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

by J. Randy Taraborrelli

  Max Kennedy’s commentary relating to his family’s view of the press (“… there’s a perception that we Kennedys are opposed to the public having a fuller understanding of who we are, of what makes us tick”) was to the author in 1998 at a book party celebrating the release of his work, Make Gentle the Life of This World: The Vision of Robert F. Kennedy.

  President John F. Kennedy’s speech (“The hour of decision has arrived. We cannot afford to wait and see what happens while the tide of events sweeps over and beyond us…”) was given to the National Association of Manufacturers at the Waldorf-Astoria on December 6, 1961.

  Articles: “Story of JFK Jr.: A Profile of Courage” by Michael Kilian, Chicago Tribune, July 22, 1999; “How Caroline and John Remember Their Father” by David E. Powers, McCall’s, November 1973; “Ted Kennedy’s Memories of JFK” by Theodore Sorensen, McCall’s, November 1973; “Crazy for Carolyn” by Tessa Namuth, et. al., Newsweek, October 20, 1996; “JFK Jr.’s Final Journey” by Evan Thomas, Newsweek, August 1, 1999. I also drew from my extensive research for the two-part series I authored, “The Life and Loves of the Prince of Camelot,” Woman’s Day, July 26, 1999, as well as my three-part series, “JFK Jr.—Golden Child,” Star, August 1999. Also, I started researching a book about JFK Jr. in 1998 and, upon his death, decided to switch to my book about the Kennedy wives, Jackie, Ethel, Joan. I’ve drawn from that original research for this volume.

  Volumes: Fairytale Interrupted: A Memoir of Life, Love, and Loss by RoseMarie Terenzio; What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and Love by Carole Radziwill; The Men We Became: My Friendship with John F. Kennedy, Jr. by Robert T. Littell; Jacqueline Kennedy Bouvier Onassis: A Life by Donald Spoto; The Bouviers: From Waterloo to the Kennedys and Beyond by John H. Davis; Times to Remember by Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy; Mother American Night: My Life in Crazy Times by John Perry Barlow.

  Speeches: “Mud Wrestling with History: Snapshots of My Life as a Brother-in-Law to John F. Kennedy” by James Auchincloss.

  Oral Histories: Dun Gifford/RFK Oral History Project; Roswell Gilpatric/JFK Library; Luella Hennessey/JFK Library; Robert Francis Kennedy/JFK Library.

  Television: I drew from my research and report “JFK Jr.’s Argument with Carolyn,” Day & Date, March 4, 1996.

  ETHEL KENNEDY

  Interviews: Noelle Bombardier (September 5, 2017, September 29, 2017, as well as all interviews conducted for After Camelot in 2012); James Skakel (January 3, 1997); Josefina “Fina” Harvin (January 9, 2017); Joseph Gargan (March 17, 1999 and follow-up email questionnaire, April 1, 1999, October 3, 2002, December 1, 2016); Andy Williams (August 1998, May 2002, January 2011); Gore Vidal (April 8, 1998, June 2, 1998, May 1, 2010); Jamie Auchincloss (November 7, 1999, May 2, 2008, May 3, 2008); Barry Davis (October 15, 2016); Danine Barber (November 11, 2016, November 12, 2016); Ann Skakel McCooey (September 12, 2017); Leah Mason; Christopher Lawford.

  Articles: “A Gift from Long Ago” by Bob Herbert, The New York Times, November 22, 2010; “The Kennedy of Hickory Hill” by Hays Gory, Time, August 25, 1969 (Note: This is Ethel Kennedy’s only cover story in Time).

  Volumes: I referred to my extensive research for my books Jackie, Ethel, Joan and The Kennedys: After Camelot. I also referenced The Nine of Us: Growing Up Kennedy by Jean Kennedy Smith; The Kennedy Legacy by Theodore C. Sorensen; With Kennedy by Pierre Salinger; Rose Kennedy and Her Family: The Best and Worst of Their Lives and Times by Barbara Gibson and Ted Schwarz; Ethel Kennedy and Life at Hickory Hill by Leah Mason (unpublished manuscript); Life with Rose Kennedy: An Intimate Account by Barbara Gibson and Caroline Latham; Rose: A Biography of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy by Gail Cameron; Moon River and Me: A Memoir by Andy Williams.

