‘Blonde’: Did Marilyn Monroe Ever Date Charlie Chaplin Jr. or Edward Robinson Jr.?
The new Netflix movie, Blonde, directed by Andrew Dominik is based on a novel by Joyce Carole Oates about Marilyn Monroe’s (Ana de Armas) life. However, those wanting to watch an accurate retelling of the starlet’s life should look elsewhere. Most of the moments within the film are either completely made up or wildly exaggerated. One segment of the film depicts Monroe involved in a polyamorous relationship with Charlie Chaplin Jr. (Xavier Samuel) and Edward Robinson Jr. (Evan Williams). Let’s take a look at whether or not Monroe dated either of the men.
‘Blonde’ shows Marilyn Monroe dating Charlie Chaplin Jr. and Edward Robinson Jr. simultaneously
In Blonde, Monroe’s turbulent rise to fame leads her to meet Charlie Chaplin Jr.. Chaplin Jr. goes by the name Cass, and Monroe calls Edward Robinson Jr., Eddy. The movie portrays the three of them in a “throuple,” and shows them in love. After photos surface of the three of them together, the studio pressures her to limit her time with the two men due to fears it might affect her ability to get roles.
Blonde’s portrayal of Monroe involves a few sexually explicit scenes of Monroe with Chaplin and Robinson. However, Dominik has said the film is “entirely fictional,” there are at least bite-sized pieces that come from the truth.
“You have to play fast and loose with the truth in order to have a certain narrative drive,” Dominik said in an interview with the British Film Institute.
Did Marilyn Monroe date Charlie Chaplin Jr.?
According to the biography, Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe, written by Anthony Summers, Chaplin Jr., and Monroe met in 1947. They became friends, and the book even alleges that Chaplin Jr. brought Monroe home to meet his family for lunch one day.
However, while Blonde portrays a polyamorous relationship between Monroe, Chaplin Jr., and Robinson Jr., historian Scott Fortner who specializes in Monroe memorabilia, says that’s false.
“There is no evidence of a three-way between Chaplin Jr. and Robinson Jr. It is true, however, that Marilyn dated Chaplin Jr. for a short period of time. He writes about this in his biography (1960’s My Father, Charlie Chaplin),” Fortner said in an interview with USA Today.
Chaplin Jr. and Monroe eventually went their separate ways but supposedly remained friends. Chaplin Jr. died of a pulmonary embolism in 1968 at the age of 42.
There’s no evidence Marilyn Monroe dated Edward Robinson Jr.
It seems as though Blonde created the storyline that Monroe dated Robinson Jr. entirely for narrative purposes. There’s no evidence that the two were ever intimate. Although, the Wikipedia page for Robinson Jr. mentions him as a “sometime lover” of the starlet. However, no source is cited, leading us to lean more toward the entire story being entirely fictional.
Check out Blonde, streaming exclusively on Netflix.
