Kriti Mehrotra
When actress and musician Jayne Mansfield suddenly passed away from a horrific car accident at the young age of 34 in 1967, her family members, friends and fans deeply mourned her shocking passing. As explored in HBO Max’s ‘My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay,’ her youngest daughter was arguably the most affected by it all. That’s because Mariska was just 3 at the time, so she doesn’t have any real memories of her mother or being in the car with her, her then-boyfriend, Sam Brody, and her two elder brothers on the fateful day.
Sam Brody Was a High-Profile Divorce Attorney by Profession
Although not much regarding Samuel “Sam” Brody’s early years or background is available as of writing, we do know he was born on September 11, 1926, to Jennie and David Brody. The Brooklyn, New York, native later developed an interest in the legal world, driving him to pursue his education in the same field before acquiring a license to practice in California. We specify the Golden State because by the time the 1960s rolled around, he was a reputable entertainment and divorce attorney based out of San Francisco, where he lived with his wife, Beverly Brody.
Therefore, when actress Jayne Mansfield decided to legally part ways with her third husband, writer-director Matt Cimber, in the summer of 1966, she hired Sam to be her attorney. These two strangers ended up forming a connection while working together to ensure she could win the bitter custody battle she had suddenly found herself in. As time passed, Jayne and Sam even began living together, resulting in his wife Beverly also filing for divorce. In her filed documents, she called the actress the “41st other woman” in her husband’s life.
However, it’s imperative to note that, as per everyone close to Jayne, Sam was allegedly abusive towards her and reportedly mistreated her eldest daughter. According to the aforementioned original, they apparently had drunken brawls, physical fights, and more, at the end of which she often even contacted her second ex-husband for help. The actress’ eldest son from her second marriage, Miklos “Mickey” Hargitay Jr., once allegedly also saw her with black eyes. She had allegedly tried to hide them by wearing sunglasses, but to no avail.
Sam Brody Died With Jayne in the Fateful Car Accident
Since Jayne was undertaking a lot of public engagements in 1967, it wasn’t unusual for her to travel to different states or countries alongside her kids and boyfriend in the dead of night. That’s precisely what she was doing in the summer, too, and on the fateful night, she had left Biloxi, Mississippi, shortly after midnight on June 29 to make her way to New Orleans, Louisiana. In the car with her was her 19-year-old driver, Ronald Harrison, lover Sam, three children from her second marriage (Mickey, Zoltan, and Mariska Hargitay; aged between 8 and 3), as well as her four Chihuahuas.
Little did any of them know that at around 2:25 am, they would collide with a tractor-trailer that had slowed down on Highway 90 due to an approaching mosquito repellent spray truck. The three kids were sleeping in the backseat, whereas the three adults were sitting at the front and seemingly getting ready for the long drive to soon come to an end in Orleans Parish. But alas, since the front side of the vehicle took on the brunt of the impact, all three adults as well as two of the dogs died instantly, while the kids and remaining dogs in the backseat survived with minor injuries.
According to reports, Jayne, Sam, and Ronald’s cause of death was “crushed skull,” with the structure essentially being torn off from the impact – there was reportedly no way any of them could have been revived. Around a month before the accident, the attorney had created a new will wherein he named his girlfriend as the sole beneficiary of his entire estate. However, since neither his nor Jayne’s divorce had been finalized by this point, his wife, Beverly, contested the will and eventually filed a civil lawsuit against Jayne’s estate regarding the same. In the end, the matter was settled out of court.
Read More: Zoltán Hargitay: Where is Mariska Hargitay’s Brother Now?
