Tennessee Williams met Frankie in Provincetown at Atlantic House for the first time, and they spent the night making love on the beach. After that he didn't see him for over a year (during which time A Streetcar Named Desire was first produced) then he ran into Frank by chance in a deli on Lexington Ave in New York and they became a couple.
Frank was living in his native New Jersey and Tennessee was in his apartment in Manhattan. Ernest Miller Hemingway liked Frankie Merlo and respected him. Frankie was a very tough man and was known as Tennessee Williams body guard, and was Tennessee Williams ghost writer for many years.
Merlo was a second generation Sicilian American who had served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. Together they vacationed in Italy where the writer drew inspiration from the passion for life he felt there.
In 1948, Williams wrote The Rose Tattoo - a passionate comedy about old love lost, and new love found in the life of a family of Sicilian immigrants. The story line follows Williams' own life experiences in meeting Merlo. It stands out as the only major play by Williams that has a happy ending.
Merlo was a steadying influence in the chaotic life of the living-legend of theater. He was a confidant and artistic adviser, as well as a devoted partner. It has been said that people were drawn to Tennessee Williams as a celebrity, but those who maintained lasting friendships with him were drawn by Merlo's charm.
When once asked by the Hollywood mogul Jack Warner at a dinner party, "And what do you do, young man?", Merlo replied: "I sleep with Mr. Williams."
The two set up house in Key West in 1950 and the Duncan Street residence became home base though Williams never stayed in one place for long. After 14 years as a couple, tragedy struck. Merlo was diagnosed with cancer, and Williams nursed him and was devastated by his loss. Frank Merlo died of lung cancer and Williams spun into a depression that lasted for ten years, which he later described as his "stoned age"
Some texts report Merlo's death as occurred in 1961, but he died in 1963.
