The famous Marilyn Monroe Happy Birthday JFK dress is now part of the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! collection.
Orlando, Fla. (November 18, 2016) – It’s the world’s most famous dress and the world’s most expensive dress, and it now has a new home with Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
Ripley’s Edward Meyer after placing the winning bid.
The entertainment company was the winning bidder for the dress at last night’s Julien’s Auctions event in Los Angeles. The price was a staggering $4.8 million, making it the world’s most expensive dress ever sold at auction.
Edward Meyer, Ripley’s VP of Exhibits and Archives – who has been acquiring items for the company for more than 35 years – placed the winning bid for the iconic dress.
“This is the most famous item of clothing in twentieth century culture,” said Meyer. “It has the significance of Marilyn, of Hollywood, of JFK, of American politics. Any museum in the world would love to have it on display, and now it belongs to Ripley’s Believe It or Not!”
Monroe wore the dress at President Kennedy’s 45th birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden on May 19, 1962. The dress designer was Jean Louis and the original sketch of the dress was done by none other than a young Bob Mackie in his first job out of college.
Ripley’s will likely first display the dress in its Marilyn Monroe gallery at Ripley’s Hollywood Odditorium. It will be the signature piece in a collection of several dozen of Marilyn Monroe’s personal items. Ripley’s has plans to eventually tour the dress at several of its 33 Odditoriums worldwide.
For images of the dress, please visit this Dropbox.
Media Contacts
Edward Meyer
VP, Exhibits & Archives
Ripley Entertainment Inc.
407-492-8256 cell
meyer@ripleys.com
Frank Wolff
407-339-0879 office
407-637-6000 cell
Frank@wellonscommunications.com
