Who was James Dougherty? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: James Edward Dougherty

Died At Age: 84

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Marilyn Monroe (m. 1942–1946), Patricia Dougherty (m. 1947–1972), Rita Dougherty (m. 1974–2003)

father: Edward Dougherty

mother: Ethel Dougherty

children: Cheryl Ann Dougherty, Mary Irene Doughtery, Vivian Kathleen Dougherty

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Died on: August 15, 2005

place of death: San Rafael, California, United States

Notable Alumni: Van Nuys High School (1938)

U.S. State: Texas

More Facts

education: Van Nuys High School (1938)

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Rise to Stardom

James Dougherty, who had served in the Navy and was an officer for the Los Angeles Police Force, is most famous as the first husband of Marilyn Monroe. Despite being married to her only for four years and leading a quiet life away from spotlight for the most part of his life, he has often been mentioned in books and articles about Marilyn Monroe and made appearances in documentaries on her life. He also wrote a book and a memoir on her in his later years. A few years before his death, he gave interviews in which he talked about his relationship with her.

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Career

James Dougherty had a successful career detached from the entertainment industry. After completing his graduation, he began working at the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, close to his residence. Shortly after his first marriage, he left the corporation to join the US Merchant Marines, and was stationed in Catalina Island for about a year. He was later sent to the Pacific and served in the US Navy during World War II. Following his discharge from the Navy, he became a police detective for LAPD.

Family & Personal Life

James 'Jimmy' Edward Dougherty was born on April 12, 1921 in Los Angeles, California, to Ethel and Edward Dougherty. He was the youngest of his parents' five children. He graduated from Van Nuys High School in 1938. He retired from LAPD in 1974 and lived the rest of his life in Arizona and Maine.

James Dougherty was introduced to a young Marilyn Monroe when she was known by her birth name Norma Jeane and was under the guardianship of Grace Goddard, a neighbour of the Doughertys. Monroe, who spent much of her childhood in foster homes because of her mother Gladys' psychiatric issues, was taken in by her mother's best friend Grace in June 1936. Grace had become good friends with James' mother Ethel, and after the Goddards moved to a house about a mile far, Grace asked James to drop Monroe and Grace's step-daughter to and from school.

Grace and Ethel even coerced James Doughherty to take Marilyn Monroe to a Christmas dance. The couple subsequently went on several dates and watched movies at Graumans Chinese Theatre. In 1942, when her husband got promoted and the family had to move to West Virginia, Grace was unable to take Monroe with her because she was still underage and the state law did not allow it. Instead of returning her to the orphanage, Grace and Ethel persuaded a 21-year-old James to marry Marilyn Monroe, who was almost 16.

On June 19, 1942, a few weeks after Marilyn Monroe’s 16th birthday, James and Marilyn got married. Soon after the marriage, James Dougherty joined the Navy and had to spend months away from her, which prompted the then-housewife Monroe to take a job at the Radioplane Munitions Factory. There, she was photographed by David Conover on behalf of the U.S. Army Air Forces’ First Motion Picture Unit for supporting the war effort. She was subsequently given modeling assignments by Conover and eventually entered the film industry by signing a contract with 20th Century Fox, which required that she was unmarried. Despite James' attempts to convince her, she decided to pursue acting, pushing for divorce from him, thus ending their four-year old marriage.

Later in 1947, James Dougherty married a woman named Patricia Scoman after two years of dating. They had three daughters named Mary Irene, Cheryl Ann, and Vivian Kathleen. They were married for 25 year before divorcing in 1972. He again married in 1974, this time to Rita Lambert, with whom he was married till her death in 2003.

James Dougherty died from leukemia on August 15, 2005 at San Rafael, California, and was survived by his three daughters and two step-daughters.

James Dougherty Biography