The iconic dress that Marilyn Monroe wore to sing Happy Birthday to President John F. Kennedy to celebrate his 45th birthday at Madison Square Garden is to be auctioned.
Marilyn Monroe wore the flesh-colored dress in May 1962, but the garment was so tight she had to be sewn into it.
Image source Wikipedia
She died less than three months later at the age of 36, and JFK died in 1963.
The dress was sold in 1999 for $1.26 million but Julien’s Auctions thinks it could fetch up to $3 million this November.
The gown, made of silk gauze and covered in thousands of rhinestone beads and sequins, will go under the hammer in Los Angeles on November 17.
Before then, the dress will be on show at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City, New Jersey, and the Museum of Style Icons in Newbridge, Ireland.
According to an explosive new book, Marilyn Monroe called Jackie Kennedy at the White House and confessed she was having an affair with JFK.
The First Lady responded: “That’s great… I’ll move out and you’ll have all the problems.”
In These Few Precious Days: The Final Year of Jack with Jackie, author Christopher Andersen claims Jackie Kennedy “knew everything” about JFK’s cheating and turned a blind eye, but his relationship with Marilyn Monroe “seemed to bother her the most”.
Jackie Kennedy was right to fear the bombshell actress, because Marilyn Monroe’s sights were firmly set on becoming the President’s second wife.
Marilyn Monroe, who long grappled with psychiatric and emotional problems as well as drugs and alcohol, was convinced JFK was about to leave Jackie Kennedy for her, her friend Jeanne Carmen reportedly revealed.
“Can’t you just see me as first lady?” Marilyn Monroe asked Jeanne Carmen.
Author Christopher Andersen claims Jackie Kennedy knew everything about JFK’s cheating and turned a blind eye, but his relationship with Marilyn Monroe seemed to bother her the most
According to excerpts of the book, published by The New York Posttoday, Peter Lawford claimed Marilyn Monroe called Jackie Kennedy and told her she was sleeping with JFK, and that he’d allegedly promised to leave his family for her.
“Marilyn, you’ll marry Jack, that’s great,” Jackie Kennedy responded, according to the account.
“And you’ll move into the White House and you’ll assume the responsibilities of first lady, and I’ll move out and you’ll have all the problems.”
Christopher Andersen writes JFK’s Air Force aide, General Godfrey McHugh, revealed early on that “Jackie knew about his women” and her friend Ralph Martin agreed.
“You know, in the end Jackie knew everything. Every girl. She knew her rating, her accomplishments . . .”
However, she didn’t take his cheating lightly.
JFK’s close friend, George Smathers, said Jackie was “damn mad” about his fooling around, but she was willing to look the other way as long as he was careful and didn’t humiliate her.
Jackie Kennedy reportedly feared her own s**ual inadequacies were pushing JFK into the arms of other women.
But she complained of the President’s love-making to her long-time confidant Dr. Frank Finnerty, claiming “he just goes too fast and falls asleep”.
Aside from the ladies, Christopher Andersen offers a fascinating insight into JFK’s dependence on drugs.
His physician Max Jacobson, known as Dr. Feelgood, administered high-dosage amphetamine shots laced with steroids to the president on a regular basis, the book claims, and even the first lady.
Dr. Max Jacobson’s four-times-weekly injections worried other physicians who believed they might react with the dozen or so other drugs JFK was taking for his other health woes.
Gore Vidal reportedly said he was “horrified” to learn Dr. Feelgood was treating the President and, according to the book, told Jackie Kennedy to “Watch out” because “Max drove several people mad”.
Kate Middleton was left red-faced after the gusts lifted up her polka-dot dress, drawing attention to her thighs.
The Duchess of Cambridge was caught out by the wind as she arrived at the wedding of friends William van Cutsem and Rosie Ruck Keene, in south Oxfordshire, just over a week ago.
Seemingly unaware that her skirt had blown up, revealing her shapely legs, Kate Middleton, 32, gripped her black and white fascinator rather than her hem, laughing as she did so.
It happened as she walked towards St Mary the Virgin Church, in the village of Ewelme in the Chiltern Hills, on Saturday, May 11.
Kate Middleton appeared not to have learned her lesson from the last time she wore the Topshop dress, when she suffered a similar wardrobe malfunction.
The duchess was forced to hold down the back of the black and cream outfit as she arrived at the Hertfordshire-based Warner Bros Studios with Princes William and Harry, last month.
The High Street bargain sold out within hours of her wearing it, but the dress may not get a third showing after proving unsuitable for the gusty British weather once again.
