The Kennedy Heirs: John, Caroline, and the New Generation

by J. Randy Taraborrelli

  As I noted in the text of this book, Michael sat behind me for six hours and watched me as I attempted to do my research. “Michael, I’m okay here, really,” I told him. “You can go.” He shook his head. “No. Not until you do.” He was protective of his family’s legacy, and I had to respect as much. He even asked to see my notes when I finished. He had taken his own and wanted to compare. With nothing to hide, I agreed. He sat and reviewed everything, nodding his head and smiling. He even crossed out a few lines.

  Afterward, seeking to break the ice with him, I suggested a cup of coffee. He agreed, though, again, he seemed reluctant. We then spent about ninety minutes talking about our childhoods, mine lived anonymously in the suburbs in Philadelphia, his as a public person, a Kennedy, at Hickory Hill, his mother’s estate in Virginia, and also at the Kennedy compound on Cape Cod. “I was always on the outside looking in,” he said, “but it was okay. I didn’t mind it.” I asked him to elaborate, but he wouldn’t. When I asked what his mother was like, he smiled and said: “Depends on the day.” I didn’t ask about the recent scandal relating to Marisa Verrochi, but he brought it up if just by suggestion. “I’m rebuilding my life,” he told me. “When I finish the reconstruction I’ll give you a real interview.” I asked if he saw a future for himself in politics. He laughed and said, “Not now I don’t.” Then he added that it was okay; “Some people have a taste for blood. Some don’t.”

  Months later, when I was writing the acknowledgments to Jackie, Ethel, Joan, I wanted to acknowledge Michael’s assistance. I sent him the brief mention I wanted to publish, a couple of sentences thanking him. He called me a few days later and asked me not to acknowledge him. He said he didn’t know what the tone of the book would be and didn’t want to be seen as condoning it. That was fair. Six months after that, he was gone.

  I had met John Kennedy Jr. several times prior to meeting Michael, the first time many years earlier. I couldn’t help but be struck by the differences in their personalities: Michael so removed and cautious, John so available and easy to know.

  The first time I met John and his sister, Caroline, was back in 1977 at the famous Studio 54 nightclub in New York. My friend Michael Jackson was filming The Wiz in New York at the time; I was there writing a story about the movie for a magazine. It was a private party in a back room at Studio 54 for some of the cast and crew. John and Caroline were surrounded by press, as was Michael. I was sitting at a back booth with his sister La Toya. Occasionally, Michael would come over and say a few words to us and then drift back into the crowd. At one point, La Toya got up to go to the restroom. Someone took her place, slipping into the booth. He leaned over to me, put out his hand, and introduced himself: “I’m John Kennedy.” Then he said, “Can I ask you a favor?” JFK Jr. wants a favor? From me? “My sister and I want to meet Michael Jackson,” he said with a bashful grin. “Can you make that happen?” It was the kind of surreal moment that, looking back on it all these years later, is hard to believe. “Sure thing,” I said. He called Caroline over, we went over to Michael, and I introduced them. Michael seemed a little weak in the knees, I remember; just being in the presence of Kennedy royalty seemed to throw him.

  After a few moments of chitchat, I took a couple of pictures of Michael with John and Caroline using John’s camera. Afterward, I sat at the bar and talked to John for about an hour. He was seventeen, and I wasn’t much older. I don’t even remember what we talked about, I just remember his incredible smile and his open spirit. I also remember thinking to myself that this guy could be anyone’s best friend, he was just that nice. I guess I was a little swept away by him. His sister? Not so much. I’m pretty sure she didn’t say a word to me that night, or if she did I don’t recall it. I just remember her eyeing me with suspicion. “She doesn’t trust reporters,” John said with a laugh.

  Years later, John’s mother would go on to edit Michael’s book Moonwalk. In the mid-1980s, I had the chance to know Jackie Onassis while she was at Doubleday, where I published my first two books. Years after that, a few of the pictures of Michael, John, and Caroline that I took somehow leaked out, and anyone can find them today on the internet.

