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About an hour ago, a big crowd
walked in our stage door,
2
00:00:17,976 --> 00:00:19,644
and it was Jayne Mansfield.
3
00:00:21,021 --> 00:00:24,024
Here she is,
the lovely Jayne Mansfield.
4
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I feel like Mother Goose
I have so many children.
5
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What are their names? Who's that?
6
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This is Miklós.
7
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Hi, Miklós.
8
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- Maria...
- Pardon? Who are you?
9
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This little fella, what's his name?
10
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What is your name?
11
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- Zolie!
- What?
12
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Get your own show, kid, will ya?
13
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What's your name, darling?
14
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Maria.
15
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I feel that if you bear children,
16
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your first obligation
is to your children,
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whether you're a movie star
or whether you wash dishes.
18
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If anything ever happens
to my career,
19
00:02:30,567 --> 00:02:31,943
if I'm in an auto accident,
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if my face is scarred,
if I lose my legs...
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if any terrible mishap happens,
22
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my children will always be cared for.
23
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I was three years old
when my mom died.
24
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And I don't really have
any memories of her.
25
00:03:34,839 --> 00:03:38,051
I can remember one time
eating a bowl of cereal...
26
00:03:39,886 --> 00:03:42,931
and I remember her touching my hair.
27
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But I don't know
if that's a real memory
28
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or something that I made up
because I wished it happened.
29
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After she passed away,
30
00:03:58,571 --> 00:04:01,157
a moment that's always
stayed with me is when
31
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I found my baby book.
32
00:04:05,161 --> 00:04:06,621
All of my siblings had one,
33
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but when I looked through mine
34
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it was practically empty.
35
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So on top of having no memories,
36
00:04:20,134 --> 00:04:24,764
I think it just gave me
a sense of more loss.
37
00:04:26,474 --> 00:04:28,768
It was like this little hole
in my heart.
38
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As I got older,
my dad would say to me,
39
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"Don't read the books
about your mother.
40
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Don't read the books.
41
00:04:41,864 --> 00:04:43,866
You don't need to read those books."
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He said that they were full of lies,
43
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full of sensational bullshit.
44
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Things that he didn't want me
to have to deal with.
45
00:04:53,167 --> 00:04:56,713
So I did everything he said
and I never read the books.
46
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At a certain point, I began
to carry a lot of shame
47
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about her image as a sex symbol
48
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and all the choices
that came with that.
49
00:05:11,185 --> 00:05:13,187
So I pushed the idea of my mom
50
00:05:13,271 --> 00:05:15,690
further and further away
from my life.
51
00:05:17,859 --> 00:05:21,529
But as my career grew,
I started getting fan mail
52
00:05:21,612 --> 00:05:24,741
from people who knew
I was Jayne Mansfield's daughter.
53
00:05:26,326 --> 00:05:28,828
Maybe they knew her
or they had an interaction
54
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or they had a photo.
55
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And... it was just a lot.
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"Dear Ms. Hargitay, I have a program
57
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from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
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in which your mother starred."
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00:05:40,131 --> 00:05:42,216
"Dear Mariska, I was a close
friend of your mom and dad."
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"Hello, Mariska.
Jayne lived next door
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and would practice
her violin every afternoon."
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00:05:48,973 --> 00:05:50,224
"Dear Ms. Hargitay,
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00:05:50,308 --> 00:05:52,769
you should have
this memorabilia of your mom.
64
00:05:52,852 --> 00:05:56,356
They include your birth announcement
and other stuff."
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00:05:59,984 --> 00:06:01,903
I kept everything
that was sent to me,
66
00:06:03,321 --> 00:06:06,199
and I think
that was sort of the beginning.
67
00:06:09,660 --> 00:06:13,039
My mom became someone that I thought
more and more about.
68
00:06:14,207 --> 00:06:17,835
During the pandemic,
I even threw her a birthday party.
69
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Happy birthday, dear Jayne
70
00:06:24,801 --> 00:06:26,677
Not a lot of people
throw birthday parties
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for their dead mothers,
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but there was a sort of magic to it.
73
00:06:35,144 --> 00:06:37,855
It was around that time
that I began to feel like
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00:06:37,939 --> 00:06:40,733
I actually wanted to get to know her.
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00:06:41,943 --> 00:06:44,654
Not as the sex symbol
Jayne Mansfield,
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but just as Jayne,
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00:06:48,533 --> 00:06:50,034
my mom Jayne.
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00:06:52,829 --> 00:06:58,501
My dad, who was my rock,
died in 2006.
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And there were so many questions
that I never asked him.
80
00:07:05,174 --> 00:07:08,177
I've also never really talked
to my siblings much
81
00:07:08,261 --> 00:07:10,638
about their experiences.
82
00:07:12,306 --> 00:07:15,560
But I want to understand her now.
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00:07:17,103 --> 00:07:19,272
Because it's a part of my life,
84
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and a part of me,
85
00:07:22,233 --> 00:07:24,944
that's always felt locked away.
86
00:07:53,806 --> 00:07:55,558
Sorry, let me
bring this in for a sec.
87
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I like the wood on top of that.
It's nice.
88
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- Custom.
- Yeah.
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00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:03,441
Ready?
90
00:08:04,775 --> 00:08:06,319
So we'll go over here. Careful.
91
00:08:06,402 --> 00:08:07,403
Okay.
92
00:08:12,950 --> 00:08:14,619
Let's kiss like Danmama. Remember?
93
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That's how my grandmother
used to kiss.
94
00:08:24,253 --> 00:08:25,338
Ready?
95
00:08:28,633 --> 00:08:29,634
Okay.
96
00:08:30,176 --> 00:08:31,260
Are we good?
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I mean...
98
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- As good as we're gonna be.
- Good as we--
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00:08:36,599 --> 00:08:39,644
I don't know how the hell you
got me to do this!
100
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Trying to make you a--
Trying to make you a big star
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00:08:44,732 --> 00:08:46,150
with those baby blues.
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That's not gonna happen.
103
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So.
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- Here we are.
- You ready?
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Yes, we are.
106
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We're here.
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I've been waiting
for this day for a long time.
108
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And first of all,
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I just wanna say
thank you for doing this,
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and I feel like I'm nervous now
111
00:09:10,132 --> 00:09:12,426
because I know that you're not a fan
112
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of, you know,
talking about this stuff.
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So, we'll see where it goes
and see how we feel,
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and if you don't want to talk
about anything, don't.
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Thank you, Marish.
Thank you for asking me.
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It's an honor, definitely,
and anything you ask,
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you know I'm there for you.
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Thank you.
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I first want to talk about
our childhood a little bit.
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Because you have all these memories,
and I'm envious of that.
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I don't have memories.
122
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Well, you... your...
123
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Can you cut for a minute?
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I guess,
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rather than have, like, memories,
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it feels more like
I remember an essence.
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Like a nuance of the person,
if that makes sense.
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I remember her presence...
129
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and I remember some
of the feelings of that time.
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I have to kind of dig deep
to find them.
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But the general feeling
was good in those early days.
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Back then, we were living in Texas,
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and it was just me and her.
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I mean, I can just picture her,
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'cause she was so young.
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My father,
his name was Paul Mansfield.
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And at the time, they were married.
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When I was a kid, I remember,
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she used to look
at all the movie stars
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and go to movies all the time.
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I mean, she shared that with me.
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She had her idols.
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00:11:52,962 --> 00:11:55,840
And she wanted
to be one of those stars.
144
00:11:57,675 --> 00:12:01,929
Paul Mansfield
was a very churchgoing Texan,
145
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and not into that at all.
146
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But she was committed to it.
147
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She pursued it in drama classes.
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She just had that desire
to be a serious actress.
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00:12:20,823 --> 00:12:24,118
And she was totally
determined to do that.
150
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So, she decided,
"Hey, I'm coming to California.
151
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I'm gonna do it."
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Paul Mansfield came out with us.
153
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But he realized that she wasn't
going to leave.
154
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So he left and she and I stayed.
155
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In the beginning,
she'd show up for anything.
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She would model.
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She taught dance.
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She'd sell candy
at The Wiltern Theatre.
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Anything, to be noticed.
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And, you know, she'd take me
with her everywhere.
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I have a lot of memories
of those days,
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because I had her to myself.
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But then, she got noticed
by an agent,
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and he got her some auditions.
165
00:14:10,683 --> 00:14:14,478
At the time, we were living
in an apartment in Los Angeles,
166
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making ends meet.
167
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And then all of a sudden...
168
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she was getting roles.
169
00:14:25,322 --> 00:14:27,324
You're trouble, Al.
You always will be.
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00:14:27,449 --> 00:14:30,035
But I've come along to give you
a taste of your own medicine.
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Who made the call?
172
00:14:32,329 --> 00:14:33,455
Ray Borden.
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- You sure of that?
- Absolutely.
174
00:14:37,751 --> 00:14:39,503
He told me his name.
175
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Besides, he was very insulting.
176
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We got to talking about this and that
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00:14:44,133 --> 00:14:46,552
and she tells me she's crazy
about John Facenda.
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00:14:46,635 --> 00:14:48,429
- John Facenda?
- He's a news reporter.
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00:14:48,512 --> 00:14:50,139
He's on television.
He's on every night.
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At 11 o'clock for 15 minutes.
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When did you realize
what was happening?
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00:15:08,157 --> 00:15:12,161
I probably started noticing it
when I was around five or six.
183
00:15:13,954 --> 00:15:16,999
She was 22 and she was on Broadway.
184
00:15:34,558 --> 00:15:38,312
That play, Will Success
Spoil Rock Hunter?,
185
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that's what put her on the map.
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I mean, I remember we lived
in The Plaza Hotel.
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One time, it was Easter
and it was just her and me,
188
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and she said,
"I got a surprise for you.
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Go into the bathroom."
190
00:16:01,251 --> 00:16:03,587
And I go in there and open the door
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and there's hundreds
of little baby chicks
192
00:16:05,881 --> 00:16:09,385
and I remember us
just sitting down on the floor
193
00:16:09,468 --> 00:16:11,720
and laughing and giggling.
194
00:16:11,804 --> 00:16:13,806
I almost wanna cry
because I remember it.
195
00:16:29,405 --> 00:16:31,240
Because I can
just feel her holding me
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and smiling and laughing.
197
00:16:49,216 --> 00:16:52,219
After my mom died when she was 34,
198
00:16:53,012 --> 00:16:56,015
our family had to deal
with a lot of things.
199
00:16:57,433 --> 00:17:01,270
One of those things was that
she didn't have a will.
200
00:17:02,938 --> 00:17:07,651
So the state sold off her belongings
to pay her debts.
201
00:17:08,444 --> 00:17:10,904
And there were just
a handful of items
202
00:17:10,988 --> 00:17:13,282
that my siblings and I
were able to keep.
203
00:17:15,034 --> 00:17:16,493
I have her baby shoes.
204
00:17:16,535 --> 00:17:18,787
Oh my God.
205
00:17:19,663 --> 00:17:21,665
Yeah. And they're worn too.
206
00:17:21,790 --> 00:17:23,333
Yeah. I love this.
207
00:17:23,375 --> 00:17:25,461
Look at these shoes.
208
00:17:28,630 --> 00:17:29,965
- They're gorgeous.
- Just to share.
209
00:17:30,049 --> 00:17:31,925
- That was beautiful.
- Yeah.
210
00:17:37,056 --> 00:17:41,143
For me, a lot of this
is about reclaiming what was lost.
211
00:17:42,436 --> 00:17:44,188
Even physical things.
212
00:17:45,439 --> 00:17:47,983
So I decided to finally go through
213
00:17:48,067 --> 00:17:49,610
our family storage unit
214
00:17:51,403 --> 00:17:56,575
because no one has opened
the boxes since 1969.
215
00:18:21,016 --> 00:18:24,603
I wish my siblings could
be here with me for this.
216
00:18:37,116 --> 00:18:38,367
Oh my gosh.
217
00:18:39,326 --> 00:18:41,453
That's her and Paul Mansfield.
218
00:18:42,371 --> 00:18:43,539
He got cut out.
219
00:18:48,085 --> 00:18:49,211
Wow.
220
00:18:50,170 --> 00:18:51,797
There's a lot of this.
221
00:18:53,298 --> 00:18:54,967
Who did she cut out?
222
00:19:01,765 --> 00:19:03,183
Oh.
223
00:19:24,997 --> 00:19:26,915
I don't remember having this.
224
00:19:28,167 --> 00:19:29,334
There's Dad.
225
00:19:32,212 --> 00:19:33,255
Mickey.
226
00:19:36,884 --> 00:19:38,677
What do you remember about it?
227
00:19:39,428 --> 00:19:41,847
I'm sure he was not over her
228
00:19:41,930 --> 00:19:43,265
when we met.
229
00:19:43,348 --> 00:19:48,645
Because she passed away
June 29th, 1967,
230
00:19:48,729 --> 00:19:52,566
and Mickey and I got married
in April of 1968.
231
00:19:52,649 --> 00:19:54,026
But you always have them with you.
232
00:19:54,109 --> 00:19:56,820
There's no way that,
once you love somebody,
233
00:19:56,904 --> 00:19:59,156
that they ever leave your heart.
234
00:19:59,198 --> 00:20:01,366
I don't care who, I don't care
how angry you are,
235
00:20:01,450 --> 00:20:02,910
I don't care anything.
236
00:20:02,993 --> 00:20:05,495
If you really love somebody,
they remain in there.
237
00:20:06,538 --> 00:20:07,706
Come on, buds.
238
00:20:18,300 --> 00:20:19,885
Mickey was from Hungary.
239
00:20:23,347 --> 00:20:27,476
When he was 20, he was
a championship speed skater.
240
00:20:29,186 --> 00:20:31,605
He was on the national team
for soccer.
241
00:20:33,565 --> 00:20:35,984
He was also an adagio dancer.
242
00:20:38,278 --> 00:20:42,491
He came to the United States
with seven dollars in his pocket,
243
00:20:42,574 --> 00:20:45,202
and then he became a catcher
for the circus.
