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Ripley’s Believe it or Not purchased the Jean Louis designed
dress covered in sequins, the Beverly Hills-based Julien's
Auctions said in a statement.
With its color matching her skin tone, the dress, which was so
tight that Monroe had to be sewn into it, gave the impression
she was nude.
“Marilyn Monroe singing ‘Happy Birthday Mr. President’ is
certainly one of the most famous impromptu performances in
American history,” said Darren Julien, President and CEO of
Julien’s Auctions.
Monroe, one of the 20th century's most famous sex symbols, wore
the dress as she sang "Happy Birthday to You" to Kennedy in a
breathy performance at a May 19, 1962 fundraiser for the
Democratic Party in Madison Square Garden in New York.
The star of the films "Some Like it Hot" and "Gentlemen Prefer
Blondes" died of a drug overdose less than three months later.
Monroe's song was to mark Kennedy's 45th birthday, which was to
occur a couple weeks later. The president was assassinated the
following year.
The late fund manager Martin Zweig bought the dress in 1999 for
$1.26 million at a Christie's auction, Julien's Auctions said.
Zweig, who saw the dress as an investment, kept it in a
climate-controlled display case mounted on a mannequin, Julien
said.
The dress is one of many items from Monroe's life which Julien's
Auctions is offering during a three-day auction. Monroe would
have been 90 years old this year.
(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Simon
Cameron-Moore and Toby Chopra)
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