u/StellaOC

On July 3, 1999, Carole and Anthony Radziwill moved to Red Gate Farm because John wanted to spend more time with Anthony. John and Carolyn spent their last Fourth of July weekend with the Radziwills, Sasha Chermayeff and her family, Robert Littell and his family, and Santina Goodman, John's friend from Brown University, on Martha’s Vineyard.

Excerpt from What Remains by Carole Radziwill: “On the third of July we move from Mike and Diane's house to John and Carolyn's. John wants to spend more time with Anthony. I make no more excuses. He has put a bed in a downstairs room off the patio so Anthony won't have to climb the stairs. He has arranged to have Effie stay on to cook and manage the house. Anthony seems happy about the move. He finds a trainer from the gym in Vineyard Haven who will come to the house.”

Robert Littell: “I last saw Anthony over the Fourth of July weekend in 1999, when Carole brought him over to the house on the Vineyard for a visit. He was in a wheelchair and John was distraught.

That summer we spent both Memorial Day and the Fourth of July on the Vineyard with John and Carolyn, flying up in John's shiny new red Piper Saratoga. There was a flight instructor on board both times, but John was at the controls the whole time. His landings were barely noticeable, something he took pride in. None of us felt nervous about flying with John—he was the opposite of reckless, with the attitude of a cautious and serious pilot.

Although he mentioned that his new plane was more aerodynamically sensitive than his previous Cessna— "squirrelly" was his word—our four flights that summer were perfect. The Fourth of July visit was an unexpected one, a last-minute invitation that came about because Carolyn told John she'd had so much fun on Memorial Day that she wanted to do it again.

I am forever grateful to Carolyn for that last visit. It was a gorgeous and fun-filled weekend, everyone relaxed and happy to be together. When it was over, on Monday night, we said good-bye to Carolyn, who was staying to help Anthony move to Red Gate for the rest of the month. John flew us back to the airport in Caldwell, New Jersey. That's where we last saw each other. He had to stay to fill out some paperwork and clean and put the plane away, so we said our good-byes standing behind the right wing on the tarmac. Filled with memories of the wonderful weekend we'd just had, we leaned into each other and shared a hug and a handshake.

I said, stating the obvious, "That worked out nicely."
John responded, "As good as it gets."

Sasha Chermayeff: “Things were very rocky. He still had the cast on during the Fourth of July weekend on the Vineyard, and Santina and me and Robbie, we all felt it: the reason we are all here is because they can't be by themselves. He said, "I'm proud that I'm facing my demons. I'm seeing who I am." He was talking about the dark sides of being human, the shadow sides—anger, jealousy, resentment, feelings you're not comfortable with. Processing the darker things. He wanted to know himself in a deeper way, face his own contradictions. John used to say, "I want to be with my family— not my family." We were his family, but our being there also was a way to not confront what he and Carolyn needed to confront.”

….it’s interesting how differently Sasha and Robert remembered the same weekend they spent with John and Carolyn. Robert recalled it as a fun, memorable and enjoyable time, while Sasha's version painted a picture of tension and unease, with John seemingly caught up in emotional turmoil and wrestling with his inner struggles. Robert described Carolyn as genuinely excited to have them over, saying she had such a great time during Memorial Day weekend that she wanted to get together again. Sasha, suggested a very different interpretation—that John and Carolyn invited them because they couldn't stand being alone together and needed guests to act as a buffer.

Examples of what I see as Steve Gillon's whitewashing:

Gillon wrote, "It's impossible to know the intimate details of John and Carolyn's private lives, but from all the available evidence, it appears highly unlikely that John was having an affair." Yet he then goes on to speculate about their sex life, reiterate claims from Michael Bergin's book, and add his own personal interpretation, all after acknowledging that it's impossible to know the intimate details of their relationship. It reads less like a cautious assessment and more like a way to dismiss the possibility that John may have been unfaithful without seriously exploring it. Gillon also never explains what this supposed "available evidence" actually is. He simply asserts that it exists without citing or discussing it. It ends up reading like, "Trust me, bro."

