 5 ROCKY movies.

Pin-Up Icon JEANNE CARMEN is featured prominently in the book as a platinum blond femme fatale who knows the secrets that will unlock the mysterious death of Marilyn Monroe.

Here is a link to a news item about the movie option:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/marilyn-monroe-novel-the-empty-glass-winkler-films-374847

New Article on JEANNE CARMEN in BACHELOR PAD MAGAZINE

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JC - Bachelor Pad magazine 1

 

Bachelor Pad Magazine interview

Author BRANDON JAMES remembers his famous Pin-Up Mom JEANNE CARMEN

An amazing new 6 page article on Pin-Up Icon JEANNE CARMEN has just been published in BACHELOR PAD MAGAZINE (issue 31 Spring 15). The Digest of Atomic Culture. Pin-Up girls, Retro Lifestyle, tiki and more.  Celebrating Booze, Babe’s and Burly Q

Click this link to check out the Bachelor Pad website and get this copy for your collectors edition.

http://www.bachelorpadmagazine.com/

Click this link to check out Jeanne Carmen’s page at JAVA’S BACHELOR PAD website

http://javasbachelorpad.com/carmen.html

The article is a Q & A with JEANNE CARMEN’S son BRANDON JAMES about the book he wrote titled JEANNE CARMEN: MY WILD, WILD LIFE As a New York Pin Up Queen, Trick Shot Golfer & Hollywood Actress.

There are 6 pages filled with revealing and often hilarious stories about JEANNE CARMEN and her sexy escapades with stars such as ERROL FLYNN, ELVIS PRESLEY, MARILYN MONROE, JACK BENNY and President JOHN F KENNEDY and his brother, attorney general ROBERT F KENNEDY

You can view a pdf file of the whole article at this link:

Bachelor Pad Magazine

Here are a few excerpts:

On Elvis Presley:

“…I love the story of how my Mom invited Elvis over to her apartment for dinner and attempted cook him a special southern fried chicken dinner. As a gift, Elvis brought her a sexy French Maid outfit. My Mom put it on and then went over to check on the chicken cooking in the oven.  When she bent over, it was more an Elvis could handle and well.. I guess the chicken ended up burning that night.

On Marilyn Monroe and Jack Benny:

“…Yes, my Mom and Marilyn Monroe went to a steam room on Santa Monica Blvd with Jack Benny. Jack wore a fake beard and dark glasses and a baseball hat so he wouldn’t be recognized.  They did it several times.  Then one time they were all three in the steam room wearing their towels and Marilyn and my Mom were talking and laughing and gossiping when suddenly Marilyn looked down and saw that Jack Benny was visibly excited which was uncharacteristic for him.  Usually he was cool with the girls being naked around him and he always behaved like a perfect gentleman.  However this time, he became aroused and started to pinch my Mom’s and Marilyn’s boobs and butts which they were not having any part of.  Suddenly Jack became belligerent and used explicit language which shocked Marilyn and my Mom.  They decided they needed to cool Jack down a bit so they tackled him and because Jack was older and hardly a muscleman, he immediately fell to the floor and didn’t put up much of a fight.  My Mom took a large eucalyptus branch out of one of the pots in the steam room and began spanking Jack with it while Marilyn had him in a head lock. My Mom scolded him and with each swat she would say “Jack are you ever going to use foul words again?” and Jack would mutter “No.. never.” “Are you ever going to pinch Marilyn’s butt again?” Swat!!!  “No.. never.”  Then Jack faked a hear attack and my Mom and Marilyn freaked out thinking it was real and they rolled Jack over and began to administer CPR and Marilyn started to give him mouth to mouth resuscitation when Jack suddenly burst out laughing.  They all had a good laugh on the way home thinking about that one.

On Marilyn Monroe and John F Kennedy:

“It was during this period that Marilyn and my Mom lived at 882 North Doheny Blvd in Frank Sinatra’s apartment complex that Marilyn Monroe started her affair with President Kennedy and his brother Robert Kennedy.  Marilyn also started spending a lot of time with Peter Lawford and Peter’s role at the time in the Kennedy family was to get girls for Jack Kennedy.

