This biography of Marilyn Monroe is written by Ted Jorden who knew her all his life. He was her teenage lover, and he was also one of the last people to see her alive.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Jordan (ne Friedman) moved from his Ohio birthplace to Hollywood where he met 17-year-old model Norma Jean, who shared his ambitions for a movie career, in 1943. He would, according to his memoir, become her lover and remain a friend throughout her life. Withholding judgments, and also revealing much about his own falls from grace, Jordan describes how Marilyn Monroe deliberately used sex to further her career. We read of her affairs with the author's uncle, bandleader Ted Lewis who purportedly supplied her with drugs; with many more men than previously reported; and with women, including Jordan's wife, stripper Lili St. Cyr. This detailed albeit sympathetic account is disturbing and believable. Jordan claims to possess Monroe's "little red book," given him by the actress "shortly before her death," a diary only rumored to exist. Its innocuous entries contain no secret information, maintains the author, who asserts as well that Monroe's death was an "accidental suicide." Photos not seen by PW. Doub le day Book Club alternate.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Questionable... Read with a grain of salt.,
By Randa Beth (Mayberry, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Norma Jean: My Secret Life With Marilyn Monroe (Hardcover)
Ted Jordan may have been, as he claims, the most important man in Marilyn's life. However, he offers very little supporting evidence of this. He tells many interesting stories about Marilyn, and what it was like to make love to her. However, when it comes to illustrating the woman herself, he is somewhat less than generous. According to him, she had absolutely no talent. This is something that anyone who has ever seen Bus Stop or The Misfits knows to be false. Perhaps she did sleep her way to the top, as so many of her generation did. I cannot deny or affirm this. All I know is, for someone who claims to have been Marilyn's best friend, Jordan has not been particularly generous. On the back of the book, he promises a catalogue of Marilyn's strengths and weaknesses. I see plenty of praise, but only in the form of Marilyn's body and sexual prowess. This is not exactly new information. He also attests that Marilyn despised hard work and refused to go to any classes, which is completely against fact. He completely ignores one of the saddest parts of Marilyn's existence; her desire to be a real actress, and her fear that the world was laughing at ehr for her sexuality. She stopped doing films for a period to attend public acting classes, which Jordan makes absolutely no mention of. Jordan seems more concerned with expressing how, if Marilyn had only listened to him in every respect, all would have been better. The book is an expanded outlet for gossip and self-exaltation. What truth may be in it seems slanted. Read with caution, if you must read.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Another Attempt to Gain Money and Notoriety at Marilyn's Cost,
This review is from: Norma Jean: My Secret Life with Marilyn Monroe (Signet) (Paperback)
This is one of the least believable books about the life of Marilyn Monroe, which purports that the author was an intimate lover and friend to MM. By the way, Marilyn's father of record, Martin Edward Mortensen died in 1981 at age 85 of heart failure. The NY Times reported he had in possession a copy of his divorce papers from Gladys and a copy of MM's birth certificate.... Wouldn't it be nice if people would do a little research before they write this stuff and call it a 'memoir'?
If I could rate this a -2, I would. There are many superb biographies of Marilyn available. This isn't one of them.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A book to pass on if you're a Marilyn fan.,
By Baby Firefly (Southern California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Norma Jean: My Secret Life with Marilyn Monroe (Signet) (Paperback)
This would make a good fiction book... but as a factual book Marilyn it falls very short. I read this out of curiousity from the library, and I cannot tell you how glad I am that I did not buy this. There are so many errors in the timeline and such that I wondered if Mr Jordan did ANY research at all during the writing of this book.
Some of the pictures are cute, but that's the best aspect of the book. If you love Marilyn and are a stickler for facts and the truth- don't bother with this book.
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