Marilyn Monroe Mr President dress. Marilyn Monroe's dress at Kennedy's birthday: photos

On May 19, 1962, actress Marilyn Monroe sang the traditional "Happy birthday" for US President John F. Kennedy at his 45th birthday concert in New York.

Monroe sang a familiar song in such a provocative manner that this news spread all over the newspapers and became a landmark moment of the 20th century. And the dress in which she performed was sold at auction in 1999 for a shocking $1.26 million.

This performance by Marilyn Monroe was more than spectacular. She took the stage in a tight-fitting dress so tight that it was almost impossible to move around in it. And when she threw off her white mink coat, the audience gasped. A translucent flesh-colored dress with a deep neckline was studded with rhinestones and sparkled in the spotlight. There was no underwear underneath. This dress has become as popular as the performance itself. Monroe ordered it from designer Jean Louis and called this outfit "leather and beads."

This dress should have been a surprise in itself. When the main event manager asked Marilyn what exactly she would be wearing, she showed him a completely different dress! From black satin, closed, with a high collar, from the discreet Norman Norell.

And she chose something completely opposite.

When she turned to Jean Louis, she said: "I want you to create a truly historic dress, a stunning dress, one of a kind."

The fabric they chose is the thinnest skin-colored "soufflé" chiffon. To make the dress fit perfectly, like a second skin, Marilyn stood for hours on a chair while they conjured over her.

The dress has a lot of elastic inserts sewn in so that you can move relatively freely.

Marilyn did not want any lining, she was not going to wear underwear either. Therefore, in the bust area, the fabric is laid in twenty layers. In addition, the dress was embroidered with sequins and rhinestones - in appearance they are simply scattered over it, but, of course, the arrangement was precisely thought out.

So, Louis and his assistants had to try. The work went on for a month, and the dress cost Marilyn a lot.
But it was worth it!

That evening, everyone was staring at her.

Everyone present in the hall understood that this was not just a greeting. The song sounded very intimate, much more intimate than etiquette and decency allowed.

Marilyn sang the song in such a breathy way that it gave ambiguity to the whole in simple words: "Happy birthday, Mr. President. Thank you for everything you've done."

Journalists later described it this way: "It's like she's making love to the President in front of forty million Americans." In addition, Marilyn was noticeably tipsy. John F. Kennedy took the stage and tried to smooth over the awkward situation with a joke: "Now, after they sang "Happy Birthday" so sweetly and cleanly, I can leave politics."

President Kennedy was very dissatisfied with the actress's too outspoken behavior. According to rumors, shortly after that, he decided to break up with her. This famous performance turned out to be one of the last public appearances of Marilyn Monroe - less than three months later she died by suicide. Kennedy will be assassinated in 18 months.

The evening of May 19, 1962 in the heart of Manhattan, in New York's Madison Square Garden. That day there was a fundraising event for the Democratic Party, timed to coincide with the 45th birthday of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. True, the birthday itself will come only after 10 days, but political and monetary interests are traditionally higher than such trifles. 15 thousand spectators came to the gala concert, many celebrities participated, in addition to Monroe, but she, by common belief, brazenly stole the show from them.

The very next day, the press and television only discussed her performance. The analysis was comprehensive. Breathing in the voice just in the middle of the phrase “Happy Birthday… Mr. President ”probably appeared because Marilyn, as usual, was late and ran to the performance as fast as she could ... A slight hoarseness - from the fact that she rushed about, did not find the entrance to the stage, got nervous ... The dress turned out to be so frank because the actress is terribly stupid, and not I thought about the status of the event ... Marilyn's relatives claimed that this was complete nonsense - the performance was thought out to the smallest detail. She staked everything - and lost.

Something must happen

“I want you to create a truly outstanding dress, dazzling, one of a kind. A dress that can only be worn!” - so the actress formulated her wishes to the fashionable Hollywood designer Jean-Louis. She knew that Jean's creations were not cheap, and now she is not having the best period, including financial. But all she needed was this fantastic French fashion designer who made brilliant career in Hollywood, repeatedly nominated for an Oscar for best costume design and not so long ago won the main American film prize. And that's not even the point. Marilyn couldn't take her eyes off the concert dresses designed by Jean for Marlene Dietrich. One of them was unrealistically beautiful, and she needs the same ... only the other is even better!

