Frank Sinatra Once Broke Into the Wrong Apartment, Hoping To Catch Marilyn Monroe ‘in the Act’
One of the most unforgettable moments in Hollywood history involved Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, and Joe DiMaggio. Monroe and DiMaggio (a former baseball star) were married for a brief period, yet their marriage ended due to the relationship’s volatile nature.
DiMaggio became so obsessed with his then-estranged wife that he hired a private investigator (with Sinatra’s help) to track her down. When the investigator informed DiMaggio that Monroe was currently with a lover, he and Sinatra decided to break into his apartment to catch Monroe in the act of cheating.
But unfortunately for DiMaggio and Sinatra, they ended up breaking into the wrong apartment. The incident has been coined as “The Wrong Door Raid” and is still remembered decades later.
How did Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio Meet?
DiMaggio stumbled upon a picture of Monroe in the paper. In the image, she is about to swing a baseball bat, with a pearly white smile plastered to her face. The former sports star fell in love with the picture, considering it consisted of his two favorite things: baseball and beautiful women.
He called everyone he could think of to get a date with Monroe. Finally, he found an agent who was willing to set them up together. Monroe was drawn to DiMaggio at once, claiming in her memoir that he was “different from the others.”
“Something was starting between Mr. DiMaggio and me,” she wrote in her memoir.
But as time went on, Monroe wanted to end her relationship with the famous baseball player. This was mostly due to the fact that her husband wanted to stifle her dreams as a movie star, believing she would be better off as a traditional housewife. Unfortunately for DiMaggio, Monroe was destined for stardom and had no plans of turning that in for a humdrum life.
Because of their different beliefs, the couple grew estranged.
Frank Sinatra and Joe DiMaggio tried to catch Marilyn Monroe in the act of cheating
DiMaggio, who was still very much in love with the Hollywood icon, was willing to do anything to win her back. Sinatra, who was good friends with DiMaggio at the time, was in a similar position.
Ava Gardner, another Hollywood bombshell, had just dumped the famous crooner. According to The LA Times, Sinatra hired a private investigator to track his ex down. He suggested DiMaggio do the same.
Sinatra and DiMaggio were at a bar, when the private investigator contacted the sports star. It was then that they were informed about Monroe’s love affair with her singing coach. After a flash of rage, Sinatra joined DiMaggio as they stormed in a drunken state to the apartment complex where they assumed Monroe was located.
Instead, they broke down the door of the wrong apartment. This one belonged to a sweet old lady named Florence Kotz. The celebrities startled her, hoping to find Marilyn Monroe, but were instead met with a screaming stranger.
Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe wound up having a love affair
Years after DiMaggio and Monroe’s divorce, Sinatra and the Hollywood Goddess would go on to have their own love affair. According to Marilyn Monroe: The Private Life of a Public Icon, Sinatra and Monroe shared an open relationship for a short amount of time. And as revealed to a recent podcast, Sinatra was madly in love with Monroe. He even planned on marrying her.
“Like many men, Frank Sinatra fell under her spell,” the podcast revealed (Via Us Weekly.) “He treated her like he had never treated any other woman. He was very protective of her.”
The New York Times reported that DiMaggio felt wholeheartedly betrayed by their affair. He was so distraught by Sinatra’s betrayal that he barred him from attending Monroe’s funeral service after her sudden death in 1962.
