Marilyn, Joe and Me
by June DiMaggio

Marilyn Monroe was Murdered!

That is the premise of this book written by June DiMaggio, the niece of the Yankee Clipper, Joe DiMaggio.

Sunday August 5, 2007 marks the 45th anniversary of the death of film star Marilyn Monroe. How she died continues to be the subject of speculation but not for June DiMaggio.

"No way she committed suicide, Marilyn was on the phone with my mother Lee when she was killed" declares June. June is the niece of famed Yankee Clipper Joe DiMaggio and friend to Marilyn Monroe.

Her story is told in the book -- Marilyn, Joe & Me: June DiMaggio Tells It Like It Was -- coauthored by Radio and Television personality Mary Jane Popp.

Marilyn's relationship with Lee and June DiMaggio was established 11 years earlier when Marilyn fell in love with the Joe DiMaggio and was welcomed into the family. It became a closely guarded relationship with the DiMaggio family.

Lee DiMaggio, her Matron of Honor, treated her like a daughter, even lovingly sewing on a special collar and buttons on the suit Marilyn wore to her first marriage to Joe.

And there was Joe himself, her true love, to whom she turned during her troubled times until the day she died. It was her wish that Joe handle her burial arrangements if anything ever happened to her.

In her waning years June DiMaggio, now 84 years old, knew in her heart the story needed to be told. "Marilyn, Joe and Me" was seven years in the telling. As Mary Jane puts it, "This kind of story comes about only once in the lifetime of a reporter. It was necessary to tell these stories before June leaves us too."

June DiMaggio worked in Hollywood some 25 years with the likes of Carol Channing and whose list of friends read like a celebrity who's who -from Barbara Stanwyck and Ann Sothern to Peggy Lee. Marilyn sought privacy away from the limelight in June's home often enjoying some great homemade Lasagna, a DiMaggio specialty. June respected Marilyn's wish for privacy and provided a place where she could escape even for a short time.

"Marilyn, Joe and Me", real life stories of the very private Joe DiMaggio, who never granted an interview during his whole career and the real Marilyn Monroe, who was not just the sex goddess you saw slinking across the screen.

You will see over 80 photos, most of which have never been published before, along with handwritten notes from the stars including Marilyn herself. You will even learn to love the recipes that were their favorites.