It was a warm summer in Los Angeles in 1957 when Irving was invited to dinner with his brother and his brother's wife in their modest Los Angeles home. Irving was in his early twenties and a law school student. After dinner, Irving left his brother's apartment on Waring Avenue but all was not well.

Irving noticed a car following him. Irving's suspicions turned to fear because despite his advanced driving skills, he was unable to 'lose the tail'. It seemed Irving was being followed by a professional.

Irving drove to an intersection frequented by the LAPD followed closely by this other car. Irving was fortunate enough to find a uniformed LAPD officer so he seized the moment, ran to the police and informed them that he was being followed and feared for his safety.

Police stopped the car following Irving and approached it with caution. As the LAPD officers shouted for the driver to exit, the driver opened his door and the police said 'how you doing, Phil?' The LAPD officers recognized Phil because he was actually an off-duty LAPD officer, Phil Irwin!

Irving was both embarrassed and confused. Why would an off-duty LAPD officer follow him, a student at USC law school?

Well there was a very good reason why but Irving would not find out until weeks later.

You see, Irving's brother had married a woman (Sheila Renour) who wanted to be a singer. Irving's sister-in-law enrolled in classes with the greatest voice coach in Los Angeles, Fred Karger:



Fred Karger was a voice coach to several famous actresses including Marily Monroe and Jane Wyman.





It seems that Irving's sister-in-law got along quite well with her new friends Jane Wyman and Marilyn Monroe. In point of fact, Marilyn Monroe got along VERY well with their voice coach, Fred Karger and the two struck-up a romance.

There was only one problem with the Marily Monroe/Fred Karger romance. Marily Monroe was married to one of the greatest center fielders ever to play the game of baseball, Joe DiMaggio.


In order to hide the affair from her famous husband, Marilyn Monroe reached-out to her fellow student in voice class Sheila Renour, who offered her modest apartment periodically. By using the home of Irving's sister-in-law, Marilyn Monroe could enjoy her trysts out of the public eye and behind the back of her husband Joe DiMaggio.

Or so she thought.

Half a century ago in Los Angeles, much like today, a celebrity cannot keep the juicy details of their personal life a secret. It was not long until 'Jiltin Joe' got wind of his wife's infidelities and Joe DiMaggio did not take the news well.

Joe DiMaggio hired a private detective to follow his wife, the infamous Barney Ruditsky. Barney Ruditsky was known for having connections among the LAPD and less savory characters.

It was Barney Ruditsky that hired off-duty LAPD officer Phil Irwin to watch the modest apartment on Waring. The same apartment that Irving had left after having dinner with his brother and his brother's wife. If only Irving had known that the apartment where he had been invited to have dinner with his brother was the part-time love nest of Marilyn Monroe and Fred Karger he might have understood why an off-duty LAPD officer might be following him.

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But this is not why the apartment on Waring is famous.

The modest apartment on Waring is famous because it was actually a duplex. Irving's brother lived upstairs and the owner, Florence Kotz Ross downstairs. Irving's brother was renting from Mrs. Ross, a quiet, elderly lady who appreciated the peace and quiet of the neighborhood.

When Joe DiMaggio received confirmation from his private detective that his wife, Marilyn Monroe was at the apartment on Waring, he assembled a raiding party to storm the love nest and catch his wife 'in the act'.

Joe DiMaggio called-in private dick, Barney Ruditsky and associates as well as his close friend, a crooner from New Jersey.



Joe DiMaggio led the charge into the apartment on Waring wielding an ax and followed by a column of menacing characters. As the door crashed, you could hear a woman scream in terror!

The woman screaming was Florence Kotz Ross in the downstairs apartment.

Joe DiMaggio had received true but flawed intelligence. His wife was in-fact cuckolding him with her voice coach but what the detectives failed to realize was that Marilyn Monroe was in the upstairs apartment. When the raiding party broke-down the door of the ground floor apartment, Marilyn Monroe and her lover and were able to escape discovery and flee the upstairs apartment.

Joe DiMaggio's raiding party failed to catch Marilyn Monroe 'in the act'. (There were no weapons of mass deception found.)

Joe DiMaggio's raiding party had raided the wrong door.

When police arrived they interviewed the witness and victim, Florence Kotz Ross. The police noted in their report that the suspects bore a very close resemblance to Joe DiMaggio and Frank Sinatra.

Evidence of the trespass was presented to a Los Angeles grand jury. Apparently Angelenos of the day loved Joe DiMaggio too much and frowned upon infidelity because no order to show probably cause for a crime was found by the grand jury. In other words, Joe DiMaggio would not face charges.

A subsequent civil trial however, resulted in a cash settlement for Florence Kotz Ross and the event became a part of Los Angeles celebrity history.



What is the tie to SodaHead, you ask?

Well Irving graduated law school and became an attorney. Eventually Irving married and had a family.

One of Irving's sons would go on to co-found a website known as SodaHead.



...and THAT my friends is the REST of the story!