Peter was born breach with the umbilical cord around his neck and an undeveloped left arm. He was left to Nurse Hemming for the 1st year of his life, who strapped his good arm down occasionally to force him to use his left and as a result he grew up ambidextrous. May would have preferred a girl, dressing him in girls clothes privately until he was 10.

Insulated, withdrawn young Peter was shunned by most kids his age and he sought closeness wherever he could find it. Lawford’s unconventional upbgining, created a number of personality confusions – the added element of his Mum’s emotional instability left him with virtually no defenses. The woman careered between smothering him as if he was a doll, and at other times she ignored him.

Peter was molested by a friend of the family, a man, and was never comfortable taking about the incident; all he would say was that a pillow had been pushed over his face to silence him and that the experience traumatized him. His 1st sexual encounter at 10 was with his 35yr old German governess. She reached orgasm and fellated Peter to climax. This was no isolated experience as several of his nannies had taken sexual advantage of him around the age of 10. Peter resented his mother for leaving him with these women but didn’t know what to think of it at that age He loved and hated her at the same time.

1937 they were in France at an exclusive spa hotel. He developed a passion for tennis. He returned to the bungalow to find that the maid had latched the door so he slammed into it, with his right arm smashing through one of the panes and instinctively he pulled it back out which caused the damage. A jagged shard of glass sliced through his upper arm, slit muscles, tendons and severed an artery. He ran 50yards to the lobby where he collapsed. He lost 2 pints of blood. “Couldn’t you have done this another night Peter? You knew I was dining out tonight.”

He was told there was no way to save his arm that gangrene would surely set in and the only solution was to amputate at the shoulder. His mother refused. One the wound healed the arm remained limp, and his hand had curled into a half fist like a claw, with the effort to open it too painful. Lawford fell into a deep depression. The doctor showed him exercises to do to regain use, resulting in Peter having 75% usage of his arm. Peter kept his hand in his pocket almost all the time and dreaded shaking hands. His Dr recommended they move to a sunnier place as the cool damp weather caused pain, so the Lawfords moved to LA.

He parked cars at Carl Brulenfeld’s lot in Palm Beach and parked Joe Kennedy’s car. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Lucille Ryman - head of MGM talent, had orders to sign up any man who was 6 ft and 4F. Peter’s arm disqualified him from military service.

He was under contract at MGM and loving it. May, jealous of her son’s success and wanting to punish him for his disliking of the way she treated his friends, May attempted to jeopardize his career by telling Louis B. Mayer that Lawford was gay, only because May knew Mayer was extremely homophobic and this would strain his relationship with Mayer. Very insecure, his lack of self confidence was a legacy from his mother, who taught him he wasn’t good enough to demand more. Peter wanted to rebel but a piece of him felt great guilt over his ambivalent feelings towards his mother. That and his concern for Sir Sydney’s welfare kept Peter in line.

May handed down to Peter an unfortunate Victorian legacy: the conviction that sex was dirty and something to be got over with as quickly as possible. Lawford had a strong sex drive but rarely enjoyed the act in any truly romantic sense. To him it was purely a physical release and due to his rejection from Lana Turner in his early days at MGM, it made it difficult for him to give himself emotionally again. Peter’s painful breakup with Lana Turner changed the way he treated women. After that he started to just drop women when he was finished with them, he could be heartless - it was Lana that tought him that. It was due to his reluctance to become emotionally involved, that Peter preferred hookers which brought him close to scandal many times.

Peter was in hot water with Sinatra over a studio staged lunch with Frank's one true love, Ava Gardner that resulted in a photograph appearing in newspapers. Frank cut all ties with Peter.

Peter began seeing Pat Kennedy, brother of president candidate, John. The first thing Joe Kennedy, father of Pat, said to Peter was, “If there’s anything I’d hate more for a son in law that an actor is a British actor.” Joe had Lawford checked out and found out about the prostitutes and near scandals Peter faced. Joe liked this, as he was lusty and amoral and believed that such behaviour meant he was a red blooded boy.

Peter married Pat Kennedy in 1954, in one of the society weddings of the year. Peter didn’t like kids, and even stayed at a different home to Pat when she was pregnant with their first child Chris and remained an absentia father for the rest of his life. He had alliances while Pat was expecting but nothing serious with the Kennedys around, as he was petrified of the Kennedy family and felt inadequate around them because he wasn’t as educated as they were. It was a constant struggle for Peter to keep his head above water when concerning the Kennedys.

In 1958 Peter was offered the role of James Bond. The studio wanted a handsome soigné Englishman with an eye for beautiful women, a love of gadgetry and a distaste for criminals, it seemed like the right decision at the time but in retrospect it was the worst of Peter’s professional mishaps, turning down the role.

