Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe tied the knot 62 years ago today
Sixty-two years ago today, Jan. 14, 1954, Yankees legend Joe DiMaggio married Hollywood starlet Marilyn Monroe. The photo above shows the happy couple moments before their courthouse wedding in San Francisco.
While the two were married for just nine months before an unpleasant divorce, there was an obvious and lasting affection between them -- as evidenced by the heartbreaking letters the Yankee Clipper wrote to Monroe just before the split, which sold at auction back in 2014.
In 1956, Monroe married playwright Arthur Miller, but by 1960, they too had separated, leaving her emotionally exhausted and suffering insomnia. Three months later, at her therapist's behest, Monroe admitted herself to a psychiatric clinic for prescribed rest -- instead, she found herself locked in a padded cell.
After Monroe desperately wrote her friends and therapist to help secure her release, DiMaggio alone came to her rescue, ordering her transfer from the clinic and even taking her on a trip to Florida to relax and unwind from the harrowing experience.
(photo via Tampa Bay Times)
The two remained close until Monroe's death in 1962, from which DiMaggio reportedly never fully recovered -- blaming Frank Sinatra and the Kennedys for what became of her.
DiMaggio never remarried, and when he passed away in 1999, his last words were said to be, "I'll finally get to see Marilyn."