Gillon also wrote, "John confessed to friends, 'I wish I could cheat on her.' But he did not want to humiliate Carolyn the way his father had done to his mother."

Again, this reads as Gillon's interpretation rather than a well-supported conclusion. When did John supposedly say, "I wish I could cheat on her"? Which friends did he say it to? Under what circumstances? Gillon doesn't provide any context or sourcing for the quote. Instead, he presents his own interpretation as fact and builds a conclusion on top of it.

Regarding John’s inappropriate relationship with Julie Baker post marriage, Gillon writes—after interviewing Baker—that, "Their friendship was completely transparent, and Carolyn even invited Julie to one of John's birthday celebrations at their apartment." What Gillon doesn't mention is what happened at that birthday party. Elizabeth Beller provides additional context, writing: "John had many female friends, which was usually fine. Until it wasn't. John had lunch with Julie Baker once a month, and Carolyn did not object. Yet, she drew the line after Julie Baker climbed into his lap during a birthday party at the loft. Understandably, Baker was then banned."

Gillon's characterization of the friendship between John and Julie as "completely transparent” is inaccurate. By omitting that incident, he presents a much different picture of the relationship than one that includes it. Gillon also mentioned: “their close friendship was no secret to Carolyn, who was completely comfortable with the arrangement." If that were true, why was Julie banned from their apartment after the birthday party?

Why didn't Gillon receive the same level of criticism for whitewashing aspects of John's life that Beller received for her book about Carolyn? Is it because people are more comfortable reading a glorified hagiography of John and tend to be less critical of him in general? The book largely glosses over John's flaws, shortcomings, and his role in the deterioration of the marriage. Instead, the blame is placed almost entirely on Carolyn. That's not surprising, considering Gillon was John's friend and seems to view him through rose-colored glasses.

Memory shared by Jim Dunham:

"I will share the brief acquaintance that I had with Carolyn during our sophomore year at Boston University. I will never forget the first time I saw her. She was sitting in an auditorium chair, leaning over the fold-over wooden writing surface, taking a test. Her long, blonde hair reached toward the floor, and then she flipped it back. She was wearing jeans that were tight at the ankles. I remember thinking, Wow.

She and I were eventually assigned to the same study group, where we worked together on an end-of-the-semester project. As a result, we spent many long hours with a few other people writing the group project. She and I ended up writing most of it because the other members of our group were less than industrious.

She was dating the captain of the hockey team. She had a very approachable personality, and she often made me laugh or smile, even when she didn't mean to. I found her way of expressing herself unique and funny in an understated way.

I remember her saying that she wanted to go into teaching, as her mother had. I also remember her talking about how her mother would zoom into parking lots and park her red sports car while Carolyn would shrink down in embarrassment. My impression was that she was neither materialistic nor superficial and did not like to draw attention to herself unnecessarily.

I never saw her lose her temper, but when I once spoke very snidely to her because I was in a bad mood, she said, "Whoa, OK, Tiger!" She was not going to allow herself to be mistreated, and I respected that.

One guy in our group named Peter once asked Carolyn to accompany him to retrieve his belongings from his ex-girlfriend's apartment. Carolyn was so offended by how his ex-girlfriend treated Peter when they went to collect his belongings that she threw her arms around him, planted a big kiss on him, and said, "C'mon, honey. We have to get going." That was her way of defending him by pretending to be his new girlfriend.

That was Carolyn to me. She was beautiful, independent, humble, approachable, a defender of others, not attention-seeking, and not materialistic. The last time I saw her was the following year, when she spotted me in the Student Union. She called my name and came over to say hi and introduce me to her boyfriend. I said hello, but I don't recall why the conversation was so brief.

I had not followed current events closely in the years leading up to her wedding, but I often wondered what had happened to her. Then I suddenly heard that JFK Jr. was engaged to a girl from Greenwich, Connecticut, named Carolyn Bessette. I don't know what happened in the years after college, but the girl I knew was someone special whom I would never forget, even if she had never become a Kennedy."

