Hey, girl, what’s your flavor? Chic brunette or blonde bombshell? Diplomatic elegance or overflowing glamour? Jackie or Marilyn?
¡Trick question! It’s irrelevant. Because both (yes, both) let their guard down and got cozy with a little smoke. At least once.
Jackie Kennedy: Hashy Sweets To Dance The Pain Away
Back in 1963, Jackie Kennedy had just endured the unthinkable: the death of her baby boy, Patrick. Brokenhearted, she accepted an offer meant to soothe her pain. The invitation came from none other than Aristotle Onassis, whom she would marry 5 years later.
Yachts, Mediterranean Sea breeze and a much-needed escape. Destination: Morocco.
Alongside her sister, Lee Radziwill, the First Lady joined a dinner hosted by the brother of King Hassan. There, a table overflowing with local tea, pastries… and a teeny-tiny touch of magic.
That’s how Clint Hill, Jackie’s Secret Service agent and bodyguard, recounts it in the book My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy, released October 25, 2022, as reported by Tokin Woman.
“What are these?” Hill asked, watching Jackie nibble a round sweet.
“Mahjoun. Moroccan specialty,” the server replied.
“Mahjoun, it turned out, was the Moroccan version of hash brownies”, Hill recalled. According to his recall, that night, Jackie laughed and danced nonstop. A loose, joyful Jackie—“like I hadn’t seen in a long time,” he said.
Yes, there was a photo. Or… there would’ve been. Hill, always on duty, stepped in to avoid the First Lady being presented unseemly:
“They had an official Moroccan photographer there, but by the end of the evening, I realized there could be some pictures that might not be flattering to Mrs. Kennedy. I explained to the photographer that this was meant to be a purely private visit, and that I would need to take his film so we could preview the photographs”.
Discretion first. But the memory is now inked in history.
Marilyn Monroe: Puffing, Passing, hanging out
Cut to New Jersey, late 1950s. A chill gathering in a suburban home. No glitz, no lights, just a bunch of (gorgeous) people hanging out.
And there’s Marilyn, the eternal platinum blonde, smoking a joint with friends. Someone, anonymous but brilliant, captured the moment on film, which would remain hidden away for five decades.
In 2009, the footage finally saw the light. The home video reveals Marilyn smiling, unguarded, deeply human. According to Keya Morgan, a collector who paid USD 275,000 for the tape, as reported by Reuters: “This is the late ’50s so she is already very famous, but this is a personal side of her we’ve never seen before. People have never seen her in such a relaxed pose”.
And the joint? 100% confirmed.
“I got it (the pot). It was mine. It was just passed around… It was not a party. It was just a get-together. You know, come over and hang out,” said the filmmaker, who kept the footage in an attic for 50 years like a sacred relic.
Two worlds, two styles, united by a leafy little link that reminds us that even legends need a breather.
Because sometimes, even icons just wanna laugh, dance… and pass the damn joint.
Photo: New York Sunday News, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (Marilyn) & Photograph in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (Jackie).