244
00:20:47,788 --> 00:20:49,790
And I mean, that was before
he was working out
245
00:20:49,873 --> 00:20:51,458
to become a bodybuilder.
246
00:20:54,044 --> 00:20:55,420
He became Mr. Indianapolis,
247
00:20:56,046 --> 00:20:57,089
Mr. Indiana,
248
00:20:57,839 --> 00:20:59,049
Mr. Midwest America,
249
00:20:59,967 --> 00:21:01,301
and finally Mr. Universe.
250
00:21:05,597 --> 00:21:07,432
Mickey would say,
251
00:21:07,516 --> 00:21:09,351
"If you can dream it, you can do it."
252
00:21:10,227 --> 00:21:11,770
That's who Mickey was.
253
00:21:16,066 --> 00:21:17,985
So after being crowned Mr. Universe,
254
00:21:18,068 --> 00:21:21,530
he got a job onstage
doing a show in New York
255
00:21:21,613 --> 00:21:22,906
for Mae West.
256
00:21:25,742 --> 00:21:26,910
And one night,
257
00:21:27,619 --> 00:21:29,538
Jayne Mansfield was in the audience.
258
00:21:30,580 --> 00:21:33,041
And after the show, they met...
259
00:21:35,669 --> 00:21:37,879
and that was the beginning of...
260
00:21:40,090 --> 00:21:41,758
a lovely time in their lives.
261
00:21:55,272 --> 00:21:58,066
It was love
at first sight with Mickey,
262
00:21:58,150 --> 00:21:59,568
I think it really was.
263
00:22:01,194 --> 00:22:04,197
And he was just such a nice man.
264
00:22:04,823 --> 00:22:06,700
You could just see
that she was so happy.
265
00:22:42,402 --> 00:22:44,529
It was a really big deal
when they got married.
266
00:22:46,073 --> 00:22:47,240
Yeah, I was happy.
267
00:22:49,826 --> 00:22:52,245
Things were already
just changing so much, you know.
268
00:23:04,466 --> 00:23:06,635
Jayne Mansfield and Mickey Hargitay
269
00:23:06,718 --> 00:23:10,430
have just left this
American Airlines plane.
270
00:23:11,473 --> 00:23:13,475
A huge crowd has gathered.
271
00:23:31,368 --> 00:23:32,744
At the moment, she is also
272
00:23:32,828 --> 00:23:34,746
the most photographed woman
in show business.
273
00:23:37,582 --> 00:23:41,211
Ms. Mansfield, in 1954,
not too many years ago,
274
00:23:41,294 --> 00:23:43,588
you were selling candy
in a Hollywood theater.
275
00:23:44,214 --> 00:23:48,510
How do you account for
your meteoric rise to fame?
276
00:23:49,678 --> 00:23:53,056
Well, Joyce,
what I have done is this.
277
00:23:53,140 --> 00:23:55,559
I use my pinup-type publicity
278
00:23:55,642 --> 00:23:58,562
to get my foot in the door,
so to speak,
279
00:23:58,645 --> 00:24:01,356
because it never
was really my ambition.
280
00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:03,316
Do you like doing that?
281
00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:05,485
I use it as a means to an end.
282
00:24:05,569 --> 00:24:07,446
I don't know
if I should say I liked it.
283
00:24:07,529 --> 00:24:09,531
But I felt that it would do me
some good,
284
00:24:09,614 --> 00:24:12,409
being put into a position
where I could project myself
285
00:24:12,492 --> 00:24:14,578
to what I really wanted to attain.
286
00:24:20,876 --> 00:24:23,837
This is Rita Marlowe,
star of stage, screen,
287
00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:25,213
and now live television.
288
00:24:27,924 --> 00:24:30,302
I think it's very, very bad taste.
289
00:24:30,385 --> 00:24:31,470
What's very bad taste?
290
00:24:31,553 --> 00:24:33,680
Telling your wife you love her
in front of me!
291
00:24:36,933 --> 00:24:39,394
Jayne, how do you like it here
at Goose Air Base?
292
00:24:39,478 --> 00:24:42,439
Oh, I love it anywhere
there are men on the alert.
293
00:24:44,441 --> 00:24:45,567
She's not kidding either.
294
00:24:45,650 --> 00:24:47,861
The radar keeps going
ring-a-ding-ding.
295
00:25:26,399 --> 00:25:28,068
I'm in the Beverly Hills home
296
00:25:28,151 --> 00:25:30,820
of Jayne Mansfield
and her husband Mickey Hargitay.
297
00:25:30,904 --> 00:25:33,031
- Would you mind a little tour?
- Sure. Follow me, will you?
298
00:25:33,114 --> 00:25:35,492
- How about the living room?
- I'll show you the living room.
299
00:25:36,535 --> 00:25:39,037
The plaque up there, Jayne,
it's a painting of what?
300
00:25:39,120 --> 00:25:41,414
It's our crest.
J and M for Jayne and Mickey.
301
00:25:41,915 --> 00:25:43,750
Glenn Holse painted this.
302
00:25:43,833 --> 00:25:45,961
Yes. He did the murals
on the piano as well,
303
00:25:46,044 --> 00:25:47,712
the cupids behind you.
304
00:25:47,796 --> 00:25:49,297
Now, you have three children.
305
00:25:49,381 --> 00:25:51,758
- Yes. This is Mickey Jr.
- Hi, Mickey Jr.
306
00:25:51,841 --> 00:25:53,176
Excuse me for introducing him first.
307
00:25:53,260 --> 00:25:54,803
- Nice meeting you, sir.
- This is Jayne Marie,
308
00:25:54,886 --> 00:25:55,971
- our little daughter.
- Hi.
309
00:25:56,054 --> 00:25:57,180
Nice meeting you.
310
00:25:57,264 --> 00:25:59,683
That's our youngest son,
Zoltan Anthony.
311
00:26:07,941 --> 00:26:10,652
What do you remember about that time?
312
00:26:11,820 --> 00:26:15,156
I remember her playing with us
313
00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:16,825
in the pool area.
314
00:26:19,661 --> 00:26:20,954
It was a heart-shaped pool.
315
00:26:23,039 --> 00:26:25,083
And it was huge.
316
00:26:26,126 --> 00:26:27,460
And that was normal to you.
317
00:26:27,544 --> 00:26:28,920
That was normal.
318
00:26:31,006 --> 00:26:33,425
We also had a lot of animals.
319
00:26:34,342 --> 00:26:36,344
She loved animals.
320
00:26:36,428 --> 00:26:37,929
Remember the ocelot?
There was an ocelot...
321
00:26:38,013 --> 00:26:39,306
- I don't.
- ...in the back.
322
00:26:39,389 --> 00:26:40,974
It was in a big cage.
323
00:26:41,057 --> 00:26:42,392
We called it the "jungle" back there.
324
00:26:44,269 --> 00:26:46,146
So you had a zoo growing up.
325
00:26:46,229 --> 00:26:47,439
We had a zoo.
326
00:26:47,522 --> 00:26:49,774
I say, "We had a zoo,"
but I don't remember anything.
327
00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:51,526
Yeah.
328
00:26:58,116 --> 00:27:01,036
God, I just... I wonder what you felt
329
00:27:01,119 --> 00:27:02,662
seeing them so...
330
00:27:02,746 --> 00:27:04,789
Talk about larger than life.
331
00:27:12,047 --> 00:27:13,840
Did it ever get normalized?
332
00:27:14,674 --> 00:27:17,385
Marish, it's hard
because when you're a kid,
333
00:27:17,469 --> 00:27:19,095
you don't know anything else.
334
00:27:19,179 --> 00:27:21,514
There's no norm.
There's no... you know.
335
00:27:21,598 --> 00:27:22,849
- Yeah.
- You just,
336
00:27:22,932 --> 00:27:25,101
"Okay, this is what it is.
337
00:27:25,185 --> 00:27:26,811
This is life. This is my life,"
338
00:27:26,895 --> 00:27:27,896
and that's all you know.
339
00:27:31,691 --> 00:27:34,986
But I felt loved and I felt safe.
340
00:27:36,279 --> 00:27:38,615
And that's what made
the biggest impression.
341
00:27:51,419 --> 00:27:53,880
I remember her coming in one time
342
00:27:53,963 --> 00:27:55,423
and she said good night.
343
00:27:58,385 --> 00:27:59,886
And...
344
00:28:03,056 --> 00:28:05,183
she came back like ten minutes later.
345
00:28:06,142 --> 00:28:08,144
She gave me like...
346
00:28:08,228 --> 00:28:09,896
a beautiful hug.
347
00:28:11,439 --> 00:28:14,150
But I had my eye open to where she--
348
00:28:14,234 --> 00:28:15,819
I pretended like I was asleep
349
00:28:15,902 --> 00:28:17,195
and then I fell asleep.
350
00:28:24,411 --> 00:28:25,620
Yeah.
351
00:28:39,217 --> 00:28:40,719
- Oh, thanks.
- Yeah. For sure.
352
00:28:41,845 --> 00:28:43,972
No one believes I'm as old as I am.
353
00:28:45,890 --> 00:28:47,600
I'll be 100 next year.
354
00:28:51,730 --> 00:28:54,190
So, do you go by Rusty or Ray?
355
00:28:54,274 --> 00:28:55,567
- Rusty.
- Rusty.
356
00:28:55,650 --> 00:28:56,860
Anything they call me,
357
00:28:56,943 --> 00:28:58,820
so long as they don't call me
late for dinner.
358
00:29:01,573 --> 00:29:03,616
And what year again did you meet her?
359
00:29:03,700 --> 00:29:04,826
1957.
360
00:29:05,910 --> 00:29:08,621
She hired me to help with fan mail,
361
00:29:08,705 --> 00:29:10,832
but I eventually became
her press secretary.
362
00:29:12,167 --> 00:29:15,128
I'd do all the phone calls
and make appointments
363
00:29:15,211 --> 00:29:16,212
and that sort of thing.
364
00:29:16,296 --> 00:29:17,797
Set up publicity.
365
00:29:17,881 --> 00:29:19,549
You know what--
the publicity business.
366
00:29:24,304 --> 00:29:26,389
She was famous for opening stores.
367
00:29:28,850 --> 00:29:30,310
But it was much more than that.
368
00:29:31,936 --> 00:29:33,354
She was always on display.
369
00:29:35,190 --> 00:29:36,649
In front of fans.
370
00:29:37,484 --> 00:29:41,029
She said, "Never turn away
somebody that wants an autograph
371
00:29:41,112 --> 00:29:43,740
because without them
there wouldn't be me."
372
00:30:29,202 --> 00:30:32,038
May I say, I'm sure
were he here tonight...
373
00:30:42,841 --> 00:30:45,009
So everything
that you were doing together
374
00:30:45,093 --> 00:30:46,553
was really working.
375
00:30:47,262 --> 00:30:48,555
Yeah. Oh, yeah.
376
00:30:50,056 --> 00:30:52,809
And I'll tell you,
she counted the paper clips.
377
00:30:52,892 --> 00:30:54,227
She was meticulous.
378
00:30:54,310 --> 00:30:55,812
Oh yes.
379
00:30:55,895 --> 00:30:57,564
"What happened to that one?
To this one?"
380
00:30:57,647 --> 00:30:59,566
- "I don't know!"
- She kept track of everything?
381
00:30:59,649 --> 00:31:00,733
She kept track of everything.
382
00:31:09,701 --> 00:31:11,119
Hello, Jayne.
383
00:31:11,202 --> 00:31:14,330
I knew this before, when I did
that picture with you.
384
00:31:14,414 --> 00:31:16,249
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
385
00:31:16,332 --> 00:31:17,625
Yeah, that was
a pretty funny picture.
386
00:31:17,709 --> 00:31:19,961
You were the cutest
leading man I ever had yet.
387
00:31:20,044 --> 00:31:21,921
And the oldest too, I think.
388
00:31:22,005 --> 00:31:23,715
You know, you're actually,
389
00:31:23,798 --> 00:31:25,174
and I've told this to other people,
390
00:31:25,258 --> 00:31:27,010
you're not the dumb blonde
that you pretend to be.
391
00:31:27,093 --> 00:31:28,928
And I think the people ought to know
392
00:31:29,012 --> 00:31:31,389
that you're really
a bright, sentimental,
393
00:31:31,472 --> 00:31:33,308
and understanding person.
394
00:31:33,391 --> 00:31:35,935
- Thank you.
- And this is a whole facade of yours
395
00:31:36,019 --> 00:31:38,438
that isn't based on
what you actually are.
396
00:31:38,521 --> 00:31:40,690
Well, that's sweet of you.
Thank you so much.
397
00:31:40,773 --> 00:31:42,942
I think you're aware of that, Jayne.
398
00:31:43,026 --> 00:31:45,570
This is a kind of an act
you do, isn't it?
399
00:31:45,653 --> 00:31:47,280
Oh, it's...
400
00:31:47,363 --> 00:31:48,781
Most people don't know that, though.
401
00:31:48,865 --> 00:31:50,909
I think that it's like this.
402
00:31:50,992 --> 00:31:54,829
The public pays money
at the box office
403
00:31:54,913 --> 00:31:57,749
to see me a certain way, and...
404
00:31:57,832 --> 00:31:59,709
And they get their money's worth too.
405
00:32:01,044 --> 00:32:02,962
So I think it's just
all part of the role
406
00:32:03,046 --> 00:32:04,964
- I'm playing as an actress.
- Uh-huh.
407
00:32:07,258 --> 00:32:12,055
Can you talk to me about the role
that she was playing, the persona?
408
00:32:13,598 --> 00:32:15,516
Where do you think that came from?
409
00:32:16,434 --> 00:32:17,852
That's what the studios wanted.
410
00:32:20,188 --> 00:32:23,274
And so she sorta copied
Marilyn Monroe.
411
00:32:23,358 --> 00:32:26,277
That's me, right there on the beach.
412
00:32:27,779 --> 00:32:30,323
My hair was a little longer then.
Did you notice?
