High life
Send in the Kennedys
Taki
The Kennedy clan has gathered in force in a Northern Irish courtroom as a back-up to their newest member, Belfast man Paul Hill, one of the Guildford Four. Hill is bat- tling conviction for the IRA shooting death 20 years ago of a former British soldier. He is married to Courtney Kennedy, daughter of Robert Kennedy, the assassinated younger brother of JFK.
The Kennedys' joining in an appeal by a convicted in-law is the stuff of Hollywood. With their two martyred members, a presi- dent and a senator, this is strong stuff. Representing the martyrs are Robert's widow, Ethel Kennedy, along with her son, Representative Joe Kennedy (D-Mass), daughters Rory, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and Kerry Kennedy Cuomo, daughter-in-law of the Governor of New York.
Ethel, Rory and Kathleen I do not know. Congressman Joe Kennedy and his sister Kerry I do, along with other members of the British-hating, Kennedys, whose shenanigans I first heard of from a Brit that had married into the clan, actor Peter Lawford. Lawford was waiting for his divorce from Pat Lawford, JFK's sister, when I met him in 1965. The Kennedys then were considered American royalty, and Bobby Kennedy was preparing a return to Camelot and a presidential run in 1968.
So you can imagine my surprise when Lawford — who spoke highly of his wife let loose on what a sick bunch of people the Kennedys really were. He may have had an axe to grind, but he impressed me as telling the truth. According to him, JFK was the best of the family by far. The father was a tyrant, the mother a cold-hearted Catholic maniac, and Bobby a hater sans pareil who passed moral judgment on peo- ple while committing adultery non-stop. Lawford liked Jackie but hinted strongly that Bobby was after her. I only met Bobby Kennedy once, at a party, and his ugly character sure came throne. He was aggressive, zealot-like, and kept badgering a Greek shipowner for money. I had met Pat Lawford and Jean Smith, the present American ambassador to Dublin the year before, 1964, at Porfirio Rubirosa's house outside Paris. Pat was nice but very ner- vous, and steadied her nerves with booze. Jean was normal but looked unhappy. Her husband Steve Smith was known as the only non-Kennedy who was treated like a member of the family. Steve was loyal and a nice guy, but the pressure of running the family fortune as well as the campaigns of the brothers eventually got to him. He became a very heavy drinker and cocaine abuser, and the cancer that killed him was attributed to his drinking and substance abuse.
In 1974, Ted Kennedy came to Athens with his nephew Joe, back then not yet a congressman. They asked me if I could organise a fun party and I did, introducing Teddy and Joe to two young American friends of my then girlfriend. It turned out a disaster. Teddy got drunk, inhaled what smelled like poppers and then tried to seduce his date, who, incidentally, almost had a nervous breakdown and flew home as a result. (She was an exchange student). Joe Kennedy lit up a joint while in a taxi with me, and complained like mad when informed by yours truly that the penalty for smoking pot in Greece in 1974 was five years in the pokey.
I also met Bobby Jr throughout the drug- gy Seventies in places like the back rooms of Xenon, the chic club at the time. Bobby was smarter than his older brother Joe, but mean-spirited, aggressive and conceited. He once asked me whether I had the bottle to keep up with the Kennedys while plan- ning to go down some rapids. Well, at least I had the courage not to take smack, as he did regularly, although he has now beaten the habit. All the Kennedys I've known have given me the impression that they are unaware that actions have consequences, including a member of their family who once walked into a back room where people were doing something illegal, and sniffed someone else's stuff. He got away with it. As will Paul Hill. Brian Shaw, dead at 21, has no rich American 'royalty' behind him. Hill's `confession' has been discredited by the film In the Name of the Father. Hollywood and the Kennedy clan rule supreme.
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