American Royalty: President John and Jackie Kennedy stroll the White House grounds.
It was a star-studded event. It was Saturday, May 19, 1962, and the young, dashing, and popular U.S. President John F. Kennedy was turning 45. The Democratic Party held a huge fundraiser at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The birthday salute was televised before a national audience and 15,000 people had paid for seats to catch the show live at the Garden. The cream of American show business turned out to pay homage to Kennedy – Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Jack Benny, Henry Fonda, Harry Belafonte. Greek opera diva Maria Callas was also there. Actor Peter Lawford, the president’s brother-in-law, served as master-of-ceremonies. But the pièce de résistance – the showstopper – was the performer who sang the finale – sexpot and film star Marilyn Monroe.
First Lady Jackie Kennedy riding horses with her children at their Middleburg, Virginia, retreat "Glen Ora." Jackie grew up surrounded by horses and was an accomplished equestrian. President John Kennedy did not share her passion for horse shows and riding. He was allergic to horse hair. November 19, 1962.
It seemed that everyone was there – except the honoree’s wife – Jackie Kennedy. The president attended the ceremony without the First Lady at his side. When Jackie had learned that Marilyn was to be performing at the benefit, she decided she was not about to attend. She instead became a last-minute participant in the Loudoun Hunt Horse Show at Glen Ora, her weekend home. Jackie knew that her husband and Marilyn Monroe were lovers – and Jackie was not about to have her nose rubbed into it in front of a national audience.
Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) was wild for Jack Kennedy. She accepted the invitation to appear in New York in violation of her contract with Twentieth-Century Fox – and their relationship was already at its breaking point. Production on her latest film, “Something’s Got to Give,” had been on start/stop for months due to Marilyn’s chronic tardiness and absence. Marilyn was in a narcotics and booze nosedive and living on impulse. She was in hot pursuit of Jack Kennedy and nothing would get in her way. She was scheduled to sing “Happy Birthday” to the president.
Marilyn Monroe in "Gentleman Prefer Blondes" (1953)
“All weekend, the white-carpeted, unfurnished rooms at Fifth Helena echoed with Marilyn’s whispery voice. She lay in the tub singing “Happy Birthday.” She sat on the living room floor, endlessly tape recording and listening to herself….” (1)
Then, ignoring the studio’s stern warning, Marilyn flew from Hollywood to New York with Peter Lawford, singing on the airplane. She continued to practice once in her New York apartment. Those who listened said her interpretation grew sexier, more and more outrageous. Friend Paula Strasberg warned that it verged on self-parody.
Finally, the night of the performance arrived. Backstage, Marilyn got into her costume – a flesh-toned slip of a dress by Jean-Louis sewn with 2500 rhinestones. The gown was so snug Marilyn had to be sewn into it. Paralyzed with stage fright, Marilyn kept ignoring her cue to appear on stage. She hung back, drowning her fears in alcohol, before Milt Ebbins shoved her onto the stage.
“She walked like a geisha….” (1)
“The figure was famous and, for one breathless moment, the 15,000 people in Madison Square Garden thought they were going to see all of it. Onto the stage sashayed Marilyn Monroe, attired in a great bundle of white mink. Arriving at the lectern, she turned and swept the furs from her shoulders. A slight gasp rose from the audience before it was realized that she was really wearing a skintight flesh-toned gown.” (2)
Marilyn Monroe at the microphone singing "Happy Birthday, Mr. President," at President John F. Kennedy's birthday bash, May 19, 1962.
“When she came down in that flesh-colored dress, without any underwear on…” said Hugh Sidey of Time, “you could just smell lust. I mean, Kennedy went limp or something. We all were just stunned to see this woman.”
“What an ass…what an ass,” whispered Kennedy.
“Happy…Birthday…to you,” Marilyn began to sing [whisper]. (3)
Her rendition of “Happy Birthday, Mister President” – was soft, seductive, and pathetic. The 35-year-old Marilyn was high as a kite (and wearing a wig that was slipping). Columnist Dorothy Kilgallen called it nothing less than:
“…making love to the President in the direct view of forty million Americans.”
President John F. Kennedy speaks to the audience at Madison Square Garden at his 45th birthday bash, May 19, 1962.
