Joe DiMaggio, Jr

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Joseph Paul DiMaggio III (October 23, 1941 in New York City - August 6, 1999 in Antioch, California) was the only child of baseball legend Joe DiMaggio. His mother was former starlet Dorothy Arnold. The elder DiMaggio was the Jr., named for his father, Giuseppe, but the younger DiMaggio was the one known as Junior.

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[edit] Early life

Joe Jr. always had a hard time with his father's fame. He and the elder DiMaggio had barely spoken for years before his father's death. When he was younger, his father was barely in his life, due to his parents' divorce in 1944, and to Joe's career. In 1946, Dorothy remarried, which upset Joe, as he was still in love with her, and she had promised to wait for him to return from training camp. Despite the fact that his parents did love him and tried their best in the circumstances, the boy was neglected, even as his father sent him to camps and boarding school, and gave him the best of everything. "They threw the man away," his ex-wife, Sue told Esquire.

A blurb on the now-13 year old in Newsweek reported that he planned to be an engineer and join the United States Air Force. But, something, obviously, went wrong. He developed a drinking problem while still in his teens, and a chip on his shoulder that alienated him from his mother's family. The president of Yale University once called Joe and told him the boy was failing his classes; he was loath to expel him due to him being Joe DiMaggio's son. Joe told him not to accord Joe Jr. any special favours, but treat him like any other student. Shortly afterwards, he dropped out, joined the United States Marine Corps, and broke off his engagement to the daughter of a contractor.

[edit] Later life

After his stint in the Marines, he held jobs here and there, though never stayed with them long. He eventually left Sue (after years of infidelity and physical abuse) and her two daughters, whom he adopted, necessitating that his father step in. Joe Sr. was close to his daughter-in-law and called her children "my grandchildren." Joe Jr. once accused the girls of using him in order to get close to his father.

According to his attorney Morris Engelberg, Joe was angered at his son for throwing away his life, yet, determined to get him back on track. Joe used to walk the streets looking for him as his address changed often and he would sometimes be homeless. When Joe was dying, he didn't visit or even call. In the hours after Joe's death was announced, reporters found Joe Jr. living in a trailer, working in a junkyard. "My lifestyle is diametrically opposed to my father's," he once said. "I'm not much more than a hobo." His father left him a $20,000 a year trust fund. He died 5 months after his father due to drug and alcohol abuse.

[edit] Death

At his dad's funeral, Joe Jr. was one of the pallbearers. His uncle Dominic was also a pallbearer, and barely spoke to his brother before he got sick. The brothers tried to patch up their relationship before he died (there's some dispute about this: Dominic claimed he and Joe had long settled their differences; Engelberg claimed they didn't).

Joe DiMaggio, Jr., was dead on arrival to Sutter Delta Medical Center. Attempts at resuscitation failed, and he was officially pronounced dead at 11:25 p.m.. His ashes were scattered at sea.

[edit] Trivia

  • He was one of the last people to speak to his former stepmother Marilyn Monroe.
  • When he was pictured with Marilyn in 1952, his mother sued for full custody, claiming Monroe posed a threat to the boy's morals. The suit was thrown out in 1953. He would at times live with his father and Marilyn when the two married.
  • He attended Marilyn's funeral, and walked behind the hearse with his father.
  • His mother once said that she had him to make Joe "realize his obligations as a married man."
  • The money left to him by his father was the smallest sum in the will.