Stories

Stories are just that. Stories and personal accounts that have been reported about the location.

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The first strange event took place in December 1985, about two weeks before the grand re-opening. Alan Russell, the personal assistant to the General Manager, was in the Blossom Room, where the first Academy Awards banquet was held in 1929. He was sweeping the floor when henoticed an extremely cold spot in one part of the room. He and the other employees who were present were perplexed to find there were no drafts or air conditioners to explain away the chill. Psychics who have investigated the hotel believe there is a man in black clothing who haunts this room, although who he may be, no one knows.

On that same day, another employee named Suzanne Leonard was dusting a mirror in the manager's office. She looked into the glass and saw the reflection of a blond woman there. She turned quickly around but there was no one behind her, although the reflection remained for some time before fading away. So, who was this mysterious figure? It was later learned that the mirror once hung in Suite 1200 of the hotel, a suite that was frequently used by Marilyn Monroe. Could she still be lingering behind at the Roosevelt?

Marilyn Monroe was born as Norma Jeane Mortenson in 1926. Thanks to the fact that she never knew her father and her mother was considered mentally unstable, she lived in a foster home, and later an orphanage, during her early years. As time passed, she also stayed infrequently with her mother and during one of these periods in 1942, she met Jim Doughtery, who she married on June 19. Jim was sent overseas during the war and Norma Jeane worked in a factory, inspecting parachutes. In 1944, she was photographed by the Army as a promotion to show women on the assembly line contributing to the war effort. One of the photographers asked to take further pictures of her and by the following spring, she had appeared on 33 covers of national magazines. In July of 1946, she signed a contract with Fox and selected a new name for herself, Marilyn Monroe. She also had a minor part in the movie Scudda-Hoo and by that fall, was granted her first divorce.

In 1949, she met agent Johnny Hyde of the William Morris Agency and he became her mentor and lover. She also agreed to pose nude for a calendar that year and her career was on its way. Her first major role came in 1950 in The Asphalt Jungle and she received favorable reviews and that was followed by her leading part in Don't Bother to Knock in 1952. It was in that same year that she baseball legend Joe DiMaggio. They soon fell in love. She also began filming Niagara with Joseph Cotten, a film that would establish her stardom, although Gentlemen Prefer Blondes with Jane Russell would make her a legend.

On January 14, 1954, Marilyn and DiMaggio were married. The wedding made headlines all over the world, but the "dream romance" was never meant to last. Joe was a jealous type who was looking for a housewife, something that Marilyn was never destined to be. In the fall of 1954, they separated and were later divorced. Despite this personal crisis, Marilyn's stardom continued to skyrocket as she filmed her classic role in the Seven Year Itch.

In early 1955, Marilyn went to New York and joined the Actors Studio, intent on becoming known as a serious actress. Here, she renewed her acquaintance with playwright Arthur Miller and the two of them began an affair that would later lead to marriage. To Marilyn, Miller represented the serious theater and a bright intellect that she found very attractive. Marilyn returned to Hollywood in February 1956, after over a years absence, to film Bus Stop. After completing the film she returned to New York in June. She and Arthur Miller were married on June 29. This marriage was also doomed to fail and after many separations, they divorced in 1961.

After going to London with Arthur, Marilyn did not return to Hollywood until 1958 to make Some Like It Hot with Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis. It was around this time when her health began to deteriorate thanks to her increased dependency on drugs, especially sleeping pills. She was often late arriving on the set and was unable to remember her lines. In 1960, she began seeing Dr. Ralph Greenson, the so-called "psychoanalyst to the stars". As was common during this time, he relied heavily on prescribing barbiturates and tranquilizers to accompany his therapy.

July 1960 marked the start of filming The Misfits. The movie was based on a short story by Arthur Miller but while on location, he and Marilyn lived in separate quarters and were hardly speaking. Drugs were flown in for Marilyn from her doctor but somehow she managed to give an exceptional performance. The shoot would be marked with tragedy though. On the day after filming was completed, co-star Clark Gable would suffer a serious heart attack and die. Marilyn felt a tremendous amount of guilt over his death, further aggravating her depression.

In 1961 Marilyn purchased a house in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles. At the urging of her doctor, she hired Eunice Murray as housekeeper. Murray, calling herself a nurse, had neither the training or credentials. Strangely, it is believed that Murray was essentially a "spy" for Dr. Greenson, who continued to have more and more control over her life. He saw her almost daily when she was in Hollywood. Also in 1961, Marilyn began her alleged affair with President John F. Kennedy and she was also reported to have had an affair with his brother, Robert Kennedy, in the days just before her death.