Frank ostracised Peter in 1951 after he was seen out with Ava, however, the immediate factor behind their reconciliation in 1959 had little to do with either friendship or Peter’s impressive connections to the Democratic party. Frank had been hooked on a story outline for the caper movie “Oceans 11” and Peter owned the rights. This alone was sufficient to restore the latter to the stars inner circle.

Just as Sinatra’s rejection of Lawford had been total, his reacceptance of him was all encompassing. They made movies, and became partners in a Beverley Hills restaurant “Puccini.” Peter not only responded to Sinatra but the whole idea of belonging that the Rat Pack offered him. It gave him an entrée into a whole community of performers he admired, which had been off limits to him when he and Frank were on the outs. His closeness to Frank gave him a certain aura, made him a more important figure in the industry. That helped him hold his own in his struggle for identity within the Kennedy family. As Jack’s political star rose, and Peter’s career floundered, he needed a boy to keep his head above water and the Rat Pack was it. He was called “Charlie the Seal” because of his cigarette cough, “Charlie Pentagon”, “Charlie Washington” and “Brother in Lawford.”Peter was considered at “The Sands” as the Frank wanna-be. He'd use Frank's name to get money to play in the casino. He was always showing off, and a pest to the staff. He would have the cocktail waitresses get this and that for him, sending them back to change something which made him nothing but annoying. One night one of the employees put Peter in his place. He wanted to deal and wouldn’t listen when he was told that it wasn’t allowed. Peter says, "I'm Frank's guest and if he was here you would let him deal." In a loud voice the employee replies, "Listen mother-f***er, you're right. If Frank was here he could deal. You're not Frank Sinatra. We're running a casino here and you forget Frank is one of the owners. Do you think he wants you stopping a live game so you can play around. Peter, you're going to f*** with the casino and get into more than you can handle. Now if I'm wrong, let's call him." Lawford didn't answer. "You want me to call Frank?" He says "No", sat down and was nice the rest of the night.

The Lawfords visited Frank on many occasions. Frank was jealous of Peter, as he had a crush on Pat. George Jacobs, Sinatra’s housekeeper, babysat Peter many times when he got high at Sinatra’s place. He talked about sex and about celebrity body parts, often in the company of his brother-in-law Jack Kennedy. To Jack's delight, Peter had actually been with some of the stars he described, hence tales of Lana Turner's perfect breasts, Judy Garland's perfect blow jobs, Judy Holliday's perfect ass, before she got fat. This is how he bonded with JFK - over sex. Both men had lusty appetites for women and neither felt constrained by marriage vows. Peter was happy to help JFK on Hollywood hunting expeditions and expose the President to areas of life he had never seen. Peter bought amyl nitrate “poppers” to the White House, which increases sexual experience. The drug was used on Fiddle and Faddle – JFK’s nick names for 2 White House secretaries that he was having affairs with. Peter's heavy partying drew in JFK and through Peter, JFK met the most unsavoury characters as Peter became JFK’s family connection to a darker side of the underworld businessman, prostitutes and showgirls. It was his presidential connection that made him an honourary member of Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack, making JFK a member, his nick name being Chicky Baby. Peter helped JFK find many of the women he had affairs with many of those affairs operated out of his own home in Santa Monica, previously owned by Louis B.Mayer. Peter liked the home, but bought it mainly out of spite and to annoy Mayer. His neighbour, Peter Dye, called Peter’s Santa Monica beach house a whore house. Lawford is quoted as saying that he was Sinatra’s pimp and that Sinatra was JFK’s.

Peter took up many of Sinatra’s mannerisms – gambling, boozing and his lexicon. The fact that Peter was in part recruited for his Kennedy connection, was later evident when he was dumped for that same connection. Peter was receving pressure from the Kennedys about Sinatra’s behaviour. Peter became a messenger boy and hated it but didn’t dare say anything as he was frightened of the Kennedys and was completely loyal to “the family” and especially couldn’t say no to Jack. When Peter stayed at Bing Crosby’s place instead of Frank’s with the Kennedy family in 1962, that was the end of his relationship with Frank. This event hurt Peter more, because it was Jack that ordered Peter to call Sinatra with the bad news. Peter was broken by the Kennedys, his spirit crushed and his morality twisted. The Sinatra debacle sent Lawford into a deep depression – one punctuated by heavy bouts of drinking. Sinatra only reinforced the feeling that his life was out of his control and the negative aspects of being related to the Kennedys. He felt diminished by the loss of so central a friendship in his life felt his financial security undermined by the career roadblocks Sinatra had already begun to set up against him and felt his physical safety threatened by the mobs fury against the Kennedys and the Rat Pack.