Kate Middleton attended the wedding with Prince William, who arrived separately and was believed to have been an usher, wearing the same morning suit, blue striped shirt, and dark red tie as the groom.
Kate Middleton was left red-faced after the gusts lifted up her polka-dot dress
The couple have known the van Cutsem family for many years and the groom’s niece, Grace, was a flower girl at the royal wedding.
Kate Middleton’s embarrassing moment, reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe in film The Seven Year Itch, was one of several for the duchess.
In July 2011, during a North American tour, her cream and navy cable-knit Alexander McQueen dress was whipped up by the wind as she met wellwishers in Charlottetown, in Canada.
On that occasion Kate Middleton was wearing a cream slip, which protected her modesty. She was not so lucky four days later as her yellow Jenny Packham dress flew up on the tarmac at Calgary airport, briefly revealing her underwear.
But Kate Middleton, who is expected to give birth on July 13, handled all the mishaps with her usual poise.
The exact due date had been shrouded in secrecy, but close friends of the royal couple discussed at a barbecue hosted by a family friend that Kate Middleton expects to go into labor on July 13 – during the Queen’s Coronation Festival.
For the first time, 50% said Charles would be a fitting monarch in the YouGov poll, up 13% from May last year. The Prince of Wales was seen as making a positive contribution to the monarchy by 60% of voters.
The poll showed, for the first time, a majority believe the Queen should abdicate if she becomes too ill to fulfill her duties.
Movie Star News Collection, one of the largest collections of old Hollywood photographs, has been gone up for auction this week.
Guernsey’s auction house in New York is holding a two day sale from April 6-7 to sell the Movie Star News Collection of 3 million photographs and negatives that capture the history of Tinseltown.
Guernsey’s auction house in New York is holding a two day sale from April 6-7 to sell the Movie Star News Collection of 3 million photographs and negatives that capture Hollywood history
The pictures were captured by Irving Klaw, a Manhattan photographer who was the first to tap into the public’s insatiable demand for movie photographing.
Irving Klaw, a candy shop owner by trade, branched into the photography business in 1939 and negotiated a deal with movie studios to capture scenes of famous faces on movie sets.
The photographer captured the most celebrated figures from old Hollywood including Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Cary Grant, Judy Garland, Audrey Hepburn and Paul Newman.
The collection of pictures of Marilyn Monroe includes more than 600 photographs.
It seems Lindsay Lohan has managed to take on another legend in the guise of Marilyn Monroe for another movie.
Although Lindsay Lohan has taken a rather more controversial slant to the role of the iconic beauty.
A trailer for upcoming film InAPPropriate Comedy shows Lindsay Lohan in her cameo alongside Adrien Brody in the eyebrow raising picture.
And it seems Lindsay Lohan’s up to her usual controversial antics as she’s seen wearing a white dress like the one worn by Marilyn Monroe during her iconic moment when her dress blows up in The Seven Year Itch.
Lindsay Lohan mimics the moment by standing on a pavement with her similar halterneck white frock blowing up in the air to almost reveal her modesty.
She even completed her look with platinum blonde hair and lashings of lipstick to emphasize her pout.
And then Lindsay Lohan can be seen facing a row or paparazzi before taking a gun hidden from behind her dress and shooting the photographers.
Lindsay Lohan having a Marilyn Monroe moment in InAPPropriate Comedy trailer
A description for the movie details Lindsay Lohan’s moment as her character living out “her fantasy of taking an ultimate revenge on the salivating paparazzi who haunt her”.
Lindsay Lohan appears alongside Adrien Brody in the comedy, which lives up to its name if the new trailer is anything to go by.
She is also due to appear in the thriller The Canyons with James Deen, and Scary Movie 5 with Charlie Sheen later this year.
It makes a nice change for Lindsay Lohan to be showing she’s been hard at work as opposed to her usual press for her off screen antics.
On Monday Lindsay Lohan even made headlines for being a no-show in court.
The troubled 26-year-old, who is widely reported to have severe money problems, is accused of punching a fellow clubber in the face during a nightclub brawl on November 29.
Lindsay Lohan was arrested and charged with third degree misdemeanor assault following the incident.
But as the troubled star failed to make an appearance in court on Monday, her lawyer revealed that she had no need to worry.
In fact he bizarrely told waiting reporters how a “fortune teller has predicted an extremely lucky 2013” for his client.
A classified file released by the FBI shows how the agency tracked Marilyn Monroe’s suspected ties to communism in 1956.
