After Camelot: A Personal History of the Kennedy Family--1968 to the Present
Page 70
Ted and Vicki Kennedy, seen here on September 16, 2008, always had a lot of fun together. Many people credit Vicki with having changed the senator for the better. She certainly helped him recognize his shortcomings and live a much better and happier life. (Cape Cod Times/Steve Heaslip)
Ted Kennedy’s recent diagnosis of brain cancer did not stop him from stumping for Barack Obama during the latter’s presidential bid in 2008. The two men appeared together a year later at the signing of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act at the SEED Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. (Ron Sachs/Rex Features)
Ted Kennedy’s two wives, Joan and Vicki, walk to St. Francis Xavier Church in Hyannis, during the funeral procession for Eunice Kennedy Shriver on August 14, 2009. The two women had definitely managed to forge what many considered an unlikely friendship. (Darren McCollester/Getty Images)
Of course, Joan was very distraught over the death of her former husband, Ted Kennedy. Despite their difficult relationship, she always had a great deal of forgiveness for him. Toward the end of his life, he tried to make amends to her for the problems he had caused her in their marriage. Joan is seen here with her son Patrick Kennedy as they arrive for the funeral at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica in the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston. (Washington Post/Getty Images)
Ted’s children, Patrick, Kara, and Ted Jr., and his widow, Vicki (along with President Barack Obama), at the funeral mass for Senator Kennedy on August 29, 2009. “He always believed that our best days were still ahead,” the family said in a statement, “but it’s hard to imagine any of them without him.” (Rex Features)
The picture of grief. Ted Kennedy’s wife, Vicki, on the day of the senator’s funeral, responding to friends and former staff members who’d gathered on the steps of the Senate to pay a final tribute to the Massachusetts Democrat. Kennedy’s hearse paused at the Capitol before moving on to Arlington National Cemetery, where he was buried near his brothers, John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy. (Rex Features)
As the only surviving child of President Kennedy and Jackie, Caroline Kennedy remains, for many, the living embodiment of Camelot. Here she is at the signing of the Health Care Bill in Washington, D.C. on March 23, 2010. (Rex Features)
In many ways, Ethel Kennedy is today the family’s matriarch. Few have had as much courage as Ethel, who raised eleven children on her own after the murder of her husband, Bobby Kennedy. She is seen here on January 21, 2011, at a Justice Department ceremony commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of Bobby’s swearing-in as U.S. attorney general. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
On February 14, 2011, President Barack Obama presented Jean Kennedy Smith—the youngest daughter of Rose and Joseph and the sole remaining member of the Kennedy family’s golden generation—the 2010 Medal of Freedom. Jean, who would turn eighty-three six days later, is currently the secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Kennedy Center. “In some ways it seems like a lifetime ago,” Jean said of the family’s storied history, “and in other ways… just yesterday.” (Ron Sachs/Rex Features)
ALSO BY J. RANDY TARABORRELLI
JACKIE, ETHEL, JOAN:
Women of Camelot
ONCE UPON A TIME:
Behind the Fairy Tale of Princess Grace and Prince Rainier
Elizabeth
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe
MICHAEL JACKSON:
The Magic, the Madness, the Whole Story (1958–2009)
* Joan Braden was an aide to Nelson A. Rockefeller and a presidential campaign staff manager for both JFK and RFK. She also worked as special assistant to the undersecretary for economic affairs in the State Department for two years (1976–1978). At Jackie’s request of LBJ back in 1964, Joan was named a trustee of the Kennedy Center. “I really can not tackle it without her,” Jackie wrote to LBJ.
* Creon Broun had been a confidant and employee of Onassis’s empire since 1947. He retired in 1990 and continued to serve on the board of directors until 1991. In a 1992 telephone interview with this author, he said, “I will neither confirm nor will I deny the existence of a formal agreement between Mr. Onassis and Jacqueline Kennedy which involved the exchange of money on the occasion of their wedding. I will say, however, that Mr. Onassis loved Mrs. Kennedy very much and there was no limitation to what he would have done for her throughout his lifetime.”