It was during this period that my Mom and Marilyn went to a wild pool party at Peter’s beach house and Jack Kennedy tried to get them to have a threesome with him.  Jack gently massaged my Mom’s shoulders and told her “Think of it as a New Frontier. The Frontier of the 1960’s.  And ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country. And girls, this afternoon, think of me as your country.”

On Marilyn and Robert F Kennedy:

It was also during this period that my Mom and Marilyn went to a nude beach with Bobby Kennedy in Malibu.  Bobby was at Marilyn’s apartment one day and he noticed a fake beard and glasses laying around and he asked what it was all about.  Marilyn and my Mom told Bobby about how they would go to a steam bath on Santa Monica Blvd with Jack Benny and Jack would wear the disguise so nobody would recognize him.  Bobby started laughing and said if Jack Benny could get away with it he could.  Then Marilyn and Mom dared Bobby to don the disguise and go to the nude beach in Malibu and Bobby being a Kennedy couldn’t resist a dare and went along with it.

New Article on JEANNE CARMEN in GERMANY in ROCKABILLY RULES magazine

BBQ, Beach Party, Bobby Kennedy, Brandon James, E!, E! True Hollywood Story, Elvis, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Germany, Goddess, Hollywood, Jack Kennedy, Jeanne Carmen, JFK, John F Kennedy, John Roselli, Johnny Roselli, LA Times, Las Vegas, Los Angeles Times, Mafia, Marilyn, Marilyn Monroe, Pinup Girl, Rat Pack, retro, RFK, Robert F Kennedy, Rockabilly, Sam Giancana, vintage, West Hollywood, West Hollywood LibraryWrite a comment

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A new article on Pin Up Icon JEANNE CARMEN has been published in GERMANY in ROCKABILLY RULES Magazine – The Online Magazine that Rocks!

Read the full article at this link:

http://www.rockabilly-rules.com/blog/jeanne-Carmen

Here is a brief excerpt: [translated into English]

After the death of her dearly beloved friend MARILYN MONROE, JEANNE CARMEN was threatened by JOHNNY ROSELLI, who worked for the Mafia boss SAM GIANCANA from Chicago. Because the beauty’s life was in danger, she retired from Hollywood and fled to Scottsdale in Arizona.

For more than a decade JEANNE CARMEN lived there incognito and dyed her platinum hair brunette. She never mentioned her showbiz career, married, had three children moved on and led a quiet and peaceful life without the big stage, the spotlight or any glamour. In 1998, Jeanne Carmen was the subject of the TV biopic “Jeanne Carmen: Queen Of The B-Movies” that rotated [on the E! Entertainment Television series True Hollywood Story].

In the opening scene it evokes that the beauty [Jeanne Carmen], “had maintained a dangerously-close friendship with MARILYN MONROE and the KENNEDY’S and that following the death of MARILYN, CARMEN was told to leave the city immediately.”

On 20 December 2007 JEANNE CARMEN died of a malignant lymphoma at the age of 77 years at her home in Orange County, California

JEANNE CARMEN is still unforgotten and always will be the best friend of the film icon MARILYN MONROE in memory.

Text: Isabella Labella

New Article on JEANNE CARMEN and MARILYN MONROE in GERMANY – Part 2 of 2

Bobby Kennedy, Brandon James, Elvis, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Germany, Goddess, Hollywood, Jack Kennedy, Jeanne Carmen, JFK, John F Kennedy, John Roselli, Johnny Roselli, LA Times, Las Vegas, Los Angeles Times, Mafia, Marilyn, Marilyn Monroe, Pinup Girl, Rat Pack, retro, RFK, Robert F Kennedy, Sam Giancana, Tony Curtis, West HollywoodWrite a comment

JC - Marilyn Today - Part 2 - Photo 1JC - Marilyn Today - Part 2 - Photo 2

This is part 2 of a new 2 part article published in MARILYN TODAY – The International Marilyn Monroe Fan Club newsletter published in Germany

Part 1 is in Issue no 25; September 2014

Part 2 is in issue no 26. December 2014

The entire article is published in both German and in English.

