Dress Marilyn Monroe wore for Kennedy’s birthday song sells for $4.8M

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

8 years ago

The flesh-colored dress Marilyn Monroe wore during her rendition of “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy in 1962 is going up for auction. Julien’s Auctions (AP)

FILE- This Friday, Oct. 22, 1999 file photo shows Marilyn Monroe’s "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" dress on display at Christie’s in New York. Julien’s Auctions says that the iconic, form-fitting gown was sold for $4.8 million Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016, to Ripley’s Believe It or Not. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, FILE)

FILE – This April 1962 file photo shows actress Marilyn Monroe on the set of her last movie, "Something’s Got To Give," in Los Angeles. Officials say a dress worn by Monroe as she famously sang "Happy Birthday" to President John. F. Kennedy has sold for nearly $5 million at a Los Angeles auction. Julien’s Auctions says that the iconic, form-fitting gown was sold for $4.8 million Thursday, Nov. 18, 2016 to Ripley’s Believe It or Not. (AP Photo, File)

LOS ANGELES — Officials say a dress worn by Marilyn Monroe as she famously sang “Happy Birthday” to President John. F. Kennedy has sold for nearly $5 million at a Los Angeles auction.

Julien’s Auctions says that the iconic, form-fitting gown was sold for $4.8 million Thursday night to Ripley’s Believe It or Not.

The company says in a news release that the actress wore the Hollywood designer Jean Louis creation — flesh-colored and sparkling with over 2,500 handstitched crystals — on May 19, 1962, for an early 45th birthday celebration for Kennedy at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Monroe’s breathy rendition of the birthday song has been broadcast repeatedly since, adding to the lore surrounding the screen icon.

It was just a few months later on Aug. 5, that the 36-year-old Monroe was found dead from what the Los Angeles district attorney’s office ruled was an overdose of barbiturates.