“As much as I wanted to solve another problem for John, I felt for Carolyn. While the press was interested in them as a couple, they were relentless
with her. No matter how private she and John were in their personal lives, the media wouldn't stop hounding her. The stories, the speculation, and the meanness toward her never wavered. In the past three years, the press had Carolyn getting divorced, becoming anorexic, being cheated on, cheating. Sometimes she was pregnant and sometimes she couldn't get pregnant.

Photographers followed her everywhere, including to the gynecologist's office. In fact, when the paparazzo tailing her one afternoon realized she had entered the office of an ob-gyn, he knew he hit pay dirt. He took a picture of the plaque outside the office with all the doctors' names. Because the practice had a fertility specialist, the newspaper, which ran a picture of the plaque, concocted a story that Carolyn was having trouble conceiving.

That was familiar territory for the tabloids, but even respected journalists went after Carolyn. Somehow, it was perfectly acceptable for publications such as the New York Times, New York magazine, and Newsweek to make disparaging remarks about her personality based on nothing more than how she looked in photos. Newsweek printed that "Carolyn ... has the public persona of a vaguely soulless mannequin."

Maureen Dowd wrote an insulting article in the New York Times painting Carolyn as a "cunning" woman who shared the blame for turning the serious Kennedys superficial. She quoted Edward Klein, the author of a number of books on the Kennedys—or, as John called him, "a guy who had lunch with my mother twenty years ago and has been dining out on it ever since"—who described Carolyn and John as "a 90's couple, all image and no substance. The content is gone." Over and over, people said the same thing: Carolyn wasn't good enough for John.”

- Rosemarie Terenzio (Fairytale Interrupted).

On Monday, July 19, 1999, the New York Post ran the headline “HE DIDN’T WANT TO FLY,” alongside a column by Cindy Adams claiming that “John Kennedy Jr. told a pal he didn't want to stop on Martha's Vineyard, but his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, insisted they drop off her sister.”

It’s crazy that this was published before their bodies had even been found. The bodies weren’t recovered until July 21. The speed with which the blame game began is just insane!

A little anecdote about Cindy Adams, who wrote the column: Bill Kenny, who worked with John Kennedy at George magazine on two long-term freelance assignments, shared a story about Cindy Adams and John. He said: “In most restrooms, there's reading material to pass the time—especially at George. On the floor, you could find every competitor and newspaper. One day, in the stall next to our boss, I heard him laughing. Looking down at the floor, I noticed John had the Post opened to Cindy's column. She made him laugh. At the time, she was reporting that one of his wacky cousins was on the rampage again.

I said to John, ‘I have a mind to tell Cindy not only where you read her column, but how hard you laughed at some of this.’

John, in a thug's voice, replied, ‘Kenny, if you do, you're dead!’

John also said, ‘Where else would anybody read her? This is exactly what we should do with her column.’”

May 24, 1999. Sen. Edward Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy and John Kennedy, Jr. present the Profile in Courage award to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Russell Feingold (D-Wis.)

John F. Kennedy, Jr. was an active and engaged member of the Board of the Kennedy Library Foundation. He served as Vice Chairman of the Board and as a permanent member of its Profile in Courage Award Committee. He and his sister, Caroline Kennedy, played key roles in creating the Award, which is given annually to an elected official who has withstood great opposition to follow a course of action that serves truth and justice. John and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy last visited the Library on May 23-24, 1999, to take part in the annual May Dinner and the presentation of the 1999 Profile in Courage Award to Senators John McCain and Russell Feingold.

Does anyone else find it odd that Carolyn wasn’t seated with the rest of the family? I see Edwin Schlossberg and Victoria Reggie—both Kennedy spouses—were seated on stage, but Carolyn was not. We know she attended the event, so I’m curious if there was a specific reason she wasn’t included with them. Maybe she chose not to be seated up there with them?

This was published on NewCanaanite.com on May 28, 2026 by Nick Williams, Board Governor, New Canaan Museum and Historical Society. It's a great read.

Within days of the tragedy that summer of 1999, the New York Post carried the intriguing story that the beautiful young couple were under contract to purchase property in New Canaan.  The story, titled in the Post’s inimitable way, “Estate Would Have Been Great for Kids,” was uncharacteristically fact specific:

“John F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife Carolyn were building a Connecticut dream house with everything a Camelot couple could wish for – even llamas grazing nearby. The spread has lots of rooms, lots of land, a tennis court, a swimming pool. And it’s in New Canaan, the tony town where Carolyn Bessette Kennedy spent part of her childhood and where her sister Lisa Ann lives.”

