Happy 85th birthday, Marilyn Monroe

AP file

Marilyn Monroe, left, and three Hollywood wannabes, from top right: Michelle Williams, Anna Nicole Smith and Paris Hilton.

One of Marilyn Monroe's most iconic moments in a career that seemed filled with them was when she sang a breathy "Happy birthday, Mister President" in 1962. But who sang to her?

Today would have been the blonde bombshell's own 85th birthday.

Live Poll

How do you best remember Marilyn Monroe?

View Results
  • 150620
    "Happy birthday, Mister President," and the JFK rumors
    10%
  • 150621
    Her comedic roles in films like "Gentleman Prefer Blondes"
    15%
  • 150622
    The classic photo from "Seven Year Itch" of her skirt blowing up
    31%
  • 150623
    Her sad childhood and still unexplained death
    8%
  • 150624
    The men in her life, from Joe DiMaggio to Arthur Miller and others
    1%
  • 150625
    Her classic beauty and much-copied style
    33%
  • 150626
    Other (please share in the comments)
    2%

VoteTotal Votes: 400

It's a little shocking to see her in the famous video introduced as "the late Marilyn Monroe" today, knowing she would die just three months later. (At the time, the crowd laughed at the dig at her timeliness, never knowing her time on earth was so limited.)

 Of all the movie star icons, and there have been many, including the recently departed Liz Taylor, Monroe may top the list.

Was it her fragile beauty? Her short and tragic life? The scandal that surrounded her?

Hollywood has never been able to replace her, but plenty of starlets have paid her homage. Singer Mariah Carey just named one of her twins Monroe after the actress; Megan Fox bears a tattoo of Monroe's face on her arm; and everyone from Madonna to Anna Nicole Smith to Paris Hilton has tried to look like her, even if just for an hour.

Who knows what she would be like at 85? Would she have settled into a beloved grandmother role like Betty White? Seems unlikely. Would she be struggling with health issues like Zsa Zsa Gabor? Stepped into activism and many marriages, like Liz Taylor? We'll never get the chance to find out.

What's your most enduring memory of Marilyn Monroe? Vote in our poll, and share your comments below.

Marilyn Monroe sings "Happy Birthday" to JFK

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Discuss this post

Celebrating birthdays of dead people is about as valuable as this opinion.

  • 2 votes
Reply#1 - Wed Jun 1, 2011 2:44 PM EDT

Better inform your family you do not wish to be remembered after YOU die then.

  • 3 votes
Reply#2 - Wed Jun 1, 2011 3:08 PM EDT

Being remembered and celebrating a dead person's ficticious birthday are not the same. Duh.

    #2.1 - Thu Jun 2, 2011 7:27 AM EDT
    Reply

    Need to use the age progression software to see what she might look like at age 85.

      Reply#3 - Wed Jun 1, 2011 4:23 PM EDT

       hmm, but shes not 85, because to be 85 you would have to still be living.

        Reply#4 - Wed Jun 1, 2011 5:22 PM EDT

        I remember her as Sugar Cane in "Some Like It Hot." She was great. I don't know if it was her best movie, but it's the one I remember and like best.

        • 2 votes
        Reply#5 - Wed Jun 1, 2011 5:25 PM EDT

        She was an American icon that helped expand the boundaries of our acceptance of new and different behavior.

        • 2 votes
        Reply#6 - Wed Jun 1, 2011 5:53 PM EDT

        The first time I ever heard of Marilyn was when I was a child in the 70's living in Puerto Rico and a Dominican TV star named Charityn Goico would imitate Marilyn on her Puertorrican TV variety show. She would use the name Mosquita Muerta (little dead fly - which in latin culture really means bimbo). My older sister explained to me what was happening.

          Reply#7 - Wed Jun 1, 2011 5:53 PM EDT

           One of my favorite movies is "Some Like it Hot!".  It's a classic!  She was wonderful with her co-stars Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon.

            Reply#8 - Wed Jun 1, 2011 6:05 PM EDT

            She was one time girl friend of the owner of the Playboy Magazine. The owner, whose age is 85 years old, is still alive and well. But she died young, short, sudden, and tragic.

            A beautiful blonde that has been used in this way, which was pleased men, on earth is pitiful.

            Female should have explored not just the beauty but also the wisdom.

              Reply#9 - Thu Jun 2, 2011 12:10 AM EDT

              I recall that she finally received acclaim for her acting in a B movie called Bus Stop. There had been rumors for months before the shooting, that she had been taking acting lessons......it really showed, too. Even her co-stars saw the huge difference.

                Reply#10 - Thu Jun 2, 2011 9:03 AM EDT

                Candle in the Wind - Elton John

                  Reply#11 - Thu Jun 2, 2011 11:19 PM EDT

                  There was a sweetness about her in everything she did that was genuine and very sad. She was a brilliant actress never taken seriously, even took acting classes after she became a star in order to get better roles.

                    Reply#12 - Sat Jun 4, 2011 10:42 AM EDT
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