  Documentaries: Ethel, the 2012 HBO documentary directed by her daughter Rory Kennedy and written by her son-in-law Mark Bailey, from which I culled quotes from Christopher, Maxwell, and Courtney Kennedy.

  The note from Jackie to Ethel (“My Ethel, I stayed up…”) was put up for auction by Heritage Auction Galleries in 2006. It has since been returned to the Kennedy family.

  KENNEDY FAMILY HISTORY

  Interviews: Eunice Kennedy Shriver (2002); Hugh Sidey; Neil Connolly (December 2, 1998, April 2, 2007); Theresa Lichtman (February 2, 2018); Christopher Lawford (October 20, 2009); Frank Mankiewicz (August 25, 1998); Dun Gifford; Ted Sorensen (April 1998; May 2008, in conjunction with the publication of his book Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History; March 2009); Patricia Seaton Lawford (June 1, 2017); Lois Aldrech (August 5, 2016, August 6, 2016); Arthur Schlesinger (March 1, 1997, March 28, 2003, April 18, 2006); Robert McNamara (June 2008); Jacques Lowe (December 15, 1998, July 11, 1999, November 7, 1999, October 12, 2000).

  I also referenced the transcript of Mr. Sorensen’s speech at the Charleston School of Law on February 23, 2010.

  Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s comment “I’ve come to believe that it’s not what happened to our family…” is from the author’s personal interview, 2002.

  Kerry Kennedy’s comment “It’s difficult when your most private moments…” is from the author’s interview with her after the symposium on Kennedy women at the JFK Library, October 1996.

  Articles: “Oprah Talks to Maria Shriver,” O: The Oprah Magazine, June 2008; “The Fall of the House of Kennedy” by Daniel Henninger, The Wall Street Journal, January 21, 2010.

  Volumes: In the Kennedy Kitchen: Recipes and Recollections of a Great American Family by Neil Connolly and Elizabeth Benedict; Symptoms of Withdrawal: A Memoir of Snapshots and Redemption by Christopher Kennedy Lawford; Moments of Clarity: Voices from the Front Lines of Addiction and Recovery by Christopher Kennedy Lawford; Fully Alive: Discovering What Matters Most by Timothy Shriver; A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver by Mark K. Shriver; American Values: Lessons I Learned from My Family by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John Kennedy by Michael Beschloss; Hostage to Fortune: The Letters of Joseph P. Kennedy by Amanda Smith.

  Documentaries: Note that throughout this book, I referenced the CNN documentary series American Dynasties: The Kennedys, from which I culled quotes by Robert Kennedy Jr., Patrick Kennedy, and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. I, too, was a commentator on each of the six episodes of that CNN series.

  Forum: “The Kennedy Women” at the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library and Museum, October 4, 1996 (after which I had the opportunity to meet and question Kerry Kennedy, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Rory Kennedy, and Victoria Reggie Kennedy).

  Oral Histories: From the Edward M. Kennedy Institute: Robert Shriver III and Maria Shriver, January 29, 2019; Victoria R. Kennedy, April 8, 2010; Caroline Raclin (daughter of Victoria Reggie Kennedy), November 11, 2008.

  Lectures: Kerry Kennedy book signing and lecture, Cape Codder Resort & Spa, July 2, 2018; Robert Kennedy Jr. book signing and lecture, Cape Codder Resort and Spa, August 23, 2018.

  KENNEDY WEALTH

  Interview: Benedict F. Fitzgerald Jr. (April 11, 2004, March 30, 2014).

  Articles: “The Kennedy Clan Decides to Cash in Last Big Business” by Mitchell Pacelle, David D. Kirkpatrick, and Calmetta Y. Coleman, The Wall Street Journal, January 26, 1998; “Merchandise Mart Sold” by J. Linn Allen, Chicago Tribune, January 27, 1998; “How the $1 Billion Kennedy Family Fortune Defies Death and Taxes” by Carl O’Donnell, Forbes, July 8, 2014; “Size of Billionaire-Bashing Chris Kennedy’s Fortune a Mystery, Still” by Kim Janssen, Chicago Tribune, June 1, 2017; “State’s Longest-Practicing Lawyer Looks Back on Drama-Filled Career,” by David E. Frank, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, March 13, 2014.