The Post story identified the property as 65 Barnegat Road, a large parcel of land at the northern tip of New Canaan, on the border with New York State. Construction there was well underway continued the story, and the Post identified the owner as Alex Kaali-Nagy, a respected architect and local builder responsible for a number of high-end construction projects in Greenwich and elsewhere in Fairfield County.

Two days later, the New York Daily News threw water on the story of its arch competitor. “Connecticut Dream House Not Theirs” screamed the headline, adding a full-throated denial by Kaali-Nagy’s PR team:

“There’s no truth to the report that Alex Khaali-Nagi was building a house for John F. Kennedy Jr. Mr. Kaali-Nagy had no relationship with Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy,” a representative of the architect said in a written statement. The News also quoted New Canaan town officials on the dream house story. “We cannot confirm reports that the Kennedys had any interest in owning property in New Canaan,” Town Clerk Claudia Weber said. And then the story slowly, softly, faded away, lying fallow for 27 years. 

Full disclosure. John was my fraternity brother at Brown (he was class of ’83; I was ‘84). The first time I met him was during my freshman year, when I went to check out the loft that he was selling. The door to his room opened and I peered through the thick haze of smoke to see John and several other brothers giggling hysterically. I ended up staying for a couple of hours. And forgot about the loft.

I would see John regularly at Phi Psi and on campus thereafter, but it was the summer of 1983 that I really got to know him. We were both taking the Stanley Kaplan prep course for the LSAT in downtown Providence. John had already graduated, and by then had arranged to work in India over the next two years for John Kenneth Galbraith, the U.S. Ambassador there and an old Kennedy family loyalist. While law school was a foregone conclusion for me, for John it was, like so many other things in his life, simply a perhaps-might possibly do-thing. I was commuting to the class from my home in Barrington, and John (who was still living in Providence with his best friend Christiane Amanpour) would save me a seat next to him. During breaks we’d talk about acting, sports, history, girls, normal stuff. Everything and anything but law or law school.

I’ll never forget the Sunday afternoon before the actual LSAT exam on Tuesday, when my mom called upstairs to say that John was on the line. I picked up and he said, “Hey have you been taking the practice exams?” quickly followed by, “Do you have any of them handy?” After a pause, and my expletive-laden response, I took pity on him and ended up schlepping up to Providence to drop off my leftover exams, telling him “Good luck Counselor” on the way out. Classic John.

When I first learned that his plane had gone missing that last millennium summer, I was in Rhode Island to attend my grandfather’s memorial service. I heard the news on a weathered AM radio at the local jewelry store, where I’d gone to purchase cuff links to replace those that I had absent-mindedly left in New Canaan. Having grown up sailing on Block Island Sound and knowing the fog that typically rolls in after dusk, enveloping everything in its grasp on a hot summer night, I knew the news was grim.

Amidst the torrent of endless media stories about the crash, the recovery efforts overseen by John’s uncle Ted, and the so-called Kennedy Curse, the Post story about 65 Barnegat rang true to me. We lived on Salem Road at the time, and I knew that John’s mother-in-law lived a half a mile down the street from us, in a lovely, expanded cape at 575 Silvermine (in fact she was friends with my own mother-in-law, who also lived nearby, on Canoe Hill Road). My wife and I had met Carolyn on the Upper West Side shortly after she had begun dating John, and her experience growing up in Greenwich certainly would have been a factor in them choosing to live in the country. 

I had lost track of John personally by then; I was a busy lawyer with three young children and a growing law practice, and he was, well, John F. Kennedy Jr. But it was nevertheless startling to think that someone who lived so fully could exit so quickly. And the thought that Mrs. Freeman had lost two daughters and a son-in-law was almost too difficult to comprehend. 