Marilyn began production on Something's Got to Give in April 1962 and frequent illnesses kept her from working on may days of shooting. No one at the studio was very happy, especially in light of the dept that had been created for the studio by the schedule and overruns of Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. It is believed that if Fox cancelled Marilyn's film, with a lower budget and fewer actors, they could be reimbursed by their insurance company for losses due to a star's illness, and recoup monies spent. Fox fired Marilyn on June 7.

Around this same time, Marilyn had been seeing Joe DiMaggio again and had finally agreed to remarry him. The wedding date was set for August 8. Fox rehired her on August 1 to complete Something's Got to Give ... but of course, the wedding and the film would never come to pass. Marilyn died on August 5, 1962 and since that time, there has been much speculation about the events surrounding her death and who exactly was involved in it. Most believe that a suicide seems unlikely though and it has even been suggested that her drug overdose was administered by someone other than Marilyn herself. Could this be why her ghost is rumored to linger behind?

The "haunted" mirror is still hanging on the wall at the Roosevelt and can now be found in the lower level elevator landing. It is said that some visitors still catch a glimpse of a beautiful blond in the glass as some believe that Marilyn's sad life has been permanently impressed in the glass.

As guests began to arrive at the refurbished hotel, the staff was told of other encounters. They frequently heard complaints about loud talking in nearby rooms and of voices in hallways.... rooms and corridors that would prove to be empty. Phones were lifted from receivers in empty suites... lights turned on in empty, locked rooms ... a maid was inexplicably pushed into a supply closet ... a typewriter began typing in the middle of the night in an empty, locked office .... a man in a white suit (who was seen by three different people on two different days) walked through a door and vanished ... extra bedspreads that were hung on a rod in the basement began moving on their own... a little girl was seen playing in the lobby and then vanished before the eyes of a startled staff member... and much more.

Some employees also reported strange shadows on the Ninth floor, prompting many of them to refuse to work on that level. Strange things were especially connected to Room 928. Here, housekeepers have reported cold spots that brush by them and others have felt a strong presence watching them or walking beside them. One night in 1992, a female guest reported that a man's hand patted her on the shoulder while she was reading. She turned, thinking that it was her husband, only to find him sound asleep.

Room 928 has been most prominently connected to actor Montgomery Clift, who lived in the room for three months in 1952 while filming From Here to Eternity. Clift was said to restlessly pace his room and the corridor outside, rehearsing his lines and practicing the bugle. And some say that he still does...

Montgomery Clift was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1920. He grew up the privileged so of a Wall Street stockbroker and traveled all over the world with his family and private tutors. When Wall Street crashed in 1929, the Clift's changed their lifestyle and moved to a small home in Sarasota, Florida. Here. Clift would try acting for the first time at the age of 13. He joined a local youth theatrical group and his mother, realizing his natural talents, pushed him toward an acting career. After the family moved to Massachusetts, Clift was able to audition for a part on Broadway. He won the role and his new career was started at the age of only 17.

Over the next three years, Clift played a number of leading roles on Broadway, while members of the film industry tried to lure him to Hollywood. He rejected every offer though until he finally was able to get the studios to agree to hire him on his terms. Almost immediately, United Artists agreed to what he wanted and he was cast alongside John Wayne and Walter Brennan in what became one of the most famous westerns of all time, Red River.

After that, Clift began to work in other roles and became friends with actress Elizabeth Taylor, who he appeared with in A Place in the Sun. He would later appear with Taylor in two other films, Raintree County (1956) and Suddenly Last Summer (1959). He accepted both roles without even looking at a script. He just wanted to act with Taylor.

After a two year hiatus after A Place in the Sun, Clift returned to the movie screen with From Here to Eternity, with Burt Lancaster and Frank Sinatra. The film would be nominated for eight Academy Awards and Clift would be nominated for Best Actor. After that, he starred in the Alfred Hitchcock film, I Confess, and in Indiscretion of an American Housewife. He would not be seen on the stage or screen again for more than three years.

At about this time, Clift's personal life began to be plagued with rumors about homosexuality and clandestine affairs. Then tragedy struck... On a night in May 1957, Clift attended a dinner party at the home of Elizabeth Taylor. As he was leaving, he veered off the road and his car collided with a telephone pole. The accident left Clift with a broken jaw and nose, a crushed sinus cavity, two missing teeth, and severe facial lacerations that required plastic surgery. Somehow though, he remarkably recovered and returned home from the hospital after just eight weeks. He was able to complete filming on Raintree County.