413
00:32:30,406 --> 00:32:32,784
Oh, Rock Huntington!
414
00:32:33,534 --> 00:32:36,037
I know I'm oh-so-kissable,
415
00:32:36,120 --> 00:32:40,041
but why don't you pour
the champagne first, lover doll.
416
00:32:41,376 --> 00:32:44,754
So I have had
a very complicated relationship
417
00:32:44,837 --> 00:32:47,173
with that voice,
418
00:32:47,256 --> 00:32:49,634
because I didn't understand
what that voice was,
419
00:32:49,717 --> 00:32:51,260
and it used to upset me.
420
00:32:52,011 --> 00:32:54,222
I don't think Jayne liked it,
421
00:32:54,305 --> 00:32:56,432
but she... that's what got her
where she was,
422
00:32:56,516 --> 00:32:57,725
and so she was not gonna--
423
00:32:57,809 --> 00:32:59,644
You know, you go where it gets you.
424
00:32:59,727 --> 00:33:01,187
What else do we have at home?
425
00:33:01,270 --> 00:33:05,066
Oh, we have an ocelot
and a myna bird.
426
00:33:05,149 --> 00:33:07,443
- An ocelot? One of those baby tigers?
- Yes.
427
00:33:08,152 --> 00:33:11,239
"I have an ocelot and a myna bird,
428
00:33:11,322 --> 00:33:13,324
and we also have an elephant and..."
429
00:33:13,408 --> 00:33:15,076
That's her.
430
00:33:15,159 --> 00:33:16,828
But she didn't always talk like that.
431
00:33:16,911 --> 00:33:19,330
- That's a character, almost.
- Yeah.
432
00:33:19,414 --> 00:33:21,124
It's a character.
433
00:33:21,207 --> 00:33:22,834
- That's the character Jayne.
- Mm-hmm.
434
00:33:24,669 --> 00:33:27,005
Did she ever talk to you
about what she was doing?
435
00:33:28,464 --> 00:33:29,924
Well, we didn't discuss it.
436
00:33:30,008 --> 00:33:32,093
It was just... we lived it.
437
00:33:33,636 --> 00:33:37,348
But she didn't put on
those weird airs at home.
438
00:33:38,224 --> 00:33:40,685
She had her hair up in a scarf
and she'd sit in the sun
439
00:33:40,768 --> 00:33:43,938
and no makeup
or any of that stuff at home.
440
00:33:44,022 --> 00:33:47,025
And she was, you know, just Jayne.
441
00:33:50,111 --> 00:33:52,321
She had a great sense of humor.
442
00:33:53,448 --> 00:33:55,700
We had intercoms
throughout the house,
443
00:33:55,783 --> 00:33:58,745
and whenever I'd have a friend visit,
444
00:33:58,828 --> 00:34:00,329
she would yell through them
445
00:34:00,413 --> 00:34:03,458
and make these weird noises.
446
00:34:04,917 --> 00:34:07,003
But she was also very eloquent.
447
00:34:07,795 --> 00:34:11,090
She spoke French, Italian,
Spanish, Hungarian.
448
00:34:12,300 --> 00:34:16,220
And she wanted us to be exposed
449
00:34:16,971 --> 00:34:19,474
to more.
450
00:34:20,975 --> 00:34:23,436
So she took me
to Walter Reed hospital
451
00:34:23,519 --> 00:34:26,022
to go visit the soldiers
coming back from the war.
452
00:34:28,066 --> 00:34:30,359
She had such compassion for them.
453
00:34:32,028 --> 00:34:36,616
And she wanted to show me
the other part of life.
454
00:35:08,022 --> 00:35:12,902
That wasn't a personality
pretending to be somebody else.
455
00:35:12,985 --> 00:35:14,445
That was her.
456
00:35:16,531 --> 00:35:18,908
I just wonder how it made you feel
457
00:35:19,909 --> 00:35:22,036
knowing who she was
458
00:35:22,120 --> 00:35:25,665
and how different she sounded
in public.
459
00:35:27,750 --> 00:35:31,462
It didn't feel natural.
It didn't feel right to me.
460
00:35:33,089 --> 00:35:35,842
So I think I kind of looked
the other way
461
00:35:35,925 --> 00:35:38,636
when I heard the, you know,
the public voice,
462
00:35:40,221 --> 00:35:43,975
because I knew
she was really, really smart.
463
00:36:50,082 --> 00:36:52,168
My playing the violin
and now the piano
464
00:36:52,293 --> 00:36:56,088
may remind you of a famous story
about Dr. Samuel Johnson.
465
00:36:56,172 --> 00:36:59,550
Once, when he saw a little puppy
walking on its hind legs,
466
00:36:59,634 --> 00:37:02,094
he said, "It's not that you
expect him to do it perfectly,
467
00:37:02,178 --> 00:37:05,306
it's just that you're surprised
the puppy does it at all."
468
00:37:05,389 --> 00:37:07,725
Which just goes to prove
that I not only
469
00:37:07,808 --> 00:37:09,101
play the violin and the piano,
470
00:37:09,185 --> 00:37:12,480
but I also know
who Dr. Samuel Johnson is.
471
00:37:50,935 --> 00:37:52,895
You gave her
singing and dancing lessons,
472
00:37:52,979 --> 00:37:54,272
I believe, Ms. Peers. Right?
473
00:37:54,355 --> 00:37:55,856
Yes, I did, Ralph.
474
00:37:55,940 --> 00:37:58,317
And then as she grew older,
475
00:37:58,401 --> 00:38:01,696
she had piano and violin lessons.
476
00:38:01,779 --> 00:38:06,701
And in fact, Philip Williams
from SMU taught Jaynie
477
00:38:06,784 --> 00:38:10,413
and he had hopes of seeing her
in Carnegie Hall.
478
00:38:10,496 --> 00:38:11,831
She was that gifted.
479
00:38:32,476 --> 00:38:35,229
Do you know why piano and violin
480
00:38:35,313 --> 00:38:39,025
didn't play more of a role
in what she ended up doing?
481
00:38:40,609 --> 00:38:43,404
Oh, I don't know
'cause I can't speak for her.
482
00:38:45,781 --> 00:38:48,617
But I just know that her goal
483
00:38:48,701 --> 00:38:51,245
was that she wanted
to be a serious actress.
484
00:38:53,080 --> 00:38:55,624
She did tell me that
from the beginning,
485
00:38:56,834 --> 00:38:58,252
and she did try.
486
00:38:59,754 --> 00:39:01,964
None of my business, but mind
if I tell you what I did
487
00:39:02,048 --> 00:39:03,799
to a guy I was in love with once?
488
00:39:05,301 --> 00:39:06,594
Broke a chair over his head
489
00:39:06,677 --> 00:39:09,221
after I caught him kissing
some dame at a party.
490
00:39:12,391 --> 00:39:14,226
Bet he never tried that again.
491
00:39:15,144 --> 00:39:17,438
Don't know. Never saw him after that.
492
00:39:18,522 --> 00:39:21,359
But he's married. Happily married.
493
00:39:23,152 --> 00:39:24,695
And I make a living.
494
00:39:26,572 --> 00:39:28,741
Believe me, breaking a chair
over a guy's head
495
00:39:28,824 --> 00:39:30,534
can sure work miracles.
496
00:39:31,494 --> 00:39:35,247
The kind of miracles
that louse up your whole life.
497
00:39:38,959 --> 00:39:41,712
Why didn't she do
more of those roles?
498
00:39:43,547 --> 00:39:45,883
Because the parts didn't come in.
499
00:39:47,968 --> 00:39:49,929
So she did what she had to do.
500
00:39:57,269 --> 00:40:00,481
Marilyn Monroe played out
her wonderful tragic life
501
00:40:00,564 --> 00:40:02,900
to a dramatic end at 36.
502
00:40:03,859 --> 00:40:06,362
Her famous body is wheeled
from her Hollywood home
503
00:40:06,445 --> 00:40:09,365
where she was found beside
an empty bottle of sleeping pills.
504
00:40:10,157 --> 00:40:11,784
The sex symbol she enjoyed being,
505
00:40:11,867 --> 00:40:14,245
the dumb blonde she certainly wasn't,
506
00:40:14,328 --> 00:40:17,665
the actress with an underestimated
ambition to act.
507
00:40:22,461 --> 00:40:24,797
Mom had great admiration for Marilyn,
508
00:40:26,924 --> 00:40:29,760
but I think she realized
509
00:40:29,844 --> 00:40:34,640
that whole blonde persona was a box.
510
00:40:36,934 --> 00:40:41,313
And around that time, she did tell me
511
00:40:41,397 --> 00:40:44,358
she wanted to reverse that image.
512
00:40:52,324 --> 00:40:55,619
Yes. I... I don't like
to be asked too much
513
00:40:55,703 --> 00:40:57,621
about my measurements
514
00:40:57,705 --> 00:41:00,291
because people have asked me
about that before
515
00:41:00,374 --> 00:41:02,877
and I don't like to be asked that.
516
00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:06,589
I feel that my figure
has been publicized
517
00:41:06,672 --> 00:41:09,133
much more than my intellect,
518
00:41:09,216 --> 00:41:11,093
and I would like to change that.
519
00:41:17,183 --> 00:41:19,935
Jayne, you are another beautiful
but dumb blonde.
520
00:41:20,019 --> 00:41:22,354
You are a publicity seeker.
521
00:41:22,438 --> 00:41:25,649
How do you feel about such images?
522
00:41:25,733 --> 00:41:27,902
Well, they're not accurate.
523
00:41:27,985 --> 00:41:29,111
In the very beginning,
524
00:41:29,195 --> 00:41:31,113
I was quite cooperative
publicity-wise,
525
00:41:31,780 --> 00:41:35,951
but lately I haven't been able to
because of the momentum
526
00:41:36,035 --> 00:41:39,079
in which my career
is moving at this time.
527
00:41:44,126 --> 00:41:46,128
Jayne, we just talked informally
528
00:41:46,212 --> 00:41:48,339
without any rehearsal.
But I'm concerned.
529
00:41:48,422 --> 00:41:50,382
You know, not seriously concerned.
530
00:41:50,466 --> 00:41:52,092
But what is this
new Jayne Mansfield thing?
531
00:41:52,176 --> 00:41:53,260
Well, I mean, why?
532
00:41:53,344 --> 00:41:54,386
- Well...
- Are you serious?
533
00:41:54,470 --> 00:41:55,763
Yes, I am quite serious.
534
00:41:55,846 --> 00:41:58,015
I have been very fortunate
535
00:41:58,098 --> 00:42:02,019
in being exposed as a glamor girl
for quite a few years.
536
00:42:02,102 --> 00:42:03,479
Yes, I'd say that.
537
00:42:03,562 --> 00:42:05,105
And...
538
00:42:06,982 --> 00:42:08,859
Dear me. I'm sorry.
539
00:42:08,943 --> 00:42:10,277
There goes my new image.
540
00:42:12,071 --> 00:42:13,197
No, but how can you change?
541
00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:14,573
It's like trying to hide a parachute.
542
00:42:14,657 --> 00:42:16,033
You know, I mean...
543
00:42:19,787 --> 00:42:21,121
Well, you did alright.
544
00:42:21,205 --> 00:42:22,873
There's a point at which
you don't go beyond...
545
00:42:22,957 --> 00:42:24,416
Well, I think that's the situation.
546
00:42:24,500 --> 00:42:26,377
I think that it has been done
547
00:42:26,460 --> 00:42:28,212
and I'm ready to be myself now.
548
00:42:28,295 --> 00:42:30,339
I've been someone else
for a few years
549
00:42:30,422 --> 00:42:31,882
and I'm ready to be myself.
550
00:42:32,967 --> 00:42:34,677
You're serious about this violin?
551
00:42:34,760 --> 00:42:37,429
I'll play a couple of bars
for you, okay?
552
00:42:38,806 --> 00:42:40,015
Are you a good player?
553
00:42:40,099 --> 00:42:41,600
I play.
554
00:42:45,938 --> 00:42:47,314
I think it has to be loosened.
555
00:42:47,398 --> 00:42:48,857
My bow is too tight.
556
00:42:50,859 --> 00:42:52,820
- I would say that it is.
- What was funny about that?
557
00:42:52,903 --> 00:42:54,738
Well, don't press your luck.
558
00:43:08,460 --> 00:43:09,795
Who cares? Kiss me.
559
00:43:14,550 --> 00:43:16,594
We'll be back soon,
but first we have a message
560
00:43:16,677 --> 00:43:18,470
from Mogen David wine.
561
00:43:33,569 --> 00:43:36,447
Maybe even more than her acting,
562
00:43:36,530 --> 00:43:40,326
her music is this symbol to me
563
00:43:40,409 --> 00:43:43,412
of the Jayne that I've been
aching to know.
564
00:43:45,914 --> 00:43:49,084
So a few years ago,
I tracked down a violin
565
00:43:49,168 --> 00:43:51,211
that I thought was hers.
566
00:43:52,588 --> 00:43:55,090
And it turned out
that it probably wasn't.
567
00:43:58,302 --> 00:44:00,638
But I also reached out to the person
568
00:44:00,721 --> 00:44:04,933
who bought my mom's house
ten years after she died,
569
00:44:05,017 --> 00:44:08,062
the singer-songwriter
Engelbert Humperdinck.
570
00:44:09,938 --> 00:44:12,024
He sold the house in 2002,
571
00:44:12,107 --> 00:44:13,817
and after that it was demolished.
572
00:44:15,110 --> 00:44:19,531
But he kept some things,
including my mom's piano,
573
00:44:21,033 --> 00:44:25,537
and I've been hoping for years
that he'd be willing to part with it.
574
00:44:29,792 --> 00:44:31,627
Hi, John. It's Mariska.
575
00:44:34,004 --> 00:44:35,923
Are you still friends with Louise?
576
00:44:37,132 --> 00:44:38,717
She had shared with me
577
00:44:38,801 --> 00:44:42,388
that Engelbert
wanted to sell the piano,
578
00:44:42,471 --> 00:44:46,016
and then I just haven't heard
from her in a month.