I can’t recall what prompted me to research the 1999 news accounts, but it’s likely the FX channel’s “Love Story” drama played a role. I hadn’t (and still haven’t) seen it, but it was difficult to avoid the omnipresent hype for the kitschy made-for-tv series. I’d just started contributing to this column, coping with the task of knitting New Canaan history to a good story. This had both.

I spoke with one of our fraternity brothers who had kept in regular touch with John over the years. He didn’t know anything about the New Canaan property, but it didn’t surprise him. “She couldn’t stand the fishbowl life they had in the city,” he said. “The paparazzi were camped outside their loft in Tribeca day and night.” On the other hand, he did note (correctly in my opinion) that, “John eventually would have gone crazy up there. He was a city guy through-and-through.”

I started nosing around the New Canaan real estate brokerage community. Several sources stated that that they “had always believed” 65 Barnegat was built for John and Carolyn; one well-placed realtor stated categorically that “Kaali-Nagi was building that house for them – with their direction and input.” But that was about the sum of it. No hard proof. Of course, the one real estate person that would know for sure was Alex Kaali-Nagy himself, still going strong today at 82 years, building ultra-luxury, high-end properties, often selling between $6 million and $14 million in Connecticut’s Gold Coast.

I first reached out to Kaali-Nagy through an intermediary who knows him well. Interestingly, the builder didn’t reiterate the written denial from nearly 27 years ago but, by the same token, nor did he disclose anything new; he simply said, “I can’t comment on 65 Barnegat.” I then left several messages for Kaali-Nagy, offering him the opportunity to finally put a close on the story. He never called back.

Once the house at 65 Barnegat Road was completed, the architect didn’t put it on the market for sale, choosing instead to move from Greenwich to New Canaan and live in the house with his family. He sold it in 2007.

Interesting comment on the article:

"My wife and I visited Windsome Farms, now Grace Church, a 75-acre property with the cleanest stables I had ever seen. We were told that the mansion on the property had burned down. A group of friends and I wanted to turn it into a horse club. We were horse people and had kept our horse at our residence for many years until he passed away. As we were touring the property, the agent mentioned that he had shown it to John and Carolyn the week before and that they were planning to make an offer. So, I don't know—perhaps they would have wanted the 75 acres and a new house. We will never know."

Link: Article

Excerpt about John’s political future from Sons of Camelot by Laurence Leamer, who interviewed many of John’s close friends, including Gary Ginsberg, one of the people most familiar with John’s political ambitions:

“John had an even better way to spin the end of George, and this was the most superb exit of all. What if he ran for the United States Senate in 2000 for the seat that Daniel Patrick Moynihan was vacating? John was serious about this prospect. He saw his life in five-year blocks. Half a decade was over. Time to move on. Since he was a little boy, people had endlessly hounded him about politics, and he had always said that he was not ready. The years at George had given him solid practical training for a political life. When he had interviewed Madeleine Albright, the secretary of state had been impressed that he was asking the questions not of a journalist but of an insider, questions that a senator on the Foreign Relations Committee or a White House staffer on the National Security Council might have asked. He had become a strong public speaker who was comfortable on the podium.

Gary decided that he would get an outside take on John running by asking Roger Ailes, the Republican strategist who was building Fox News into a major force in the business. Ailes wasn't advising candidates any longer, but the two friends figured that if John was serious, there was no more realistic judge of his chances. Over lunch Ailes picked his way through the various candidates and their pluses and minuses and concluded definitively that John was "a viable candidate." That may not have sounded like a ringing endorsement, but given Ailes's party affiliation and his cautious judgments, it was a decided plus.

Gary reported back to John, who was receiving other positive reports about his prospects. Other advisers were having discussions with New York power brokers. There were secret promises of support from labor officials and other New York politicos. John may still not have had the passion to go for it, but there was an irresistible quality to the idea, to the risk and excitement of it, and to the chance to do something real and good.

Beyond his own uncertainty, there were two other potential glitches in the plan, and they both involved women. One was Carolyn and the question of how she would deal with political life. If she could hardly leave their Tribeca loft, it was hard to imagine her campaigning with him and handling the duties of a senator's wife. The other problem was First Lady Hillary Clinton, who was making an inordinate number of "nonpolitical" trips to such watering spots as Binghamton and Buffalo.

