Voting Station

James Dougherty

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Celebrity's Relative

The Resume

    (April 12, 1921-August 15, 2005)
    Born in Texas
    Former Officer with the LAPD
    Best known as the first husband to Norma Jean Baker (AKA Marilyn Monroe).
    Wrote 'The Secret Happiness of Marilyn Monroe' and 'To Norma Jeane With Love, Jimmie.'
    Featured in documentary, 'Marilyn's Man' (2004)

Why he might be annoying:

    He married a 15 year old Marilyn Monroe (then Norma Jean Baker), at the age of 20.
    Marilyn’s guardian, Grace Goddard, apparently paid him to take her out on dates.
    He held a grudge against Marilyn for remarrying twice after their divorce, despite the fact that he also remarried twice.
    Details surrounding the finalizing of their divorce are contradictory.
    Either Marilyn begged to stay married to him (James’ version) or he wanted to make love to her during the proceedings (Marilyn’s version).
    Predictably, he claimed to be the one true love of Marilyn’s life and claimed that they would have lived happily ever after had they had only stayed married.
    Like Joe Dimaggio, he was outraged by her infamous subway-vent scene in ‘Seven Year Itch.’
    He has dismissed Marilyn’s allegations of being molested as a child (only because she claimed to be a virgin before she married him).
    Many male biographers have seized on Dougherty’s dismissal as proof that Marilyn fabricated her testimony.
    When the New York Times asked for a comment after Marilyn’s death, he said ‘I’m sorry,’ and continued on his LAPD patrol.
    He capitalized on the fame of being Marilyn’s first husband.
    When asked in an Entertainment Tonight interview if he believed she would still be a sex symbol had she lived, he replied, ‘no I think she’d still be a little old grandma somewhere that no one had ever heard of.’

Why he might not be annoying:

    Come on, if you found out you had briefly been married to Marilyn Monroe, wouldn’t you be tempted to embellish just a little?
    Of her three ex-husbands, he arguably gave Marilyn the least amount of trouble.
    He graduated High School with Jane Russell (talk about an embarrassment in riches!)
    He was understanding when Marilyn revealed to him that she was born illegitimate.
    His marriage to Marilyn prevented her from being sent to either the orphanage or another foster home, when her guardians moved to Virginia.
    He allegedly contemplated suicide after divorcing Marilyn (reconsidering only after realizing his mother would see the body).
    He served with the Merchant Marines during WWII.
    He was overseas in Shanghai when he learned that Marilyn filed for a divorce from him.
    He dismissed the allegation that Marilyn was ‘a Hollywood prostitute,’ claiming that the rumor was probably started by an actor she turned down.
    He was married to his third spouse for nearly thirty years.
    Of his complicated relation with Marilyn, he said: ‘I love her, but I'm not in love with her. There's a lot of difference between loving someone and being in love.’

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 77.78% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 114 Votes: 46.49% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 20 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 15 Votes: 46.67% Annoying