  Television: “Kennedy’s Wealth Exceeded Tens of Millions,” CBS News, August 31, 2009.

  KARA, TEDDY JR., AND PATRICK KENNEDY

  Interviews: Kara Kennedy (January 3, 1998, April 4, 2011); Dun Gifford (2005); David Burke (1999, 2008); Richard Burke (August 23, 1999); Ted Sorensen (2008); Thomas Franken (May 12, 2018); Pat Bruno (January 23, 2018); Megan Strayhorn (April 11, 2018, April 12, 2018); Marcia Chellis; Sister
Pauline Joseph; Dr. David Sugarbaker (January 5, 2017, January 15, 2017); Webster Janssen (November 14, 2011, November 16, 2011, December 1, 2011, and a follow-up telephone conversation on January 12, 2012, based on new information relating to Joan’s being able to lease the Squaw Island home in summer months).

  Note that Joan’s court-appointed caretaker who witnessed the packing of the Squaw Island home asked for anonymity. Leah Mason was also present and corroborated her memories in interviews for my book The Kennedys: After Camelot.

  I would also like to thank Mary Gillan, who was Dr. Sugarbaker’s assistant at Dana-Farber/Brigham. Her interviews were conducted on January 19, 2017, and January 26, 2017.

  I would to thank the late author James Spada for providing me with a wealth of material on Ted, Joan, and their children, Kara, Teddy Jr., and Patrick, which he compiled during the process of developing a book about the senator. His in-depth research—including his interviews with many of their intimates—proved invaluable to this book, and I would like to gratefully acknowledge him. He was a good friend. He passed away in May 2017.

  Joan’s comment about the difference between stumping for Patrick as opposed to the years she spent doing the same thing for Ted (“Well, for one thing, Patrick says thank you”) was to the author, November 1992.

  The writer who happened upon Kara and Joan in an antique store in Hyannis Port in August 2011 (“… my little elf”) was the author.

  Articles: “The Dream Lives On” by Kara Kennedy, Globe Magazine, April 3, 2011; “Kennedy, His Children, and Cancer: He Helped Them Beat It, but Now the Fight Is His” by Sally Jacobs, The Boston Globe, May 25, 2008; “Untimely Death Shocks Kennedy Family” by K. C. Myers, Cape Cod Times, September 18, 2011; “Funeral Mass Held for Kara Kennedy” by Jessica Gresko, Cape Cod Times, September 22, 2011; “Kennedys Disagree on Sale of Cape House” by Andrea Estes, The Boston Globe, April 12, 2005; “Kennedy Clan Clashes over Sale of Cape Cod Mansion” by Francis Harris, The Telegraph, April 13, 2005; “Democrat, Republican and a Bond of Addiction” by Mark Leibovich, The New York Times, September 19, 2006; “Patrick Kennedy Admits Addiction After Car Crash” by David Stout and John Holusha, The New York Times, May 5, 2006; “Patrick Kennedy Packs Up 63 Years of Family History” by Abby Goodnough, The New York Times, December 16, 2010.

  Volumes: A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction by Patrick J. Kennedy and Stephen Fried; The Senator: My Ten Years with Ted Kennedy by Richard E. Burke, William Hoffer, and Marilyn Hoffer.

  SENATOR EDWARD KENNEDY

  Interviews: Joan Kennedy (2001, 2013); Richard Burke (August 23, 1999); Dominick Dunne (June 3, 2007, June 8, 2007); Webster Janssen; Pat Bruno; Dr. David Sugarbaker; Mary Gillan.

  Articles: “Kennedy’s Battle in the Nation’s War Against Cancer” by Gina Kolata and Lawrence K. Altman, The New York Times, August 27, 2009; “The Story Behind Ted Kennedy’s Surgery” by Lawrence K. Altman, The New York Times, July 29, 2008; “A Drum Major for Righteous Indignation” by Leonard Fein, Jewish Daily Forward, July 12, 2008; “A Left Coast Kennedy” by Susan Salter Reynolds, Los Angeles Times Magazine, March 14, 1999; “Ted Kennedy on the Rocks” by Michael Kelly, GQ, February 1990.