At the end of the performance, a noticeably-embarrassed President Kennedy took to the stage and announced disingenuously:
“I can now retire from politics after having had Happy Birthday sung to me in such a sweet wholesome way.” (2)
At an after-party, a photographer caught President Kennedy and brother Robert Kennedy hovering over Marilyn in the library, still wearing the see-through dress Marilyn called “skin and beads.”
Bobby Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, and President John Kennedy gather following Monroe's iconic performance of "Happy Birthday, Mr. President," at Madison Square Garden, May 19, 1962. Marilyn is still wearing the gown she wore in the performance which she referred to as "skin and beads." The auction house Christie's later sold this dress for $1.2 million, the most money ever paid for a dress.
Kennedy’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Adlai Stevenson, was at the party and saw Marilyn’s “skin and beads” dress. He later wrote to Mary Lasker:
“I didn’t see the beads!”
Greek opera diva Maria Callas (1923-1977) laughs it up with blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe at President Kennedy's 45th birthday bash at Madison Square Garden, May 19, 1962. First Lady Jackie Kennedy did not attend the celebration. Marilyn Monroe was President Kennedy's lover when Jackie was Mrs. Kennedy. Maria Callas was the clandestine lover of Aristotle Onassis when Jackie was Mrs. Onassis.
Jackie Kennedy watched Marilyn’s performance on TV the next day. She was livid. The rumors about Jack and Marilyn were flying. Jackie called up sister-in-law Ethel Kennedy and complained that she just knew Bobby had staged the prank. Jackie ordered Jack to stop seeing Marilyn. (4) Jack also sent word to the press that there was nothing to the rumors of an extramarital affair between him and Marilyn Monroe, which, we know, was a lie.
President Kennedy broke off the relationship with Marilyn. Her performance at Madison Square Garden became her last public appearance. Marilyn became profoundly affected by the break-up with the President and her loss of other men, including ex-husband Arthur Miller, who had recently remarried.
As a result, the summer following the Madison Square Garden show, Marilyn dove deeper and deeper into a downward spiral of drugs and alcohol, storm and stress, and depressed isolation. Out of necessity, the production of her film, “Something’s Got to Give” came to a halt, because the star was a “no-show” on the set.
The movie was never finished. On August 5, Marilyn Monroe – born Norma Jeane Baker – was found dead in her home from a drug overdose – an apparent suicide – and the world was shocked.
Goodbye, Norma Jeane
(1) Leaming, Barbara. Marilyn Monroe. New York: Three Rivers Press, 1998.
(2) Smith, Sally Bedell.Grace and Power: The Private World of the Kennedy White House. New York: Random House, Inc., 2004. (excerpted from a Time magazine article)
(3) Klein, Edward. All Too Human: The Love Story of Jack and Jackie Kennedy. New York: Pocket Books, 1996.
(4) Taraborrelli, J. Randy. Jackie Ethel Joan. New York: Warner Books, Inc., 2000.
*Readers: I’ve written many posts on Jackie O and the Kennedys. Please look in the right sidebar – Categories – People – the Kennedys. Enjoy!
Lisa's History Room 
I’ve been enjoying your writing. I found your blog through Jamie at Duward Discussion.
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Travis, thanks for the praise. It’s what keeps me researching and writing. Keep coming back to Lisa’s History Room!
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You should read the new book on Marilyn:
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe
by J. Randy Taraborrelli.
Marilyn had only one weekend with Jack Kennedy. And while she was very infatuated with him, her descent into drug addiction had begun long before.
Marilyn’s mother was schizophrenic and she herself exhibited schizophrenic symptoms that frightened her deeply. She self-medicated.
My daughter loves Marilyn Monroe — she is dressing up as her for Halloween.
Jennifer
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Hi, Jennifer! How are you and your daughter? Great minds think alike (!) I bought the Taraborrelli book 2 weeks ago. Taraborrelli is one of my favorite star biographers. He’s coming out with a bio on Michael Jackson soon. Marilyn Monroe is a sympathetic creature. All that shuffling between homes great her such insecurity and a desire to anchor herself with men – yet she was cursed with addiction and an unstable personality. Good to hear from you –
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I’ve only just found your blog and plan on making up for lost time. Thank-you for your time and thoroughness. I have a lot to learn and you’ve made that very easy for me 🙂
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Diana, your kudos are very appreciated. Thank you. Please keep coming back.