  Both Kennedys—Michael and John—were raised by traumatized mothers, but in different ways. It’s of course their differences that make them so compelling, their stories that make them so unique. Both are gone now, and missed by so many.

  GENERAL COMMENT

  The vast majority of material in this book was culled from more than four hundred interviews conducted by myself and my researchers over the last twenty years. When an author specializes in a subject as I have the Kennedys, he collects a massive amount of firsthand interviews with principal players in American history. Many of those sources find their way into more than one book; some interviews conducted many years ago for one book find their way into other works as they become relevant to stories being told. I make sure that the vast majority of my interviews are on tape. Occasionally, though, a source is squeamish about being recorded, and in that case I or the researcher will take copious notes.

  From traveling the world and talking about my work, I know that readers are always interested in the interview process. I can state that in almost all cases my interview subjects are pressed for answers not just in a single session but in many encounters over the course of years. I’ve spent as many as forty hours with a single source, going back to confirm information, to ask for details that would never be thought of as relevant but, for me, are important elements of storytelling. It’s not unusual for me to have a source scour an attic for months to find a picture of a Kennedy just so that I could state without question that he or she was at a certain event at a certain time. Many of my sources will tell you that I have driven them out of their minds, but I do it for the sake of accuracy.

  I’ve been in the business of documenting Kennedy history for more than twenty years, long enough to have made significant contacts inside the family. Specifically for this book, I conducted a number of important interviews with not only members of the Kennedy family but with others involved in their history on a “deep background” basis, which means I’ve agreed to use all their information but to not identify them as sources. This method is crucial sometimes in achieving the kind of candor required by a book like this one. Nearly all these interviews were conducted on tape, allowing me to be precise in my reporting.

  Note also that most of the secondary sources utilized in this book—texts of speeches, transcriptions of television shows, and other videos— have been cited in the text and, with some exceptions allowing for a little more detail, will not be repeated here. Obviously, I also referred to countless books and newspaper accounts; I’ve only listed here the ones I thought might inspire further interest. In the end, what follows is by no means intended to be comprehensive. Instead, it’s just meant to give you, my reader, a better idea of the kind of research that went into The Kennedy Heirs.

  Research

  The Kennedy Heirs would not have been possible without the assistance of many organizations that provided me with articles, documents, audio and video interviews, transcripts, and other material that was either utilized directly in this book or just for purposes of background, especially the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. I want to especially thank Maryrose Grossman for her assistance over the years in accessing the library’s archives. I would also like to thank Megan Woods at the library for her help. As I do with all of my Kennedy-related books, I must also acknowledge David Powers, former special assistant to President John F. Kennedy and the first curator of the JFK Library. I was lucky enough to interview him back on January 11, 1990, and a lot of that material is used in this book, if only for background. Certainly, no mention of the JFK Library is complete without a nod to Mr. Powers, who died on March 28, 1998, at the age of eighty-five.

  The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate in Boston was a great resource for me. Thank you to Natalie Boyle there for her assistance.

 
I want to especially thank Noelle Bombardier, who was the estate manager at Hickory Hill. She gave us numerous interviews for this book and shared many memories of her life with Ethel Kennedy, and I am deeply indebted to her. She’s a wonderful woman who has great respect for Ethel as she does for all of the Kennedys; she always looks back with fondness on her years with the family, and I so value her contribution to all of my books about the Kennedys.

  I also want to make special mention of Josefina “Fina” Harvin, Ena Bernard’s daughter. Ena worked for Ethel Kennedy for more than forty years, and Josefina was all but raised at Hickory Hill and the Kennedy compound during much of that time. I want to thank her for all her assistance with this book.

