A Brief History
On May 19, 1962, an indelible part of the legends of two iconic Americans was inscribed in history when blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe sang the most famous sexy version of “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy.
Digging Deeper
The popular and seemingly virile John Kennedy had become the youngest elected president in US history, succeeding Dwight Eisenhower, at the time the oldest president in US history. Young, tan, and the picture of health, the public did not know of the physical ailments JFK had. With his Hollywood good looks and beautiful young wife, women wanted JFK and men wanted to be him.
Marilyn Monroe was the ultimate Hollywood sex kitten, the first Playboy Centerfold and mega-movie star. Former wife of baseball hero Joe DiMaggio, when Marilyn crooned her birthday wishes to President Kennedy at his birthday celebration in New York’s Madison Square Garden there seemed to be an electric sexual connection between the pair, something that has not been seen before or since.
With both JFK and Marilyn dying controversial deaths soon after the famous birthday celebration, fuel has been added to the fire of rumor and innuendo. Various conspiracy theories of the death of both Kennedy and Monroe have included facets of their supposed relationship as factors in their deaths. Marilyn’s death by drug overdose has generated speculation that she was actually murdered by Kennedy’s people, perhaps even his brother, Robert, in order to keep a lid on the alleged affair. Other conspiracy theorists speculate that the Mob or Democrat string pullers had JFK killed to keep the embarrassing affair from surfacing.
Despite many rumor mongers passing off the alleged affair between these American icons as established fact, as of this time we really do not have proof, and perhaps the entire affair is just in the minds of a leering and jeering public. Either way, we have to rate the “Happy Birthday” rendition by Marilyn Monroe to John F. Kennedy as one of if not the sexiest singing performance of all time. Question for students (and subscribers): What do you think? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!
Your readership is much appreciated!
Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Swanson, James L. Second Best Thing: Marilyn, JFK, and a Night to Remember. Amazon Original Stories, 2020.
