The late director Mike Nichols, known for his work on films such as The Graduate and Working Girl, was once present for a memorable performance by Marilyn Monroe for President John F. Kennedy, according to a new book.

In Life isn’t everything: Mike Nichols, as remembered by 150 of his closest friends, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd recounts Nichols’ experience watching Monroe sing “happy birthday” to Kennedy while wearing a Jean Louis gown with an 18-inch slit in the back and covered in 4,000 rhinestones.

Dowd said Nichols told her, “Her dress split for my benefit, and there was Marilyn, and, yes, indeed, she didn’t wear any underwear.”

Nichols’ wife was Diane Sawyer.

The new book includes interviews with many of Nichols’ friends and colleagues, including Harrison Ford, Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman, and Dustin Hoffman.

The book explores both Nichols’ triumphs and struggles as well as other colorful scenes from his life.

Monroe’s performance on the night of May 19, 1962, at a fundraiser for President Kennedy’s birthday, was an iconic moment.

The dress, which was designed by Jean Louis, was so tight that Monroe had to be sewn into it.

When she sang “Happy Birthday” to President Kennedy at Madison Square Garden, it fueled rumors that she was having an affair with him.

Robert F. Kennedy, who was then the attorney general, was also in attendance. Some people believed that Monroe was having an affair with him as well.

Monroe’s performance became even more weighted after her death from a barbiturate overdose on August 5, 1962, at the age of 36.

James Spada, Monroe’s biographer, described her death as “one of the great mysteries of the 20th century.”

Her second husband, baseball great Joe DiMaggio, blamed the Kennedys for her death, according to Dr. Rock Positano, who co-wrote the 2017 biography Dinner with DiMaggio: Memories of an American Hero with his brother John Positano.

Spada did not believe that there was any evidence to support the theory that the Kennedys were responsible for Monroe’s death.

However, he said that “it was pretty clear that Marilyn had had sexual relations with both Bobby and Jack.”

President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, and Robert was assassinated five years later.

A rare photo taken after Monroe’s performance reportedly shows the only known image of either Kennedy with Monroe.

The image has only added to the mystery surrounding Monroe’s connection to them.

A TIME magazine article from 1962 reported that “it was Marilyn who was the hit of the evening.

Kennedy plainly meant it when he said, ‘I can now retire from politics after having had Happy Birthday sung to me in such a sweet, wholesome way.'”

Nichols, who died in 2014 at the age of 83, was known for his close relationships with many celebrities.

In the book, Dowd recalls Nichols’ reaction to Monroe’s performance:

“He told me, ‘I was standing right behind Marilyn, completely invisible, when she sang “Happy birthday, Mr. President,” and, indeed, the corny thing happened.'”