  In the hopes of meeting Rosemary (Rose Marie) Kennedy, I visited St. Coletta’s in Wisconsin in 1998, the nursing home in which she was cared for, during my research for Jackie, Ethel, Joan. While I was able to meet and speak to her, I was, unfortunately, unable to formally interview her. However, it was at this time that I met one of the Roman Catholic nuns who had cared for Rosemary and who, as it would happen, would become a primary source for this book, The Kennedy Heirs. Because she asked not to be identified, in these pages, she and I agreed on giving her the pseudonym “Sister Pauline Joseph.” This is the first time in the writing of twenty books—based on easily more than two thousand interviews—that I’ve ever employed the use of a pseudonym for a source. However, I felt it necessary in this case to grant the request because the source still has close ties with the Kennedy family and felt that her memories might compromise some of those relationships. I want to thank her for the many interviews she granted me for this work. I conducted six interviews with her in 2017 and three more in 2018.

  I want to especially thank Cathy Griffin for all her hard work on this book. This one presented a real challenge in that there are so many moving parts. As always, Cathy found just the right people for us to interview and was present for them and supportive as they told stories that were sometimes sensitive. She has been my primary researcher since 1990 and I am eternally grateful to her.

  I had to hit the ground running with this book, doing the vast majority of interviews for it myself in Boston, Washington, New York, and Los Angeles. It was an amazing and worthwhile two years on the road, and I have to say I enjoyed it tremendously. Thanks to all the many people I met in the process who gave me insight into one of the most powerful and influential family dynasties of our time.

  IN MEMORIAM

  Many of the stories I have told over the years are as much about my sources and their life experiences as they are about the subjects of my book, in this case the Kennedys. Often I am trusted to be a messenger for precious memories shared with me for the first time. Because I am always conscious of the fact that these stories will remain indelible in my books long after the storytellers are gone from this world, I take very seriously my obligation to be accurate, fair, and as caring as possible in my writing about their thoughts, feelings, and recollections. Since, sadly, some of my most trusted sources have passed away, I would like to remember them here.

  I would like to acknowledge Leah Mason, who gave me more than a dozen interviews over the years relating to her life and time at Hickory Hill. I could never have written this book or my others about the Kennedys without her assistance. She also allowed me access to her unpublished manuscript, Ethel Kennedy and Life at Hickory Hill, which was of tremendous help to me. Sadly, Leah passed away in October 2018 at the age of ninety. She will be greatly missed.

  John Perry-Barlow was a valuable source of mine for all of my Kennedy books, including this one. John had many vocations in his lifetime—lyricist for the Grateful Dead among them—but what most impressed me was his work in helping us understand the responsibility of the internet, which he once described in an essay for the Electronic Frontier Foundation as “a world that all may enter without privilege or prejudice accorded by race, economic power, military force, or station of birth … a world where anyone, anywhere may express his or her beliefs, no matter how singular, without fear of being coerced into silence or conformity.” John was a cattle rancher, which is how he met and befriended John Kennedy Jr.; Jackie sent her son, who was seventeen at the time, to intern on his ranch. He had so many fascinating moments with Kennedy over the years, all the way up to John’s untimely death, many of which are told in this book for the first time. He was a singularly unique person. John Perry Barlow died on February 7, 2018. He was seventy.

  I would also like to acknowledge Christopher Lawford, whom I interviewed several times over the years. The first time I met Christopher was back in 1996 when I was working on my book about Frank Sinatra. As Peter Lawford’s son, of course Christopher had his fair share of amazing Sinatra tales as passed down to him by his father. His mom, Pat Kennedy-Lawford, was one of Marilyn Monroe’s best friends, and Christopher shared with me many stories of knowing Marilyn as a child, which I used in my book about Monroe. Over the years as I began to write about the Kennedys, Christopher could be counted on to tell a new story, verify an old one, or provide context or understanding to an anecdote that would only make sense to someone born a Kennedy. He was also an inspiring motivational speaker and wrote several wonderful books, which are acknowledged in my Source Notes. He will be greatly missed by so many people. Christopher left us on September 4, 2018. He was sixty-three.

