Though they were only married for around nine months, Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio were among the most high-profile couples of the ’50s after they wed on January 14, 1954. The pair split for a variety of reasons, including abuse, conflicting career demands and the media frenzy around their relationship — but the most surprising aspect of their union might have been the I Love Lucy cast member who introduced them.
As Joel Brokaw, the son of late Hollywood talent agent Norman Brokaw, details in his new book Driving Marilyn, the two were introduced by I Love Lucy star William Frawley, who played wacky neighbor Fred Mertz. Brokaw explained that in 1952, “[My father] took her to a television program called Lights, Camera, Action, which was a showcase for up-and-coming talent. [It was] a live show in Hollywood that all the casting agents would tune in to watch. They went and did this television show, and then he said, ‘Let’s go down the street and go to The Hollywood Brown Derby and have a meal.’ It was the place to be seen.”
He continued, “It didn’t take long before they were noticed. William Frawley … came over to the table and he said … ‘I’m having dinner with Joe D. He would like to meet the young lady. We’ll stop by your table after we’re done.’ Marilyn turned to my dad and said, ‘Who’s Joe D?’ She had no idea who Joe DiMaggio was. She obviously wasn’t a baseball fan. So, he had to give her a quick history of the importance of Joe DiMaggio.”
