Warren Beatty Was One of the Last People to See Marilyn Monroe Alive

Vanity Fair scored a major interview with movie icon Warren Beatty — the famously press-shy Beatty doesn’t typically sit down with journalists. Sam Kashner’s piece is wide in its scope, but one part especially stood out to us: Beatty was one of the last people to see Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe alive.

The late Peter Lawford, an actor best known for his association with the “Rat Pack,” invited a then 25-year-old Beatty to his home in Malibu, Calif. When Beatty arrived, he got to meet another one of Lawford’s guests: Marilyn Monroe.

Kashner writes, “I hadn’t seen anything that beautiful,” Beatty recalls. She invited him to take a walk along the beach, which he did. “It was more soulful than romantic.” Back in the house, he played the piano. … Marilyn sat on the edge of the piano in something so clingy that Beatty could tell she wasn’t wearing underwear.”

The story then takes a tragic turn. Beatty got a call the next day from Harold Mirisch, the brother of Academy Award-winning producer Walter Mirisch. Beatty was told that Monroe was dead at the age of 36. Kashner noted, “Warren was one of the last people to see Marilyn alive — a story that Beatty tells only reluctantly. He really is one of Hollywood’s most discreet people, in a town and an industry marinated in its own gossip.”

A Look Back at Curtis Hanson’s Impressive and Eclectic Filmmaking Career:

There’s a lot more to Vanity Fair’s piece on Beatty, and it is definitely worth your time. In the meantime, feel free to share your thoughts on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram or leave your comments below.