Jean-Louis was really talented, and knew exactly what was needed: to glorify the phenomenal sex appeal of Monroe, to make the audience go crazy, but still respect the boundaries of decency. Hollywood divas have repeatedly set such a task for the designer, and he has always coped with it. However, the Frenchman could not even imagine that the dress that he would make for Marilyn would become his most famous creation. It was sewn from several layers of the thinnest flesh-colored voile and hand-embroidered with two and a half thousand shimmering rhinestones. The dress perfectly followed the lines of Monroe's amazing body. The era of stretch fabrics has not yet arrived, and the actress was literally "sewn" into the outfit, fitting it to the figure. This achieved the effect of a naked body, besides, it was simply impossible to put underwear under the dress. However, the rules of decency were not violated. Marie Irvine, Monroe's makeup artist, who spent the day before the performance at the actress's home, said: "There was more than one layer of fabric. Each of them is transparent, but nothing could be seen through all the layers.”

Marilyn admitted that it was not difficult to make Marilyn a make-up: “She had amazing skin. True, she used false eyelashes - I curled and prepared them in advance. She never asked for a sexy look for her. For what? He's always been sexy." But the make-up artist did not like the psychological state of the actress: “While I was putting on makeup, she was on the phone, she was very upset. Said 20th Century Fox was threatening to suspend her from Something's Got to Happen for interrupting filming to perform at the president's birthday party."

When Monroe was fired from the studio two weeks later, Marie remembered that day. She sincerely worried about Marilyn. This dismissal was so inopportune. The actress spent 12 thousand dollars on the dress - crazy money for those times, even for concert attire. Moreover, I bought five tickets (at least a thousand dollars each) for an event where I became the highlight of the program! And all because she certainly wanted to get to the after-party, but she was afraid that she would not be invited. Under the terms of the charity gala concert, five tickets guaranteed participation in the party. Marilyn was just obsessed with this concert, as if something was really going to happen there.

Issue price

There is no exact answer how long their romance lasted. One of the biographers of the actress claims that the relationship between Marilyn Monroe and John F. Kennedy lasted about two years. Others insist that the passion broke out only three months before the historic performance at Madison Square Garden. Everyone agrees on one thing - the romance between the actress and the president is directly related to the most famous interpretation of the hit Happy Birthday, which has been discussed for 53 years. They wrote that it was a declaration of love from the stage, that in this way the actress tried to return the president who had cooled to her.

The most knowledgeable biographers - agents of the presidential security service - claimed that there was no romance at all: the relationship between John and Marilyn came down to a single weekend in Palm Springs in March, two months before Kennedy's birthday. According to them, for the president, the main blonde of the country became just one of many, because he was a famous womanizer.

A friend of the Kennedy family, Senator George Smathers, said that after that the actress haunted the president with endless phone calls: she could not come to terms with the fact that she was simply being used. Well, I was seriously offended. John F. Kennedy admitted to Smathers that he thoughtlessly blurted out on a date: “You are not from the dough from which the first ladies are made, Marilyn” - and then the girl choked with indignation.

What did she want to prove to him that May evening at Madison Square Garden? That she is the best in the world and deserves love? Or maybe she just took revenge on Kennedy, trolling, bringing the performance of the congratulatory song almost to the level of a parody? After all, Marilyn, contrary to the image of the on-screen fool, was smart and educated. The truth is no longer known. Monroe died two and a half months later from a barbiturate overdose and left no memoir. Last weeks her life was hard: conflict with the film studio, incredible loneliness, disappointed hopes and progressive depression. A year and a half later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.

The dress survived both of them for a long time and became the last concert outfit in which the goddess of sex appeal was remembered by the public. In 1999, it was sold at an auction in New York for $1,267,500, a record amount to this day for a lot from a private wardrobe.

Marina Koroleva

16 Mar 2017

At one time, this woman was the most desirable in the world. She was considered a goddess, she was worshiped and imitated She touched the hearts of millions of men. Already guessed who it is? This is an unsurpassed movie diva. Marilyn Monroe.