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO READ THIS AMAZING DOUBLE ARTICLE IN A PDF FILE

SLIH REPORT – INTERVIEW WITH BRANDON JAMES

Here a partial transcript of the 2nd part of the article:

In your opinion, how Marilyn Monroe died? Was a suicide or a murder? Do you think that the Mafia may have had a part in this dark death?

Marilyn was murdered by the Mafia because of her ties to the Kennedy’s. Specifically Bobby Kennedy. The week before she died, Marilyn went to the Cal Neva Lodge in Lake Tahoe to hang out with Frank Sinatra and Peter Lawford. Mob Boss Sam Giancana was there that weekend and Marilyn got really drunk and ended up having sex with Sam Giancana which she regretted later. Marilyn told my mom she was grossed out by Sam and couldn’t believe she had sex with him. That weekend Marilyn told Sam Giancana a lot of stuff about the Kennedy’s and her relationship with them. That set in motion the terrible events of the last night of Marilyn’s life. Johnny Roselli was a friend of my Mom’s and a friend of Marilyn Monroe’s since her early days in Hollywood as a young starlet. Sam ordered the hit on Marilyn and Johnny brought in the killers from Chicago.

Queen of the B-Movies and 50’s Pin Up – Jeanne Carmen, Book Signing by Brandon James

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JC pin up 10

“Fascinating” – J. Randy Taraborrelli

“If you like your starlets sexy, spicy, and sassy – this is the story for you”

– E! Entertainment Television on Jeanne Carmen.

Click here for the press release

http://patch.com/california/hollywood/queen-b-movies-and-50s-pin-jeanne-carmen-book-signing-brandon-james-0

By SZMedia (Open Post)
November 25, 2014 at 8:54am

(HOLLYWOOD, CA. November 10, 2014) On Saturday December 6th at 3 pm, author Brandon James will be at the West Hollywood Library to discuss and sign “My Wild, Wild Life” the biography of legendary pin up, trick shot golfer, Sinatra girlfriend, and friend of Marilyn – the incomparable Jeanne Carmen.

Carmen, who passed in 2007, was one of the last great Hollywood broads, who was honored by being selected as the first subject of the long running E! True Hollywood Story series. She was a certified member of the Rat Pack – having dated Sinatra on and off for decades, and was a dangerously close friend of Marilyn Monroe.

“So many people think Jeanne’s story is all about Marilyn, it’s not. While I love Marilyn, I have to tell you – Jeanne’s life was far more interesting and eventful than Marilyn’s ever was.” – says Hollywood producer, Jeannine Madsen. “But the association is eternal because of their close friendship. You will never find an interview of Jeanne where she is not crying while speaking about Marilyn.”

“Jeanne was a captivating personality which is why so many greats were drawn to her,” says James, who is also the subject’s son. “I had no idea my mother had this wild life until one day, in my teens, I discovered boxes of photographs and she came clean about her storied past.” Carmen had left Hollywood after Marilyn’s untimely death, which she always, outspokenly, maintained was murder. Jeanne was forever indebted to Sinatra for protecting her. An intimate of Sinatra, and legendary mobster Johnny Roselli since the 40’s, many claim next to Ava Gabor – Carmen was the love of Sinatra’s life – and it is an oft spoken rumor that Sinatra is the one that ordered no one hurt her. “She was told if she didn’t leave town immediately, she would leave in a body bag” James continues “she left and started a whole new life and it wasn’t until the 80’s when biographers started to track her down did she put herself back in the spotlight.”

While her friendship with Marilyn may be the defining public perception of her, one shouldn’t forget her career as a top billed B-Movie Queen. “She is part of the Hollywood mythology – she is absolutely fascinating”, says celebrity biographer J. Randy Taraborelli (Call Her Miss Ross, Michael Jackson: The Magic and the Madness).