After the accident, Monty starred in seven movies, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Judgement at Nuremberg. He also co-starred in The Misfits, which was Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable's last movie. In 1962, he was cast for The Defector, which would be his last role. While waiting to start a new role with Elizabeth Taylor, Clift died in 1966. Officially, he suffered a heart attack at the age of only 46, but rumors soon spread about suicide. Regardless, he is remembered today as one of the great actors of all time.... and a continuing guest at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

Added by: jragan on 02/01/2011 DB#:1043
Source(s):
http://www.prairieghosts.com/hollywood7.html

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Marilyn Monroe stayed in suite 229 in the Cabanas which overlooked the pool side. A mirror which once hung in her room, now in storage following hotel renovations, is thought to be haunted by her spirit. A number of people also claim to have seen her ghost dancing in the ballroom of the hotel. Montgomery Clift, who lived at the Roosevelt for three months while filming From Here to Eternity (1953), is said to haunt his old room, 928.  People claim to hear him playing his bugle and see him walking the hallways of the 8th floor.

Added by: jragan on 01/31/2011 DB#:1041
Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Hotel_(Holl...

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Ask for Room 928, where Montgomery Clift stayed during the making of "From Here to Eternity." Rumor has it you can still hear Montgomery Clift play his bugle. Cabana 246 is where Marilyn Monroe lived on and off. Her personal mirror is in the lobby of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, where some say they still see her image gazing back from time to time.

Added by: jragan on 01/31/2011 DB#:1042
Source(s):
http://hotels.about.com/od/hauntedhotelsatoz/p/hau...

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Paranormal Claims

Here are the paranormal claims for this location. These have been found through Internet research, reports from members, or reports from personal interviews. To add a claim, please contact PANICd.com, and we will review and add your information.

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Claim #	Added	Added By	Claim
1265	02/01/2011	jragan	Phones have been lifted off the receivers in empty rooms.
1274	02/01/2011	jragan	In room 928, a guest was touched on the shoulder.
1273	02/01/2011	jragan	In room 928, a strong presence is felt as if they are watching you.
1272	02/01/2011	jragan	In room 928, employees have reported cold spots.
1271	02/01/2011	jragan	Strange shadows have been reported on the 9th floor.
1270	02/01/2011	jragan	A little girl was seen playing in the lobby and then vanished.
1269	02/01/2011	jragan	Bedspreads that were hung on a rod n the basement began moving on their own.
1268	02/01/2011	jragan	A man in a white suite has been seen walking through a door and vanishing.
1267	02/01/2011	jragan	A typewriter began typing by itself in the middle of the night in an empty, locked office.
1266	02/01/2011	jragan	A maid was pushed into a supply closet.
1256	02/01/2011	jragan	People claim that Marilyn Monroe haunts a mirror that once hung in her cabana.
1264	02/01/2011	jragan	Lights turned on in empty rooms.
1263	02/01/2011	jragan	Voices have been heard in empty rooms and hallways.
1262	02/01/2011	jragan	A man dressed in black is reported to be haunting the ballroom.
1261	02/01/2011	jragan	Cold spots have been reported within the ballroom.
1260	02/01/2011	jragan	People claim to see an apparition of Montgomery Cliff walking the hallways of the 8th floor.
1259	02/01/2011	jragan	People claim to hear Montgomery Cliff playing his bugle.
1258	02/01/2011	jragan	There are claims of cold spots and voices heard in the room that Marilyn Monroe stayed.
1257	02/01/2011	jragan	People claim to have seen Marilyn Monroe dancing in the ballroom.

Paranormal Evidence

Paranormal evidence is based on claims that have been reported for this location. There can be several types of evidence; however, we have grouped them based on media type for better organization. Here you will find evidence that are logs, audio, video, or photographic.

To add evidence for a claim, you must submit it to PANICd.com for approval to be entered into the database.

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CLAIM #: 1258 - There are claims of cold spots and voices heard in the room that Marilyn Monroe stayed.
	Evidence Type: Video Encounter Type: EVP Hauting Type: Unknown Investigation Status: More Investigation Needed	Video with EVP of women asking for Help Submitted By: jragan On: 02/01/2011 DBA Approved: Y
CLAIM #: 1263 - Voices have been heard in empty rooms and hallways.
	Evidence Type: Log or Text Encounter Type: EVP Hauting Type: Intelligent Investigation Status: More Investigation Needed	CRIS Investigation Submitted By: jragan On: 02/01/2011 DBA Approved: Y

Additional Resources

This is a collection of Internet resources for this location. This section will house links to other websites that contain information related to history, claims, investigations, or even the location's website.

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CRIS Contact Research Investigation Added: 02/01/2011 By: jragan

Webpage about an investigation performed at this location.

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