  Volumes: True Compass: A Memoir by Edward M. Kennedy; Last Lion: The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy by the Team at The Boston Globe, edited by Peter S. Canellos; Ted Kennedy: The Dream That Never Died by Edward Klein; The Kennedy Men: 1901–1963 by Laurence Leamer.

  Oral Histories: Charles L. Bartlett/JFK Library; Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy/Herbert Hoover Library Foundation; Frank Mankiewicz/RFK Oral History Project; Joan Braden/JFK Library; Maud Shaw/JFK Library; Nancy Tuckerman/JFK Library; Kenneth O’Donnell/Lyndon Baines Johnson Library; Pierre Salinger/RFK Oral History Project; George Smathers/U.S. Senate Historical Office; Charles Spalding/JFK Library. From the Edward M. Kennedy Institute: Edward M. Kennedy, June 3, 2005, June 17, 2005, October 13, 2005, March 20, 2006, May 8, 2006, August 15, 2006, November 29, 2006, January 6, 2007, February 12, 2007, February 27, 2007, April 3, 2007, May 7, 2007, May 30, 2007, August 7, 2007, October 8, 2007, December 8, 2007, January 7, 2008; David Axelrod, 2012; Melody Barnes (staffer for Edward Kennedy), undated; David Burke (chief of staff to Edward Kennedy), April 9, 2008.

  Speech: Senator Ted Kennedy at Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government, October 26, 1991.

  VICTORIA REGGIE KENNEDY

  Interviews: Dun Gifford (2005); Edmund M. Reggie (August 4, 1998). I interviewed a caretaker who has worked at the Kennedy compound for thirty years and who asked for anonymity.

  Articles: “Victoria Reggie Kennedy Provided Stability for Ted Kennedy When He Needed It Most” by Lois Romano, The Washington Post, August 28, 2009; “Death of Edward ‘Ted’ Kennedy Raises Questions About Political Dynasties” by Lois Romano, The Washington Post, August 27, 2009; “How the Tragic Death of Ted Kennedy’s Only Daughter Brought His Widow and Ex-Wife Closer Together” by Meghan Keneally, Daily Mail, April 23, 2014.

  Forum: “The Kennedy Women” at the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library and Museum, October 4, 1996.

  Oral Histories: From the Edward M. Kennedy Institute: Victoria R. Kennedy, April 8, 2010; Caroline Raclin (daughter of Victoria Reggie Kennedy), November 11, 2016.

  Transcript: “Text: Interviews with Vicki Kennedy,” June 28, 1995, and May 13, 1999.

  Video: “Dedication of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate,” March 30, 2015 (entire event); “Oprah Winfrey Interviews Victoria Reggie Kennedy,” The Oprah Winfrey Show, November 25, 2009.

  JOAN KENNEDY

  Interviews: Joan Kennedy (November 1992/Joy of Classical Music book tour, March 2001, September 12, 2011, as well as a personal letter, November 19, 1998: “Fortunately, I am well and happy in his present stage of my life—the joy of spending a lot of time with my four grand children and enjoying my part time job as Chairperson of Boston’s Cultural Council and serving on the Board of Directors of four great Boston institutions. I am blessed with many dear friends whom, I have known since my college days, and I still play the piano or narrate with orchestras for a favorite charity”); Leah Mason; Dun Gifford; Dr. Gerald Aronoff; Webster Janssen; Marcia Chellis (January 14, 1998, March 1, 1998, and also I drew from Ms. Chellis’s comments on the television program “People Are Talking,” San Francisco, 1985).

  I also relied heavily on my interviews with Joan Braden, originally conducted for my book Jackie, Ethel, Joan. Joan was married to CIA official and journalist Tom Braden, whose book Eight Is Enough was adapted by ABC as a TV series in 1977.