There are legends around this cult figure. She surprised and amazed with its eccentricity and for that she was loved. Today we will talk about one of the most scandalous performances of the diva - the performance of the song "Happy birthday" at the birthday party of President Kennedy.

Marilyn decided to sing this song in a very provocative manner so much so that this performance became a landmark moment in her career. That's what I understand, PR!

But the audience was impressed not only by the manner of performance, but also the dress in which Monroe came to the gala concert. It can be safely called the prototype of the now popular "naked" dresses.

You already know what it looked like without me. Maybe, only a caveman has not seen this famous dress. But just in case, I visualize.

President Kennedy's birthday was on madison square garden. The event was attended by more than 15,000 people, including many celebrities. Although there was no First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy...

Marilyn's dress became almost as popular as the performance itself. Translucent, flesh-colored and with a deep neckline, it hugged the body of the diva so closely that it seemed that she could hardly move. And, perhaps, the most interesting thing is that there was no underwear under it ...

Studded with 2,500 rhinestones, it sparkled in the spotlight. Monroe ordered a dress from designer Jean Louis and called this outfit "leather and beads". It originally cost $12,000 and sold for $1.26 million 37 years later.

This is a performance by Marilyn and the image itself was carefully planned. Rumor has it, the actress had high hopes for the event. At that time, the romance between the actress and the president was no longer a secret to anyone, which is why this screaming performance had such an effect.

It is not known how this story could end ... They say that after this trick, Kennedy wanted to break up with the actress. But these are all unconfirmed facts.

famous performance turned out to be one of the last public appearances Marilyn Monroe. After 3 months, she died of an overdose of sleeping pills, and Kennedy himself was killed 18 months later.

Despite the revealed unpleasant facts from the personal life of this beautiful woman, we never stop loving her. The images of Marilyn still excite the hearts of fans, and modern stars inspired by her example, putting on the "naked" dresses that we have already fallen in love with to go out. Well, let's say thanks to Marilyn Monroe for that!

Another news has thundered all over the world related to the name of the pop legend and style icon Marilyn Monroe. This time at the Juliens auction, a sheer, sparkly dress will be put up for sale, in which the actress sang congratulations to President John F. Kennedy on his 45th birthday. The expected sale price is $3,000,000! When ordering a dress from the designer, Marilyn herself asked for a "historical outfit" to be sewn for her. And so it happened. The famous dress of Marilyn Monroe was the most expensive in world history at that time.

background

For the President's birthday on May 19, 1962, 15,000 people were invited to Madison Square Garden. There were many celebrities among them. The actress prepared very carefully for this event, as the affair with the president was coming to an end, and she wanted to return her former passion. The dress cost her $12,000.

This was a huge amount of money for Marilyn, given that she was not in the best financial position in those days. She also had to buy 5 tickets for the event, which guaranteed her participation in the after-party. Knowing the nature of Marilyn, the organizers previously coordinated the outfit with her, and she voiced a completely acceptable discreet dress, worthy of performing in front of John F. Kennedy.

First appearance in Happy Birthday Mr. President

For the celebration itself, the actress arrived completely wrapped in furs. When the turn came to her congratulations, she went on stage, threw off her ermine cape and remained in her dress. The entire hall held its breath. The woman appeared naked, shocking the audience. Everyone wanted to take a closer look at the actress. In complete silence, Marilyn sang the first drawling lines. With hoarseness, with aspiration, confessing his feelings and at the same time shocking those around him with his courage.

Marilyn Monroe's dress at Kennedy's birthday party made a splash. Her performance turned into an outstanding event, made everyone and everyone talk about her for several weeks in a row. Everything was at stake, but there was no winning. The name Happy Birthday was behind the dress

Designer

Marilyn Monroe's outfit was made by one of the best designers of the 30s, Jean-Louis Berzault. He has dressed many Hollywood stars and served as chief designer of clothing at Columbia Pictures. In the early 60s, he left the studio, opening a private salon in Beverly Hills. The most famous women of that time dressed with him. Among the star clients was Marilyn Monroe.

Her outfit for a speech at the birthday of President John F. Kennedy became the most famous work of the designer. He was called "naked dress", "provocation dress". Now it has gone down in history, glorifying the author throughout the world.

