James Dougherty (April 12, 1921 – August 15, 2005) was an American police officer, the first trainer of

Special Weapons and Tactics In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

. He is best known as the first husband of actress

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

Biography

James Edward Dougherty was born on April 12, 1921 in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. He was the fifth and final child of Edward and Ethel Dougherty (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Beatty), natives of

Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, Pueblo County, Colorado ...

. After moving to

Globe, Arizona Globe ( apw, Bésh Baa Gowąh "Place of Metal") is a city in Gila County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 7,249. The city is the county seat of Gila County. Globe was founded c. 1875 as a mining cam ...

, the family suffered from the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, living in a tent. Dougherty graduated from the

Van Nuys High School Van Nuys High School (VNHS) is a public high school in the Van Nuys district of Los Angeles, belonging to the Los Angeles Unified School District: District 2. The school is home to a Residential Program and three Magnet Programs—Math/Science, ...

in 1938, in the same class as actress

Jane Russell Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell (June 21, 1921 – February 28, 2011) was an American actress, singer, and model. She was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s. She starred in more than 20 films. Russell moved from th ...

. Following his graduation, Dougherty turned down an athletic scholarship from the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

at Santa Barbara. Instead, he worked the night shift at

Lockheed Aircraft Lockheed (originally spelled Loughead) may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Lockheed Corporation, a former American aircraft manufacturer * Lockheed Martin, formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta ** Lockheed Ma ...

, meeting

Norma Jean Baker Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

. Following the move of her foster-parents, Baker's return to an orphanage was prevented when Dougherty married her on June 19, 1942. She dropped out of high school and became a housewife. They moved to Santa Catalina Island, where Dougherty joined the Merchant Navy and taught sea safety. In April 1944, Dougherty was posted to the South Pacific. Baker moved back to

Van Nuys Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, t ...

, where she was noticed by the photographer

David Conover David Conover (June 26, 1919 – December 21, 1983) was an author and documentary photographer who is credited with discovering Marilyn Monroe while taking photos for '' Yank'' magazine. While attached to the U.S. Army Air Forces' First Motio ...

. She later signed a contract with the Blue Book Model agency and

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

, who stipulated that she must be unmarried. Therefore, Baker divorced Dougherty in 1946. He received the divorce papers while on the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

and dismissed her ambitions. However, he followed her career as the actress

, and after her death he appeared on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

show '' To Tell The Truth'' and gave numerous interviews. He commented in 2002: In 1947, Dougherty married Patricia Scoman, and they had three daughters. In 1949, he joined the

Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

and served as a detective. He played a part in the creation of the

group, becoming the first officer to train it. He also broke a plot to kidnap

James Garner James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, including '' The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy Chayefsky's ''The Ameri ...

. Dougherty married his final wife, Rita Lambert, in 1974. Together, they moved to her hometown in Sabattus,

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, where he taught at the Criminal Justice Academy and worked as an

Androscoggin County Androscoggin County (French: ''Comté d'Androscoggin'') is a county in the U.S. state of Maine. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 111,139. Its county seat is Auburn and its largest city is Lewiston. Androscoggin County compris ...

commissioner. He also worked for the Maine Boxing Commission and appeared in the documentary ''The Discovery Of Marilyn Monroe'', along with actor

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945), followed by his starring in ...

and high school friend

. Dougherty and Russell also appeared on ''Sally'' in 1992, accompanied by

Susan Strasberg Susan Elizabeth Strasberg (May 22, 1938 – January 21, 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actress. Imagined to be the next Hepburn-type ingenue, she was nominated for a Tony Award at age 18, playing the title role in ''The Diary ...

. He wrote and released two memoirs, ''The Secret Happiness of Marilyn Monroe'' and ''To Norma Jeane With Love, Jimmie.'' In 2003, Dougherty's wife died. ''Marilyn's Man'', a documentary about Dougherty, was filmed in 2004. He died on August 15, 2005. His death made a standalone obituary in several outlets, including the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dougherty, James Marilyn Monroe 1921 births 2005 deaths United States Merchant Mariners of World War II Van Nuys High School alumni People from Globe, Arizona Los Angeles Police Department officers People from Androscoggin County, Maine