  Articles: “The Fall of Joan” by Michelle McPhee and David Wedge, Boston magazine, May 15, 2006; “An Intimate Portrait of Joan Kennedy” by Barbara Kevles, Good Housekeeping, September 1969; “Joan Kennedy’s Story” by Betty Hannah Hoffman, Ladies’ Home Journal, July 1970; “Joan Had to Learn to Live with Heartache” by Eleanor Roberts, Herald American, December 7, 1982; “Prime Time with Joan Kennedy” by Sally Jacobs, Globe Magazine, July 9, 2000; “Joan Kennedy Treated for Alcoholism,” Associated Press, October 9, 2001; “After 24 Years, Joan Kennedy Ends Marriage” by Gail Jennes and Gioia Diliberto, People, December 20, 1982; “Joan Kennedy Surveys Her Sober Life” by Gail Jennes, People, April 7, 1978; “Joan Kennedy Finds Solace in Memories of Daughter, Kara” by Liz McNeil, People, September 20, 2011; “Kennedy, His Children and Cancer” by Sally Jacobs, The Boston Globe, May 25, 2008.

  Volumes: The Joy of Classical Music: A Guide for You and Your Family by Joan Kennedy; Joan: The Reluctant Kennedy by Lester David; The Joan Kennedy Story: Living with the Kennedys by Marcia Chellis; Jackie, Ethel, Joan: Women of Camelot by J. Randy Taraborrelli.

  I also referenced extensive research for my report “Joan Kennedy” on Entertainment Tonight, November 2000.

  ANTHONY RADZIWILL

  Interviews: Gustavo Paredes; John Perry Barlow; Stephen Styles-Cooper; Carole Radziwill (September 2005); Christopher Lawford.

  Volume: On What Remains: A Mem
oir of Fate, Friendship, and Love by Carole Radziwill.

  MICHAEL AND VICTORIA KENNEDY (AND THE VERROCHIS)

  Interviews: Josefina “Fina” Harvin; Noelle Bombardier; Leah Mason; Joseph Gargan; Theresa Lichtman; Tim Robbins (May 1, 2018); Jamie Auchincloss (December 1, 2016, October 11, 2017, November 2, 2017); Rose Burgunder Styron (February 21, 2013); Thomas Davis (March 2, 2018); Ben Bradlee (October 1, 1995); Linda DelVechio (June 8, 2017, June 10, 2017, August 11, 2017); (Police Chief) Brian Noonan (August 29, 2017, August 30, 2017); Ren Ayers (August 22, 2017); Philip Geyelin (March 1, 1998); Astrid Gifford (September 3, 2017); Gayle Fee (May 22, 2018); Bryan Holloway; Robert DuPont (June 15, 2017, July 5, 2017).

  I drew from the lengthy conversation I had with Michael Kennedy in 1997, as described earlier in these notes.

  I interviewed several people close to the family of Marisa Verrochi, including relatives of hers, all of whom asked for anonymity. I am granting them that request.

  Articles: “Subpoena Eyed in Sex Scandal: Baby-Sitter Keeping Mum on Kennedy” by Helen Kennedy and Michele McPhee, New York Daily News, April 27, 1997; “Sitter’s Father to Talk to Cops” by Michele McPhee and Helen Kennedy, New York Daily News, April 28, 1997; “Kennedy Took Baby Sitter on Excursions: Maine Records Show Teenager Joined Family on Rafting Trips” by Scot Lehigh and Stephen Kurkjian, The Boston Globe, May 24, 1997; “A Betrayal in the Family” by Pam Lambert, People, May 12, 1997; “Controversy Surrounds a Kennedy’s Alleged Affair with a Baby-sitter,” The Boston Globe, April 25, 1997; “They’re at It Again! RFK Son ‘Slept with Schoolgirl, 14!’” New York Post, April 25, 1997; “The Kennedys in Aspen: A New Year’s Tragedy” by Matthew Malone, Modern Luxury, November 27, 2017; “Kennedy Family, Friends Say Farewell to Michael” by Elizabeth Mehren, Los Angeles Times, January 4, 1998; “Tragedy Strikes Again” by Nancy Gibbs, Time, January 12, 1998; “Death in Aspen” by Patrick Rogers, People, January 19, 1998.