The agency documented an anonymous phone call to the New York Daily News that year warning that playwright Arthur Miller was a communist and Marilyn Monroe had “drifted into the communist orbit” after her marriage to him earlier that year.
The file is just one piece of the puzzle about what the FBI knew about Marilyn Monroe when she died in August 1962.
The Associated Press waging an ongoing campaign to have more of the FBI documents released by the agency, coinciding with the 50th anniversary Marilyn Monroe’s death.
The redacted document reveals that on July 11, 1956, the agency got a tip that an anonymous male caller phoned the Daily News to report that the actress’s company, Marilyn Monroe Productions, was “filled with communists” and that money from the company was being used to finance communist activities.
The caller said Arthur Miller’s marriage to Marilyn Monroe during a Jewish ceremony less than a months earlier was a “coverup”.
Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller were both suspected of communist activities by the FBI
Arthur Miller, the man said, “was still a member of the CP [communist party] and was their cultural front man”.
The FBI has long made portions of its documents about Monroe public, but most of them are heavily redacted.
However, the FBI claims it has lost its files on the actress and cannot release them.
Finding out precisely when the records were moved – as the FBI says has happened – required the filing of yet another, still-pending Freedom of Information Act request.
The most recent version of the files is publicly available on the bureau’s website, The Vault, which periodically posts FBI records on celebrities, government officials, spies and criminals.
The AP appealed the FBI’s continued censorship of its Marilyn Monroe files, noting the agency has not given “any legal or factual analysis of the foreseeable harm that might result from the release of the full records”.
Marilyn Monroe’s star power and fears she might be recruited by the Communist Party during the tenure of longtime FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover led to reports being taken on her activities and relationships, including her marriage to playwright Arthur Miller.
Marilyn Monroe’s file begins in 1955 and mostly focuses on her travels and associations, searching for signs of leftist views and possible ties to communism. The file continues up until the months before her death, and also includes several news stories and references to Norman Mailer’s biography of the actress, which focused on questions about whether Marilyn Monroe was killed by the government.
There have been two major government investigations into Marilyn Monroe’s demise – the original inquiry immediately after her death and another effort by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office in 1982. The second inquiry, released in December 1982, reviewed all files available investigative reports, including files compiled by the FBI on her death. The records, the DA’s office noted, were “heavily censored”.
That mention intrigued the man who performed Marilyn Monroe’s autopsy, Dr. Thomas Noguchi. While the DA investigation concluded he conducted a thorough autopsy, Thomas Noguchi has conceded that no one will likely ever know all the details of Marilyn Monroe’s death. The FBI files and confidential interviews conducted with the actress’ friends that have never been made public might help, he wrote in his 1983 memoir “Coroner”.
“On the basis of my own involvement in the case, beginning with the autopsy, I would call Monroe’s suicide <<very probable>>,” Thomas Noguchi wrote.
“But I also believe that until the complete FBI files are made public and the notes and interviews of the suicide panel released, controversy will continue to swirl around her death.”
For those on the hunt for last-minute Thanksgiving recipe ideas, Marilyn Monroe’s handwritten checklist might offer some inspiration.
Jotted on a letterhead from an insurance company, Marilyn Monroe explains how she prepares a turkey dinner, with all of the trimmings.
For the stuffing she soaks a French loaf in cold water and adds five herbs, spices and nuts, while to prep the bird she rubs it with salt, pepper, and butter, before cooking it in an oven set to 350 degrees.
The notes, which feature in Fragments, a collection of her letters and musings from 1943 to her death in 1962, are the best evidence yet that she had a passion for cooking.
Fussing over details, Marilyn Monroe writes that giblets must be “liver-heart” and stipulates that the beef must be “browned (no oil)”. She even takes care to specify the quantity of the produce needed.
The most important instruction of all is right at the very top, where she states that “no garlic” should be added to the stuffing.
Unlike other cooks, she uses little fat or broth and no eggs or binder to hold it together. To make the mix right it also needs “1 handful” of grated Parmesan and an unspecified amount of “parsley”.
For the bird – either a chicken or turkey – she salts, peppers and butters it before stuffing and sewing it up and cooking at 350 degrees, for two hours or longer, depending on its weight.
The final meal is presented with sides of potato, canned button mushrooms and fresh green peas.
Marilyn Monroe’s flair for cooking was evident at an auction of her personal effects in 1999 when two well-worn cookbooks of hers from the 1950s were sold off for well above the reserve.
The recipe is dated around 1955 or 1956 when she was living in New York with her husband, the playwright Arthur Miller.
At the time, riding high off the back of the success of the Seven Year Itch, Marilyn Monroe had just signed a four-film $100,000 per-film deal with 20th Century Fox.
The four would include Bus Stop and Some Like It Hot, for which she won the Golden Globe for Best Actress. Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller later divorced amid accusations of affairs on both sides before her death in 1962 from an apparent overdose.
For those on the hunt for last-minute Thanksgiving recipe ideas, Marilyn Monroe’s handwritten checklist might offer some inspiration
Marilyn Monroe’s Thanksgiving Recipe
FOR THE STUFFING
No garlic
Sourdough
French bread – soak in cold water, wring out, then shred
For chicken giblets – boil in water 5-10 mins
Liver – heart then chop
1 whole or ½ onion, chop & parsley / four stalk celery, chop together following spices – put in rosemary
Thyme, bay leaf, oregano, poultry seasoning, salt, pepper,
Grated Parmesan cheese, 1 handful
1/2lb – 1/4lb ground round – put in frying pan – brown (no oil) then mix raisin 1½ cuops or more
1 cup chop nuts (walnuts, chestnuts, peanuts)
1 or 2 hard boiled eggs – chopped mix together
TO PREP THE BIRD
Salt & pepper inside chicken or turkey – outside same and butter
Sew up clamp birds put chicken or turkey in 350 oven
Roasting chicken – 3or 4lbs or larger
Cooks 30 min to 1lbs
Brown chicken or pheasant (vinegar, oil, onion, spices) – let cook in own juice
In the 1950s the glamour of Chanel No. 5 was reignited by Marilyn Monroe whose unsolicited endorsement of the fragrance provided invaluable publicity.
“What do I wear in bed? Chanel No. 5!”
These are the words famously spoken by the Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe.
But many have never heard Marilyn Monroe utter the statement that forever fused the blonde and the fragrance house. Until now.
Chanel has released lost audio footage of an interview Marilyn Monroe gave in April 1960 complete with a tribute video to the star and her famous response.
The 2-minute video opens with a still image of the blonde beauty lying nude in bed as the question “What do you wear to bed?” flashes up on the screen.
The video then states: “We may never know when she said the phrase for the first time” as it goes on to unveil the lost footage in a tantalizing build-up chronicling the timeline of her famous phrase.
Chanel has released lost audio footage of an interview Marilyn Monroe gave in April 1960 complete with a tribute video to the star and her famous response
It explains that on April 7th 1952 a 26-year-old Marilyn was quoted in LIFE magazine referencing the famous Chanel No 5 perfume for the very first time and from that day one, the perfumery legend was born.
But it wasn’t until October 2012 that, for the first time, Chanel retrieved and unveiled a lost interview that Marilyn Monroe gave to Georges Belmont at French Marie Claire speaking about her love of the brand.
Her voice can be heard saying: “You know, they ask you questions…just an example: <<What do you wear to bed? A pajama top? The bottoms of the pajama? A nightgown?>> So I said <<Chanel No. 5!>> Because it’s the truth!”
Marilyn Monroe may have died almost 50 years ago, but her legacy continues to intrigue and delight fans old and new.
Closing on an image of Marilyn Monroe spraying a bottle of No 5 over her body, the tagline “Forever Marilyn and No 5” flashes across the screen as the video draws to a close.
Forensic psychologist Dr. S. David Bernstein has analyzed a check signed by Marilyn Monroe the day before her death and says that it proves she was not planning to kill herself.
Marilyn Monroe used the check, which is now being auctioned off, to purchase a white chest of drawers worth $228.80 from Pilgrim’s Furniture, an act Harvard-trained Dr S. David Bernstein believes is inconsistent with someone contemplating suicide.
Dr. S. David Bernstein said people about to take their own lives often engage in shopping sprees, but the fact all Marilyn Monroe bought was the chest of drawers suggests she was planning to be around to use it.
Marilyn Monroe used the check, which is now being auctioned off, to purchase a white chest of drawers worth $228.80 from Pilgrim's Furniture
“What my thoughts are is that this purchase wouldn’t be consistent with planning to kill yourself,” said Dr. S. David Bernstein.
“A chest of drawers is a very personal item, and fairly low cost, and that is indicative that she was making plans for herself in the future.”
The historic check, dated August 4, 1962, is among a collection of 15 items being sold by Heritage Auctions to commemorate Marilyn Monroe, 50 years after her untimely death.
Marilyn Monroe’s death was ruled a probable suicide.
But Dr. S. David Bernstein said her behavior didn’t fit with someone who was suicidal.