579
00:44:48,352 --> 00:44:50,187
Oh, John, that'd be so amazing.
580
00:44:50,270 --> 00:44:51,730
Thank you so much.
581
00:44:57,528 --> 00:45:00,531
I mean, I think the thing
that I keep coming back to is,
582
00:45:01,365 --> 00:45:04,785
do you think that she could
have done it a different way?
583
00:45:06,745 --> 00:45:09,665
She was a 21-year-old kid
when she started,
584
00:45:10,958 --> 00:45:13,836
and she was being molded
by everybody around her.
585
00:45:13,919 --> 00:45:17,131
And, unfortunately, she had
the wrong people around her.
586
00:45:19,133 --> 00:45:20,843
Except for Mickey.
587
00:45:24,430 --> 00:45:25,848
So I have a question for you.
588
00:45:25,931 --> 00:45:27,474
Mm-hmm.
589
00:45:28,350 --> 00:45:31,145
When I was going through photos
that I found in the storage unit...
590
00:45:32,479 --> 00:45:33,647
I found this.
591
00:45:36,233 --> 00:45:37,568
Uh-huh.
592
00:45:39,153 --> 00:45:41,071
I found all these pictures.
593
00:45:45,075 --> 00:45:46,118
It's Mickey.
594
00:45:48,203 --> 00:45:52,207
I remember going in there
and seeing her cutting up pictures.
595
00:45:52,291 --> 00:45:54,209
Did she say why?
596
00:45:54,293 --> 00:45:55,669
I don't remember.
597
00:45:55,753 --> 00:45:58,005
If she was in a bad mood,
I kept my distance.
598
00:46:00,382 --> 00:46:02,342
I'm so curious about what happened.
599
00:46:14,897 --> 00:46:18,066
I'm wondering when things
got difficult for them.
600
00:46:19,109 --> 00:46:20,569
Do you know what was going on?
601
00:46:23,197 --> 00:46:25,616
I know they were having disagreements
602
00:46:25,699 --> 00:46:27,910
about how they
were raising the children.
603
00:46:30,412 --> 00:46:34,124
But also, her career
wasn't going well.
604
00:46:38,754 --> 00:46:41,548
So she went back to
these parts for dumb blondes.
605
00:46:47,679 --> 00:46:49,640
I don't think it was easy for her.
606
00:46:50,682 --> 00:46:53,977
But I don't think it was easy
for Mickey either.
607
00:46:55,354 --> 00:46:58,273
She was completely absorbed
in negativity.
608
00:46:59,817 --> 00:47:01,944
Because she wasn't doing
the kind of work
609
00:47:02,027 --> 00:47:03,862
that she dreamed of doing.
610
00:47:05,489 --> 00:47:09,743
And I believe she became
a victim of...
611
00:47:10,994 --> 00:47:12,496
depression.
612
00:47:14,706 --> 00:47:17,543
You're never yourself
when you're depressed.
613
00:47:19,962 --> 00:47:22,923
But Mickey said that
it just started to get
614
00:47:23,590 --> 00:47:24,967
to be really difficult
615
00:47:26,260 --> 00:47:27,594
because Jayne...
616
00:47:28,804 --> 00:47:31,431
Jayne... Jayne really liked
to be out there.
617
00:47:32,266 --> 00:47:34,351
She liked to be out there.
618
00:47:34,434 --> 00:47:35,936
And she met other people.
619
00:47:36,019 --> 00:47:40,858
She met other men, you know,
and the marriage fell apart.
620
00:47:44,152 --> 00:47:48,115
I think that Mickey
was hurt deeply by Jayne.
621
00:47:49,867 --> 00:47:51,285
I think she...
622
00:47:53,287 --> 00:47:56,039
I think she blew it
when she divorced Mickey.
623
00:47:59,001 --> 00:48:01,879
Mickey was the most positive
influence in her life.
624
00:48:03,839 --> 00:48:07,259
And even though he might've
felt a lot of pain,
625
00:48:08,677 --> 00:48:09,803
he loved her.
626
00:48:10,721 --> 00:48:12,389
He always loved her
627
00:48:12,973 --> 00:48:14,766
even after they were divorced.
628
00:48:17,102 --> 00:48:19,229
And what happened
after they got divorced?
629
00:48:21,607 --> 00:48:24,943
She did come back to Mickey
many times after that.
630
00:48:26,778 --> 00:48:30,574
And they were together again
for a few months
631
00:48:31,617 --> 00:48:33,994
around the time Jayne
was pregnant with you.
632
00:48:44,796 --> 00:48:47,132
Jayne and Mickey,
welcome to California.
633
00:48:47,215 --> 00:48:48,926
How does it feel to be home?
634
00:48:50,260 --> 00:48:53,305
Well... feels wonderful.
635
00:48:53,388 --> 00:48:55,265
It's just great. It really is.
636
00:48:55,349 --> 00:48:58,393
I haven't been home myself
since last March.
637
00:48:58,477 --> 00:49:01,313
I've been in every place
in the world, I guess.
638
00:49:01,396 --> 00:49:03,523
I just finished a picture
called Dog Eat Dog
639
00:49:03,607 --> 00:49:05,233
in Yugoslavia and Rome.
640
00:49:05,317 --> 00:49:07,819
And now we're back here
for Mickey to continue
641
00:49:07,903 --> 00:49:09,696
on his television work
642
00:49:10,489 --> 00:49:12,199
and to have a baby.
643
00:49:12,282 --> 00:49:13,283
That's right.
644
00:49:13,367 --> 00:49:17,788
In January, or the end of December,
we're having our fourth child.
645
00:49:29,549 --> 00:49:31,551
I'm baby number four.
646
00:49:32,761 --> 00:49:35,639
And by the time I came along,
647
00:49:36,765 --> 00:49:39,726
I think there was a lot going on.
648
00:49:43,772 --> 00:49:45,691
And so there's a sense to me,
649
00:49:45,774 --> 00:49:47,693
in some of the photos,
650
00:49:48,944 --> 00:49:51,571
it just seemed like
she wasn't holding me a lot.
651
00:49:53,949 --> 00:49:55,993
Like she was off doing something else
652
00:49:57,703 --> 00:49:59,162
and I just had to handle it.
653
00:50:00,956 --> 00:50:04,751
So I don't know if I had
that attachment time with her.
654
00:50:07,087 --> 00:50:08,380
I don't know if I had that.
655
00:51:03,852 --> 00:51:05,937
Can I ask you a question
about my name?
656
00:51:06,021 --> 00:51:07,606
- Yeah.
- On my birth certificate
657
00:51:07,689 --> 00:51:10,400
everywhere it says
"Mariska Magdolna."
658
00:51:10,484 --> 00:51:11,943
- Yeah.
- Right?
659
00:51:12,027 --> 00:51:14,279
But then you guys called me Maria.
660
00:51:14,946 --> 00:51:16,364
That's right.
661
00:51:17,407 --> 00:51:19,493
Your name was Maria in the beginning.
662
00:51:19,576 --> 00:51:21,203
- Always Maria?
- Yeah.
663
00:51:21,286 --> 00:51:22,746
- In the beginning.
- Uh-huh.
664
00:51:22,829 --> 00:51:24,998
On The Merv Griffin Show,
she calls me Maria.
665
00:51:25,082 --> 00:51:27,834
- Yeah.
- What's your name, darling?
666
00:51:29,294 --> 00:51:31,463
- See, when I talk to the--
- Maureen?
667
00:51:31,546 --> 00:51:32,672
This is Maria.
668
00:51:36,343 --> 00:51:39,304
She had a real thing about your name.
669
00:51:40,680 --> 00:51:42,265
We were somewhere
670
00:51:42,349 --> 00:51:45,143
and the press was interviewing her
671
00:51:45,227 --> 00:51:47,813
and the reporter said,
672
00:51:48,438 --> 00:51:50,524
"Well, how's little Mariska?"
673
00:51:50,607 --> 00:51:52,818
Jayne says, "Her name is Maria.
674
00:51:52,901 --> 00:51:56,530
I'll spell it for you.
M-A-R-I-A. Maria."
675
00:52:00,450 --> 00:52:02,327
You know, you mentioned
that my husband
676
00:52:02,410 --> 00:52:03,495
was going to come on.
677
00:52:03,578 --> 00:52:04,996
He just stepped out for a minute.
678
00:52:05,080 --> 00:52:07,165
Maybe he's back now.
Think we could beckon him?
679
00:52:07,249 --> 00:52:08,250
Matt!
680
00:52:09,126 --> 00:52:10,919
Might as well bring the gang on.
681
00:52:11,002 --> 00:52:12,212
Matt Cimber!
682
00:52:13,713 --> 00:52:15,465
- Hello, Matt.
- Hi.
683
00:52:18,468 --> 00:52:19,678
You know him.
684
00:52:20,762 --> 00:52:22,430
Ms. Jayne Mansfield.
685
00:52:22,514 --> 00:52:24,641
I know you. How are you?
686
00:52:26,393 --> 00:52:29,938
I remember him coming into our life
687
00:52:31,189 --> 00:52:34,818
and mostly it being like,
you know, devastating,
688
00:52:34,901 --> 00:52:36,194
that like, "Where's my dad?"
689
00:52:38,405 --> 00:52:40,657
And then all of a sudden
we became Italian.
690
00:52:40,740 --> 00:52:42,200
And it was like,
691
00:52:42,284 --> 00:52:45,162
"You call me 'Mama'
and you call him 'Papa.'"
692
00:52:45,245 --> 00:52:47,747
And I'm like, what the fuck?
It's like...
693
00:52:47,831 --> 00:52:49,374
- Oh, really?
- It was weird. Yeah.
694
00:52:51,459 --> 00:52:53,712
And then, the family life
695
00:52:53,795 --> 00:52:56,173
started getting really sketchy.
696
00:52:57,799 --> 00:53:00,051
They fought like wildcats.
Always fighting.
697
00:53:02,804 --> 00:53:04,306
Matt had a bad temper,
698
00:53:05,098 --> 00:53:07,225
but Jayne would never admit
699
00:53:07,309 --> 00:53:08,685
if somebody had the better of her.
700
00:53:08,768 --> 00:53:10,687
She'd say,
"Oh, everything's alright."
701
00:53:11,771 --> 00:53:13,023
I ask her about it.
702
00:53:13,106 --> 00:53:16,610
"Oh, we have our battles.
We're alright."
703
00:53:20,238 --> 00:53:23,950
But, you know,
she would have bruises.
704
00:53:25,827 --> 00:53:27,662
Why do you think she married him?
705
00:53:27,746 --> 00:53:30,207
Because he was a director.
706
00:53:33,001 --> 00:53:36,630
But it didn't do anything
for her career.
707
00:53:40,508 --> 00:53:43,386
Things were changing for her
in the '60s,
708
00:53:45,388 --> 00:53:49,142
and so she had to turn
to doing nightclubs.
709
00:53:57,359 --> 00:53:59,152
I sing, do a little dancing,
710
00:53:59,236 --> 00:54:01,238
tell some jokes,
have a lot of fun generally.
711
00:54:19,881 --> 00:54:23,051
At that time, alcohol came in.
712
00:54:25,428 --> 00:54:28,306
And so did pills.
713
00:54:29,057 --> 00:54:31,726
And so I would take it upon myself
714
00:54:31,810 --> 00:54:35,522
to hide the bourbon and...
715
00:54:37,107 --> 00:54:40,151
empty the pills out,
that kind of thing.
716
00:54:41,569 --> 00:54:44,531
So, I was a caretaker.
717
00:54:47,826 --> 00:54:51,454
I think Matt was the worst thing
that ever happened to her.
718
00:54:54,457 --> 00:54:56,835
The only thing good came out
of that was Tony.
719
00:55:03,133 --> 00:55:05,802
Now the introduction of a new baby
720
00:55:05,885 --> 00:55:08,722
whose mother is star Jayne Mansfield.
721
00:55:08,805 --> 00:55:10,640
Well, that's something special.
722
00:55:10,724 --> 00:55:12,600
So let's go Hollywood Backstage
723
00:55:12,684 --> 00:55:14,436
and meet this bright new addition.
724
00:55:17,814 --> 00:55:22,068
My father, Matt,
never really talked about her.
725
00:55:24,112 --> 00:55:26,573
I guess that's kind of unfortunate
726
00:55:26,656 --> 00:55:30,660
because I never asked,
and I don't know why.
727
00:55:31,870 --> 00:55:34,497
But your dad and our mother,
728
00:55:35,707 --> 00:55:38,835
there are things that
I've heard that I'm always...
729
00:55:40,253 --> 00:55:43,131
fearful to bring up with you.
730
00:55:43,214 --> 00:55:44,883
I know.
731
00:55:44,966 --> 00:55:47,218
Things that are really ugly.
732
00:55:47,844 --> 00:55:48,845
Yes.
733
00:55:50,305 --> 00:55:52,432
- About their relationship.
- And I'm sure.
734
00:55:52,515 --> 00:55:53,516
And I'm sure.
735
00:55:55,769 --> 00:55:57,103
But...
736
00:55:58,146 --> 00:56:00,648
I don't know those ugly things.
737
00:56:00,732 --> 00:56:03,318
I don't know that I want to know.
738
00:56:04,569 --> 00:56:08,490
Because I don't want to carry it
739
00:56:10,575 --> 00:56:12,869
because I don't know
what good it does.
740
00:56:47,654 --> 00:56:51,282
"April 11th, 1936.
741
00:56:52,033 --> 00:56:56,371
Herbert W. Palmer, 32,
Phillipsburg lawyer
742
00:56:56,454 --> 00:56:59,290
and a native
of Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania,
743
00:56:59,374 --> 00:57:01,918
died suddenly in his automobile
744
00:57:02,001 --> 00:57:05,463
while driving up the Morris
street hill, Phillipsburg,
745
00:57:05,547 --> 00:57:07,215
on Saturday evening.
