Their Last Suppers: Legends of History and Their Final Meals Read online

  From childhood Marilyn had lived in almost forty different homes and had toured many Hollywood palaces looking for a special place where she could retreat from the world before falling in love with her humble home in Brentwood. There, surrounded by its high wall and privacy, she could retreat from the demands made on her by an ever more aggressive press and movie studio. Looked after by her housekeeper, Eunice Murray, Marilyn often disappeared for days into her own private world, using the phone as her contact with the outside before sweeping into the studio to film her latest picture, Something’s Got to Give, with her co-star, Dean Martin, a movie widely tipped to be a blockbuster.

  Marilyn’s routine was always the same, spending hours on the phone in the evening, sipping her favorite drink, Dom Perignon 1953, before slipping on a bra, earmuffs, and eye patches and settling down to sleep in her dark, heavily draped bedroom.

  However, earlier that year she had caught the eye of President Kennedy, a man lauded at the time for his perfect marriage and the new sense of dignity and morality he had brought to the White House. Many years later the illusion was shattered, and he was revealed as a lothario who had nude swimming pool parties in the White House, raucous cocktail parties on Air Force One, and a marriage of convenience with wife Jackie Kennedy, who was reportedly paid $1 million by his father, Joe, to stay with him and create the illusion of “Camelot,” the promised land. The man who built the walls around him and hid the potential scandals from the public was his brother Bobby, who often used the full power of his position as attorney general to bury incriminating documents and details of all the Kennedy indiscretions, particularly his own, for decades.

  Long-distance flirting on the phone with Marilyn by the president turned into a clandestine affair in which she would often appear at his secret penthouse in New York on 57th Street.

  With a major convention coming up in Madison Square Garden, the president had cajoled Marilyn for weeks to sing “Happy Birthday” to him at the end of the conference, despite the frantic urgings of his own staff to distance himself from this obvious liability.

  Marilyn accepted and had a special see-through gown prepared, and she often shocked everyone on the set of her movie by frequently calling JFK on his personal number at all times of the day and night in front of any number of people. The popular press of the day refused to believe that their perfect president could be involved in anything untoward, and they ignored the obvious signs of what would have been the scoop of the century.

  Hearing that Marilyn was coming to New York for the event, Jackie Kennedy gave JFK an ultimatum: “If she comes, I don’t.” Jackie spent the weekend horseback riding in Virginia.

  Seeing their movie and its budget come under pressure as Marilyn drove full tilt into her “secret” relationship, the executives at Fox demanded she not go to New York, saying if she did she would be in breach of contract and would be fired.

  A worried Marilyn called JFK, and he said, “Don’t worry, Bobby will fix it.” Within hours his brother, the attorney general of the United States, was on the phone to Fox executives to elicit the release of their sex symbol for a 2-minute song for the president 3,000 miles away.

  Believing the matter had been dealt with, Marilyn went to New York on May 17 and stunned the nation by singing “Happy Birthday” in a breathless voice, wearing the specially designed see-through dress. The president couldn’t keep his eyes, and later his hands, off her at his 57th Street hideaway, where she met his brother Bobby for the first time. This was their last time together, however; on returning to the Fox studios, Marilyn found that her private access number to JFK was greeted with a “disconnected” message, and no amount of screaming at the White House switchboard could get her put through. Yet again, another man had turned his back on her.

  The Kennedys’ brother-in-law, Peter Lawford, lived near Marilyn, and she quickly turned to him for help in finding out why she had been shunted aside. Receiving little help from Law-ford, she turned to “Mr. Fix-It,” as Bobby was called, knowing he had been instructed by the president to get rid of her, because JFK was now fixated on Mafia call girl Judith Exner. Bobby’s attempts to placate Marilyn led to a torrid affair between them as Marilyn found the intellectual charms of Bobby even more attractive than the brother who had so cruelly dumped her.

  Once again, thinking she’d found love, Marilyn told anyone who wanted to listen about her newfound happiness. And once again she was devastated as Bobby, under the instructions of his mother, Rose Kennedy, was told to clean up his act and support his brother Teddy, who was running for senator in Massachusetts. Bobby Kennedy quickly disappeared from her world with all the coldness of his brother. Yet again the private phone number she had been given to his desk in the Justice Department answered, “You have reached a nonworking number at the Justice Department. Please hang up and try again.”

  This was the last straw for Marilyn. Realizing how the brothers had used her, she was incandescent with rage. She really believed that Bobby loved her, not realizing that with the Kennedy family, politics was their only mistress. Repeated attempts to get him to confront her face to face, if only just to end it, failed as the power of the U.S. government erected a wall of silence around both brothers.

  On Saturday, August 4, 1962, Bobby finally agreed to see her, and with Peter Lawford he took a helicopter to the Fox lot in Hollywood and drove to her home in Brentwood, where she had a Mexican buffet prepared for their meeting.

