Shirley MacLaine shared her personal account of John F. Kennedy’s 45th birthday in her latest coffee table book, The Wall of Life: Pictures and Stories from this Marvelous Lifetime, which chronicles her life with over 150 pictures from her archive.
She claimed to have seen Marilyn Monroe have the late president in a room, and then his brother Bobby Kennedy just after he leaves. It was the night after the blonde bombshell threw America into shock by performing “Happy Birthday” in a sheer sultry dress that left little to be imagined.
Shirley MacLaine’s claims about JFK and Marilyn Monroe
Interestingly, Shirley accompanied her claim with a black and white photo showing John in the background as his friends and well-wishers made for an after-party at the residence of the Democratic Party’s finance chairman, Arthur Krim.
There was another snap of Shirley with the other Kennedy brother, Senator Edward “Teddy” Kennedy, in 1984, which caught them in the middle of a discussion about what she had witnessed between Monroe and his brothers. “He’s laughing about how the boys got away with it all the time,” she explained.
Marilyn Monroe died shortly after the incident
Monroe’s sultry rendition of “Happy Birthday” strengthened the allegations of an affair between herself and the president and fueled the trouble in his marriage to Jackie Kennedy, who was reportedly furious that night. John eventually ended his affair with Monroe after Jackie gave him an ultimatum that put their marriage at risk of ending in a divorce.
Sadly, Monroe died just three months later, and John died the following year. The truth behind the iconic actress’ death has been a longstanding mystery as fans still point accusing fingers at the Kennedy household. More juicy revelations from Shirley’s book include the two co-stars she turned down and the one who rejected her proposal.