* As it would happen, Jean Kennedy Smith and Pat Kennedy Lawford both attended the wedding in Greece, representing the family.
* Meyer was also a close friend of LBJ’s, invited to consult with him at the White House a total of twenty-four times between 1964 and 1968.
* John and Caroline also had in excess of $3 million each in trust funds and inheritances from the Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., JFK, and RFK estates.
† In years to come, other deals with Onassis would be structured that would pay Jackie many more millions of dollars.
* The Kennedy family contributed money toward the construction of the indoor pool on the St. Coletta grounds, as well as many other projects. In 1983 the Kennedys donated $1 million in honor of Rosemary and Rose Kennedy, which helped fund an addition to Alverno that allowed St. Coletta’s staff to better meet the needs of people with disabilities who are aging.
* In numerous conversations with Ms. Wagner, and finally in an interview for this book, she would neither confirm nor deny these reports, nor would she speak at all about Ted Kennedy other than to say, “The reason he called me after the incident was to get the phone number to his sister, Jean, and her husband, Stephen Smith, who were in Spain.” She further stated, “I do not want to say anything at all about the Kennedys, because I love them. They are my wonderful friends. I care for all of them and I would never want to hurt any of them by saying anything publicly about my relationships with them over the years.”
* Joe Gargan repeated these allegations in an interview with this author in March 1999.
* As was often the case, Jackie had a few words of advice for Joan, in a follow-up letter to her: “This community living has got to stop!” she wrote, referring to the Kennedy compound. “The family that really counts is his [Ted’s] own. He can go to the graduations of all of Ethel’s children & teach John to sail the Victura—but, if he botches up his own family, that will be a pretty sad record.”
* Joan Kennedy would later write a book in 1993, The Joy of Classical Music: A Guide for You and Your Family (Doubleday).
* Protecting Jackie and the children wasn’t cheap. According to Secret Service logs, the cost for their annual protection was about $85,000. This in contrast to the $60,000 that it cost to protect President Truman. Protecting President Eisenhower cost almost double Jackie’s detail, though, at $160,000.
* Peter Lawford was dubbing lines for a rare—and unusual—guest appearance on the TV show The Jeffersons at CBS’s studios in Hollywood when interviewed by the author.
* Today, Pam Kelley receives $2,004 a month from Joseph Kennedy in a settlement that will last until the year 2016 and that includes a confidentiality clause. After many preliminary discussions with her, it was decided not to interview her for this book in order to honor her settlement agreement. Her quotes in these chapters were taken from previous interviews she has given about what happened to her in 1973.
* A day earlier, on January 22, Jackie got the news that President Lyndon Johnson had died. She felt terrible about it; he had always been kind to her. His wife, Lady Bird, was still a dear friend, and Jackie called her immediately from Greece to extend her sympathies. On February 14, 1973, Lady Bird wrote to thank Jackie for the call: “You were so kind to telephone me at a time when I know your own heart was so full,” Lady Bird wrote. “These have been emotion packed days, but there is still a certain feeling of insulation from the deep sadness I am sure must come.”
* When one considers the photos of Rosemary as a teenager, one is struck by how attractive she was. She was considered the best-looking of all the Kennedy girls, as pointed out in the recent History Channel documentary The Kennedys’ Home Movi
es.
* John also became very close friends with his cousin Timothy Shriver on that trip to Russia. A year later, during the summer of 1976, Sargent asked Jackie if—in the true Kennedy tradition of service—she would allow fifteen-year-old John to accompany sixteen-year-old Timothy to Central America to help the Peace Corps after a massive earthquake there. John would be accompanied by his Secret Service agent, of course. (Interestingly, in November 1976, he would turn sixteen, which marked the end of his Secret Service protection.) Jackie said, “Absolutely.” Even though the two boys would be sick the entire time they were there—living in a tent, no less!—it was a worthwhile experience they’d never forget.