  Marilyn got no warmth from the now stony attorney general, and as he left she was already calling her publicist to arrange a press conference for Monday morning, when she would “finally reveal the dirt on the Kennedy brothers,” a meeting she would never attend.

  At 5 a.m. the next morning the Los Angeles police were notified that Marilyn Monroe had been found dead. Rushing to the house, they were eventually informed by Eunice Murray and analyst Ralph Greenson that Marilyn had died around midnight.

  The nude Marilyn, with her arms by her side and legs perfectly straight, was lying face-down on her bed with the lights on, something she never did. When police asked about the delay in calling them, Greenson said, “We had to call the studio publicity department first.”

  Interestingly, all her personal files were gone from the house, and the police noted that Murray was calmly doing her third load of laundry in the laundry room at 5 a.m. A hasty autopsy showed Marilyn had died from an overdose, but later tests revealed that her kidneys were untouched by the huge amount of drugs she would have had to consume. Her telephone records for the previous days had disappeared; according to the telephone company, “men in black suits with shiny shoes” had taken them.

  Marilyn Monroe died at the age of 36. She’d entered the world denied by one man, her father, and exited it deserted by another.

  MENUS

  As Marilyn tried to woo back Bobby Kennedy on the night of her death, she had a Mexican buffet delivered to her Brentwood home.

  Gazpacho

  6 large ripe tomatoes

  4 large cucumbers

  2 large green peppers

  8 spring onions

  4 cloves garlic

  2 tsp salt

  cup olive oil

  ½ cup red wine vinegar

  36 oz tomato juice

  1 cup water

  4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

  pepper to taste

  Blanch and peel tomatoes; chop fine with the cucumber, green peppers, and spring onions.

  Chop the garlic, add to the vinegar and oil, and whisk together.

  Add all the other ingredients and chill overnight.

  Mexican peacocks

  This unusual and delicious recipe is always a hit. It’s a great way to introduce your family to Mexican cuisine. You must start this recipe early in the day to let the coating on the chicken chill and set.

  4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

  1 large ripe avocado

  ¼ cup butter

  2 garlic cloves, minced

  ¼ cup f
lour

  ¼ cup milk

  1 egg, beaten

  1 to 1 ½ cups dried breadcrumbs

  oil for frying

  Place the chicken breasts between two sheets of waxed paper and gently pound until they are ¼ inch thick. Be careful not to make holes or weak spots in the chicken.

  Mash together the avocado, butter, and garlic and place 2 tbsp in the center of each flattened chicken breast. Fold the chicken over to enclose stuffing. Dust the filled chicken bundles with flour, then dip in milk. Drain, then dip in beaten egg, then into the crumbs. Dip again into egg, then again into crumbs. This part gets messy, but it’s crucial that the chicken be thickly coated with breadcrumbs. Chill in the refrigerator for 5 to 6 hours.

  Place enough oil in a heavy skillet to reach ½ inch thickness. Fry chicken in oil until golden on each side, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove.

  Layered Taco Dip

  This wonderful, colorful dip is very popular and really looks beautiful. It became widely known in the 1980s. When you spread the different dips on the platter, make each new layer slightly smaller than the one beneath, so all the different colors and textures show. Substitute your favorite refrigerated dips for any of the layers to make it even easier.

  1 can refried beans

  1 cup salsa

  2 cups sour cream

  2 avocados

  2 tbsp lime juice or lemon juice

  1 clove garlic, minced

  2 tbsp sour cream

  1 cup salsa

  2 cups shredded lettuce

  2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

  2 cups pepper jack cheese

  olives if desired

  tortilla chips

  In a medium bowl, mix beans and 1 cup salsa and spread evenly on a 12-inch round platter. Top with 2 cups sour cream.

  Mash avocados with lime juice, garlic, and 2 tbsp sour cream. Spread over sour cream on platter.

  Top with remaining 1 cup salsa.

  Sprinkle with lettuce, then tomatoes and cheese.

  Refrigerate 2 hours to blend flavors, then serve with tortilla chips and vegetables.

  Mexican Meatballs (4)

  1 lb lean ground beef

  ¼ cup white cornmeal

  1 egg, lightly beaten

  1 clove garlic

  1 small onion, minced

  ½ tsp dried oregano, crumbled

  1 tsp salt

  ½ tsp ground black pepper

  Sauce:

  1 tbsp butter or margarine

  1 small onion, chopped

  1 clove garlic

  2 tbsp chili powder

  ½ tsp ground cumin

  ¼ tsp dried oregano, crumbled

  3 cups tomato juice

  salt to taste

  Mix meatball ingredients together; shape into small balls about ½ inch in diameter.

  *In a large saucepan, melt butter or margarine. Add chopped onion and cook slowly until lightly browned. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, tomato juice, and salt to taste. Bring to a boil. Drop meatballs into boiling sauce, cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes or until meatballs are cooked.

