Like the novel by Joyce Carol Oates that it is based on, Blonde—which is now streaming on Netflix—is a fictional story inspired by Marilyn Monroe’s life.
Despite the many folks on the internet determined to “debunk” the film, no one behind the conception of Blonde ever intended to present the events in the movie as fact. In an interview for the Blonde press notes, writer/director Andrew Dominik said, “Blonde is a work of fiction. It’s not a work of biography. I would never claim that it is. Joyce wrote a book that essentially dramatized how she felt about Marilyn Monroe.”
That said, Monroe was, of course, a real iconic figure, and many of the characters in the film were based on, or inspired by, the real-life Hollywood figures who surrounded her. Perhaps that’s why some audience members are understandably confused when it comes to the invented parts of the novel—like Blonde‘s depiction of Monroe’s three-way relationship with two guys.
Here’s how it goes down in the movie: At an LA Actor’s Circle meet-up in 1952, Marilyn meets Cass Chaplin Jr. (played by Xavier Samuel) and Edward “Eddy” G. Robinson Jr. (played by Evan Williams). They have a threesome and fall into a sexual, polyamorous relationship. Given the prolonged sex scene that plays out between Marilyn and these two men, it’s only natural that viewers would be wondering: Who the heck are those two guys giving Marilyn Monroe a handjob in a movie theater?
Read on to learn more about the true story of Cass Chaplin Jr. and Eddy Robinson Jr., the real-life men who were the inspiration for this fictional throuple depicted in Blonde.
Who are the two guys in Blonde?
The two men that Marilyn has a threesome with in Blonde are fictionalized versions of Charlie “Cass” Chaplin Jr. and Eddy Robinson Jr, the sons of actors Charlie Chaplin and Edward G. Robinson, respectively. In both Joyce Carol Oates novel and Netflix movie adaptation (though the book doesn’t use full names), Cass and Eddy are depicted as bisexual men who shepherd Marilyn through a sexual awakening, leading to a rare sequence where we the star as happy, indulgent, and carefree. At least, she is until she ends up pregnant and is forced to have an abortion against her will.
“They’re three damaged souls and they understand each other,” Blonde screenwriter and director Andrew Dominik told Decider in a previous interview. “It’s something sort of almost sibling-like, about their relationship. I feel like they see her. But you know, it’s the ’50s. You can’t have a child out of wedlock with a couple of gay guys and have a career.”
But though the names are taken from real people, this is a part of the novel that was almost entirely invented by Oates. It’s so invented, in fact, that a 2020 New Yorker essay about Oates’ novel mistakenly assumed Cass and Eddy were entirely made up, writing, “Others, including two gay sons of Hollywood, Cass Chaplin and Edward G. Robinson, Jr., are invented.”
Was Marilyn Monroe in a throuple with Cass Chaplin and Eddy Robinson Jr.?
No. The real Marilyn Monroe did not have a threesome relationship with Cass Chaplin and Eddy Robinson Jr. This was entirely invented for the novel and subsequent movie adaptation. Read on to learn what we know about the real Charlie Chaplin Jr. and Eddy Robinson Jr.’s relationship with the real Monroe.
Did Charlie Chaplin Jr. have a relationship with Marilyn Monroe?
Only if you believe the rumors. Unlike her marriages to Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller, Monroe’s possible relationship with the younger Chaplin does not come with photographic evidence. According to a 2017 People Magazine article, the rumor is that Monroe had an affair with Charlie Chaplin Jr. in 1947. Chaplin apparently makes referenced the affair in his 1960 autobiography, and the rumor was brought up again in a Monroe biography, Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe, by Anthony Summers.
The most evidence this reporter could find showing that Chaplin Jr. and Monroe even crossed paths is a photograph of himself that Chaplin signed, “To Marilyn, With sincerest hopes that you become a great actress. Feb 28, 1947, Charlie Chaplin, Jr,” via an auction website.
So perhaps the two did know each other. And what man wouldn’t want to claim that he had an affair with Marilyn Monroe? But it’s safe to say the real Cass Chaplin never sent Monroe letters claiming to be from her “tearful father.”
Did Eddy Robinson Jr. have a relationship with Marilyn Monroe?
Again, only if you believe the flimsy rumors, though there is even less evidence to support this one than her supposed affair with Chaplin. Blogs and unverified sources claim Monroe and Robinson. Jr. had an affair in 1953, but there is no proof of this. Robinson Jr. made no mention of the alleged affair in his autobiography, My Father, My Son.
We can verify that Eddy G. Robinson Jr.—the son of Edward G. Robinson, an actor known for his roles in early gangster films like Little Caesar and Key Largo—did, at least, know Monroe, if only in passing. Robinson Jr., also an actor, had small roles in two of Monroe’s films, Bus Stop (1956) and Some Like It Hot (1959). But that’s it!
So, there you have it. Sorry to burst the sexy threesome bubble!