What was Marilyn Monroe's transparent dress made of?

Marilyn's appearance in the "provocation dress" was not the first demonstration of the outfit itself. For the first time, such an ensemble was seen on She complemented the dress with luxurious furs. Marilyn wanted the same, only better, so that it was one of a kind, unique and associated only with her. The designer was very talented. He studied the character and style of the actress and realized that it was necessary to emphasize her extraordinary sexuality, while remaining within the bounds of decency.

Marilyn Monroe's floor-length dress was made from thin voile. The fabric was folded into several layers. Two and a half thousand shimmering sequins were sewn on it by hand. The dress was with an open back and had to perfectly follow the lines of the actress's figure. The fabric was beige, and it seemed that there was nothing on the body - only an enveloping shimmer. The effect of nudity was achieved, and it was a real challenge, a scandal at that time. There were no stretch fabrics yet, and in order for the dress to perfectly follow the lines of the figure, it was adjusted directly to Marilyn before going out. There was no underwear, it was simply impossible to wear it under such a tight outfit. This has become another legend associated with the dress.

The Historical Significance of Marilyn's Shiny Sheer Dress

In addition to the aesthetic, the dress of Marilyn Monroe from the day Kennedy was born has a historical and cultural significance. The noisy event gathered a huge number of people. Everyone came to congratulate the president, and actor Peter Lawford's opening speech was delivered with the goal of further changing the direction of pop culture. In addition to what was said, Marilyn got up on stage, took off her fur cape, revealing a flesh-colored dress, and sang the traditional congratulations so openly, frankly and sexually that the entire audience simply gasped.

The actress had an affair with the president, but this was carefully hidden. Marilyn was able to tell the whole world about it thanks to that very dress and manner of performance. It was like a confession that the actress carefully prepared, and for which it took a woman's great courage. After him, the attitude towards both pop culture and the president himself changed. The story has become a landmark for the industry. Now there is an interest in the dress all over the world, not only as a fashionable creation, but also as a work of art.

The first Christie's auction: the cost of the dress

In October 1999, one of the auctions of the Christie's house took place, where 55 lots of Marilyn Monroe's personal belongings were put up. The event was broadcast live on television, as there were a huge number of people who wanted to watch this action. The cost of things rose several times higher than the estimated and declared. When the turn came to transparent Marilyn Monroe (photo above), in which the actress congratulated President Kennedy, everyone just held their breath in anticipation. The lot was presented in the light of the ramp under the audio recording from that big day. It was the most expensive dress in the world sold at auction. The final price reached $1,267,000.

Marilyn's dress is up for sale again in 2016

One of the main events for fans and fans of the famous actress was the new Juliens auction. Marilyn Monroe's dress is up for sale again. The auction will take place on November 17, 2016 in Los Angeles. Before that, the outfit will go on an exclusive tour around the world. The first point is the exposition of Marilyn: Character Not Image in Mana Contemporary (New Jersey), the second is the "Museum of Style Icons" in Newbridge (Ireland), the final stop is Los Angeles, the Juliens Auction Gallery.

The purpose of the event, according to Executive Director Martin Nolan, is to remind people of an important, decisive moment in the history of the United States and the development of pop culture, as well as why Marilyn Monroe became an icon for decades. The expected sale price is $3,000,000.

The legendary Marilyn Monroe

The top 10 most famous outfits of the actress included not only a body dress with sequins. No less famous, even legendary, was the image created in the movie The Seven Year Itch. Rather, not a movie, but a scene where the actress is standing over the subway grate in a white pleated dress with a fluffy puffy skirt. The image became iconic and entered the history of cinema of the 20th century. Marilyn Monroe in a white dress has become the face of an entire era, an object of desire for several generations.

The film was shot in 1955. He was not the best in the career of an actress, but became popular thanks to her. The image of Marilyn in this cocktail dress has been the subject of numerous parodies. She was imitated, her style became iconic. In 2011, an 8-meter-tall statue called "Marilyn Forever" was erected in Chicago. In it, she is depicted in this dress.

