Robert F. Slatzer, 77; Author Claimed Brief Marriage to Monroe

Robert F. Slatzer, 77, who wrote two books on Marilyn Monroe and claimed that he was briefly married to her, died March 28 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after a long illness, his wife, Deborah Slatzer, said.

In “The Life and Curious Death of Marilyn Monroe” (1974), Slatzer contended that he and Monroe were married secretly in Mexico in 1952 but that the relationship was ordered dissolved by Darryl F. Zanuck, then the head of 20th Century Fox Studios, who was worried about Monroe’s image.

Slatzer later told The Times that he and Monroe, whom he had met at Fox when she was a model, returned to Mexico and “undid” the marriage by burning the copy of the certificate filed in Mexican courts.

The marriage could not be independently confirmed.

Slatzer wrote a second book on Monroe, “The Marilyn Files,” published in 1992.

A native of Marion, Ohio, Slatzer attended Ohio State University and began his writing career as a reporter for the Columbus Dispatch and the Scripps Howard newspapers.

He came to Hollywood in 1946 to write about the movie business and eventually found work in films as a screenwriter, director and producer.

In addition to his books on Monroe, he wrote “Duke: The Life and Times of John Wayne” and “Bing Crosby: Hollow Man.”