Marilyn Monroe had every reason to be depressed and suicidal upon her death. Peter went with RFK to her house the day she died to tell her that their affair was over, and helped RFK search for bugs and tapes – as she had had her own house bugged. Peter held a party that night and Marilyn was invited, but didn’t attend. Peter sensed something was wrong, but reluctant to involve himself because of his Kennedy connection, he sought advice and called Milt Ebbins and a considerable amount of time was wasted before her body was discovered. Peter spent the rest of his life haunted by the knowledge that a large portion of the blame for her death was his. He had bought Marilyn Monroe into the sexually charged, politically dangerous vortex of the Kennedys, a world she was not able to cope with emotionally. He had watched ineffectually as she repeatedly courted death with drugs and booze. He had been instrumental in creating as situation that sent her over the edge, and as she called out for help the night of her death, he procrastinated for hours as her life slipped away.

After Marilyn Monroe’s passing, terrified of an investigation into her death as it might reveal her affairs with the Kennedy brothers, Peter, in an act of complete and utter loyalty went to her house to “clean up” and take and/or destroy any evidence Marilyn had of her affairs with the Kennedy brothers. He then sent over an associate to go over it again to pick up things he missed.

Pat and Peter divorced after Peter admitted having affairs. The divorce wrecked Peter as his power by association was almost gone, Pat was gone, his family, Pat even took the wire hangers. Making light of it, Peter sent Pat a little present to her new address with the message, “Dear Pat: You forgot to drain the swimming pool.” Peter sent a truck load of 5 gallon plastic containers of water to her new home. The divorce really opened Peter’s eyes. He found out who his friends were and was extremely unpopular in Hollywood as he burned bridges while JFK was President by adopting superior attitude.

The Kennedys helped in so many ways to bring about his demise. The divorce from Pat saw Peter turn to booze, and after an appointment at the doctors he was told that if continued drinking, he would die. On the way home from the doctors, Peter called into a local bar and downed numerous martinis.

Peter was devastated after JFK’s death and scared that he was losing his connection to the White House and would get on the wrong side of the Kennedys and paranoid that because he was on the wrong side of Sinatra and he would be attacked by the mob. Peter had a contract to write a book while he was alive but he wouldn’t reveal any details about the Kennedys or Marilyn Monroe, meaning that the contract was expired as that was and still is what everyone wants to know about.

Many believe it’s wrong to die with secrets. Peter never told the truth about the Kennedys or Marilyn because he still had his kids and Pat to think about and was worried for their safety as well as their image.

Within a few years of the divorce Peter had everything ripped from underneath him. His friendship with Sinatra and his sense of belonging to the Rat Pack was gone, Marilyn, close friend Judy Garland, JFK and RFK were all dead - everything he had was slipping away. If there was a glimmer of hope that Lawford could recapture the kind of power by association he had enjoyed when JFK was President, it had been buried with RFK. He sold the Santa Monica beach house as it held too many bad memories for him. Around this time, Peter wasn’t only addicted to cocaine, but he was also dealing it, whilst smoking marijuana with Liz Taylor.

He was hated by the Kennedys after attending RFK's funeral with Milton Ebbins (his personal manager and best friend) and a girl he’d picked up at a bar in a black mini skirt when the invitation was only for himself. The Kennedys felt that he disgraced RFK's memory and he was on the outer after that. He truly thought the Kennedys were good for him – as they reunited him with Sinatra, he was popular in Hollywood, his career was on track – but in reality they wrecked his life. In the end they looked upon him as a symbol of all gone wrong and wanted nothing to do with him.

Broke, and disliked in Hollywood, Peter thought he could raise money by law suits. He took out a suit against 20th Century Fox - Aaron Spelling and Carol Lynley in 1977 for an injury suffered while filming the Fantasy Island pilot and in 1981 he took a suit out against American Airlines for being falsely accused of being drunk.

Due to a virtual lifetime of substance abuse, on Decemeber 19th 1984 Peter fell into a coma after being admitted to hospital for liver and kidney failings. On December 24th at 8.50am Peter stirred for the first time in days. His muscles contracted and his upper body rose jerkily, involuntarily. Suddenly blood spurted from his mouth, nose and ears. Then he fell back onto the mattress – he was dead at 60years old.

On his death it was written, “Peter had a crippling lack of self esteem that stemmed from a loveless childhood and uncertain parentage, sexual molestation as a child, frequent affairs that brought little fulfillment. He could be charming giving and thoughtful one minute and vicious and hurtful the next. He had abused alcohol and drugs to the imparement of his health – his death a result of that abuse. He took many provocative secrets about equally famous people to the grave.” 22yrs earlier that same description was given to Marilyn Monroe.