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Did Marilyn Monroe attend the JFK’s 45th birthday dinner at the Four Seasons prior to the celebration at Madison Square Garden?
Henry Voigt
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I know she attended the after-party but I’ve never read about what she did before the MSG performance.
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first i would like to apologize for my bad inglish.
marylin was merdorered , every one know that today.
she was so meny things, it is sad that you menshioned her on her bad time ever and didn’t tell abaut her good times.
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Hi, Roniel, thanks for visiting Lisa’s History Room. While I’d like to write about Marilyn’s good times, I have not been able to find any evidence of such. She was a tragic figure.
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Hi Lisa,
Could I please recommend that you read the book: Marylin, The Last Take, by Peter Harry Brown & Patte B. Barham , 1993, Signet, ISBN 978-0451404206
The authors themselves make it clear at the beginning that they had no idea what a rabbit hole they would find themselves going down when they embarked on a study for a fairly conventional look at Monroe’s development as an actress. The book is indeed a very interesting look at the Hollywood studio system, the early days of method acting and Monroe’s involvement in it, some of the colorful characters in the movie making biz of the day, including the way studios created ‘cover stories’ for publicity purposes when stars died under scandalous, or even doubtful circumstances.
The authors then go into very disturbing evidence they began to uncover that she was caught up in a web of hardball political intrigue that was ‘way out of her league. The book follows her story to the end, with strange matters like the seizure of her telephone records by the FBI, which never resurfaced, all the hallmarks of a US political murder.
Americans find this sort of thing profoundly disturbing, and one of the authors indicates how deeply shaken he was when a political insider confirmed exactly how these murders occur . . .
The evidence concerning Monroe has been available for for quite some time to people willing to stare hard truth in the eyes. After the death of Monroe’s psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenson, and their retirements freed them up to speak openly, LAPD detective Jack Clemmons and DA John Miner went public with what they knew. If you do a search on those names, you’ll find your view of Monroe will change. Yes, she was a woman with profound challenges and insecurities, who did a lot of damage to herself, but she didn’t, just didn’t, kill herself in the way the popular mythology claims . . . and your view of politics as a contact sport may change too.
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Tom, I enjoyed hearing what you have to say and I will remember your recommendation. When something is as straight forward as Marilyn’s suicide, I don’t give wide berth to conspiracy theories. She was miserable and did not want to live. She had addictions galore. She was lonely, confused, and her friends included others in the same lost state as she. While there was significant “cover-up” to hide her relationships with the Kennedys, I don’t believe she was murdered. Why would it be necessary when she was killing herself fine without any outside help?
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well, for someone who is doing a reserch, it is very strange what you are saying.
Marylin was the first woman in the film industry, to strugele for the quality of the female carecture in films, and left hollywood to try and make movies without the steriotyp of the stupied blond woman.
she was and is the most adoruble, loved, and famose actore in the all world ever. she diserve more profaund reserch and notyficashion. if you want, i can send you 1000 links to find out good thigs about her.
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Roniel, I am not against Marilyn Monroe. I have great compassion for her. She was weak, sad, and used by men.
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a woman who strugel against a pawerfull industry,insisting to learn acting method’s with the most graet techer (Lee Strasberg) lieve a beating husbend,and become the most famos
star, is not week!she was lonly,and had bad time’s in a crull world. but she was not a pathetick carectur.the apizode you menshioned here, was one sad day of her life.she did have ather’s. i am sorry for my inglish , i hope you understend my point.have a nice day, roniel.
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Roniel, Marilyn took her own life. She had tried to commit suicide before and was rescued. Most of her adult life, she was unwell and unhappy. I’m sorry, but that’s the truth. Also, Marilyn’s movie roles were often the stereotypical dumb blonde. Have you seen “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and “All About Eve”?
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well, for the sake of her memory, ill try to give you the history facts thruth,
based on objective knoleg:
1. abaut her death, from fbi reports:
“Lawford is reported as having made ‘special arrangements’ with Marilyn’s psychiatrist, Dr Ralph Greenson, from Beverley Hills. The psychiatrist was treating Marilyn for emotional problems and getting her off the use of barbiturates. On her last visit to him he prescribed Seconal tablets and gave her a prescription for 60 of them, which was unusual in quantity especially since he saw her frequently. On the date of her death … her housekeeper put the bottle of pills on the night table. It is reported that the housekeeper and Marilyn’s personal secretary and press agent, Pat Newcomb, were co-operating in the plan to induce suicide.”