  Refried Beans

  Use to fill tortillas, adding grated cheese, chopped fresh vegetables, and salsa to taste.

  2-3 tbsp olive oil

  1 tsp ground coriander

  2 onions, chopped

  chili powder to taste

  4 cloves garlic, crushed

  18 oz cooked red kidney beans

  1 tsp ground cumin

  Heat the oil and add the onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, and chili if used.

  Stir fry 2 minutes.

  Add the beans and stir until everything is heated through. Mash some of the beans if you wish.

  Veal parmigiana (4)

  2 lb veal, thinly sliced

  1 cup flavored breadcrumbs

  1 lb beefsteak mozzarella, thinly sliced

  3 cups pints tomato sauce

  2 eggs

  ¼ cup milk

  Mix milk and eggs in a bowl. Dip each piece of veal into the milk and eggs, then cover with breadcrumbs.

  In frying pan, fry each piece gently on both sides.

  Then put in a pan about 9 inches X 13 inches X 2 inches.

  Put slices of cheese and a spoonful of tomato sauce on each piece.

  Bake at 350°F until cheese is melted, about 15 minutes.

  CAPTAIN JAMES COOK

  Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii

  February 14, 1779

  Thus fell our great and excellent commander.

  —Lieutenant King’s diaries

  Born in Marton in the County of Yorkshire, England, on October 27, 1728, James Cook became one of history’s greatest explorers, from the most unlikely background. The son of a farm laborer and part of a system that condemned the poor to leave school at age 12 and work as adults in the mines, he displayed enormous drive and courage to teach himself to become a master navigator, sailor, and global adventurer.

  Like those of so many other great figures in history, his public achievements seemed to be mirrored by deep personal tragedy. Four of his siblings died in infancy, and a fifth by the age of 23. All his children died before him, and two of them died without ever seeing his face. For a sea captain it was especially traumatic that his first two sons, James and Nathaniel, both drowned, unable to swim.

  Merry England in the 1750s saw boys become men quickly, as war with Napoleon’s France had the Royal Navy enlisting children as young as 10 years old to help crew its ships. Cook’s ability to absorb lessons quickly and his inquiring mind ensured his rapid promotion through the ranks, and he quickly became a ship’s master at an early age.

  He discovered innate mathematical skills within himself, and this, coupled with his compassionate treatment of his men, immediately marked him out as a future captain, highly regarded by his superiors.

  Drafted to Nova Scotia on the Pembroke to fight the French in Canada, he became appalled at the high mortality rate among the crews. Like another great sailor of his generation, Admiral Nelson, he realized that many of these deaths could be avoided by very simple methods. After losing almost half his crew in less than 6 months, he vowed that the old methods were finished. Fresh fruits and vegetables were literally forced on his men along with high standards of hygiene and cleanliness. Other captains started to copy his example, and service in the Royal Navy became a career, not a death sentence.

  While he served in Canada, his accurate charting of the St. Lawrence River made the amphibious assault by the British on Quebec possible, eventually leading to the collapse of the French domination in Canada.

  Returning to England for a 1-year break in 1762, he married Elizabeth Batts, some 13 years his junior. Like many other seafarers’ wives, she realized only too late that her husband’s first love was the sea. She could never have imagined her lot being to bear him a string of children, and then to inform him of their deaths when he returned from some voyage 2 or 3 years later.

  On August 1, 1768, he took command of the Endeavour and sailed into history in New Zealand, where he began to produce incredibly accurate charts of the newly discovered country, setting the standard for the world’s finest nautical maps by the Royal Navy.

  In the next 2 years he charted the coast of Queensland, Australia, and though originally naming his discoveries South Wales and Stingray Harbour, he eventually changed their names to New South Wales and Botany Bay.

  Returning to a hero’s welcome in England after nearly 3 years’ absence from a journey that covered 30,000 miles and saw him chart more than 5,000 miles of new coastline, he was greeted with the news that his third son, Joseph, had died after only 1 month of life. Picking up the pieces of his marriage at home in Whitby, he was present when his fourth son, George, mysteriously died on July 8, 1772.

  For a man who lavished so much care and attention on his crews and their well-being, he seems to have been curiously detached from the feelings of his young bride. Five days after George’s death, now in command of the Re
solution and its sister ship Adventure, he set out on his second great voyage of discovery. In January 1773 he became the first sailor to cross the Antarctic line and the first to circumnavigate the globe in both directions.

  For many centuries there had always been rumors of a great southern continent, but by Cook’s third crossing of the Antarctic Circle he was able to prove that all that existed was an icy wasteland with no possible material use to the Crown.

  Although he was bitterly disappointed at not being able to find more territory for the empire, his voyage was lauded for the new techniques he used to promote the health of his ships’ crews. Only one man out of 118 succumbed to disease, an unheard of statistic for the day.