746
00:57:08,842 --> 00:57:12,387
While driving up the hill,
he collapsed.
747
00:57:12,470 --> 00:57:14,639
His wife stopped the car at once.
748
00:57:15,765 --> 00:57:18,935
The physician pronounced
Mr. Palmer dead,
749
00:57:19,018 --> 00:57:20,437
victim of a heart attack.
750
00:57:22,021 --> 00:57:25,108
He's survived by his wife,
Mrs. Vera Palmer,
751
00:57:26,067 --> 00:57:29,237
and a daughter, Vera Jayne."
752
00:57:37,328 --> 00:57:39,414
I think that's where I start now,
753
00:57:40,290 --> 00:57:42,792
is looking, that here is our mother,
754
00:57:44,335 --> 00:57:47,213
this little girl whose father died
755
00:57:47,297 --> 00:57:50,008
when she was three years old
756
00:57:51,134 --> 00:57:53,219
and she was in the car with him.
757
00:57:56,389 --> 00:57:58,516
We start there with Jayne.
758
00:57:59,350 --> 00:58:01,686
We start there with loss.
759
00:58:03,104 --> 00:58:04,606
And I go,
760
00:58:04,689 --> 00:58:06,733
- "I know that one."
- "I know that one."
761
00:58:09,235 --> 00:58:13,239
So did she talk to you
about her childhood at all?
762
00:58:15,325 --> 00:58:17,285
No, she never told me
about her childhood.
763
00:58:19,913 --> 00:58:22,999
But I do know losing her dad,
764
00:58:24,501 --> 00:58:26,753
that's something she carried
around with her
765
00:58:26,836 --> 00:58:28,421
her whole life.
766
00:58:28,505 --> 00:58:31,341
I mean, I caught her crying
looking at his picture
767
00:58:31,424 --> 00:58:32,717
several times.
768
00:58:35,220 --> 00:58:37,347
People don't know the whole story.
769
00:58:37,430 --> 00:58:39,766
They only know what they see.
770
00:58:41,684 --> 00:58:45,063
She didn't always make
good choices with men.
771
00:58:46,481 --> 00:58:49,442
But you know something, I think...
772
00:58:50,360 --> 00:58:53,112
her miseries all stem back
to when her father died.
773
00:58:55,073 --> 00:58:57,742
She spent the rest of her life
looking for her father,
774
00:58:57,825 --> 00:58:59,661
being a young girl
looking for her father.
775
00:59:06,376 --> 00:59:08,920
So in 1966,
776
00:59:09,879 --> 00:59:14,342
Jayne finally wanted to get
a divorce from Matt Cimber.
777
00:59:17,095 --> 00:59:19,639
And during that time,
778
00:59:20,348 --> 00:59:23,393
she started dating
her divorce attorney,
779
00:59:24,018 --> 00:59:26,104
this guy named Sam Brody.
780
00:59:31,484 --> 00:59:33,528
I didn't like him at all.
781
00:59:33,611 --> 00:59:34,946
There was a lot of fighting.
782
00:59:37,407 --> 00:59:41,244
I remember one time going
into Mom's room in the morning
783
00:59:41,327 --> 00:59:44,581
and I remember
her wearing sunglasses,
784
00:59:44,664 --> 00:59:46,791
and I was like, you know,
785
00:59:46,874 --> 00:59:49,961
taken aback by that,
you know, a little boy,
786
00:59:50,044 --> 00:59:52,922
why would your mom
be wearing sunglasses?
787
00:59:53,006 --> 00:59:55,383
But then at some point,
she took 'em off
788
00:59:55,466 --> 00:59:59,554
and she had black eyes,
and I remember that hurt.
789
01:00:03,433 --> 01:00:04,851
I knew he was a bad man.
790
01:00:04,934 --> 01:00:07,270
I knew, you know, right away.
791
01:00:10,481 --> 01:00:12,317
It was...
792
01:00:12,400 --> 01:00:14,694
She felt she don't have much,
793
01:00:16,404 --> 01:00:17,405
but...
794
01:00:20,116 --> 01:00:22,076
she don't realize one thing,
795
01:00:22,160 --> 01:00:23,953
that she had herself.
796
01:00:25,830 --> 01:00:28,291
And when a person loses themselves,
797
01:00:29,459 --> 01:00:32,420
you know, you lose everything.
798
01:00:35,089 --> 01:00:38,009
And I tried to tell her that,
"You have you.
799
01:00:38,092 --> 01:00:39,844
That is the most important thing."
800
01:00:41,596 --> 01:00:44,432
Because she always had me.
She knew that.
801
01:00:44,515 --> 01:00:46,976
But seems like, at times,
it wasn't enough.
802
01:00:50,521 --> 01:00:54,567
There was one night in 1967,
803
01:00:55,526 --> 01:00:58,071
Jayne was in New York with Sam Brody
804
01:00:59,113 --> 01:01:02,575
and she called Mickey
to come into the city.
805
01:01:04,327 --> 01:01:07,330
At that time, Mickey and I
were already dating.
806
01:01:08,539 --> 01:01:10,625
So, we went together.
807
01:01:12,543 --> 01:01:15,380
And she was all roughed up
or something,
808
01:01:15,421 --> 01:01:17,382
but she was not herself.
809
01:01:18,883 --> 01:01:21,636
So she and Mickey went out to dinner,
810
01:01:21,719 --> 01:01:24,972
because he was trying
to help her with Sam.
811
01:01:27,308 --> 01:01:30,228
And then two weeks later,
812
01:01:30,311 --> 01:01:33,898
she went to Biloxi, Mississippi,
to do a show.
813
01:01:35,233 --> 01:01:37,068
And at midnight
814
01:01:37,151 --> 01:01:39,237
they were scheduled
to go to New Orleans.
815
01:01:40,988 --> 01:01:44,534
You, Mickey, and Zolie
were in the car with Jayne,
816
01:01:44,617 --> 01:01:47,662
the driver, and Sam Brody.
817
01:01:49,997 --> 01:01:51,749
And that's when it happened.
818
01:02:01,050 --> 01:02:04,053
I wanna say something
but I'm not gonna talk about it
819
01:02:04,137 --> 01:02:07,223
'cause it was the last minutes
of her life.
820
01:02:09,225 --> 01:02:10,852
Just so deep.
821
01:02:18,609 --> 01:02:19,694
My mother.
822
01:02:21,237 --> 01:02:22,530
Yeah...
823
01:02:28,411 --> 01:02:31,414
So, Mom was arguing
824
01:02:31,497 --> 01:02:33,291
with the person
in the front of the car.
825
01:02:35,168 --> 01:02:36,502
It was Sam.
826
01:02:37,378 --> 01:02:39,213
She wanted to get away from Sam.
827
01:02:41,090 --> 01:02:43,676
And I remember
she went in the back seat.
828
01:02:43,760 --> 01:02:45,344
And she went to the gas station.
829
01:02:45,428 --> 01:02:46,721
I think she called Dad
830
01:02:46,804 --> 01:02:50,725
'cause Dad said that
she had called him.
831
01:02:53,603 --> 01:02:55,938
I talked to her an hour before.
832
01:02:57,815 --> 01:03:00,318
She told me on the phone
833
01:03:00,401 --> 01:03:03,488
that, "We have just another hour,
834
01:03:03,571 --> 01:03:05,448
an hour and a half ride.
835
01:03:06,449 --> 01:03:08,117
It's late.
836
01:03:10,203 --> 01:03:12,914
I'm going to get the kids
in the back seat
837
01:03:12,997 --> 01:03:14,415
and let them sleep."
838
01:03:15,500 --> 01:03:18,920
And then she went
in the front seat of the car.
839
01:03:20,838 --> 01:03:23,508
And I often think about
840
01:03:23,591 --> 01:03:26,552
why she didn't just stay
in the back seat with us.
841
01:03:28,429 --> 01:03:30,598
But I remember her comforting me...
842
01:03:32,016 --> 01:03:33,684
telling me I was going to be fine.
843
01:03:34,977 --> 01:03:37,939
Twenty minutes later,
or half an hour, whatever,
844
01:03:39,065 --> 01:03:40,775
I heard her scream so loud.
845
01:03:43,986 --> 01:03:47,281
And that was it. That just--
It was just silence.
846
01:03:59,919 --> 01:04:03,297
My hands, my arms were all crusty...
847
01:04:04,882 --> 01:04:09,428
and it felt like my skin didn't move
because it was bloody all over.
848
01:04:09,512 --> 01:04:12,265
And then I looked up and I saw my...
849
01:04:13,891 --> 01:04:16,644
I thought I saw my mom
in the front seat.
850
01:04:18,855 --> 01:04:20,982
And it was a blonde lady
851
01:04:21,065 --> 01:04:23,776
and she turned back and looked at us,
852
01:04:23,860 --> 01:04:25,736
and it wasn't my mom, you know,
853
01:04:25,820 --> 01:04:29,031
it was somebody else who had found us
on the side of the road.
854
01:04:33,327 --> 01:04:36,622
Do you remember what happened
after they came and got you?
855
01:04:38,499 --> 01:04:39,876
I fell asleep.
856
01:04:41,502 --> 01:04:43,379
We were going to a hospital.
857
01:04:45,006 --> 01:04:47,425
But at some point I woke up.
858
01:04:49,343 --> 01:04:53,097
And I'm kind of like looking around
and I didn't see you.
859
01:04:54,807 --> 01:04:57,310
And I said, "Where's Maria?"
860
01:04:59,061 --> 01:05:00,897
And they said, "Who's Maria?"
861
01:05:02,648 --> 01:05:03,900
So...
862
01:05:05,026 --> 01:05:06,611
then we doubled back.
863
01:05:09,906 --> 01:05:12,575
You were lodged underneath
the passenger's seat.
864
01:05:14,118 --> 01:05:15,620
With a head injury.
865
01:05:17,997 --> 01:05:19,498
And...
866
01:05:22,376 --> 01:05:23,836
Thank God.
867
01:05:28,883 --> 01:05:30,885
Thank God Zolie woke up.
868
01:06:43,874 --> 01:06:45,626
After everything happened,
869
01:06:47,503 --> 01:06:48,587
Mickey called...
870
01:06:51,090 --> 01:06:54,468
and he said for me
to come to the hospital.
871
01:07:08,566 --> 01:07:11,152
When God took Jayne from us,
872
01:07:12,319 --> 01:07:13,863
I had a dream about her.
873
01:07:15,823 --> 01:07:17,324
We were on a...
874
01:07:18,451 --> 01:07:19,994
We were on a football field...
875
01:07:21,162 --> 01:07:25,875
and there was a stage
and this limousine pulled up.
876
01:07:28,252 --> 01:07:30,337
The door opens to the limousine,
877
01:07:30,379 --> 01:07:33,799
and she walks
completely across the field,
878
01:07:36,719 --> 01:07:39,263
and she came up to me and she said...
879
01:07:40,931 --> 01:07:44,518
"I'm so glad that you're
taking care of the children.
880
01:07:44,602 --> 01:07:46,353
You're doing a great job."
881
01:07:49,440 --> 01:07:51,067
It's a dream.
882
01:07:51,984 --> 01:07:53,778
But it meant a lot.
883
01:07:55,237 --> 01:07:57,865
It meant a lot to me.
It was the silliest thing.
884
01:08:01,285 --> 01:08:03,496
But I do think that Mickey and I
885
01:08:03,579 --> 01:08:06,832
provided a very loving home.
886
01:08:10,795 --> 01:08:13,798
Our family was
trying to build a new life,
887
01:08:14,840 --> 01:08:17,384
so Jayne Marie left
to go live with her uncle,
888
01:08:18,552 --> 01:08:20,888
Tony went with his dad,
889
01:08:20,971 --> 01:08:23,349
and we moved into a new house.
890
01:08:25,726 --> 01:08:28,145
Those are the first memories
that I have.
891
01:08:30,231 --> 01:08:33,359
I remember being
around our kitchen table.
892
01:08:34,193 --> 01:08:35,653
I used to play a game with my dad.
893
01:08:35,736 --> 01:08:37,488
If I didn't want to eat
something on my plate,
894
01:08:37,571 --> 01:08:39,448
I would sneak it around
and my dad would eat it.
895
01:08:41,367 --> 01:08:42,827
We laughed so hard
896
01:08:42,910 --> 01:08:45,454
and those were just the best times.
897
01:08:48,415 --> 01:08:53,087
But in the summertime,
my family would go to Europe.
898
01:08:54,421 --> 01:08:58,759
And sometimes they would send me
to my grandmother's house by myself.
899
01:09:01,428 --> 01:09:05,766
And I used to get sad
because it made me feel like
900
01:09:05,850 --> 01:09:08,811
I was separate from the family.
901
01:09:12,273 --> 01:09:15,317
And then one time when I was 12,
902
01:09:16,902 --> 01:09:18,487
I was there
903
01:09:19,488 --> 01:09:23,576
and I was talking
about my dad so reverently,
904
01:09:23,659 --> 01:09:25,161
like I always did...
905
01:09:26,245 --> 01:09:27,955
and she looked at me
906
01:09:28,038 --> 01:09:30,499
with the strangest expression
and said...
907
01:09:32,084 --> 01:09:33,711
"I'm all you have."
908
01:09:35,546 --> 01:09:37,923
And I knew it meant something,
909
01:09:39,675 --> 01:09:41,343
but I didn't know what.
910
01:09:54,815 --> 01:09:57,151
So when I was 21,
911
01:09:58,527 --> 01:10:00,196
this guy named Sabin Gray,
912
01:10:00,279 --> 01:10:02,698
who was head
of the Jayne Mansfield Fan Club,
913
01:10:02,781 --> 01:10:05,618
kept calling me up
and inviting me over.
914
01:10:06,952 --> 01:10:10,497
He kept saying, "Oh, we're gonna have
like a Valentine's party."
915
01:10:11,999 --> 01:10:14,084
And Sabin was very persistent.
He said, you know,
916
01:10:14,168 --> 01:10:16,587
"It just really would mean
the world to us if you came by."
