Marilyn Monroe collectibles continue to seduce memorabilia investors
 

Marilyn Monroe performed her coquettish rendition of Happy Birthday to John F Kennedy on this day in 1962.

Monroe stole the show with her gift to the 45-year-old president at New York's Madison Square Garden, performed in a 2,500 rhinestone dress which she had to be sewn in to.

The famous garment sold for $1.26m in 1999 at a Christie's New York sale, a reminder, if it was needed, of Monroe's continued worth on the collectibles market.

"I can now retire from politics after having had Happy Birthday sung to me in such a sweet, wholesome way," Kennedy remarked following the performance.

Rumours persist to this day that Kennedy and Monroe had an affair. Kennedy's wife Jackie was not in the audience that evening.

Collectors and investors looking for memorabilia from the day may be interested in a lock of Marilyn's hair, shorn that very afternoon by her hairdresser Robert Freeman Champion in New York.

It was one of Monroe's last public performances. She died less than three months later of a barbiturate overdose.

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