Marilyn Monroe Sings 'Happy Birthday' to JFK, May 19, 1962: A Photographer Remembers

A half-century ago, on a spring night in New York City, 35-year-old Marilyn Monroe — literally sewn into a sparkling, jaw-droppingly tight dress — stood in a spotlight on a dark stage. She took a breath, began to sing — and 15,000 men and women who filled the old Madison Square Garden that night knew, simply knew, that they were seeing and hearing something that they would never, ever forget.

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Marilyn Monroe Sings 'Happy Birthday' to JFK, May 19, 1962: A Photographer Remembers - LIFE:

photo by BILL RAY