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Item: Marilyn Monroe's "Happy Birthday Mr. President" Dress

Winning Bid: $1,267,500

Sold: 1999

When Marilyn Monroe delivered a sultry "Happy Birthday" serenade to President John F. Kennedy on May 19, 1962, the blonde bombshell wore a flesh-colored, curve-hugging, jewel-encrusted dress so tight and sheer that, according to legend, Monroe was sewn into the gown and wore nothing under it. The one-of-a-kind sheath was purchased in 1999 by the aptly named Manhattan-based collectible company Gotta Have It! after the dress was put up for auction by the widow of Monroe's acting coach, Lee Strasberg. When asked by reporters why he would spend a fortune on a piece of fabric that originally cost $12,000, company president Robert Schargen proclaimed that he would have paid twice that: "We stole it," he boasted.

Read "Marilyn Lost and Found."

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