* Jackie joined many people of her generation who felt that receiving a telegram was very special. Nothing pleased her more on her own birthday than sitting at the dinner table after a meal and opening congratulatory telegrams. A telegram itself was thought of as a gift. In fact, countless handwritten letters from Jackie exist thanking friends and colleagues for birthday telegrams.
* As it happened, Jackie would acquire and in 1988 edit and publish a book from Michael Jackson called Moonwalk, and would write a three-paragraph introduction to the book.
* Jackie’s relationship with her younger sister, Lee, had always been fraught with problems, some of which could be traced all the way back to 1963 when the two went sailing with Aristotle Onassis. From most accounts, Lee had a romantic interest in Onassis, who was more taken with Jackie. Of course, Jackie was married to Jack at the time and certainly would never have thought twice about Onassis. However, when she later ended up marrying him in 1968, Lee was quite upset about it; it was just one of the many slights she felt as the less famous, less popular sister. Over the years, there would be many such feuds between the two women, with sisterly jealousy being the most dominant theme of their disagreements. To say that they disliked each other, though, would be untrue. In fact, they had a deep and abiding love for one another. They simply could not get along.
* The next letter in the voluminous files of correspondence between Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Lady Bird Johnson is one from Caroline Kennedy, dated May 28, 1994. Caroline wrote, “I wanted to let you know how much we appreciated the effort you made to come to New York last week to wish my mother farewell. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to see you. Love, Caroline.”
* The son of former New York governor Mario Cuomo, Andrew is currently the governor of New York, having assumed office in 2011. He and Kerry had three daughters, Cara Ethel, Mariah Matilda, and Michaela Andrea, before divorcing in 2005.
* Rose’s daughter Rose Marie—Rosemary—did not attend the services for her mother. However, in July 1995, she would visit the Kennedy compound at Eunice’s and Ted’s behest. Now seventy-seven years old, she was a rather large woman with thick glasses and short, jet-black hair. Rose spent a weekend in the Big House with Ted and Vicki and was often seen sailing with Sargent and Eunice. She had two nuns from the home with her the entire time, neither of whom were dressed in habits but instead wore blue jeans and colorful T-shirts with whimsical Cape Cod graphics on them.
* It should be noted here that John’s cousin Maria Shriver beat him to the punch where Castro was concerned, having conducted her own interview with the Cuban dictator for NBC News in 1988.
* Ethel Kennedy’s worries were not only about her own boys, but also relatives on the Skakel side of the family. The Martha Moxley murder, for instance, weighed heavily on her. As the story goes, the family of fifteen-year-old Martha Moxley were friends and neighbors of Ethel Skakel Kennedy’s brother Rushton, in an upscale section of Greenwich, Connecticut. On October 30, 1975, the teenager and some of her friends walked one block to the Rushton Skakel mansion to attend a Halloween party. Before the evening was over, Martha would be dead, her partially nude body discovered the next day beneath a tree in the backyard of the Skakel home. A broken golf club, the apparent murder weapon, was found nearby. The investigation into the murder would last twenty-three long years, with Thomas and Michael Skakel, Ethel’s nephews, under scrutiny. (The case would remain cold until Michael’s indictment and conviction for the murder on June 7, 2002. He received a twenty-year sentence). It was just one more tragedy in a long list of them in Ethel’s life.
* In 2007, Rory would direct Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, an examination of the events of the 2004 Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner-abuse scandal. After it aired on HBO, it would be nominated for four Emmys, winning the award for Outstanding Nonfiction Special. A year later, she would direct Thank You, Mr. President: Helen Thomas at the White House, which was, of course, about the veteran White House reporter, and also aired on HBO. She most recently directed The Fence (La Barda), which premiered on opening night of the Sundance Film Festival 2010. The film made its debut on HBO on September 16, 2010.