Prior to the B-Movies, Sinatra, the Kennedy’s, and Marilyn there was golf, “she was the first female trick shot golfer” says Golf Central. Jimmy Demaret, legendary golfer and winner of 31 PGA titles, called her “amazing”, bred her as a trick shot golfer and that’s what led her to Hollywood – and history.

“She was the Queen of the B-Movies and worthy of having a movie made about her”, says James. “How fortunate am I, as an author and to have a woman like this for a mother. Even if she weren’t my mother I would have felt compelled to tell this story.”

My Wild, Wild Lifechronicles her entire, and indeed, wild life.

Copies of My Wild, Wild Life will be available for purchase at the event.

The West Hollywood Library, 625 North Vicente, West Hollywood, Ca. 90069/ 310-652-5340

New Article on JEANNE CARMEN and MARILYN MONROE in GERMANY – Part 1 of 2

Bobby Kennedy, Brandon James, Elvis, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Germany, Goddess, Hollywood, Jack Kennedy, Jeanne Carmen, JFK, John F Kennedy, John Roselli, Johnny Roselli, LA Times, Las Vegas, Los Angeles Times, Mafia, Marilyn, Marilyn Monroe, Pinup Girl, Rat Pack, retro, RFK, Robert F Kennedy, Sam Giancana, Tony Curtis, vintageWrite a comment

Marilyn Today mag; Jeanne Carmen bookMarilyn Today article; Jeanne Carmen book

This is part 1 of a new 2 part article published in MARILYN TODAY – The International Marilyn Monroe Fan Club newsletter published in Germany

Part 1 is in Issue no 25; September 2014

Part 2 is in issue no 26. December 2014

The entire article is published in both German and in English.

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO READ THIS AMAZING DOUBLE ARTICLE IN A PDF FILE

SLIH REPORT – INTERVIEW WITH BRANDON JAMES

Here is a transcript of the introduction in part 1 of the article:

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EXCLUSIVE!

AN INTERVIEW WITH MY LONGTIME FRIEND BRANDON JAMES, SON OF JEANNE CARMEN AND AUTHOR OF THE BOOK “JEANNE CARMEN: MY WILD WILD LIFE AS A NEW YORK PIN UP QUEEN”: HOLLYWOOD, THE MAFIA & MARILYN…
by Gianandrea Colombo

Dear Brandon, in first thanks for your kindness and your time. I’d like to start this with a question about your mother, JEANNE CARMEN. Jeanne was a beautiful woman, a popular pin-up of Hollywood and a good actress. Could you tell us something about her, for example, how she was in the private life?

My Mom JEANNE CARMEN was an amazing woman. She was very dedicated to her children. She was the best Mom I could have ever hoped for. She lived her life taking care of us and encouraging us and supporting us in everything that we did. The strange thing is that we didn’t know much about her film career or modeling career or Hollywood friendships when we were growing up. When we were little kids we lived in Scottsdale, Arizona which was a tiny little town out in the middle of the desert in the state of Arizona in the United States. Today, Scottsdale has become a very big city, but back in the 1970’s it was a small little cow town. There were dirt roads, cows, horses and cowboys walking around with horsepoo on their boots. In the summer, there were sandstorms that would cause giant tumbleweeds to blow down the street and bounce off our car. In the winter, there were thunder storms that would cause flash floods and lightning storms that would light up the desert sky. During this time, my Mom worked as a cocktail waitress at a cowboy saloon and restaurant. She was very popular. I remember as a kid my Mom was so pretty that every time we walked into a restaurant or a store people would stop and stare. She always had that effect on people. People were mesmerized and hypnotized by her. Even when she was trying to be incognito with brown hair.