917
01:10:16,670 --> 01:10:18,214
So I was like, "Oh, okay."
918
01:10:20,633 --> 01:10:22,343
When I got there,
919
01:10:22,426 --> 01:10:25,262
they had movie posters
of her on the wall
920
01:10:25,346 --> 01:10:27,723
and life-size cutouts
921
01:10:27,806 --> 01:10:30,517
and all kinds of things
he'd collected.
922
01:10:32,061 --> 01:10:34,605
It was a little weird for me.
923
01:10:35,689 --> 01:10:40,194
But then, a few years after that,
when I was 25,
924
01:10:41,362 --> 01:10:43,697
I was invited to Sabin's house again,
925
01:10:44,823 --> 01:10:46,283
and we were alone.
926
01:10:48,077 --> 01:10:49,995
And then he says to me,
927
01:10:50,829 --> 01:10:53,040
"Do you want to see
a picture of Nelson?"
928
01:11:03,968 --> 01:11:06,387
And I said, "Who's Nelson?"
929
01:11:07,680 --> 01:11:09,890
And that's when, like,
930
01:11:09,974 --> 01:11:12,268
I think the blood
just drained out of his face
931
01:11:12,351 --> 01:11:15,354
and he sort of went white as a ghost,
932
01:11:15,437 --> 01:11:18,816
and he looked at me panicked,
and he said,
933
01:11:18,899 --> 01:11:21,110
"Well, it's probably not true.
Probably not true."
934
01:11:21,193 --> 01:11:22,903
And I said, "What's not true?"
935
01:11:25,572 --> 01:11:28,826
And we went around the corner
and he pulled out this book...
936
01:11:30,369 --> 01:11:33,831
and he opened the page
and he showed it to me,
937
01:11:36,250 --> 01:11:38,836
and I just, like,
938
01:11:38,919 --> 01:11:40,671
couldn't believe what I was seeing...
939
01:11:43,382 --> 01:11:45,968
'cause it looked like
the male version of me.
940
01:12:04,486 --> 01:12:06,322
And it was like the...
941
01:12:07,865 --> 01:12:10,743
It was like the floor fell out
from underneath me.
942
01:12:13,912 --> 01:12:15,664
It was...
943
01:12:17,207 --> 01:12:19,752
just the bottom
dropped out of everything.
944
01:12:20,961 --> 01:12:23,547
It was like my infrastructure
dissolved.
945
01:12:24,256 --> 01:12:25,424
And...
946
01:12:26,133 --> 01:12:29,428
life as I knew it
was irrevocably changed.
947
01:12:33,474 --> 01:12:36,727
So then I drove up to see my dad.
948
01:12:39,104 --> 01:12:41,106
And I walked in,
949
01:12:41,190 --> 01:12:46,862
I was crying pretty hard, and I said,
950
01:12:48,113 --> 01:12:50,908
"Why didn't you tell me
you're not my father?
951
01:12:50,991 --> 01:12:52,368
You lied to me."
952
01:12:54,036 --> 01:12:56,955
And he...
953
01:12:59,458 --> 01:13:02,711
came back at me with,
"What are you talking about?
954
01:13:02,795 --> 01:13:05,923
I love you. You are my daughter.
955
01:13:06,006 --> 01:13:08,550
Where did you hear this?
It's all bullshit."
956
01:13:10,886 --> 01:13:13,806
And he got more upset than I was.
957
01:13:15,849 --> 01:13:18,352
More convincing than I was.
958
01:13:20,354 --> 01:13:22,856
I was in so much pain,
959
01:13:24,566 --> 01:13:30,239
but I could see his pain
was almost worse.
960
01:13:33,158 --> 01:13:37,454
So I decided I wouldn't talk
about it again...
961
01:13:39,206 --> 01:13:42,042
and I would never
bring it up to him again.
962
01:13:43,961 --> 01:13:46,880
And I never did.
963
01:13:56,682 --> 01:13:58,100
But the fact is,
964
01:13:59,351 --> 01:14:01,270
I had bad years after that.
965
01:14:03,188 --> 01:14:04,815
I didn't tell anyone.
966
01:14:06,483 --> 01:14:09,361
And I would just go to bed
every night crying because...
967
01:14:10,571 --> 01:14:13,323
I felt lost.
968
01:14:14,616 --> 01:14:17,327
I had an identity crisis.
969
01:14:19,079 --> 01:14:21,582
Was I Mariska or Maria?
970
01:14:22,916 --> 01:14:25,669
Was I Hungarian or Italian?
971
01:14:26,920 --> 01:14:29,673
I mean, who was I related to?
Who did I belong to?
972
01:14:30,966 --> 01:14:34,678
And then on top of it,
I was born out of some affair,
973
01:14:34,761 --> 01:14:39,099
like some illegitimate,
sinful mistake?
974
01:14:41,101 --> 01:14:42,769
I was so...
975
01:14:44,062 --> 01:14:45,522
angry at my mother
976
01:14:46,815 --> 01:14:48,817
for leaving me in this mess.
977
01:14:51,111 --> 01:14:53,739
And for hurting my father.
978
01:14:55,449 --> 01:14:59,870
And leaving me feeling
so alone and untethered.
979
01:15:03,290 --> 01:15:06,168
And so for me to survive,
980
01:15:07,461 --> 01:15:10,172
I excised, disowned
981
01:15:11,089 --> 01:15:14,259
the part of myself that was
my mother's daughter.
982
01:15:20,849 --> 01:15:24,019
But then I realized
there's this other person.
983
01:15:24,102 --> 01:15:25,854
Who was this other person?
984
01:15:26,813 --> 01:15:28,440
Does he not know about me?
985
01:15:28,524 --> 01:15:30,442
Was he not thinking about me?
986
01:15:31,568 --> 01:15:34,446
He must have known.
Why didn't he claim me?
987
01:15:36,532 --> 01:15:39,326
He was an entertainer.
988
01:15:40,536 --> 01:15:45,040
And so, five years later,
when I was 30 years old,
989
01:15:45,123 --> 01:15:47,543
my friend and I went to Atlantic City
990
01:15:48,752 --> 01:15:50,379
and we went to his show.
991
01:15:51,588 --> 01:15:55,884
And after the show,
he came out and I said,
992
01:15:55,968 --> 01:15:57,427
"Hi, Nelson.
993
01:15:57,511 --> 01:16:00,055
My name is Mariska Hargitay.
994
01:16:00,138 --> 01:16:02,015
I understand you knew my mother."
995
01:16:02,975 --> 01:16:04,685
And he...
996
01:16:05,894 --> 01:16:10,399
looked at me and basically
burst into tears,
997
01:16:10,482 --> 01:16:12,276
and he grabbed my ear...
998
01:16:13,402 --> 01:16:15,737
and he said, "I've been waiting
999
01:16:15,821 --> 01:16:18,031
30 years for this moment."
1000
01:16:23,328 --> 01:16:27,624
And I think we stayed up
until five in the morning
1001
01:16:27,708 --> 01:16:28,917
just talking.
1002
01:16:30,669 --> 01:16:33,005
He said I had two sisters
1003
01:16:35,048 --> 01:16:37,050
and he told me the whole story.
1004
01:16:39,553 --> 01:16:41,179
That was 30 years ago.
1005
01:16:42,347 --> 01:16:44,474
And I've kept it a secret ever since.
1006
01:16:59,197 --> 01:17:00,741
So here we are.
1007
01:17:00,824 --> 01:17:02,326
Here we are.
1008
01:17:06,330 --> 01:17:07,998
I was up...
1009
01:17:09,249 --> 01:17:11,668
all night, pretty much, last night...
1010
01:17:11,752 --> 01:17:13,754
- Yeah.
- ...thinking about
1011
01:17:13,837 --> 01:17:16,506
you and I have been living
with this secret
1012
01:17:16,590 --> 01:17:17,966
since I was 25.
1013
01:17:18,050 --> 01:17:19,217
Yeah.
1014
01:17:20,093 --> 01:17:23,597
I waited for a long time
to have this.
1015
01:17:24,431 --> 01:17:25,849
And I thank you for your patience.
1016
01:17:25,932 --> 01:17:27,267
Are you kidding?
1017
01:17:27,351 --> 01:17:29,936
When I came to Vegas in '65,
1018
01:17:30,020 --> 01:17:31,396
the columnist asked,
1019
01:17:31,480 --> 01:17:33,774
"Are you the Nelson Sardelli
1020
01:17:34,650 --> 01:17:37,903
that had an affair
with Jayne Mansfield?"
1021
01:17:39,154 --> 01:17:41,907
I said, "You're going
to do me a favor."
1022
01:17:43,241 --> 01:17:44,868
He said, "What?"
1023
01:17:44,951 --> 01:17:46,244
"See my show.
1024
01:17:46,995 --> 01:17:49,539
If I suck, crucify me.
1025
01:17:50,499 --> 01:17:52,042
Put an end to my career.
1026
01:17:53,043 --> 01:17:57,631
But do not mention our relationship."
1027
01:17:59,591 --> 01:18:02,511
Nelson Sardelli.
Let's give him a nice welcome.
1028
01:18:42,843 --> 01:18:44,678
I was in the beginning of my career
1029
01:18:45,637 --> 01:18:48,473
and I did a show in Atlanta,
1030
01:18:48,557 --> 01:18:52,060
and this particular night,
I decided to go for a walk.
1031
01:18:54,855 --> 01:18:58,567
And all of a sudden I see a commotion
in front of the club.
1032
01:18:59,526 --> 01:19:01,278
And I enter the club.
1033
01:19:01,361 --> 01:19:02,904
The waitress came running to me.
1034
01:19:02,988 --> 01:19:05,073
She says, "Jayne Mansfield is here."
1035
01:19:06,992 --> 01:19:08,618
And I approached Jayne,
1036
01:19:09,661 --> 01:19:11,329
and...
1037
01:19:11,413 --> 01:19:13,957
Jayne looked at me
and she spoke Italian,
1038
01:19:14,040 --> 01:19:15,959
you know, she says, "Buona sera."
1039
01:19:18,211 --> 01:19:19,963
Then she says,
"Come and see my show."
1040
01:19:21,798 --> 01:19:22,883
So I went,
1041
01:19:24,259 --> 01:19:26,178
and when the show finished,
1042
01:19:26,261 --> 01:19:28,138
she says, "We go in your car."
1043
01:19:29,473 --> 01:19:30,766
I said, "Whoa-ah."
1044
01:19:40,984 --> 01:19:42,110
Whee!
1045
01:19:50,660 --> 01:19:52,746
Where was my dad during all of this?
1046
01:19:55,165 --> 01:19:59,169
There was
some family friction there...
1047
01:20:00,712 --> 01:20:02,798
so they were not talking
to each other.
1048
01:20:04,216 --> 01:20:05,967
So she was separated?
1049
01:20:06,051 --> 01:20:08,220
Or what was the deal with my dad?
Just so I can--
1050
01:20:08,303 --> 01:20:10,222
They were separate--
They were having trouble.
1051
01:20:10,305 --> 01:20:12,432
But if you're going
in public places together.
1052
01:20:12,516 --> 01:20:13,934
Very much so.
1053
01:20:16,186 --> 01:20:18,438
We went every place together.
1054
01:20:20,732 --> 01:20:23,026
Then we start performing together.
1055
01:20:26,196 --> 01:20:29,074
Then I start being introduced
to the kids.
1056
01:20:32,619 --> 01:20:35,914
And I went to Juárez for her divorce.
1057
01:20:36,665 --> 01:20:38,083
I was there with her.
1058
01:20:44,214 --> 01:20:47,717
After that, we went
to make a movie in Germany.
1059
01:20:50,345 --> 01:20:51,805
And then we rented a car,
1060
01:20:53,515 --> 01:20:55,976
and we drove all over Europe.
1061
01:21:02,732 --> 01:21:04,484
Where are these beautiful photos?
1062
01:21:04,568 --> 01:21:05,902
This is in the Alps.
1063
01:21:07,779 --> 01:21:09,281
Tell me about this.
1064
01:21:11,700 --> 01:21:14,077
This is as we entered Italy.
1065
01:21:18,540 --> 01:21:20,876
When did you find out
that she was pregnant?
1066
01:21:21,793 --> 01:21:22,919
Germany.
1067
01:21:24,170 --> 01:21:25,422
Oh...
1068
01:21:25,505 --> 01:21:27,674
Wow. I didn't know that. That's...
1069
01:21:27,757 --> 01:21:29,968
- Wow. That's...
- Oh yes. Oh yes.
1070
01:21:32,512 --> 01:21:35,307
"Father's Day, 1963.
1071
01:21:36,057 --> 01:21:37,559
To Nelson.
1072
01:21:37,642 --> 01:21:41,897
This special day is even more
special to each of us.
1073
01:21:41,980 --> 01:21:45,108
The seed of our eternal love grows
1074
01:21:45,191 --> 01:21:49,696
as the sapling that one day
must be a strong oak.
1075
01:21:50,739 --> 01:21:54,451
Te amo al di la, Jayne."
1076
01:21:54,534 --> 01:21:56,411
"Al di la" means...
1077
01:21:58,288 --> 01:21:59,789
"far beyond," you know?
1078
01:22:02,584 --> 01:22:03,710
"Dearest Mama,
1079
01:22:04,753 --> 01:22:09,090
I am going through perhaps
the most trying time of my life now,
1080
01:22:09,174 --> 01:22:11,760
indecision regarding
Mickey and Nelson.
1081
01:22:13,011 --> 01:22:14,930
I have the love of two men,
1082
01:22:16,097 --> 01:22:18,350
a very deep love from each of them.
1083
01:22:19,309 --> 01:22:22,437
I hope God shows me the way soon,
1084
01:22:23,605 --> 01:22:26,191
because I have really been
depressed of late."
1085
01:22:37,202 --> 01:22:40,038
So at the end of the trip,
1086
01:22:40,121 --> 01:22:42,540
we went to the St. Peter cathedral.
1087
01:22:44,793 --> 01:22:46,878
And she says, "Let's make some vows."
