Ask Chris: Did Marilyn Monroe and JFK Have a Secret Tunnel in L.A.?
Beverly Hilton photo by Julius Shulman / ? J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2004.R.10)
Rumors of an affair between Marilyn Monroe and President John F. Kennedy have been swirling ever since the blonde bombshell delivered a sultry performance of “Happy Birthday” at the president’s birthday party in 1962. But the logistics of a secret tunnel for alleged romantic trysts in Los Angeles are near impossible — even if scandal sheets could dream it — seeing as the distance between JFK’s home base at the Beverly Hilton and Monroe’s recently landmarked home in Brentwood is more than 4 miles, or roughly equal to the Wilshire subway route, which has consumed 10 years and $3 billion dollars to construct.
Although Kennedy won the Democratic nomination at L.A.’s Sports Arena and spent time at his brother-in-law Peter Lawford’s Santa Monica home before the election, as President, Kennedy made only one official visit to Los Angeles during Monroe’s lifetime. On Nov. 18, 1961, JFK helicoptered to the Beverly Hilton, met with Lassie star June Lockhart and attended two big fundraisers. He grabbed Nat King Cole and surprised the teens next door by dropping in on their cotillion at 11 p.m. before going to bed in time to attend mass the next morning like a good Catholic boy.
Rumors of a romance tunnel at New York’s Hotel Carlyle abound, and White House legends flared after a mention in the action flick White House Down. Closer to home, celebs likely used real-life privacy passages beneath Frank Sinatra’s former CalNeva Lodge near Lake Tahoe. That rat pack-era casino has been closed for more than a decade, but developers have plans to bring it back, hiring L.A. designer Kelly Wearstler to glam up the place – including that tunnel, which might become a swanky bar for future affairs. There is no record of JFK and Monroe visiting the resort together, but could these be the tunnels you’re looking for?