The first time I remember thinking she was different was when she took me to Las Vegas one weekend to meet with a friend of hers named JOHNNY ROSELLI. I didn’t know it at the time but I later learned that JOHNNY ROSELLI was in the Mafia and he worked for SAM GIANCANA who was the head of the Chicago Mafia. The Mafia had deep ties to Las Vegas and Hollywood and JOHNNY ROSELLI was a very handsome, dapper man. Johnny’s nickname in the Mob was “Handsome Johnny.” Johnny set us up at the Sands Hotel and he seemed to know everyone in Las Vegas. I remember one night he took us to dinner at the Dunes Hotel at a restaurant called The Dome of The Sea. It was a spectacular Vegas style restaurant. It had a clover leaf pool in the middle of the restaurant and there was a beautiful mermaid girl playing a harp on a floating lily pad in the middle of the pool and the lily pad would float back and forth across the restaurant. The mermaid girl had a fish tail and long blond hair that hung down and covered her beautiful breasts. The tables were set up around the pool so that the guest could get a good look at the mermaid girl. I remember I was fascinated with the girl and couldn’t take my eyes off her. Johnny noticed that I was staring at her and he said to my Mom “Hey Jeanne, I think the kid likes the broad with the fish tail,” and started laughing. Then Johnny said to me “Hey kid, you want the mermaid girl to visit you in your room tonight?” My Mom slapped him on the shoulder and said “Johnny, don’t say that, he’s just a kid.” I remember being a little pissed off at my Mom that night because I wanted to see more of the mermaid girl. LOL

New Article on JEANNE CARMEN and ELVIS PRESLEY in SWEDEN

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This is a new 2 part article published in ELVIS: The Official Elvis Presley Fan Club of Sweden

The first part is in Issue 173: August and September 2014

The second part is in Issue 174: October and November 2014

The entire article is in Swedish.

CLICK THE LINKS BELOW TO READ THIS AMAZING DOUBLE ARTICLE IN A PDF FILE

Elvis – Jeanne Carmen – Sweden mag – part 1

Elvis – Jeanne Carmen – Sweden mag – part 2

Here is a translation of a few paragraphs in part 1 and part 2

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Initiated with a few outspoken quotes from Jeanne Carmen

JEANNE: “My skirt rides up in the air, all of a sudden he jumps on me and gets all excited and we’re doing pretty well, he pulls up my shirt and suddenly …” JEANNE sees some men outside the window. ELVIS: “It’s just my guys, honey.” JEANNE: “I would prefer that your guys are not watching.”

JEANNE: “I was at a party and I had this Indian costume on, no bra underneath and ELVIS comes in and “ah, hello “. The photographers are taking pictures of us when suddenly his manager took him away because he thought that ELVIS had some other things to do which made me angry.. that ELVIS would leave me like that. “(Halloween Party October 31, 1957).

At a later date JEANNE meets ELVIS at a hotel where ELVIS is sitting and playing guitar. Suddenly he says: “Do you have any panties on?” “It was his favorite question to the girls he was with. And there I was, of course not …”

I fried Southern Fried Chicken for him just as his mother used to make, and on another occasion when I fried chicken, I got a gift from him. It was an apron so I put it on myself right there and it was all I had on me and everything went fine until I bent forward to see if the chicken was done. The chicken was burnt that night, hehe. ”

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In 1998 Carmen was portrayed in the TV biography Jeanne Carmen: Queen of the B-Movies, as part of the series E! True Hollywood Story. The film was alleged that CARMEN had a “dangerously close friendship with MARILYN MONROE and the KENNEDY family” and after MARILYN’s death, the Chicago Mobster JOHNNY ROSELLI said that she should leave town and CARMEN who believed that her life was in danger fled to Scottsdale, Arizona, where she stayed incognito for more than a decade.

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Click the link below to view JEANNE CARMEN’s E! True Hollywood Story

JEANNE CARMEN: SURF GODDESS in WENG’S CHOP Beach Party Mayhem

Beach Party, Bobby Kennedy, Brandon James, Elvis, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Goddess, Hollywood, Jack Kennedy, Jeanne Carmen, JFK, John F Kennedy, John Roselli, Johnny Roselli, LA Times, Las Vegas, Los Angeles Times, Mafia, Marilyn, Marilyn Monroe, Mayhem, Pinup Girl, Rat Pack, RFK, Robert F Kennedy, Sam Giancana, The Monster of Piedras BlancasWrite a comment

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WENG’S CHOP magazine [Volume 2: Issue 2: Number 6: September 2014: pages 234-239] has published an amazing new pictorial of Pinup Icon JEANNE CARMEN along with an introduction by her son BRANDON JAMES.