John watched with growing dismay as Hillary subtly insinuated herself into what he considered his state. By dipping her toe in and out of the political waters, she shrewdly held off others who were thinking of diving into the senatorial contest. An early poll showed that most New Yorkers thought John would make a better senator, but he was not going to get into a political fight with Hillary. There was still the governor's race in 2002, and John marked that on his calendar as the next possible race.

John mentioned that he was eyeing the New York governor's race in 2002. "That's the race," John told Gary. He had stopped brooding over the Senate seat that Hillary Clinton had moved to claim. "I’m intellectually and temperamentally better suited to be an executive than a legislator," he said. "My dad didn't like it, either," he revealed, referring to his father's time in the House and the Senate.

John felt he could beat incumbent George Pataki, a bland moderate Republican who was seeking a third term. John realized that he had to get his house in order before he could make the move. He worried whether Carolyn would ever be emotionally capable of dealing with him running for office. And then there was George, which was hanging like a dark shadow over his future ambitions. "He was looking for a graceful way out of George," Ginsberg recalled.”

Another version of how they met is that they were introduced through a mutual friend. According to Billy Noonan, John was introduced to Carolyn by his close friend Billy Way (pictured above in the upper and lower left). Way also introduced John to Julie Baker and Ashley Richardson, both of whom were models, as he frequently socialized with people in the fashion industry.

In Forever Young, Noonan recalled: “We had dinner in the living room, with a fire going, and I asked them how they had met. Later, of course, there would be all sorts of speculation about that in the media. Carolyn told me that a mutual friend had introduced them. It was a guy named Billy Way, a friend of John's from Brown. That's who introduced John to Carolyn, and now I had a little fun with it. I began to tease John. ‘Wait until I tell Timmy that you couldn't get your own chick and that Billy Way had to give you one of his throwaways.’”

This account suggests they did not first meet at Calvin Klein, but rather through Billy Way. Billy was also friends with Will Regan (pictured above with CBK) and David Rabin, the owners of Rex nightclub, both of whom were friendly with John and Carolyn. Carolyn dated Will Regan on and off, and Will was also friends with Brian Steel, one of John’s close friends. Because Billy Way spent a great deal of time at Rex, that was likely where he met Carolyn. Carolyn’s close friend, Monicka Hanssen Teele, worked at Rex as the maître d’, so Carolyn was often there as well. Rex was a major hotspot for figures in fashion, music, and Hollywood. In a September 1996 New York Times article, David Rabin said, “She was one of our favorites because she was such a cool girl. She was part of the Rex family.” Rabin also recalled that John had called him to ask about Carolyn because they were good friends. “Someone was also trying to set John up with Carolyn, and he called me to ask what she was like,” Rabin said. “I was a huge fan of hers and told him that.”

Rex opened in 1990, and closed in June 1992, roughly five or six months after Carolyn had been assigned to help John select suits from the Calvin Klein menswear collection. Because of this timeline, it remains unclear whether Carolyn first met John through Billy Way or at Calvin Klein.

John, Carolyn, and Will Regan (wearing sunglasses behind John in the lower right photo above) were all present at Billy Way’s memorial on July 16, 1996, as shown in the photo above.

I believe this contradicts the idea that Carolyn “plotted” to move to New York City in order to “get” John. In reality, she simply had the right connections, and their social circles naturally overlapped. She met Gordon Henderson through Will, and Gordon was another regular at Rex. Carolyn already knew Will Regan in 1988 — possibly even earlier — before Rex nightclub had even opened. There would have been no way for her to predict that John and his friends would later become regulars there or that she and John would eventually be introduced through mutual connections.

During her 1995 interview with John, Barbara Walters asked him what his greatest fear was. John answered that his greatest fear was being faint of heart and later feeling as though he had missed an opportunity or failed to take a less-traveled path that could have led to something completely wonderful.

I thought this was very moving because it’s clear John didn’t want to live his life controlled by what others expected of him. He preferred to make his own choices, even if they were risky, so he wouldn’t later regret living according to other people’s standards instead of his own.

