Gianni Russo, best known for his role in The Godfather, has revealed that he lost his virginity to Marilyn Monroe when he was just 15 years old and she was 33.

According to thesun.co.uk, Russo claims that they maintained a close relationship until her death at the age of 36 in 1962.

In his memoir Hollywood Godfather: My Life In The Mob And Movies, Russo shares how he met the actress while working at a hair salon in New York.

He reveals that “she came in often and always asked for me to shampoo her hair” and that “after a few visits I got over the movie star hype and saw her as a normal person, albeit one with a dynamite body”.

Russo says that shortly after he met Monroe, one of her advisors invited him to the Waldorf Hotel where she was staying.

Upon arrival, he found her alone in a lavish suite that looked like the set of a disaster movie.

Clothes were thrown everywhere, dirty dishes littered the sofa and the bed was unmade.

Despite this, Russo said that Monroe looked “like a homeless waif without make-up” and that she was wrapped in a white towel and holding a flute of champagne.

Monroe offered Russo a glass before dropping her towel and inviting him to join her in her bath.

“My heart was pounding,” he recalls.

“Like an idiot, I covered my eyes, which made her laugh.

I began undressing, praying I wouldn’t trip over my pants and fall on my a** and then entered the tub.

I’ll be honest, I had no idea what to do, or what she expected.

We wound up in bed for the entire weekend, climbing out only when needed.

It was my first experience of room service, and it added to the fantastic experience.”

Despite the significant age difference between the pair, Russo says he had a great time with Monroe.

He said, “she taught me everything I know.

I thought I was the luckiest boy alive but if it had happened today, I think she’d be arrested and my parents would have tried to get some cash out of it.

Was I upset?

No.

I’d just had s** with America’s hottest movie star and s** symbol.”

Russo said that he came crashing back to reality when he returned to work on Monday morning.

He didn’t tell anyone about his experience with Monroe, not because he wasn’t proud of it, but because he didn’t think anyone would believe him.

It wasn’t until several years later, when he was working on the pre-production of The Godfather, that he opened up about their relationship.

According to Russo, Marlon Brando, who was one of Monroe’s many lovers, was talking about her and lamenting her early death.

Brando said wistfully, “She oozed s**.

Man, she was great.” Unconsciously, Russo nodded in agreement and Brando asked him, “Did you bed her?” Brando asked him to prove it by revealing something intimate about her body.

Russo says that he jabbed his upper right thigh and said, “Scar, right about here.

I told him that I was almost 16 and it went on for a while.

Marilyn was 33 at the time.

Afterwards, I felt bad telling him about it.”

Russo added that he continued to sleep with her but kept it a secret.

If it had happened today, he believes she would have been arrested and his parents would have tried to get some cash out of it.

However, he has no regrets about his time with Monroe, calling it a “fantastic experience”.