To see the magazine, click on the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/Wengs-Beach-Party-Mayhem-Cover/dp/1501093398/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1417395382&sr=8-14&keywords=wengs+chop

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO READ THIS AMAZING ARTICLE IN A PDF FILE

Wengs Chop #6 Beach Party Mayhem

And here is a transcript:
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SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST DEPT.: They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, so we figured we’d let the voluptuous MS. CARMEN have the final 10,000 or so by presenting these ten saucy shots taken back in her heydays as a Hollywood glamour
queen. All these photographs of the blonde (sometimes brunette!) bombshell date from the 1950s. With grateful acknowledgements
to Jeanne’s son and biographer Brandon James — author of the bookJEANNE CARMEN: MY WILD, WILD LIFE As a New York
Pin-Up Queen, Trick Shot Golfer and Hollywood Actress — for kindly providing us with all the images seen here.

To find out more about this lovely lady, check out her E! Channel biography, entitled Jeanne Carmen: Queen of the B-Movies (1998); which is viewable on YouTube at: Click the link at the bottom of the page (Numerous other clips of her are also at Youtube.)

Page 238
In her son Brandon James’ own words:

“My Mom, JEANNE CARMEN, was without a doubt an extraordinarily beautiful and special woman who was pre-destined to be a famous pinup girl and actress, who inhabited the glamorous world of show business. There is no other way to explain it. She was born into poverty on a small farm in Paragould, Arkansas, yet she managed to overcome all the odds at a young age. Every step of her journey could have ended in tragedy, yet her journey seemed to be preordained, as if she was getting guidance from above. She managed to land in NYC as a teenager and become a famous pinup girl almost overnight, and then she had the good fortune to meet world-renowned trick-shot golfer JACK REDMOND, who trained her to become his golfing sidekick and the world’s only female trick-shot golfer. Then she had an interesting rendezvous with a Chicago mobster named JOHNNY ROSELLI, who took her to Las Vegas to fleece wealthy old golfers who didn’t believe a sexy young girl could beat them on the links. While in Las Vegas she hooked up with FRANK SINATRA, who took an immediate liking to her, and then Hollywood came calling next with movie appearances and a starring role in the classic 1959 horror flick THE MONSTER OF PIEDRAS BLANCAS.

As if this wasn’t enough, she also became a close personal friend of MARILYN MONROE and had naked encounters with JOHN F. KENNEDY and his brother ROBERT F. KENNEDY. She also had flings with ELVIS PRESLEY, ERROL FLYNN, BOB HOPE, HOWARD HUGHES, LEX BARKER and numerous other Hollywood legends. After Marilyn Monroe was killed in 1962, my Mom, fearing for her own safety, went into exile in the little town of Scottsdale, Arizona, abandoned her platinum blonde locks and raised a family. Years
later, she was called back to Las Vegas for a meeting with JOHNNY ROSELLI, who told her that mob boss SAM GIANCANA had been killed at his home in Chicago and that my Mom didn’t have to live in fear anymore. From there, my Mom moved back to
California and settled down in the sleepy little town of Newport Beach.

Then, all of a sudden, fame came back to my Mom all over again—much like BETTIE PAGE, who suddenly found herself the object of devotion years after she left NYC. My Mom was a guest on numerous talk shows, was interviewed by magazines around the world and attended conventions where she regaled her fans with all her stories about her wild, wild life in show business. So yes, this is all true. My Mom JEANNE CARMEN was all these things: a pinup icon, an amazing golfer, a Hollywood actress and a friend and confidant of some really famous people. But most importantly, she was my Mom. She was the best Mom I could have ever asked for. We were great friends and I knew all her secrets. If she wasn’t a model or a golfer or an actress and she didn’t know any famous people, I would still love her just the same because she was funny and she was beautiful and she was enchanting and she touched everyone who ever met her in a special way that made them remember her forever.”

