NEWS LITE : DRESS FOR SUCCESS; MONROE'S `BIRTHDAY' OUTFIT SELLS FOR $1.27 MILLION.

Marilyn Monroe's form-fitting, flesh-colored dress - a sequined stunner she wore to serenade President Kennedy that still left jaws dropping 37 years later - sold Wednesday for a record $1.27 million.

The dress, worn by Monroe during her breathless ``Happy Birthday, Mr. President'' to JFK in 1962, was the highest-priced item at the first session of a two-day Manhattan auction.

The crowd cheered loudly when the winning bid, from the Manhattan-based company Gotta Have It! Collectibles, was announced. It set a new record for an auctioned dress, obliterating the $222,500 paid for an ink-blue gown worn by Princess Diana, which was sold in 1997.

Asked why he spent a small fortune on the dress, company co-owner Robert Schargin told reporters, ``Because it wasn't $3 million, which we thought it was worth . . . We stole it.'' He bid $1.15 million; with the house commission, he paid $1,267,500.

Buyers snapped up everything from her blue jeans and boots to screenplays, most at prices far beyond the predictions of Christie's auction house. Bikini bottoms were to be sold today. The total take for some 50 items auctioned was $5.6 million.

Designer Tommy Hilfiger paid $42,550 for three pairs of Monroe's jeans, and $85,000 for the cowgirl boots she wore in ``The Misfits.''

``I'm inspired by pop icons and pop culture,'' Hilfiger said.

Tony Curtis, Monroe's co-star in ``Some Like It Hot,'' sat in the front row as the auction opened. Actress Demi Moore was in a booth upstairs.

The first big-ticket item - a platinum eternity ring, encrusted with 34 baguette-cut diamonds, given to Monroe by ex-husband Joe DiMaggio - sold for $772,500. The pre-sale estimate was $30,000 to $50,000.

Popcorn's OK, but did he bring butter?

Bill Clinton fell asleep during a White House screening of ``Music of the Heart'' last weekend, but his guests weren't miffed, says MSNBC. ``We were in the president's private screening room,'' said Gloria Estefan, who's in the movie, ``and at one point he had to get up to go to the bathroom, and brought back popcorn for people. Do you know how awesome that is?''

Actor's son arrested for possession

The son of actor Michael Douglas was arrested for cocaine possession, New York police said Wednesday.

Cameron Douglas, 20, was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor. He was released on his own recognizance and is due back in court Nov. 17.

Michael Douglas was not in court Wednesday - his son told police his father was out of town, said Deputy Inspector Denis McCarthy, head of the Manhattan South narcotics unit.

Snoopy's doghouse in wine country

Snoopy is getting a new doghouse in the scenic groves of California's wine country.

``Peanuts'' creator Charles Schulz is planning a 17,000-square-foot museum in Santa Rosa for Charlie Brown, Lucy and all the other characters in his comic strip.

The Santa Rosa City Council on Tuesday approved zoning for the building. Schulz, 77, is expected to apply for a building permit next month.

``I'm thrilled they're going to build it,'' said Mayor Janet Condron. ``A lot of artifacts will be on display. It will be a real tourist attraction.''

Tapes stolen from Jackson

A thief has demanded that Michael Jackson pay $100,000 for the return of several home videos of him playing with his children, a spokesman for the singer said Wednesday.

The anonymous call came into the Los Angeles offices of Jackson's MJJ Productions this week, shortly before a tabloid contacted Jackson's office with word that pictures taken from the tape were for sale, said Jackson spokesman Howard Rubenstein.

Until his production office received the two calls, Jackson was not aware that the tapes were missing. He plans to file a complaint with authorities in France, where the tapes were stolen from his hotel room, Rubenstein said.

``The tapes are not embarrassing at all,'' said Rubenstein. ``But we're not going to buy the tapes back. He absolutely refuses to pay a ransom. He wants to prosecute whoever stole them.''

The videos were shot around the Christmas and New Year's holidays last year at Jackson's Neverland Ranch in California and during a summer visit to Euro Disney in France.

The tapes showed Jackson, 41, cavorting with his two children, 2-year-old Prince Michael Jackson Jr. and 1-year-old Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, Rubenstein said.

The children's mother, Deborah Rowe Jackson, filed for divorce from Jackson earlier this month, citing irreconcilable differences.

Jackson's attorneys, Lavely & Singer, threatened ``immediate action'' for copyright infringement against any media outlets that purchased either the video or photographs taken from the tapes.

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Photo: (1 -- 2) A bidder, left, raises her hand at the auction of Marilyn Monroe's belongings. The dress in which she sang to JFK went for $1.27 million.

Associated Press

(3) Jackson