Marilyn Monroe's white pleated dress

The dress was designed by William Traville. He worked with Marilyn many times, designing several of her legendary dresses. Over time, the outfit has changed color a little. An ivory cocktail dress has taken on an ecru hue. After the death of the sex symbol, it was sold at auction for $4,600,000.

The photo of Marilyn Monroe in a white dress still arouses genuine interest thanks to the image created by the actress. As a material for tailoring, the designer used acetate crepe. The choice of artificial material was dictated by the need to preserve numerous folds that were not kept on natural fibers. The heavy fabric beautifully fitted the figure and at the same time easily rose under the gusts of wind.

Marilyn's image would be incomplete without her famous dresses. She managed to transform each of them for herself, creating a whole story, changing the vector of fashion. The seductive and feminine image of the famous actress has become a cult, and the expression "Marilyn Monroe's dress" has become a household name, evoking already well-established historical images of cinema, culture, art and even politics.

Ten days before the 45th birthday of John F. Kennedy, on May 19, 1962, a gala concert was held on the stage of Madison Square Garden in New York in honor of the President's birthday. Among others, Marilyn Monroe was supposed to congratulate Kennedy.

All 15 thousand of those present were waiting for her speech with increased interest: the general public had long discussed rumors about Monroe's romance with the president. And the performance of the movie star more than lived up to expectations.

Monroe, famous for her lateness, was true to herself this time too. The host of the concert, Peter Lawford, decided to beat this hitch and during the evening several times jokingly announced the exit of Monroe. When she finally arrived, Lawford announced, "Mr. President, late-comer Marilyn Monroe."

The actress appeared on stage in a translucent tight-fitting dress studded with rhinestones. There was no underwear underneath. Marilyn herself called her outfit, sewn by designer Jean Louis, "leather and beads." Later, Adlai Stevenson, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, who also attended the evening, wrote to Mary Lasker, "I didn't see the beads!"

Monroe, who was visibly drunk, ran to the microphone with small steps, causing many to compare her to a geisha. The hair looked unnatural - there is an assumption that she was wearing a wig. When Marilyn began to sing, the audience froze for a moment. The manner of performing the innocent song "Happy birthday" was very erotic - it was hard to believe that this was happening in a huge hall filled with people. Journalist Dorothy Kilgallen later described it this way: "It's like she's making love to the President in front of forty million Americans."

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John F Kennedy
and U.S. Steel
en.wikipedia.org

Bill Ray and his wife posing in front of the photo
2012

The most famous shot of the evening was taken by photographer Bill Ray, who was 26 at the time. He was looking for a better shooting angle that would allow him to capture both Monroe and Kennedy in the same frame. In addition, Ray was afraid that the security would start chasing journalists out of the hall long before the end of the concert, as is usually the case at such events, so he separated himself from the rest of the photographers and found a place upstairs, behind the stage.

“It was a noisy night, a very pretentious atmosphere. Then, boom, this spotlight appears. There was no sound. No sound at all. It was as if we were in outer space,” the journalist recalls. “There was this long, long pause… and finally she starts with this incredible breath – ‘Happy biiiiirthday to youuuu’ – and everyone just goes into ecstasy. I prayed that I would succeed<…>I had a telephoto lens and no tripod, so I put the lens on the railing and tried really, really hard not to breathe.”

Marilyn Monroe's 1999 dress sold at auction in New York for more than $1.26 million

Ray's photograph has become one of the most famous celebrity portraits. A lonely figure in the beam of a spotlight, and around a black void - the photographer not only captured Monroe's appearance on the stage, but seemed to reflect the essence of her unhappy life. The performance was seductive and at the same time pathetic, everyone knew the desire of the actress to become the first lady, and her act looked like a desperate attempt to get closer to her dream.

“Happy birthday, Mr. President,” Monroe sang, and then continued to the tune of the popular song “Thank you for the memory”: “Thank you, Mr. President, for all that you have done, for all the battles that you have won” - etc. .d. — the words she wrote herself.

John F. Kennedy, who took the stage, tried to smooth over the awkward situation with a joke: "Now, after they sang Happy Birthday for me so sweetly and cleanly, I can leave politics." After the celebration, photographers filmed the president and his brother Robert talking to Monroe, still dressed in her skimpy dress.