“The pathologist Dr. Thomas Noguchi could find no trace of capsules, powder or the typical discoloration caused by Nembutal in Monroe’s stomach or intestines indicating the drugs that killed her had not been swallowed. If Monroe had swallowed the drugs there should have been residue. If Monroe had taken them over a period of time which might account for the lack of residue she would have died long before ingesting the amount found in her bloodstream. Monroe was found lying face down but lividity on her back and the posterior aspect of the arms and legs indicated she had died lying on her back. The body was covered in bruises, all minor except for one on her hip. There was also evidence of cyanosis, an indication that death was very quick. Noguchi had asked the toxicologist for examinations of the blood, liver, kidneys, stomach, urine, and intestines which would have revealed exactly how the drugs got into Monroe’s system. However the toxicologist after examining the blood didn’t believe he needed to check other organs so many of the organs were destroyed without being examined. When Noguchi asked for the samples, the medical photographs and slides of those that were examined, and the examination form showing bruises on the body had disappeared making it impossible to investigate the cause of death.
The toxicology report shows high levels of Nembutal (38-66 capsules) and chloral hydrate (14-23 tablets) in Monroe’s blood. The level found was enough to kill more than 10 people.
An examination of the body ruled out intravenous injection as the source of the drugs, leaving only an enema or suppository as a source. These sources were considered unlikely and had no evidence in support, so Noguchi reluctantly wrote that the drugs were swallowed.
The coroner, Dr. Theodore Curphey, oversaw the full autopsy. Apart from the cause of death as listed on the death certificate, the results were never made public and no record of the findings were kept.
Many elements of this timeline have often been brought into question. Most notable are the discrepancies in exactly what time Monroe either made or received her last phone call and at what time during the late night and early morning hours of August 4 and 5 her body was discovered”
abaut Marylin being “the stupid blond”:
“Marilyn was ready to shed her “shallow blonde” image by 1955. It had gotten her into the spotlight, but now that she had the opportunity and experience, Marilyn wanted to pursue serious acting. She took a hiatus from Hollywood and moved to New York City to study under Lee Strasberg at his Actors’ Studio. In 1956, Marilyn started her own motion picture company, Marilyn Monroe Productions. The company produced Bus Stop and The Prince and the Showgirl (co-starring Sir Laurence Olivier). These two films allowed her to demonstrate her talent and versatility as an actress. Marilyn received further recognition for 1959’s Some Like It Hot, winning a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy”
she was a very inteligent and interesting figre, here are some Marylin quotes:
“Some people have been unkind. If I say I want to grow as an actress, they look at my figure. If I say I want to develop, to learn my craft, they laugh. Somehow they don’t expect me to be serious about my work”
“I have feelings too. I am still human. All I want is to be loved, for myself and for my talent. ”
— Marilyn Monroe
“”You never know what life is like, until you have lived it.”
— Marilyn Monroe
and to end my saying, i will use her quote:
“Well behaved women rarely make history.”
and she did…. and diserve beter then what you wrote abaut her….
best regards, Roniel.
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Laurel Thatcher Ulrich said well-behaved women rarely made history.
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Thank you Roniel for having respect for Norma Jean Baker and her created caracter Marilyn Monroe!
Hi Lisa, yes her life was sad and tragic and she was indeed used by men (or by the whole show biz which was run by men). But don’t you think she was a strong woman after all? Like Roniel said, she managed to fight for her rights and to become famous and loved all around the world long after her death. I think Norma Jean must have been a very strong person who believed in her self in very tough times. I think being a woman wanting to make it in show biz in Hollywood during those days must have been extremely hard.
imagine:
1. you get no respect
2. men think of you as a sex object and treat you like a “stupid blonde”
3. to get heard and noticed you need to use your “female power”, the sexual body.
4. You will be judged upon your looks and not your brain.
Now Lisa, WHY do you think she normally played the “stupid blonde”? Well, look at the list above. It was also very common that actors in Hollywood signed contracts with producers which I think is why she couldn’t get out of it very easily even if she wanted to do other roles. Have a look at her last film: “the Misfits”, written by the playwriter Arthur Miller. It’s sad people who say they like MM can’t remember her performance in that film!
