For more than half a century, Kennedy brothers Joe, John, Bobby and Ted grabbed headlines and set fashion trends, shaping popular culture in ways big and small. The untimely deaths only added to their mystique.
“The family was both dynasty and myth, larger than life in every respect,” says political commentator Larry Sabato. “The Kennedys combined Hollywood and Washington, glitz and power, in a way no other family has. Reagan had that personally, but his family did not.”
Americans, mesmerized by money, power and tragic endings, couldn't help but obsess over:
• Kennedy movies. From JFK, the 1991 Oliver Stone epic about the events leading up to the JFK assassination, to Thirteen Days, made in 2000 and set during the two-week Cuban missile crisis, the late president's life seemed tailor-made for the silver screen. Lesser known were the 1997 indie flick House of Yes and Bubba Ho-tep, a 2002 farce that featured Elvis and JFK, both alive and in nursing homes battling an ancient Egyptian mummy. The Zapruder footage remains an indelible image.
• Kennedy satire. The storied family was a regular subject; some jokes were tasteful, others not. Comedian and impersonator Vaughn Meader was a hit in the early ' 60s, when he made one of the fastest-selling records ever, The First Family. Kennedy barbs remained popular through the late ' 80s, when, in the midst of the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill hearings, the late actor and comedian Phil Hartman impersonated Sen. Kennedy drinking in a bar with another actor playing Thomas. At the time, the Supreme Court justice was only a nominee.
• Kennedy cool. Jacqueline Kennedy, John's wife, captivated the world with her seemingly effortless style and grace. Whether she wore a riding habit, casual trousers accompanied by big, round sunglasses or a tailored suit topped with a pillbox hat, women worked to emulate her all-American glamour.
Just a few years after her death in 1994, it seemed as if her fashion spirit was revived in her daughter-in-law, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. With her signature red lipstick, platinum blond ponytail and classic leather tote bags, the wife of John F. Kennedy Jr. stepped all too briefly into her late mother-in-law's role of the adored and imitated fashion icon.
• Kennedy music.Abraham, Martin and John, written in 1968 by Dick Holler, referred to Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr. and John and Bobby Kennedy. Each man had a verse. Then there was PT-109, a song by Jimmy Dean about the adventures of John and the crew of the PT-109 during World War II; a rock group irreverently named “the Dead Kennedys;” and this classic line from the Rolling Stones hit Sympathy for the Devil:
I shouted out
Who killed the Kennedys?
When after all
It was you and me.
• Kennedy rhetoric. The brothers were among the best when it came to inspirational speeches, from JFK's “Ask not what your country can do for you” inaugural address to Ted's stirring eulogy for Bobby: “Some men see things as they are and say, ‘Why?' I dream things that never were and say, ‘Why not?' ”
claudia.feldman@chron.com
