Posts Tagged with Happy Birthday

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR PRESIDENT AT 57

“I can now retire from politics after having had ‘Happy Birthday’ sung to me in such a sweet, wholesome way.”
– John F. Kennedy May 19th 1962

On May 19th 1962, Marilyn attended the 45th Birthday celebrations for the then President Of The United States, John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Gardens in New York. The event was a fundraising gala for the Democratic party and was attended by more than 15,000 people, including celebrities, each guest, including Marilyn paid $1,000 to attend.

It was a star studded evening, with performances from the likes of: Ella Fitzgerald, Danny Kaye, Jack Benny, Henry Fonda, Maria Callas, Elliott Reid and Peggy Lee to name a few. But it is undoubtedly Marilyn Monroe’s breathy and iconic rendition of “Happy Birthday” that has permanently been engrained in people’s memories and turned what should have been a musical moment lasting only a few minutes, into an historical moment lasting a lifetime.

It was an honour for Marilyn to be invited to sing for the President, but she was very nervous about performing live in front of 15,000 audience members, joking that she might even forget the words!

Peter Lawford, President Kennedy’s brother in law introduced Marilyn that night.  She was introduced several times in what would be an obvious light hearted dig at her inability to appear on time, the spotlight would shine to where Marilyn should enter.. but nothing.. of course, this was all planned to be this way! She was in on the joke too!

Finally, Marilyn appeared on stage (after Lawford refers to her as “The Late Marilyn Monroe”) and the crowd go wild, a collective gasp could be heard as she took off her fur shawl to reveal the gown underneath… the rest is history..

“Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday Mr President,
Happy Birthday to you…

Thanks Mr President,
For all the things you’ve done,
The battles that you’ve won,
The way you deal, with US steel,
And our problems by the ton,
We thank you so much!”

The latter verse was a snippet from the classic song, “Thanks For The Memory,” for which she had written new lyrics specifically aimed at Kennedy.

It still to this day remains one of the most recognisable and iconic moments in pop culture history.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILLIAM TRAVILLA

“She was the easiest person I ever worked with.” William Travilla on Marilyn Monroe.

William “Bill” Travilla, known professionally as “Travilla” was an American costume designer for theatre, film and television. Marilyn fans will know him best as being the head costume designer on eight of her films:

Monkey Business (1952)

Don’t Bother to Knock (1952)

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)

There’s No Business Like Show Business (1954)

River of No Return (1954)

Seven Year Itch (1955)

Bus Stop (1956)

“She was so childlike she could do anything, and you could forgive as you would forgive a seven year old. She was both a woman and a baby, and both men and women adored her.”

The admiration for Marilyn was clearly reciprocated, as Monroe once autographed a nude calendar for him with the words:

“Billy Dear, please dress me forever. I love you, Marilyn”

Travilla had a long and varied career spanning more than 4 decades, he created some of the most iconic looks in film and television and was nominated for an Academy Award four times, eventually winning in 1950 for his work on “The Adventures of Don Juan.”

Travilla passed away on November 2nd 1990 aged 70.


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HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAM SHAW

Happy Birthday to legenday photographer Sam Shaw (1912-1999), born on this day in 1912. Marilyn & Sam met through their mutual friend Elia Kazan and became lifelong friends. Shaw took some of the most iconic photographs of Marilyn Monroe as well as stars like Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor, Natalie Wood & Debbie Harry.

Many books on the photography career of Shaw can be found online, including these titles specifying on Marilyn:
“The Joy Of Marilyn In The Camera Eye” – Sam Shaw
“Marilyn Among Friends” – Sam Shaw and Norman Rosten
“Marilyn: The New York Years” – Sam Shaw

Among others..
Of course in this digital age, a simple Google search can open any aspiring Marilyn fans eyes to a whole world of stunning photographs that Shaw took during Marilyn’s lifetime.


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HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELI WALLACH

Wallach and Monroe on the set of “The Misfits” 1961

Today we are remembering and wishing Hollywood legend Eli Wallach many happy returns on what would have been his 101st Birthday.

Eli Wallach (December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television and stage actor whose career spanned more than six decades, beginning in the late 1940s. Trained in stage acting, he had more than 90 film credits to his name, including “The Magnificent Seven” (1960) “How The West Was Won” (1962) and the enduring cinematic masterpiece that is “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.” (1966.)

Eli Wallach and Clint Eastwood on the set of “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.”

Marilyn fans will know him best through his role as Guido in the 1961 drama “The Misfits” which was written by Monroe’s then husband, Arthur Miller, directed by John Huston and co starred Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift.


“Thanks to Marilyn, I was one of the first to be cast, and then I watched my name drop lower and lower in the credits as Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift and Thelma Ritter one by one came aboard. They’re all gone now, James Barton too. Marilyn and I had become very close friends several years before while she was working at the Actor’s Studio. While I was doing “Teahouse,” she’d come backstage to watch me from the wings night after night. When she was preparing “The Misfits,” she told Arthur Miller she wanted me to be in it. It was sad to watch her marriage breaking up while we were filming this valentine he had written to her. Gable was charming, as always, and Monty – well, he and Marilyn had this same self-destructive temperament. They were at a loss; they couldn’t cope. It’s easy to poke fun at those people – big stars – but it’s very sad.”

Eli Wallach speaking in 1983

Wallach died on June 24, 2014 of natural causes at the age of 98. He was survived by his wife of 66 years, three children, three grandchildren and a great-grandchild. His body was cremated.