Over Memorial Day weekend 1999, John and Carolyn went to Red Gate Farm in Martha's Vineyard. That year, as usual, Robert Littell was there with his wife, Franny, and their two children. Sasha and her husband, Phil, and their two children were also there, and a woman friend from John's Brown days (Santina Goodman). They had all become Carolyn's friends too, and she looked forward to these long weekends almost as much as John did. They had been coming together for these weekends at the end of May since their college days. "It was such a love thing," Littell said. "There was a buzz in the air, a real buzz, and it was like, goddamn it, life is wonderful."

Littell and his wife flew up with John and Carolyn in the new Saratoga, along with John's flight instructor. John was in control the whole flight. "His landings were barely noticeable," Littell recalled, "something he took pride in. None of us felt nervous about flying with John. He was the opposite of reckless, with the attitude of a cautious and serious pilot."

During the day John led the men through a regimen of activities that included everything from tennis to water skiing, touch football to biking, kayaking to swimming. In the evening everyone sat down to dinner at a dining table above which hung an exquisite pair of mobiles that Sasha and Phil had put together with John from white whalebones that he had brought back from the Arctic.

When they talked over dinner or afterward, it was often the kind of discussion that most people had left in their college dorm room. They talked about what a good life was. They talked about fate and duty. They talked about God. They were all outspoken in their way. They had to be to be around John.

There was plenty of time for private conversation, and as they often did, John and Sasha went off by themselves. John was preoccupied with a subject that he could not bring up even around this group of his closest friends. John knew that this was the last time for a long while that he was going to have the kind of fun on Martha's Vineyard that he relished; at the end of the weekend, Anthony and Carole, his wife, would be coming up, and they would stay until his cousin died.

John's mother had invited Anthony to the Vineyard half a decade before to recuperate, and it was only right and proper that John had invited his cousin there to end his days. But this was John's playground, and part of him was uncomfortable with the fact that for the rest of the summer he would be dealing with death and dying, even on the most beautiful and blissful of days.

Late Sunday afternoon the group sat around in the living room watching the New York Knicks take on the Indianapolis Pacers in a thrilling first game of the Eastern Conference finals. Littell recalled “John had decided to take the Buckeye up for a sunset spin. I helped him pull out the machine and spread the chute on the lawn to the left of the main house. That was where John usually took off from, though it wasn't a large enough spot for a landing. I was thinking of taking a little flight myself and planned to drive to the beach to meet John and, hopefully, evade the wife's scrutiny.

Everything was in order. John checked the wind, gunned the engine, and began to accelerate across the lawn toward an incline in the terrain, just past where his wheels would leave the ground. His chute filled properly and up he went. I'd seen this countless times before and didn't think much about it until a big gust of wind blew the Buckeye a good fifteen feet to the right and into a gnarly-looking shrub. I was on the other side of the house and heard a crash. I ran to see if John was all right and found that my daughter, Colette, had gotten there first. John was slumped in the seat's harness, but he looked up when he heard Colette's little voice yelling, "John got hurt!" He smiled, obviously not wanting to scare her, and said, "Hey, Coco! I'm fine! Just a little accident. Nothing to worry about."

In fact, his ankle was crushed and his head was throbbing from the crash. He wrestled off his helmet, joking with the now assembled crowd of children that he needed a smaller head. As they carried John back to the house, he kept repeating,
"Finney, I hurt my leg. I hurt my leg, Finney. I'm fine. I just hurt my leg."

John was in considerable pain. "He put his arms around us and literally it was like 'I think I hurt my leg,' Sasha continued. "Yeah, I think I hurt my leg but I'm okay. But I've got to go to the doctor.'" Sasha and her husband wrapped their arms around John, walking him up back to the house, dragging his leg behind him.

Carolyn and Robert took him to the emergency room, where Linda, the wife of caretaker Bert Fisher, was the nurse on duty. The doctors determined that John needed surgery, which took place in New York the following week.

Heading back home from the hospital, John was in a particularly bad mood. An intensely physical person, he hated being incapacitated in any way. No doubt, he was thinking about all the things he wouldn't be able to do for the next few weeks. