Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Marilyn Monroe’s Happy Birthday dress is to go to auction​ this week

Marilyn Monroe's Happy Birthday dress
Marilyn Monroe's Happy Birthday dress

IT was the dress that shocked and thrilled the world — and the dreadful events to follow merely increased its fame and notoriety.

May 19, 1962, was the day Marilyn Monroe stole headlines across the globe, appearing in a stunning flesh-coloured dress, so tight they’d sewed her into it minutes earlier.

And then, of course, she sang the sexiest Happy Birthday anyone had ever heard, but this was especially for President John F Kennedy in honour of his 45th birthday.

The most-adored actress on Earth had walked on stage at Madison Square Garden, New York, with a white ermine fur coat covering the dress.

With more than 2,500 hand-stitched crystals, it was so tight that she couldn’t even put underwear on, and the gasp from the huge audience was audible.

It’s fair to say it was a mix of lust and envy — the typical sort of emotions that often made people gasp when Marilyn Monroe was around, such was her sheer presence.

The tragedy to come was that the blonde goddess would be dead in a matter of months, and JFK himself would be assassinated just over a year later.

Rumours of an affair between them have also endured all these years since.

So to sing Happy Birthday Mr President in such a way, and have JFK clearly loving every minute, was a sensation, as was that dress.

This week, it will go to auction, the most sought-after item of Marilyn memorabilia sold in decades, and is sure to fetch a huge sum.

Actor Peter Lawford had jokingly introduced her as the “late” Marilyn Monroe, on account of her timekeeping, but that word would prove spookily prophetic.

It was one of her last-ever public appearances, and we know now that she was going through torment at work, falling out with her studio bosses, being fired and rehired.

Her life was in turmoil, but you wouldn’t have guessed it to hear her sing the sultry rendition of Happy Birthday.

As Jacqueline Kennedy was mysteriously absent for the whole thing, the rumours about Marilyn and JFK merely multiplied.

Marilyn’s death that year spurred Andy Warhol to create his now-legendary portraits of her, and the auction experts reckon this dress could fetch a special price.

“Marilyn Monroe singing Happy Birthday Mr President is certainly one of the most-famous impromptu performances in American history,” says Darren Julien, President & CEO of Julien’s Auctions.

“That rendition has lived on for decades as one of the most-remarkable events in her career and certainly one of the most-storied tales in popular culture history — a moment in time squarely at the centre of the 1960s and Hollywood.

“We are incredibly privileged to have the opportunity to offer this amazing dress to collectors, fans and contemporary art enthusiasts around the world.”

On November 17, Julien’s Auctions, the world-record breaking auction house to the stars, will once again make history when it exclusively offers the iconic Jean Louis dress.

The dress will be presented on the custom-made mannequin that was designed to match Marilyn’s exact body measurements.

Collector edition catalogues can be ordered at www.juliensauctions.com before the auction at Julien’s, Los Angeles, on November 17.


READ MORE

Rare prints of Marilyn Monroe to go on display at 90th birthday exhibition

Lorraine Kelly: Marilyn Monroe’s iconic costumes and how not to turn into a couch potato