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New York's Birthday Salute to President Kennedy, Program
New York's Birthday Salute to President Kennedy, Program
New York's Birthday Salute to President Kennedy, Program
New York's Birthday Salute to President Kennedy, Ticket
New York's Birthday Salute to President Kennedy, Ticket

History, Politics, President Kennedy, New York Birthday Salute, Program, Ticket, 1962 (Sold)

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New York’s Birthday Salute to President Kennedy, Program and Ticket
The Georgian Lithographers, Inc., New York: 1962 (program)
Arcus-Simplex-Brown, Inc., New York: 1962 (ticket)
10.5 x 8.25 inches, program
3.75 x 6.25 inches, ticket

Program and ticket to President John F. Kennedy’s birthday celebration, a “gala all star show” held in New York’s Madison Square Garden on May 19, 1962, ten days before his actual birthday. The event was sponsored by the state and national Democratic Committees and Citizens for Kennedy as a fundraiser to erase debt incurred in the 1960 presidential election. The ticket shows a $100 contribution per person. This is the event where the actress Marilyn Monroe famously sang a sultry version of the “Happy Birthday” only a few months before her untimely death.

Product description continues below.

Description

The program is a single folded page. The cover has a photograph of Kennedy with the words “Happy Birthday Mr. President” between a red square and a blue square. Inside is a list of the organizers and the program, featuring leading performers of the day from classical and popular music, dance, Broadway, and movies: Robert Merrill, Jack Benny, Ella Fitzgerald, Jerome Robbins (a dance choreographed by him), Danny Kaye, Henry Fonda, Maria Callas, Elliott Reid, Peggy Lee, Peter Lawford, Marilyn Monroe, Jimmy Durante and Eddie Jackson, Bobby Darin, Henry Fonda, Mike Nichols and Elaine May, and Diahann Carroll. The back cover lists the production credits and chorus members.

The ticket is two sided – printed one side with the a photograph of Kennedy and red, white and blue border, with date and venue information to the right of the photograph. The back is printed verso with a legal disclaimer.

Reference:

Greenspan, Jesse. “‘Happy Birthday, Mr. President” Turns 50.” History.com. 1 September 2018. https://www.history.com/news/happy-birthday-mr-president-turns-50 (15 May 2020).

Additional information

Century

20th Century