Crypt 33: The Saga of Marilyn Monroe - The Final Word (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Milo Speriglio (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

L.A. private investigators Gregory and Speriglio recount anew the almost mythic tale of Marilyn Monroe's rise to stardom, her marriages and affairs. The familiar story is well and sympathetically told, with the addition of contentions about her liaisons with John and Robert Kennedy. But readers will take special notice of the arguments that the actress was murdered. The authors claim to have identified the friend (Johnny Roselli) who, visiting her on the evening of Aug. 4, 1962, knowingly opened her door to the Chicago hit men sent by Mafia chief Sam Giancana. Monroe had to be silenced, according to the authors, because, stung by her rejections by the President and the Attorney General, she had threatened to publicize her affairs with both and to reveal that RFK had leaked security secrets to her (e.g., that the Mafia and the CIA together planned to assassinate Castro). The authors discuss photos they vaguely maintain "were released to the press" of JFK and Monroe having sex. (Although PW has not seen the book's pictures, we're told that these are not included). The authors also allege that a tape recording was made of the murder. Speriglio and Gregory are fluent, convincing writers, but their most damning charges--for example, that JFK and his father complied with Monroe's killing--smack of gratuitously savage hearsay.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Criminologist Speriglio's third book on the Marilyn Monroe question (Marilyn Monroe: Murder Cover-up, 1982; The Marilyn Conspiracy, 1986--neither reviewed), rounding up what's new since 1986. Speriglio makes the hardest case yet that Marilyn was the victim of foul play carried out by a Mafia hit team from Chicago, masterminded by mobster Sam Giancana at the behest of Joseph Kennedy, Sr., and JFK but unbeknownst to Bobby Kennedy. If you find it hard to believe that a President and his father could be behind the murder of a film star, Speriglio presents the means and motive to make your disbelief waver strongly. But first he offers a dull biography with barely a new word anywhere, aside from an interview with the actress's close friend and makeup artist Whitey Snyder, who was her first cosmetician at Fox and did the grisly, postautopsy face-and-wig prep for her funeral. The bio--apparently by coauthor Gregory--also is deaf, dumb, and blind about Laurence Olivier, indicating that he was a humorless bumbler of no comedic talent when he directed Marilyn in The Prince and the Showgirl--in which, arguably, she gives her best performance outside of Bus Stop. Moreover, the bio calls Olivier's supporting cast of accomplished British stage players ``insecure'' and ``easily threatened'' by Marilyn's proven comedic talents. The book comes into bloom only with the alleged murder and cover-up. The two hit men are said here to have chloroformed the actress and then, with a bulb syringe, squirted a chloral hydrate/Nembutal solution into her bowel are named--and their subsequent history is followed closely: One discussed the hit with his lover, Eugenia Pappas, who, upset by the knowledge, was soon shot through the chest and dumped into the Chicago River. Pappas's brother came forward in 1986 to reveal what his sister had told him about her ``killer fianc‚''- -leading to this book. Brainless bio followed by riveting murder investigation. (Sixteen pages of photographs--not seen) (Film rights sold to Adona Productions) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 310 pages
• Publisher: Citadel; 1st Edition. edition (June 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559721251
• ISBN-13: 978-1559721257
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,101,131 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How long will these questions go on?, May 15, 2001

By	Janice M. Hansen (California United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

On the eve of another Marilyn movie, "Blonde", I pulled this book out of my library and re-read it. The photos are amazing, and included in the book are official documentation copies that spur furthur contemplation about her death.

Will the questions and the responsiblitiy of her death ever be publicly accountable? I doubt it.

For those still fascinated by this lady, you will enjoy this book and find the facts well researched. Look at THESE pictures and tell me she is not one of the most fascinating, captivating, intriguing women of the world. She died in her prime, and she left the most beautiful part of her in everyone's memory.

That is SO "Marilyn", and someone took full advantage of that and of her.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Content - The Story Fits Together Perfectly, January 4, 2000

By	Mike Morton (Midwest, United States) - See all my reviews

This book is fantastic! Not only does it outline Miss Monroe's life in great detail, it also explains her death. Which, until this point, has seemed unexplainable. In order to truly understand her life and the reasons behind her sometimes obscure behavior, a complete, yet disturbing chronology was outlined by the authors. The book names her murderers and surprisingly, some of them were her trusted "friends" who - acting under strict orders - completely double-crossed her. The shameless cover-ups by a disgraceful group of people quickly followed her death and apparantly still continues today. A truly sad look into an American tragedy, this book should be written into a script and shown to the entire world!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Murder solved., April 20, 2008

By	Scripture Studier (WI,USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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"Crypt 33" follows the life of Marilyn Monroe in chronological order from her birth as Norma Jeane Mortensen to her mysterious death. In between the authors document the loves,friendships,sycophants,successes and challenges in her life. She was nothing if not complex. One tidbit that I found interesting was her mother's poor health related in a large way to her job and the toxic fumes inhaled while cutting and splicing film at major studios.

Of her marriages, Joe DiMaggio seemed to truly be her equal.

The authors detail Marilyn's introduction to John Kennedy through Frank Sinatra.

"Crypt 33" contains a lot of information about JFK,RFK,Sam Giancana,Johnny Roselli and their ties. They shared more than just women.

I found it quite interesting that Frank Hronek from the District Attorney's office monitored the Kennedys since August,1960. He freely admitted his belief that Marilyn Monroe was murdered. He wasn't the only person "monitoring" Marilyn Monroe's house, Bernard Spindel did that for Jimmy Hoffa. It's very likely that at one time there were Kennedy-Monroe audio tapes of their conversations and activities. Maybe there was a tape of her murder also.

The "Cyanosis" chapter was revealing. The mishandling of her autopsy was a telling signal and a more experienced Dr. Noguchi stated later that she probably was murdered. I think that Adela Gregory and Milo Speriglio have the cause of death and all of the participants correctly identified.
In a nutshell, I think they have solved the murder of Marilyn Monroe.