James Dougherty

James Edward Dougherty (April 12, 1921 – August 15, 2005) was an American police officer, the first trainer of Special Weapons and Tactics. He is best known as the first husband of the actress Marilyn Monroe.

Life and career

1921–1941: Early life and education James Edward "Jim" Dougherty was born on April 12, 1921, in Los Angeles, California. He was the fifth and last child of Edward and Ethel Dougherty (née Beatty), natives of Pueblo, Colorado. After moving to Globe, Arizona, the family suffered during the Great Depression, living in a tent. Dougherty attended Van Nuys High School in Los Angeles, California, where he became the popular, attractive football captain and class president.

1941–1946: Early career and first marriage In 1941, Dougherty began working the night shift at Lockheed Aircraft. Monroe was living with her foster parents, Dougherty's neighbors named Grace and Doc Goddard, as her mother, Gladys Pearl Baker, had been committed to a sanatorium for paranoid schizophrenia in 1934. Dougherty would often drive Monroe home from school. and despite Monroe's young age, she and Dougherty began dating around 1941, their first date being a Christmas dance. To prevent this, Grace approached Ethel with the proposition that Dougherty marry Monroe. Though numerous reports claim that both parties were skeptical about marriage, especially Monroe, Monroe allegedly also told Grace that being married to Dougherty, whom she fondly called "Daddy" or "Jimmie", felt wonderful. After honeymooning on a lake in Ventura County, California, they moved into a studio apartment in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles.

In 1944, 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. Monroe moved back to Van Nuys, where she resided with Dougherty's parents so she would not be alone. In 1945, Monroe began modeling, much to the disappointment of Ethel, who disapproved of her having a career. She later signed a contract with the Blue Book Model agency and 20th Century Fox, who stipulated that she must be unmarried, as they did not want her to become pregnant. Due to this and his opposition to her career, Monroe filed for divorce from Dougherty in 1946.

After Dougherty returned home, he tried to talk Monroe out of divorcing him, to no avail. Though Monroe offered to continue the relationship as an unmarried couple, Dougherty was not open to this, and the two scarcely interacted with each other save during legal and personal proceedings. Monroe later admitted, "My marriage [to Dougherty] didn't make me sad, but it didn't make me happy either. My husband and I hardly spoke to each other. This wasn't because we were angry. We had nothing to say. I was dying of boredom." The divorce was finalized on September 13, 1946. In 1976, Dougherty told People magazine that "If I hadn't gone into the Merchant Marines during World War II, she would still be Mrs. Dougherty today."

1947–1973: Second marriage and career Following the divorce, Dougherty followed Monroe's career as an actress. On one occasion, Monroe allegedly called Dougherty, saying she was bored of Hollywood, missed him and wanted to resume their relationship. Instead of accepting her back, he sold their story to a film magazine. This deeply agitated Monroe, who cut off most communications with him and rarely spoke about him in public. and they had three daughters. In 1949, he joined the Los Angeles Police Department and eventually became a detective. He played a part in the creation of the Special Weapons and Tactics group, becoming the first officer to train it. He also broke up a plot to kidnap American actor James Garner. He worked for the LAPD for 25 years.

Dougherty learned of Monroe's death in 1962 through a coworker at LAPD. While speaking about Monroe's death in 2002, he said:

By this time, Dougherty's marriage to Scoman had become strained, as she was jealous of Monroe and her success. In 1990, he told the United Press International, "I never knew Marilyn Monroe, and I don't claim to have any insights to her to this day. I knew and loved Norma Jeane."

Dougherty and Russell also appeared on Sally in 1992, accompanied by Susan Strasberg. He released a second memoir, To Norma Jeane With Love, Jimmie in 2000. Both of his books were written upon receiving advice from Lambert.

At the age of 84, Dougherty died on August 15, 2005, due to leukemia complications. He is buried in Maine.