Who is Lena Pepitone?

Lena Pepitone. Maid and Confidant?



Lena Pepitone is commonly known as Marilyn's ex-maid, dress maker, and confidant. She was born in Naples in 1925 (not 1928 as stated on the back of her book), married Joe Pepitone in 1950, then became a chambermaid for Marilyn in October of 1957.

But. . .

Did Lena really ever work for Marilyn?

Peter Leonardi



 May Reis


Hedda Rosten


Florence Thomas


Marjorie Stengel


Hazel Washington


Eunice Murray


Norman Jefferies


All are confirmed to have worked with Marilyn and all have proof either through photos, checks, or a combination of the two. Lena of course has an excuse, all of her stuff was destroyed. The issue with this is that checks used to be sent back to the person who made them out. With how organized Marilyn's "people" (May Reis, Marjorie Stengel) were with her documents, it's highly unbelievable that they would lose every single check that someone that supposedly worked for Marilyn for 5 years received. 

Eight of Lena's Claims

  1. Lena was Marilyn's confidant. They spoke for hours on end.
  2. Marilyn was an alcoholic and was commonly drunk
  3. Marilyn was pining for Joe in 1957
  4. Marilyn wasn't bathing
  5. Marilyn had a life-size picture of Joe DiMaggio in her closet
  6. Marilyn was given a white Cadillac convertible by Jack Benny
  7.  Marilyn was horrified when she saw herself on screen during a private the screening of "Some Like It Hot."
  8. Lena was present when Marilyn collected her David de Donnatello award (Thanks to Marijane Gray for pointing this out)

Claim # 1 - Lena was Marilyn's confidant. They spoke for hours on end.

It's HIGHLY unlikely Lena was ever a confidant of Marilyn Monroe being Lena could barely speak English. Lena was from Italy and spoke with a heavy Italian accent that was hard to understand as late as the early 2000's. It also is HIGHLY unlikely that Lena would understand entire conversations in English 17 years after Marilyn's death.


Claim # 2 - Marilyn was an alcoholic and was commonly drunk

Marilyn definitely had an issue with prescription pill addiction. She was also known to occasionally overindulge in champagne when she drank it and even requested a case when her picture was taken with Bert Stern. What tends to be overlooked is the drinking culture of the 1950's and 1960's. Drinking at work was not uncommon. Businessmen had fully stocked bars in their offices. It was not uncommon to end your night with a nightcap and drinking was a mainstay social event. Confidants insist that Marilyn did NOT have an alcohol problem.


Claim # 3 - Marilyn was pining for Joe in 1957

Many argue that Joe was the love of Marilyn's life. Others think it was pretty Joe-sided after their divorce. Putting that aside, it is a bit asinine to think that Marilyn was pining for Joe in October of 1957. She had lost her baby with Arthur in August and was apparently in a deep depression for some time after that. She again tried to have a baby with him in July or August of 1958 that she would ultimately lose in December. Most experts agree that the Arthur/Marilyn relationship really started to fail after the second miscarriage. She went on to have an affair in 1960 with Yves Montand which most likely was the final blow to their marriage. Marilyn had very little contact with Joe between 1955 and late 1960. If she had wanted to rekindle anything with him, it's insulting to think that she would put aside her feelings and latch onto Arthur (and he onto her) for some unknown reason.


Claim # 4 - Marilyn wasn't bathing and had poor hygiene

Pepitone's claims include Marilyn rarely bathing, farting constantly, eating in bed while using her sheet as a napkin and stuffing dirty plates under her sheets, and letting her period blood cover her silk sheets every single night she was on her period. Marilyn frankly sounds disgusting and slovenly if you believe these accounts and they have circulated for years. I am one of the first people to admit that Marilyn had faults and was far from a saint but one thing I am nearly sure of is that she practiced basic hygiene. Jim Dougherty recalls that she was washing her face 15 times a day when they were together. Marilyn herself said that she washed her hair at least 5 times a week. There are numerous accounts of Marilyn liking to take baths. While I don't find it unlikely that she probably had off days (don't we all) it is unlikely that she was letting her body odor reek throughout the house. Marilyn was one of the most photographed women in the world. There are thousands of candid photos of her and while there are a few where her hair looks greasy, it was hardly a common occurrence. No one has ever supported these claims.



Claim # 5 - Marilyn had a life-size picture of Joe DiMaggio in her closet

This is frankly one of the most asinine of the bunch. AGAIN, if Marilyn wanted to be with Joe, she would have left Arthur much sooner than she had. There is frankly no way that Marilyn could have kept a life-size poster of Joe in her closet without Arthur noticing it nor is it likely to have stayed up had Arthur discovered it. 


