The Sad Truth About Jayne Mansfield's Relationship With Sam Brody

While '50s and '60s bombshell Jayne Mansfield did outlive Marilyn Monroe (her Hollywood "rival" to many — including Monroe herself — according to The Marilyn Report), she was not immune to the kinds of pressures that ultimately took Monroe's life. Mansfield found herself increasingly psychologically reliant upon drugs, alcohol, and diet pills in the years before her death, according to 64 Parishes. Whether it was the strain of stardom or something more personal, she soon began to go through her third divorce — but she wasn't without support. She reportedly began dating her divorce lawyer, Sam Brody.

Despite being married himself, Brody was undeterred in pursuing Mansfield and he showered her with gifts. The relationship came with a dark cost, however, as Brody reportedly proved to be an extremely abusive person. The couple ultimately died in a car accident, along with their driver in 1967. While this has mostly been attributed to compromised driving conditions due to fog, reports History, the Church of Satan's founder, Anton LaVey, did not think that was the true cause.

Jayne Mansfield first met Anton LaVey in San Francisco in 1966 and was drawn to the (partly metaphorical) church he  founded. Though Mansfield never converted to Satanism, the two nevertheless fostered an amicable relationship that was a source of support for the actress as her career began to wane (per Interview Magazine). However, that friendship was put to the test when Mansfield brought Brody along with her on a visit to LaVey's home. According to the Daily Mail, a jealous Brody seemed to ridicule the principles of his church, even mockingly lighting candles he came across. LaVey was outraged and told the lawyer that he may have just inadvertently cursed himself.

When Brody later forcibly interrupted a phone call between Mansfield and LaVey, the latter directly cursed him and pronounced that he would be dead within the year along with those near him. He even encouraged Mansfield to leave Brody after this exchange but, despite their friendship, she didn't. Within a year she died alongside Brody in that horrific car accident. While Brody's angering of LaVey certainly didn't actually trigger the events of that fatal night, the alleged curse is nonetheless staggeringly coincidental — assuming LaVey, ever the showman, didn't tailor his story to better fit the tragedy.