1088
01:22:49,339 --> 01:22:50,715
It was beautiful.
1089
01:22:52,676 --> 01:22:55,512
And then she look at me
and she says, "Nelson,
1090
01:22:56,471 --> 01:22:58,682
suppose if we get married
1091
01:23:01,142 --> 01:23:03,728
and I get pregnant by another man...
1092
01:23:07,023 --> 01:23:08,942
would you take me back?"
1093
01:23:11,444 --> 01:23:15,198
I couldn't believe it.
I say, "How dare you to ask me
1094
01:23:15,323 --> 01:23:17,659
such a... question?"
1095
01:23:17,701 --> 01:23:18,994
You understand?
1096
01:23:19,828 --> 01:23:20,996
It just...
1097
01:23:21,913 --> 01:23:24,082
It... it was a crash.
1098
01:23:25,875 --> 01:23:28,086
And I... That, I couldn't take it.
1099
01:23:29,462 --> 01:23:30,964
It was too much.
1100
01:23:32,048 --> 01:23:34,050
I said, "Jayne, tomorrow,
1101
01:23:34,843 --> 01:23:36,928
you go back to America, I stay,
1102
01:23:38,555 --> 01:23:42,600
and then you and I
will never see each other again."
1103
01:23:46,187 --> 01:23:49,566
You knew that she was pregnant
with your child?
1104
01:23:50,775 --> 01:23:51,776
Yes.
1105
01:23:53,361 --> 01:23:55,405
Mariska, I am not denying it.
1106
01:23:57,115 --> 01:24:00,285
And I say this was
the biggest shame in my life.
1107
01:24:01,953 --> 01:24:03,204
I was wrong.
1108
01:24:06,166 --> 01:24:07,709
Did you ever talk to her again?
1109
01:24:16,342 --> 01:24:19,220
It eats me up
that I assumed that position
1110
01:24:19,304 --> 01:24:20,889
of never talking to her
1111
01:24:23,058 --> 01:24:27,145
because a lot of people
paid the price
1112
01:24:27,228 --> 01:24:29,606
for this love affair we had.
1113
01:24:35,945 --> 01:24:38,239
Jayne and Mickey,
welcome to California.
1114
01:24:38,323 --> 01:24:39,866
How does it feel to be home?
1115
01:24:40,658 --> 01:24:42,994
It's just great. It really is.
1116
01:24:43,078 --> 01:24:46,748
I haven't been home myself
since last March.
1117
01:24:46,831 --> 01:24:48,750
And now we're back here for Mickey
1118
01:24:48,833 --> 01:24:51,086
to continue on his television work
1119
01:24:52,045 --> 01:24:54,172
and to have a baby.
1120
01:24:54,255 --> 01:24:55,507
That's right.
1121
01:25:03,890 --> 01:25:06,851
I can't imagine
what your father felt.
1122
01:25:11,648 --> 01:25:13,566
But I am grateful to him.
1123
01:25:18,196 --> 01:25:20,782
Why didn't you ever
reach out after I was born?
1124
01:25:23,368 --> 01:25:25,245
When your mother died,
1125
01:25:26,204 --> 01:25:30,750
your grandmother Vera
wanted me to rock the boat
1126
01:25:32,252 --> 01:25:35,713
and claim you or something.
1127
01:25:37,173 --> 01:25:40,677
But by that time,
Mickey was the father you knew.
1128
01:25:42,345 --> 01:25:46,850
And your siblings,
they were your siblings.
1129
01:25:48,434 --> 01:25:50,395
What would I be accomplishing
1130
01:25:50,478 --> 01:25:53,982
that would be beneficial to you?
1131
01:25:55,817 --> 01:25:57,277
And as the years went by,
1132
01:25:58,611 --> 01:26:02,991
I had a chance to talk
to Mickey Hargitay one time.
1133
01:26:04,784 --> 01:26:05,827
And he said to me,
1134
01:26:07,203 --> 01:26:08,329
"Nelson,
1135
01:26:09,122 --> 01:26:10,915
nobody has to tell me
1136
01:26:12,208 --> 01:26:14,544
who's the father of my child."
1137
01:26:16,045 --> 01:26:17,547
And I said to him,
1138
01:26:19,048 --> 01:26:21,467
"I will not embarrass you in any way.
1139
01:26:23,344 --> 01:26:24,429
Never."
1140
01:26:37,901 --> 01:26:39,903
Jayne Mansfield had three children
1141
01:26:39,986 --> 01:26:41,487
by her second husband,
Mickey Hargitay.
1142
01:26:41,571 --> 01:26:43,531
Miklós, and I hope I'm saying
these names properly,
1143
01:26:43,615 --> 01:26:45,283
Zoltan, and Mariska Hargitay
1144
01:26:45,366 --> 01:26:47,452
were all raised
by their father and...
1145
01:26:47,535 --> 01:26:48,786
after their mother died.
1146
01:26:48,870 --> 01:26:50,038
- Nice to meet you.
- Good morning.
1147
01:26:50,121 --> 01:26:51,664
- Nice to meet you.
- Good to see you.
1148
01:26:51,748 --> 01:26:53,249
Good morning, David. Nice to see you.
1149
01:26:53,333 --> 01:26:54,667
Thank you.
1150
01:26:54,751 --> 01:26:57,587
How much has your dad told you
about your mom?
1151
01:26:57,670 --> 01:26:59,547
What kind of things has he told you?
1152
01:26:59,631 --> 01:27:03,384
Well, I mean, it just kind of
comes up in conversation
1153
01:27:03,468 --> 01:27:04,886
and we talk about everything,
1154
01:27:04,969 --> 01:27:08,514
I mean, I think,
just whenever it comes up.
1155
01:27:12,769 --> 01:27:15,021
Before I found out,
1156
01:27:15,104 --> 01:27:17,148
did you and Dad ever talk
about Nelson?
1157
01:27:17,232 --> 01:27:19,442
I mean, it must have come up.
1158
01:27:21,027 --> 01:27:23,071
If it came up,
1159
01:27:23,154 --> 01:27:26,658
he would say, "I'm her father.
1160
01:27:26,741 --> 01:27:30,161
I'm her father." Period.
1161
01:27:32,497 --> 01:27:37,085
And no matter what question
I had about it,
1162
01:27:38,169 --> 01:27:42,465
I wanted to give Mickey
the respect of being the one
1163
01:27:42,548 --> 01:27:45,969
who actually said whatever he knew.
1164
01:27:47,804 --> 01:27:49,472
When Mariska was born,
1165
01:27:50,306 --> 01:27:53,059
her mother Jayne Mansfield
and I went to Hungary
1166
01:27:53,142 --> 01:27:56,020
and we announced it to my parents
1167
01:27:56,104 --> 01:28:00,608
and my mother wanted to name her,
so much, Mariska.
1168
01:28:00,692 --> 01:28:02,235
And that's when she become Mariska.
1169
01:28:02,318 --> 01:28:04,070
She's a real Hungarian.
1170
01:28:10,493 --> 01:28:12,537
Mickey was a great father,
1171
01:28:14,163 --> 01:28:16,374
and he was so full of love for you.
1172
01:28:19,252 --> 01:28:25,216
But I think Mickey was quite
capable of shutting out pain.
1173
01:28:26,801 --> 01:28:29,387
Which I think he did a lot
with Jayne.
1174
01:28:32,265 --> 01:28:36,185
So he said, "Mariska's my daughter."
1175
01:28:38,646 --> 01:28:41,774
And he said that
until the day he passed.
1176
01:29:02,420 --> 01:29:05,089
"She nudged me,
'Get me that Italian.'
1177
01:29:06,174 --> 01:29:07,508
I spoke with the owner,
1178
01:29:07,592 --> 01:29:10,053
and soon, Irwin
approached Jayne's table,
1179
01:29:10,136 --> 01:29:12,013
the handsome Italian in tow.
1180
01:29:12,722 --> 01:29:16,059
He introduced the Italian
as Nelson Sardelli,
1181
01:29:16,142 --> 01:29:17,435
a performer who was appearing
1182
01:29:17,518 --> 01:29:18,978
at another club down the street.
1183
01:29:20,104 --> 01:29:22,273
Although nothing of great
consequence was said,
1184
01:29:22,357 --> 01:29:25,610
it was a significant
first meeting to Jayne.
1185
01:29:25,693 --> 01:29:28,279
'That,' she said,
as we left the club,
1186
01:29:28,363 --> 01:29:31,574
'is going to be the father
of my bambino.
1187
01:29:31,657 --> 01:29:34,660
My beautiful little Italian baby
1188
01:29:34,744 --> 01:29:36,371
I've always wanted.'"
1189
01:29:39,916 --> 01:29:42,794
What do you think
she would think of your book?
1190
01:29:43,753 --> 01:29:45,713
Well, she would've had
some questions about it.
1191
01:29:45,797 --> 01:29:48,716
"Why did you have to say that?
You should've left that out."
1192
01:29:50,510 --> 01:29:53,388
Do you think the story
of my biological father
1193
01:29:53,471 --> 01:29:55,181
was yours to tell?
1194
01:29:56,933 --> 01:29:59,143
What I knew of it, yes.
1195
01:30:02,021 --> 01:30:03,189
When you wrote it,
1196
01:30:04,148 --> 01:30:08,152
did you think about how
it would impact my family?
1197
01:30:09,862 --> 01:30:11,114
No.
1198
01:30:15,785 --> 01:30:18,746
I am sorry if people
were hurt by the book,
1199
01:30:20,415 --> 01:30:22,959
but it was truthful
to the knowledge that I had.
1200
01:30:23,042 --> 01:30:25,253
But I never set out to hurt anybody,
1201
01:30:25,336 --> 01:30:27,338
and I'm sorry if I did.
1202
01:30:33,803 --> 01:30:36,097
Reclaiming my own story,
1203
01:30:37,473 --> 01:30:39,809
that is what this is about for me.
1204
01:30:41,602 --> 01:30:44,689
I'd spent 35 years
trying to hide that story
1205
01:30:46,107 --> 01:30:47,525
to honor my dad.
1206
01:30:48,526 --> 01:30:50,862
But something that I've also realized
1207
01:30:51,821 --> 01:30:54,198
is that sometimes keeping a secret
1208
01:30:54,282 --> 01:30:55,533
doesn't honor anyone.
1209
01:30:57,243 --> 01:30:59,328
And it's taken me a long time
to figure that out.
1210
01:31:07,170 --> 01:31:08,713
I've been thinking about...
1211
01:31:11,257 --> 01:31:14,093
our journey, our very long journey.
1212
01:31:14,802 --> 01:31:15,803
Yeah.
1213
01:31:17,096 --> 01:31:19,390
And the ups and downs
of it and the complications
1214
01:31:19,474 --> 01:31:20,850
and the joys of it
1215
01:31:20,933 --> 01:31:22,643
and the sadness and everything.
1216
01:31:23,394 --> 01:31:24,770
And...
1217
01:31:25,813 --> 01:31:29,609
I would say you've waited
a long time for this day.
1218
01:31:29,692 --> 01:31:30,985
Yeah.
1219
01:31:31,861 --> 01:31:34,822
I remember when I found out
that I had a sister.
1220
01:31:35,656 --> 01:31:39,285
I think it was junior high school.
1221
01:31:40,244 --> 01:31:42,121
We were a super open family,
1222
01:31:42,205 --> 01:31:46,626
but there was one locked drawer
in his desk.
1223
01:31:46,709 --> 01:31:51,214
I mean, the truth is,
you kind of always know
1224
01:31:51,297 --> 01:31:52,882
when there's a truth,
1225
01:31:52,965 --> 01:31:54,675
because anything that's not the truth
1226
01:31:54,759 --> 01:31:56,677
is what you're doing around it.
1227
01:31:56,761 --> 01:32:01,182
And so even when I was little
I just knew... I don't know.
1228
01:32:01,265 --> 01:32:03,142
I mean, there was something.
1229
01:32:04,268 --> 01:32:08,147
So one day I get the lock open,
1230
01:32:08,231 --> 01:32:09,857
and I pull the drawer out
1231
01:32:10,691 --> 01:32:13,361
and I see one envelope in the back
1232
01:32:14,737 --> 01:32:16,822
and it was from your grandmother
1233
01:32:16,864 --> 01:32:19,075
right after your mom had died.
1234
01:32:19,158 --> 01:32:21,827
And it said, "Dear Nelson..."
1235
01:32:21,911 --> 01:32:24,038
I'm going to tell you what
11-year-old me thinks it said.
1236
01:32:24,121 --> 01:32:25,206
Yeah, yeah.
1237
01:32:25,289 --> 01:32:27,416
Was basically, "Dear Nelson,
1238
01:32:27,500 --> 01:32:30,086
I know you have children.
1239
01:32:31,379 --> 01:32:33,172
I'm sure they're fine,
1240
01:32:33,256 --> 01:32:37,468
but there's this amazing child
who is yours.
1241
01:32:37,552 --> 01:32:40,429
She's better than your
other children..."
1242
01:32:41,722 --> 01:32:44,267
And that's what I mean by
I know it doesn't say that
1243
01:32:44,350 --> 01:32:48,062
but I was reading and it said,
"She is your family."
1244
01:32:49,272 --> 01:32:53,192
And so I storm into the kitchen
with the letter
1245
01:32:53,276 --> 01:32:56,862
and I'm crying and I say,
"What is this?"
1246
01:32:57,572 --> 01:33:00,533
And he gets really serious
and he says,
1247
01:33:01,409 --> 01:33:03,452
"I don't know this little girl.
1248
01:33:03,536 --> 01:33:06,414
This little girl..."
I'm gonna cry now.
1249
01:33:06,497 --> 01:33:08,958
He says,
"This little girl has a father
1250
01:33:09,041 --> 01:33:10,835
who loves her like I love you.
1251
01:33:10,960 --> 01:33:13,754
This little girl is safe."
1252
01:33:13,838 --> 01:33:17,216
"And if she is okay,
she has just lost her mother,
1253
01:33:17,300 --> 01:33:20,344
you cannot take
the only family she knows."