  Webster Janssen was an important source of mine not only for this book but also for The Kennedys: After Camelot. Though they were distantly related, he and Joan Kennedy were close, and I so appreciated his stories of how he tried to help her. In the process, of course, he found himself in opposition to her grown children who were also looking out for her best interests. It’s a complicated story and I remain grateful to him that he trusted me with it. Mr. Janssen died on May 29, 2012.

  I would also like to remember Dr. David Sugarbaker, professor and chief, Division of Thoracic Surgery at the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. I so appreciated his time and patience in helping me tell the story of his time with Kara Kennedy when he was chief of thoracic surgery at Dana-Farber/Brigham and she was his patient. “Her courage and the way she approached her illness has never been explored,” he said, “and I think it’s maybe an example of how to deal with adversity, a story which maybe can inspire and encourage others in similar situations.” Through the telling of his memories here for the first time, I do think Kara’s bravery comes into clear focus for us, and for that we owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Sugarbaker. Sadly, he died on August 29, 2018, at the age of sixty-five.

  Another wonderful woman who gave so much of her time to me was Adora Rule, who worked for Jackie’s mother, Janet Auchincloss, as an assistant for many years; she started with Janet when she was just eighteen, right before Jackie married Jack in September 1953. They remained friends until Janet’s death in 1989, Adora was a valuable source not only for this book but for my previous one, Jackie, Janet & Lee. I was so sorry to learn that she passed away in October 2018, at the age of eighty-three.

  I would like to acknowledge the late Kennedy historian Lester David. For a while, we were with the same publisher, Carol Publishing. Mr. David wrote many fine books about the Kennedys and shared with me a good number of important sources. I have used transcripts of his interviews with Joan Kennedy, Ethel Kennedy, and LeMoyne Billings in this volume. Also, I have to acknowledge the late Barbara Gibson, who gave me so many hours of interview time over the years. As Rose Kennedy’s personal secretary, Barbara was privy to the inner workings of the Kennedy family, and she shared her memories with me openly.

  Sources and Other Notes

  JOHN KENNEDY JR. AND CAROLYN BESSETTE-KENNEDY

  Interviews: Ariel Paredes (August 1, 2017); R. Couri Hay (July 2, 2010, September 16, 2017, September 18, 2017); Hugh “Yusha” Auchincloss III (October 12, 1998, November 1, 1999); Nini Auchincloss Strait (October 11, 1998); George Smathers (October 5, 1998, December 12, 1998); John Perry Barlow (February 1, 1999, April 15, 2015, August 2
8, 2017, September 10, 2017); Sister Pauline Joseph (March 1, 2011, March 1, 2017); Gustavo Paredes (August 20, 2016, October 7, 2016, July 21, 2017); Stephen Styles-Cooper (May 1, 1998, April 15, 2005, May 11, 2010, June 18, 2015); Stewart Price (July 12, 2013, September 1, 2016, February 1, 2018); Tammy Holloway (May 31, 2010, June 2, 2010); Bryan Holloway (June 1, 2010); Richard Bradley (June 5, 2010, September 14, 2017, October 1, 2017); Holly Safford (May 15, 2010); Phillip Bloch (May 20, 2010); Virgil McLyn (May 31, 2010); Christopher Lawford (May 5, 1998, August 3, 2009, September 2, 2017, January 23, 2018).

  Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s commentary about celebrity biographies—“what would be the point of writing about a celebrity if you weren’t going to reveal his or her secrets,” etc.—was made to the author in 1985 at Doubleday Publishing Company.

  John Kennedy Jr.’s commentary about the responsibility of media was to the author after the announcement of his George magazine enterprise on September 7, 1995, in New York’s Federal Hall.

  “Slightly more frightening…” Madonna to the author, June 1989.

  The man at the center of Carolyn’s “emotional affair” asked to not be identified.