Claim # 6 - Marilyn was given a white Cadillac convertible by Jack Benny

If the car above to you looks white you should probably go to an optometrist. It's well known that Marilyn was given a black Cadillac with red leather interior by Jack Benny for appearing on his show on September 13, 1953 being it was against her contract to accept monetary compensation for anything Fox didn't have a stake in.



Claim # 7 - Marilyn was horrified when she saw herself looking heavy on screen during a private the screening of "Some Like It Hot."

As we all know, Marilyn was pregnant when filming "Some Like It Hot." She was also someone who showed early during her pregnancies. If Marilyn was upset about anything, it was most likely her unborn child. Numerous pictures from that evening show her laughing and smiling during the screening. While it's true that Marilyn didn't care for the part, it was the fact that Sugar wasn't able to figure out that Daphne and Josephine were men. Marilyn was extremely critical of her figure and knew how to dress for it. She also remained heavier for another two years. If she was really having an issue with her weight, it's much more likely that she would have dieted. Instead, she appeared in a bikini in "The Misfits."

Claim # 8 - Lena was present when Marilyn received her David di Donatello award

No, she wasn't. The event had roughly 400 people in attendance, mostly press. There are literally hundreds of pictures from this event and not one of them shows Lena. The only person Marilyn brought with her to this event was Arthur Miller, who, you guessed it, is in tons of pictures.


Conclusion

I can't say with certainty that Lena never worked for Marilyn. It's possible that she was hired through an agency but with no documentation of photographs to support her claims, it becomes suspicious. What I can say, with utmost certainty, is that Lena makes some far out and downright slanderous claims. It is said that Lena later claimed her book was mostly made up to sell copies but I can't find any place where she said this. What I did find is her nephew making this claim when articles ran about her death. If she did work for Marilyn, the "Little Lamb" ended up betraying her.

Finally. . . 

Hugo. Marilyn's beloved basset hound?




According to Lena he actually looked like this. . . 
Thanks to Marijane Gray for this tidbit. 


9 comments:

  1. I'm reading right now CONVERSATIONS WITH MARILYN and the writer also says that in one of the many times he met Marilyn in a bar in NY, she had a faint body odor and her hair needed to be wash, so I wouldn't say no one else supported that claim.

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  2. I was annoyed when I read this book that there were so many faults in there... one huge one was that she claimed that Marilyn met her sister Berniece for the first time in 1961, when they had in fact been in contact ever since Marilyn was 12 years old and they had met and lived together at various times before '61. Berniece also has a daughter but no sons as were mentioned. The background story is also false with all the foster homes, when she only had one foster home, not counting Grace/Ana and the childbirth story is just bollocks, since she was a neighbour to the Doughertys at the time I think he/they would've noticed if she had been pregnant full-term, especially since she went to school at the time. And that her house in Brentwood "meant nothing" is laughable when she was so proud about it. A proof though that Lena did work for Marilyn is to be found in Berniece Miracle's book. She met Lena when she went to live with Marilyn at the New York apartment to care for her after the gallbladder surgery and she describes her as the maid, who "spends the majority of the day in the kitchen" and that she cooks Italian dinners for them and that she works every day from 8am except Sunday and that she arrives through the backdoor and leaves after she has cleaned the kitchen after dinner. So much for a "trusted confidante"... it was wishful thinking, I think.

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  3. What I don't understand is the evil need for others to defame or make derogatory comments and statements about someone, especially someone who is as loved as Marilyn, died so early and ultimately lived a short life so full of tragedy and misery. What, to sell a book? Benefiting from the death of some you barely knew by making slanderous stories about them. What makes me more upset is I can imagine Marilyn being nothing buy nice to this Lena person at any moment they might have actually spoken or had contact with one another.

    Hopefully there's a special kind of hell for those like her and those who ultimately either aided in Marilyn's death, or helped push her there.

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    Replies
    1. Lena the Italian immigrant admired DiMaggio, the proud Sicilian. She understood him and hoped that Marilyn would remarry him.

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  4. Merci pour cette article très intéressant.

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  5. Thanks for the article. I got her book when I was a kid and even then I could tell she was full of crap.

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  6. I read the first two chapters and all I can think is this is total BS. To paint MM as such a slob is infuriating. When she described MM eating lamb chops in bed, and wiping her greasy hands on the sheets, nearly made me want to throw the book through my TV.

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