Celebrity hairstylists know that their relationships with their star muses can lead to a timeless look that lasts far beyond their own legacy. Think of Chris Appleton and J. LO at the Superbowl, Serge Normant’s elegant bouffant on Julia Roberts at the 2001 Oscars, or Neal Farinah’s high pony on Beyoncé for the 2015 Met Gala. For Marilyn Monroe, the most important member of her 1960’s glam squad was none other than the famed Mr. Kenneth, the O.G. celebrity stylist.

In the new book Kenneth: Shear Elegance, author Giuseppe Longo chronicles the life and talents of famed hairdresser Kenneth Battelle—or Mr. Kenneth as he was famously known—and revisits an iconic Marilyn look: The infamous “Happy Birthday” performance show at Madison Square Garden. 

Here, in this excerpt from the book, this tale reveals how the stylist was smack dab in the middle of a notorious love triangle, which also factored into his styling his A-list client and “really good friend’s” hair for her memorable performance. Now, more than 50 years later, the rumors of JFK and Marilyn’s dalliances remain strong, but the president wasn’t the only man said to be caught between Monroe and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Mr. Kenneth was also very good friends with his other client, Jackie O, and was the man responsible for her tousled bouffant in 1961.  

On the night of her performance, May 19, 1962, Mr. Kenneth made his way to Monroe’s 57^thStreet apartment to comb and shape her platinum hair to create a “dramatic cascading swoop on the right side of her face.” As the story goes, “Once her hair was styled, her makeup pale and shimmery, her dress and jewels radiant, Marilyn stepped from her car in front of Madison Square Garden—at the time it had been on 8th Avenue between 49th Street and 50^thStreet—to a frenzy of fans and paparazzi.”

“‘Marilyn did not want me backstage with her,’ Kenneth recalled. ‘She said she was fearful of publicity. I don’t know what she had in mind, but since I was doing both Marilyn and Mrs. Kennedy at the same time, I imagine it was about that.’”

Dressed in a nude, mesh Jean Louis gown emblazoned with rhinestones—which was originally sketched by Bob Mackie for Marlene Dietrich—Monroe’s look left little to the imagination. Prior to going onstage, she was said to have run around backstage so she could be breathless for her “Happy Birthday” serenade.

Ironically, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy did not attend the event and Monroe made history: “’She looked gorgeous. Funnily enough, if you see pictures of her that night when she’s getting into her car at her apartment and arriving at Madison Square Garden, that’s my hairdo. There was a union hairdresser there who recombed and teased her hair more. I preferred it beforehand, but when you’re at a huge place like Madison Square Garden, you need huge hair.’”

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