“It’s not like she was getting a high out of buying a lot of stuff or big ticket items, which is often what people who are feeling depressed do to elevate themselves,” he said.
“If I was doing a psycho autopsy and determining whether it was suicide or an accident, this particular piece of data – and of course I don’t know what else she did that day – is not consistent with someone who was planning to not be around to enjoy what they were buying.
“It easily could have been an accident,” said Dr. S. David Bernstein.
“It probably was.”
The current online bid for the check is $8,000.
Marilyn Monroe banked with City National Bank of Beverly Hills and the check was written by someone other than her, possibly her caretaker Eunice Murray, according to the auction house.
It is signed in blue ballpoint ink by the starlet.
“No star will ever capture the hearts and wallets of collectors quite like Marilyn Monroe,” Heritage’s director of Entertainment and Music Memorabilia Margaret Barret told the Huffington Post.
Kosovar Albanian actress Arta Dobroshi ended up being the centre of attention at Cannes Film Festival 2012 thanks to an unfortunate “Marilyn Monroe” moment which saw her skirt blow up to reveal her derriere in one of the worst faux pas’ of the festival so far.
Arta Dobroshi was to promote her movie Trois Mondes (Three Worlds) along with co-stars Raphaël Personnaz and Clotilde Hesme.
The actress turned up looking demure in a blue high waisted skirt with a cream top tucked in and she finished her look off with some nude snakeskin heels with her hair scraped into a high bun.
But Arta Dobroshi ran into problems thanks to the breezy weather in Cannes today.
Arta Dobroshi shows her derriere in embarrassing "Marilyn Monroe" moment at Cannes Film Festival 2012
As she tried to look her best and pose for the waiting cameras her skirt blew up and was reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe’s infamous white frock moment which saw her dress being blown upwards.
But Arta Dobroshi appeared unaware just how much she was revealing as she continued to pose and smile at photographers who were getting a bit more than they bargained for.
She managed to finally pose with her outfit the way it was supposed to look with the skirt firmly in place.
And she later sat with her co-stars as they posed during the photo shoot for the film.
Fifty years ago, on May 19, 1962, Marilyn Monroe performed one the most famous versions of “Happy Birthday” ever sung – definitely to sitting U.S President John F. Kennedy.
Wearing the iconic rhinetstone dress that she was literally sewn into, Marilyn Monroe performed a sultry version of the popular song to JFK at a fundraiser on May 19, 1962.
To commemorate that fact, LIFE magazine has released a series of rare black and white images taken by photographer Billy Ray from the gala held for JFK’s birthday put on at Madison Square Garden when it existed between 50th and 51st streets.
The evening will always be remembered for 36-year-old Marilyn Monroe’s intimate rendition of “Happy Birthday”, sung to preempt the Democrat’s 45th birthday by ten days.
Photographed by Bill Ray, the collection has been released for the anniversary, including his unique vantage point of Marilyn Monroe as she sings, from behind her and up in the rafters of Madison Square Gardens.
Fifty years ago, on May 19, 1962, Marilyn Monroe performed one the most famous versions of “Happy Birthday” ever sung
Singing to married father-of-two JFK like they were the only two people in the 15,000 seater arena, the sex-symbol’s performance has been much analyzed and even parodied by the likes of Lady GaGa over the years.
That indelible night, JFK was on his own, as his wife Jackie Kennedy was visiting friends in Virginia.
Already thought to have begun their alleged affair, Marilyn Monroe’s sexy rendition of “Happy Birthday” merely added fuel to the fire of rumors at the time claiming the two were an item.
As the actress performed, the slightly embarrassed president took to the stage to announce: “Thank you. I can now retire from politics after having had <<Happy Birthday>> sung to me in such a sweet, wholesome way.”
Marilyn Monroe’s famous dress was noted for being made of a sheer and flesh colored marquisette fabric, that had 2,500 rhinestones sewn into it.
Apparently, when viewed under the spotlight, the fabric seemed to disappear and the rhinestones simply glittered on the Jean Louis designed dress.
The evening was all the more poignant for the fact that less than three months later Marilyn Monroe was found dead and of course in November 1963, JFK was shot dead in Dallas.
“For stargazers and dusty old historians, alike, the night that Marilyn sang to JFK remains an uncanny, once-in-a-lifetime collision of sex, politics, power and pop culture,” said LIFE magazine.
This website has updated its privacy policy in compliance with EU GDPR 2016/679. Please read this to review the updates about which personal data we collect on our site. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our updated policy. AcceptRejectRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
