Johnny Hyde was a small man in life, but his shadow still casts a long shadow in Hollywood. Thanks to agent Johnny Hyde, Marilyn Monroe was signed to a long contract with Twentieth Century-Fox, thus securing her place in Hollywood history—and his.
Born in Russia in 1896 with the name Ivan Haidabura, Johnny immigrated to America with his family, who worked as acrobats, at the age 10. Small of stature and weak with heart ailments his entire life, as an adult Johnny worked as an agent—first in New York and, later, Hollywood—becoming one of the top agents in entertainment with his position as executive vice president of the William Morris Agency. His long list of clients included such A-list celebrities as Rita Hayworth, Bob Hope, and Lana Turner.
He met Marilyn at the end of 1948, just as her contract with Columbia Pictures was ending and her romance with vocal coach Fred Karger was crumbling. Exactly how Johnny and Marilyn met is up for debate. Some say it was at a New Years Eve party; Susan Bernard says her father, Bernard of Hollywood, introduced Marilyn to Johnny.
What is known is that by January of 1949 53-year old Johnny Hyde was deeply in love with 22-year-old Marilyn Monroe. He left his wife and four sons for his new young girlfriend and immediately began devoting all his energy to her furthering career, beginning with buying out her contract with her first agent, Harry Lipton. Johnny essentially began acting as though he had just one client: Marilyn Monroe.
By day Johnny called upon his considerable connections seeking opportunities for her. By night he escorted her to popular restaurants and clubs in an effort for her to be seen by the right people.
It wasn’t long before his efforts began paying off. In August of 1949 Johnny set up an audition for a musical western called A Ticket to Tomahawk, with Marilyn winning the roll of a chorus girl. Although her part wasn’t huge, she stood out from the other chorus girls in her bright yellow dress.
This small but important success couldn’t have come at a better time. After some promising starts, first with Twentieth Century-Fox and then with six months at Columbia, Marilyn’s career stalled when these studios declined to renew her contracts. She was in desperate need of work and short on money. At times she slept on the couch of her acting coach and close friend, Natasha Lytess. During this lean time in Marilyn’s career, it was Natasha and Johnny who believed in her, gave her confidence, and encouraged her aspirations when no one else did.
Johnny was able to relieve some of her monetary concerns by showering her with gifts of clothing and jewelry and moving her in his swanky house in Beverly Hills. When not devoting himself to her career, Johnny repeatedly proposed to Marilyn. Marriage to Johnny would provide her with stability and, as he was not in good health, he reminded her that she would inherit his considerable estate.
Though she came to deeply love and respect Johnny, she never could bring herself to say she was “in love” with him. She turned his multiple marriage proposals down, unable to marry a man with whom she wasn’t truly in love. She was still smarting over her broken heart caused by Fred Karger, but she was also a pragmatic woman. If she were to marry Johnny and inherit his vast wealth, she was well aware that she would forever be branded a gold digger and her career would never be taken seriously. Her career and respectability meant everything to her; money, on the other hand, meant little.
Despite not having a contract with a studio, thanks to Johnny Marilyn began auditioning for—and winning—a number of movie roles, including parts in Right Cross, Hometown Story, The Fireball, the superb John Huston crime drama Asphalt Jungle and, most importantly, All About Eve, a star-studded picture that swept the Academy Awards for 1950.
Although relatively happy together, Marilyn’s relationship with Johnny was not without its dark side. Her refusal to marry him caused tension in their relationship and Johnny arranged for Marilyn to have minor cosmetic procedures performed on her face. The exact details are unknown, but most believe that her nose and chin received some minor “perfecting.”
It became Marilyn’s pattern during her lifetime that her romantic partners looked upon her critically. Her previous boyfriend, Fred Karger, paid for cosmetic dental work, spoke negatively of her lack of education and critiqued her wardrobe. In response she began buying books and new clothes, which she couldn’t afford. Now, once again, Johnny was pointing out her flaws, subtle though the changes may have been. Still, it’s important to remember that Marilyn valued Johnny’s opinion and trusted him implicitly.
Though she wouldn’t marry him, Marilyn was a deeply devoted and faithful companion. Marilyn’s career was officially on the rise; all the while Johnny Hyde’s time was winding down. Never in good health, Johnny’s bad heart was finally giving out. After a series of heart attacks, Johnny Hyde succumbed to his heart condition on December 18, 1950. In one story it’s reported that Marilyn stood outside his hospital room, listening to him call her name on his deathbed, but that the Hyde family would not permit her to enter. Another story, however, has her arriving at the hospital after his passing.
After his death, the Hyde family quickly evicted Marilyn from the home she shared with Johnny and seized most of the gifts he had purchased for her.
By all accounts, Marilyn was devastated by Johnny’s death. When informed that she was not welcome at the funeral, Marilyn decided that was one edict too many. Wearing black and veiled, Marilyn and Natasha quietly slipped into Johnny’s funeral. Some accounts have Marilyn becoming hysterical and even throwing herself over the casket. The other—more likely—story is that she respectfully waited until the other mourners left and snapped off a single flower from the arrangement on his casket to keep as a memento.
Not long after Johnny’s death, Marilyn, once again living with her acting coach Natasha, was found passed out with dissolving sleeping tablets in her mouth. Natasha insisted that Marilyn attempted suicide after Johnny Hyde’s death; Marilyn, in contrast, accused Natasha of exaggeration. It’s important to note that Marilyn had not swallowed the pills—they were still in her mouth. She later told her business partner, Milton Greene, that “[Johnny] had made certain that I had nothing to die for.”
She was most certainly correct. In large part thanks to her performance in All About Eve, Twentieth Century-Fox took notice of Marilyn Monroe once again. Before his death, Johnny secured a long-term contract at the studio, which would provide Marilyn would financial security for years. It was his final gift to her, and the most lasting.
Under the terms of her agreement with Fox, she received $500 per week for the first year, with the studio having the option to renew after (which it did). For the second year, she would receive $750 per week; $1,250 per week for the third year; $1,500 for the fourth; $2,000 for the fifth; $2,500 for the sixth and $3,500 for the seventh year.
As it turns out, Marilyn didn’t finish out the terms of her contract. She had become so famous by 1955 that she went on strike in an effort to renegotiate for an even larger salary and increased control over her own career—and was successful in doing so. Still, if it hadn’t have been for Johnny Hyde, she may have never gotten the contract in the first place.
It’s difficult to say what would have happened to Marilyn and Johnny’s relationship if he had lived. One thing is certain, though, and that is Marilyn’s gratitude for Johnny Hyde, the man who mentored her, had faith in her and loved her. “I don’t know that any man ever loved me so much,” she said later. “Every guy I’d known seemed to want only one thing from me. Johnny wanted that, too, but he wanted to marry me, and I just couldn’t do it. Even when he was angry with me for refusing, I knew he never stopped loving me, never stopped working for me.”
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