Marilyn Monroe & Jeanne Carmen dance the night away at early L.A. gay disco

Bobby Kennedy, Brandon James, Elvis, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Hollywood, Jack Kennedy, Jeanne Carmen, JFK, John F Kennedy, John Roselli, Johnny Roselli, LA Times, Las Vegas, Los Angeles Times, Mafia, Marilyn, Marilyn Monroe, Pinup Girl, Rat Pack, RFK, Robert F Kennedy, Sam GiancanaWrite a comment

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A new book has just been published called JOE AND MARILYN: LEGENDS IN LOVE by #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author C. DAVID HEYMANN. [Atria/Emily Bestler books, a division of Simon & Schuster; (July 1, 2014)] [ISBN: 1439191778] [ISBN-13: 978-1439191774]

There are many many fascinating new revelations on JEANNE CARMEN and MARILYN MONROE in this new book. But the most amazing story is the new revelation of MARILYN and JEANNE dancing that night away at an early L.A. GAY DISCO as told to author C. DAVID HEYMANN by MARILYN’s personal masseuse and good friend RALPH ROBERTS.

Page 343
In the late afternoon of August 1, MARILYN called RALPH ROBERTS and asked him to take her to LARGO, a Los Angeles nightspot with a strip club on one side of the establishment and a gay bar on the other. “Largo was a bit sleazy,” said ROBERTS, “but it was unique in that it catered to both heterosexuals and gays. You had a lot of straight men watching the young female strippers on the club side, and a whole gay crowd—men and women—packed into an adjacent bar. The bar had a jukebox and a small dance floor. The men danced with men, the women with women. A soundproof wall separated the bar from the strip club.

“I picked up MARILYN at her house and learned that JEANNE CARMEN would be joining us. MARILYN gave me a drink and poured herself one as well. We stepped outside into the gardens, which was illuminated by a floodlight. She told me she’d been to a shop on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood., where she’d acquired a few items of furniture and a wall hanging depicting Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. From her local nursery she’d also purchased three more citrus trees and a half dozen rose bushes that were supposed to be delivered on August 4. I found this a bit odd in light of the fact that she kept telling me she intended to leave Los Angeles and move back to New York.”

By this time, JEANNE CARMEN had arrived, and the three of them set off for LARGO. “En route,” continued ROBERTS, “JEANNE started talking about ROBERT KENNEDY, which I didn’t think was a great idea. She said BOBBY and MARILYN had frequently engaged in phone sex. ‘Can’t you just see the attorney general jerking his chain while MARILYN talked him through the sex act?” To change the subject, I asked MARILYN about JOE DIMAGGIO. She said he and his brothers Vince and Dom had agreed to participate in an Old Timers’ charity baseball game in San Francisco on August 4 and that he’d be joining her again in Los Angeles a day later. To which JEANNE said, “Yeah, but he bugged your phone just like the rest of them.’ ‘If that’s true,’ responded MARILYN, ‘it’s because he wants to protect me. Listen, if it weren’t for JOE, I’d probably have killed myself years ago.’”

Those were MARILYN’s last coherent words that evening. When they reached Largo, MARILYN—in her usual disguise—headed straight for the bar, ordered three bottles of champagne, handed one each to RALPH and JEANNE, chugalugged the third herself, ordered another, grabbed JEANNE’s hand, and hit the dance floor.

“I spent the better part of the night,” said ROBERTS, “standing at the bar, declining offers to dance from a variety of men in leather and chains. When I drove MARILYN home at three in the morning, her eyes were vacant. She looked like a zombie. She was drunk and drugged. The sight of her in that woeful state, as she wobbled out of the car and into her house, saddened and haunted me. After that night, we spoke on the phone once or twice, but I never saw MARILYN again.”