I would also like to recomend Joyce Carol Oates’ book “Blonde”. It’s a brilliant book based on Marilyn’s life but should be read as fiction. It’s the only book which gives Marilyn/Norma Jean a soul and some understanding.
Thank you.
/Eva
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Marilyn was not strong. She rose to the top in Hollywood via the casting couch, self-admitted. She allowed herself to be exploited in order to succeed in a male-dominated industry. Beautiful people who die young and tragically achieve mythical heights in death. I love Marilyn Monroe.
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hi Eva, thank you/
Lisa, i think that you see MM in a very nerow mener.
you only see the bad and sad things, almost as if you have somthing personaly against her, because you ignore all the facts that was menthion in this discashion.
i think that only the fact that she left the studios in her highest time as a sucsesfull actres at the industry , to try and creat her oun compeny,and that she went to study at Lee Strasberg acting scool, show us how she was courageous, in a very dimanding world.you also ignore the fact that the FBI officially released declaration that she probebly hes been murdered so it is not a conspiresy theory,but a fact. i suggest that you see her with colored mener, and not in B/W as a serious researcher should.
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Roniel, I don’t quite understand your last comment but it is rude. Here’s the bottom line on Marilyn: she attached herself to powerful men to climb professionally and socially – a baseball great, a Broadway playwright, a director, a U.S. President. When she realized that she couldn’t have (the married) JFK, she went into a tailspin and killed herself. These are facts. I’m a serious researcher. It’s important for you to have a mature look at someone you admire. You can still love them while admitting the truth of their lives.
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Ok so you think she was weak, you think she only played the “stupid blonde” and you also think she didn’t have a talent but gained popularity and fame via the couch. Why do you love her then?
I agree with you on “Beautiful people who die young and tragically achieve mythical heights in death”. That’s very true. but I think the person Norma Jean Baker deserves something more than that. I still believe she was a very strong woman and she was so much more than someone who just wanted fame and succes.
I don’t love Marilyn Monroe, I never knew her, she was not a real person but a quite cool character. But I respect Norma Jean Baker and her acting. I think she lived the Cinderella story. A very sad one tho. And I think her life tels us a lot about the society, both now and then.
/Eva
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There are no parallels to the Cinderella story in Marilyn’s life. Cinderella went on to live happily ever after.
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That’s why I said “a very sad one”. And yes there is, she was an orphan who lived a quite poor life as a start but who became rich and famous, and a legend. Lisa, I would appreciate if you tried to see what I’m trying to say in my replies and not focus on silly details like the cinderella parallel.
“i think that only the fact that she left the studios in her highest time as a sucsesfull actres at the industry , to try and creat her oun compeny,and that she went to study at Lee Strasberg acting scool, show us how she was courageous, in a very dimanding world.”
Thank you once again Roniel! 🙂
I think we are mature. I’m pretty sure Roniel is aware of the bad things she did as well, and that she had very bad moments in her life. It was not at all a cinderella story like that, as I said, her life ended in a sad way and she never seemed to come to peace in her life. I think she was constantly looking for something she never really found. And that people only saw her as Marilyn Monroe the sexbomb. But we need to remember that MM is not the real Norma Jean. Marilyn is her act, it’s a role and she played it very well.
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thanks Eva.
it is so hard for me to write in inglish, althow i speeck it well inughf. inglish isn’t my mother lengwish.im sory Lisa if my saying looked for you as roodness. i ment that life is not black and white. there are endless colors to it.i think like Eva, that you can not judge MM life and acthion by looking only on nerow
news items.im not a fan of her. i am an israeli artist, and a few years ago i wrot an academic work on her life, and found out that she was a very varied person, and for my taste profound one.
ofcours she was lonly, and had a very hard life tims. but all im trying to say is that she diserv to be mentioned by her good and high times too.you can’t egnor the fact that she is adored all over the world antill this times. thise is a fenomena that the only explanathion to it is that she had somthing special in her soul.best regards, Roniel
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All I have to say is poor Jackie. I know adultery isn’t uncommon (unfortunately) and this is no excuse, but what insane man would leave her for some like Marilyn? Looks aside, it was obvious she was mentally unstable.
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Jo, thanks for the sanity. Marilyn’s inhibitions and self-serving actions caused many to suffer.
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