Marilyn and Frank Sinatra
Although Marilyn had known Frank Sinatra for many years, going back to her earliest days in Hollywood, she was not romantically linked to the singer and actor until the last two years of her life. When she first began working in films she was introduced to Peter Lawford, then a friend of Sinatra’s and a member of the legendary Rat Pack. Lawford was also the brother-in law to then Senator John F. Kennedy, and may well have been introduced to Kennedy by Lawford during the 1960 Presidential campaign. Sinatra and Monroe remained friends throughout her career, but they were not regarded as dating until 1960.
During filming of The Misfits Marilyn frequently spent time off in Los Angeles, or at the Cal-Neva Lodge, then owned by Sinatra. One of the gifts Sinatra gave Marilyn was a small dog, to replace another which Arthur Miller had kept following their divorce. Marilyn named the dog Maf, short for mafia, as a sly dig at Sinatra’s alleged mob connections at the time. She was a frequent visitor to the Cal-Neva Lodge during the last years of her life. Another facet of her life she shared with Sinatra was the interest of the FBI, which kept extensive files on both of them.