Marilyn Monroe sings 'Happy Birthday' to President Kennedy
On this day · 19 May 1962
A breathy serenade in a rhinestone gown at Madison Square Garden became one of pop culture's most replayed minutes.
On 19 May 1962, before a Democratic fundraising crowd of more than 15,000 at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Marilyn Monroe stepped to the microphone and cooed “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” to John F. Kennedy, ten days ahead of his 45th birthday. The records of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library log her among the night’s performers at the “birthday salute.”
Master of ceremonies Peter Lawford, the president’s brother-in-law, drew out the moment with a running gag, repeatedly announcing a Monroe who failed to appear. When she finally emerged, she shed her wrap to reveal a sheer, flesh-toned gown sewn with some 2,500 rhinestones, then slid into the song in a half-whisper.
She finished with reworked lines from “Thanks for the Memory,” rewritten for Kennedy alone.
It was among her last major public appearances. Monroe died less than three months later, on 4 August 1962, fixing the performance as legend.
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