* Rory Kennedy and Mark Bailey would eventually be married in Greece on August 2, 1999, at the home of shipping mogul Vardis Vardinoyiannis. As of this writing, the couple lives in Brooklyn, New York, and they have three children, Georgia Elizabeth (born 2002), Bridget Katherine (born 2004), and Zachary Corkland (born 2007).
* The ending, in addition to being a quotation from Hamlet, may have alluded to the fact that Anthony was the son and scion of Polish royalty, Prince Stanislaw Radziwill.
* Sadly, Kara Kennedy died very suddenly of an apparent heart attack on September 16, 2011, after exercising at a health club in Washington, D.C. Her brother Patrick speculated that her cancer treatment had left her physically weakened. Her mother, Joan, added, “She was very healthy. That’s why this is such a shock.”
CONTENTS
Front Cover Image
Welcome
Dedication
Epigraph
A Note from the Author
Prologue: An Unthinkable Tragedy
Part One: Jackie
Trying to Let Go of the Past
An Invitation from Rose
Jackie’s Thirty-Ninth
Some Enchanted Evening
Jackie: “The Kennedys Can’t Support Me Forever”
Negotiating for Jackie
Part Two: Eunice
Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Camp Shriver at Timberlawn
What Happened to Rosemary Kennedy?
Lobotomy
Joseph Patrick Kennedy
Part Three: Sarge
Sargent Shriver
“A Very Good Shriver”
Bobby Kennedy
Getting Sargent Out of the Way
Torn Loyalties
Questioning LBJ’s Motives
The Decision Is Made
Not Meant to Be
Humphrey-Shriver?
Ted Disappoints
Sargent Appeals to Ted
Part Four: Ted
“Sick with Grief”
Chappaquiddick
Ted Kennedy
Joan Kennedy
“The End of Camelot”
Strategizing a Way Out
“All People Make Mistakes… Not Just Kennedys”
Joseph Kennedy Dies
Dealing with the Fallout
Part Five: Ethel
Ethel Kennedy
A Cross to Bear
Hyannis Port Terrors
Pot Bust
Part Six: Jackie, Ari, and the Lawfords
Jackie Talks to Rose About Her New Life
Remembering JFK
Clinging to Each Other After Camelot
Onassis—Father Figure?
Jackie and the Secret Service
A Problem Like Maria
Pat and Peter Lawford
Part Seven: Sargent Tries Yet Again
Always in the Way
Shriver for Vice President
“Same Ol’ Sarge”
Part Eight: The Third Generation in Trouble
An Accident Results in Paralysis
November 1973: Ten Years
Ted Jr.’s Cancer
Hickory Hell?
Part Nine: Poor Ari
&
nbsp; Onassis’s Many Problems
Jackie and Sinatra
Ari Dies
Who Should Represent the Kennedys at the Funeral?
“Let’s Try to Move On with Our Lives”
Part Ten: Rosemary and Rose
“We Must Never Give Up”
Rose’s Precious Yesterdays and Priceless Tomorrows
Part Eleven: Shriver for President
Sarge Takes a “Leap of Faith”
Stephen and Jean Kennedy Smith
Yet Another Disappointment for Sarge
Part Twelve: Ted’s 1980 Campaign
Ted’s Presidential Decision
“S.O.S.! The Elephant Is Chasing Amy Carter!”
The Joan Factor
The Roger Mudd Interview
Ted: “The Dream Never Dies”
End of a Marriage
Part Thirteen: David’s Story
“The Kennedys’ Biggest Shame”
Intervention for David
Bobby Jr.’s Surprising Drug Bust
“I Love You, Mom. That’s All I Got.”
A Kidnapping Attempt at the Compound
Always Tomorrow?
Room 107
“Without Faith and Family, We Have Nothing”
Part Fourteen: Kennedy Upheaval