1254
01:33:20,428 --> 01:33:23,306
And that was their decision
and that's why they stayed quiet.
1255
01:33:24,473 --> 01:33:26,726
And that made sense to me,
1256
01:33:26,809 --> 01:33:30,229
and so I kind of tucked that away.
1257
01:33:31,564 --> 01:33:34,150
And then, many years later,
I met you.
1258
01:33:35,568 --> 01:33:38,195
And I remember,
it was your birthday party,
1259
01:33:38,279 --> 01:33:39,780
Dad and I were there
1260
01:33:39,864 --> 01:33:42,700
and Katie Couric was there
and she kept going,
1261
01:33:42,783 --> 01:33:45,244
"So you're related to Mariska how?"
1262
01:33:45,328 --> 01:33:47,580
and we would go,
"No, we're family friends."
1263
01:33:47,663 --> 01:33:52,084
She'd walk around, come back,
"I missed how you're related."
1264
01:33:54,337 --> 01:33:56,088
And I remember calling you, going,
1265
01:33:56,839 --> 01:33:58,841
- "So..."
- "So we need to talk."
1266
01:33:58,924 --> 01:34:02,386
"How do we manage
our worlds colliding?
1267
01:34:02,470 --> 01:34:04,513
And how do we manage that?"
1268
01:34:04,597 --> 01:34:07,183
But I... That's something
that's so...
1269
01:34:08,059 --> 01:34:12,813
That's so hard, like,
that I didn't have the...
1270
01:34:12,897 --> 01:34:18,110
wisdom, I guess, at the time,
to say, "This is not yours to carry."
1271
01:34:19,070 --> 01:34:20,780
My need was so big,
1272
01:34:20,863 --> 01:34:23,949
my need for this
to honor Mickey was so huge.
1273
01:34:24,950 --> 01:34:28,120
But the fact is, I was wrong.
1274
01:34:30,122 --> 01:34:32,750
Because you guys
had to live all these years
1275
01:34:32,833 --> 01:34:35,628
with the secret,
and you were so generous,
1276
01:34:35,711 --> 01:34:37,338
so generous to me.
1277
01:34:39,006 --> 01:34:41,384
So... thank you.
1278
01:34:56,565 --> 01:34:58,109
I have a question.
1279
01:34:59,193 --> 01:35:02,697
How do you feel about the fact
1280
01:35:02,780 --> 01:35:05,449
that we're coming clean
with the whole story?
1281
01:35:06,367 --> 01:35:07,827
Like, this is going to...
1282
01:35:07,910 --> 01:35:09,995
Now it's out there.
There's no more secrets.
1283
01:35:11,372 --> 01:35:13,541
All this that is happening now,
1284
01:35:14,750 --> 01:35:16,877
all this, to me, is like as if...
1285
01:35:18,254 --> 01:35:21,132
a stronger and higher power
1286
01:35:21,215 --> 01:35:23,801
is forgiving me
1287
01:35:23,884 --> 01:35:25,469
for whatever mistakes I made.
1288
01:35:28,681 --> 01:35:30,391
There's nothing I can change,
1289
01:35:31,350 --> 01:35:35,312
but I regret having extricated myself
1290
01:35:35,396 --> 01:35:37,022
from your mother's life.
1291
01:35:37,732 --> 01:35:40,276
Because I think
1292
01:35:40,985 --> 01:35:43,154
certain things would not have
happened to her.
1293
01:35:44,113 --> 01:35:46,282
Yeah. Yeah.
1294
01:35:48,284 --> 01:35:50,369
But, you know, one more thing
I have to say.
1295
01:35:51,036 --> 01:35:54,331
I would love to have had
one more conversation
1296
01:35:54,415 --> 01:35:56,375
with your father
before he passed away,
1297
01:35:57,042 --> 01:36:00,463
because I also would like
to apologize to him.
1298
01:36:02,423 --> 01:36:04,341
Because I'm sure
1299
01:36:04,967 --> 01:36:09,930
I was also part of his suffering.
1300
01:36:10,014 --> 01:36:11,515
Thank you for saying that.
1301
01:36:11,599 --> 01:36:14,059
Well, it's... I'm...
1302
01:36:15,394 --> 01:36:18,022
I'm so happy that I have
the chance to...
1303
01:36:18,105 --> 01:36:20,566
have been given a chance
to say those things.
1304
01:36:22,318 --> 01:36:25,321
Well, you're 89, so you'll get
to tell him soon enough.
1305
01:36:28,324 --> 01:36:31,410
What is my obituary?
1306
01:36:31,535 --> 01:36:32,703
You are the greatest!
1307
01:36:34,914 --> 01:36:36,415
In person!
1308
01:36:36,499 --> 01:36:38,501
- Yep!
- Oh, of course!
1309
01:36:38,584 --> 01:36:39,877
Of course.
1310
01:36:39,960 --> 01:36:41,879
- No, because--
- Oh my God!
1311
01:36:41,962 --> 01:36:45,299
Oh my God. Oh my God. You're so much!
1312
01:36:45,382 --> 01:36:47,051
Okay. Oh yeah.
1313
01:36:51,430 --> 01:36:53,015
Alright, babe.
1314
01:36:53,808 --> 01:36:54,892
I'll call you tomorrow.
1315
01:36:54,975 --> 01:36:56,435
- Got it.
- Okay.
1316
01:37:06,570 --> 01:37:09,532
What I keep thinking about is...
1317
01:37:10,199 --> 01:37:11,408
we lost our mother,
1318
01:37:12,910 --> 01:37:14,370
but...
1319
01:37:15,246 --> 01:37:16,956
by making this movie,
1320
01:37:17,873 --> 01:37:19,750
we're breathing new life.
1321
01:37:20,751 --> 01:37:26,090
And so she feels so alive now
to me in such a beautiful way.
1322
01:37:26,882 --> 01:37:29,802
Yeah. I was actually asking Alexa,
1323
01:37:29,885 --> 01:37:34,306
I was going, saying,
"Alexa, does a soul ever die?"
1324
01:37:35,391 --> 01:37:37,643
And Alexa-- Want to hear it?
1325
01:37:37,726 --> 01:37:39,270
- Watch.
- Like Alexa Alexa?
1326
01:37:39,353 --> 01:37:41,939
Yeah. Alexa, does a soul ever die?
1327
01:37:42,022 --> 01:37:44,149
From reginameredith.com.
1328
01:37:44,233 --> 01:37:45,442
The soul does not die.
1329
01:37:45,526 --> 01:37:47,486
- It returns to the universe.
- Yeah.
1330
01:37:47,570 --> 01:37:49,238
It returns to the universe.
1331
01:37:49,321 --> 01:37:51,323
The soul never dies.
1332
01:37:55,160 --> 01:37:56,912
So I made something for you
1333
01:37:56,996 --> 01:37:59,957
from some of the things
in the storage unit.
1334
01:38:00,082 --> 01:38:01,709
And I wanted to give it to you.
1335
01:38:03,419 --> 01:38:06,213
You put this together
like this? Aw...
1336
01:38:06,839 --> 01:38:08,132
Is that me?
1337
01:38:08,215 --> 01:38:10,301
This whole book is you.
1338
01:38:10,384 --> 01:38:12,052
Oh my God.
1339
01:38:12,136 --> 01:38:13,178
Wow.
1340
01:38:14,263 --> 01:38:16,807
I look like the Grey Gardens lady.
1341
01:38:16,891 --> 01:38:18,392
Yeah!
1342
01:38:21,353 --> 01:38:23,188
- You know who I mean?
- Yes.
1343
01:38:23,272 --> 01:38:26,108
I also found some cards
that you wrote to Mom.
1344
01:38:26,817 --> 01:38:30,029
"To the most wonderful mommy
in the whole world.
1345
01:38:30,112 --> 01:38:32,781
Your loving child, Jayne Marie."
1346
01:38:32,823 --> 01:38:36,702
God, who thought this existed
all these decades?
1347
01:38:38,078 --> 01:38:39,914
Let me read this one to you.
1348
01:38:40,956 --> 01:38:44,710
"Dear Mommy,
I love you in the daytime
1349
01:38:44,793 --> 01:38:47,296
and I love you in the night,
1350
01:38:47,379 --> 01:38:51,550
but what am I gonna do
when you get out of my sight?
1351
01:38:52,176 --> 01:38:55,179
I love you in the a.m. and p.m. too.
1352
01:38:55,262 --> 01:38:58,098
And if you're where
I think you are...
1353
01:39:01,435 --> 01:39:05,314
I hope not out
with that old Jack Paar."
1354
01:39:05,397 --> 01:39:08,901
You're kidding me! You're kidding me!
1355
01:39:08,984 --> 01:39:12,738
"I hope you're not out
with that old Jack Paar."
1356
01:39:14,156 --> 01:39:15,908
Okay, this is some of your best work.
1357
01:39:26,043 --> 01:39:28,170
I'm so happy
that you guys are here today
1358
01:39:28,253 --> 01:39:30,297
because I hated doing it without you.
1359
01:39:30,923 --> 01:39:33,258
- All these boxes?
- Oh my goodness.
1360
01:39:33,342 --> 01:39:35,260
- Okay. Hold on.
- Here.
1361
01:39:38,389 --> 01:39:40,432
Oh my God. It's the press books.
1362
01:39:43,519 --> 01:39:45,771
"Making like Marilyn."
1363
01:39:45,854 --> 01:39:46,897
Wow.
1364
01:39:48,440 --> 01:39:49,525
Sliding...
1365
01:39:51,610 --> 01:39:53,487
- Oh my goodness.
- Look at that.
1366
01:39:53,570 --> 01:39:55,280
So sweet. Oh.
1367
01:39:56,156 --> 01:39:58,784
Look. Santa Claus
is freaking me out over here.
1368
01:40:00,828 --> 01:40:03,038
- That is so creepy.
- Creepy Santa Claus.
1369
01:40:03,122 --> 01:40:05,541
Every kid hates Santa Claus
at that age.
1370
01:40:05,624 --> 01:40:06,959
What's that on your leg?
1371
01:40:07,042 --> 01:40:08,752
- Some blanket.
- On your leg?
1372
01:40:09,753 --> 01:40:11,296
Oh, you shit...
1373
01:40:11,380 --> 01:40:14,008
Mickey wanted me to do that.
1374
01:40:14,091 --> 01:40:15,801
He found it in the box.
1375
01:40:15,884 --> 01:40:17,469
- We got her.
- It's just like old times.
1376
01:40:17,553 --> 01:40:19,388
- And he's got it on camera.
- You guys...
1377
01:40:19,471 --> 01:40:22,850
Back to being my little bros.
1378
01:40:22,933 --> 01:40:25,394
Oh, come, come, come.
1379
01:40:25,978 --> 01:40:27,312
Oh my God.
1380
01:40:27,396 --> 01:40:29,732
- This is a Golden Globe.
- It is?
1381
01:40:29,815 --> 01:40:31,734
Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
1382
01:40:31,817 --> 01:40:33,527
Look. Hold it, guys.
1383
01:40:34,987 --> 01:40:36,488
"Jayne Mansfield.
1384
01:40:36,572 --> 01:40:38,615
International Stardom Award.
1385
01:40:38,699 --> 01:40:41,243
- 20th Century Fox."
- Significant.
1386
01:40:41,326 --> 01:40:43,537
You know what?
You could put this with yours.
1387
01:40:43,620 --> 01:40:46,290
- Yeah.
- If you let me, I'd love to.
1388
01:40:46,373 --> 01:40:49,001
- You earned it.
- Mm-hmm.
1389
01:40:50,335 --> 01:40:51,503
You made it.
1390
01:41:23,077 --> 01:41:24,453
Oh my God...
1391
01:41:25,496 --> 01:41:27,164
Do we own it?
1392
01:41:28,248 --> 01:41:30,084
Yeah. Happy birthday.
1393
01:41:34,797 --> 01:41:35,881
Thank you.
1394
01:41:38,383 --> 01:41:40,552
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
1395
01:42:12,459 --> 01:42:15,879
I've spent most of my life
feeling ashamed of my mother.
1396
01:42:17,506 --> 01:42:20,217
A person that I had no memory of.
1397
01:42:21,385 --> 01:42:24,638
A person whose voice
I didn't want to hear.
1398
01:42:26,140 --> 01:42:30,519
A person whose career made me
want to do it differently.
1399
01:42:33,063 --> 01:42:37,109
A person who made her share
of problematic choices
1400
01:42:38,110 --> 01:42:42,197
and left me with loss and secrets.
1401
01:42:44,283 --> 01:42:48,662
But at 60 years old,
I feel different.
1402
01:42:50,080 --> 01:42:54,126
I see myself in you
for the first time.
1403
01:42:55,878 --> 01:42:57,379
The way you smile.
1404
01:42:58,797 --> 01:43:00,507
The way you laugh.
1405
01:43:02,968 --> 01:43:07,556
I also have such maternal
feelings for you now.
1406
01:43:08,640 --> 01:43:11,935
You were 16 years old
when you got pregnant.
1407
01:43:12,603 --> 01:43:15,898
You were a baby
when you started this career.
1408
01:43:17,691 --> 01:43:18,984
I so get it.
1409
01:43:20,027 --> 01:43:22,696
I get how hurt you must have been.
1410
01:43:23,739 --> 01:43:27,201
Looking for something
that you never found.
1411
01:43:27,284 --> 01:43:29,244
You in some sort of trouble?
1412
01:43:30,579 --> 01:43:33,582
But you had so much inside of you.
1413
01:43:34,208 --> 01:43:35,542
I'll beat it before she shows.
1414
01:43:35,626 --> 01:43:37,920
And that's who I see now.
1415
01:43:39,504 --> 01:43:42,257
I see you, Jayne.
1416
01:43:43,884 --> 01:43:46,428
My mom Jayne.
1417
01:43:48,513 --> 01:43:49,598
I love you.
1418
01:43:52,184 --> 01:43:53,560
And I miss you.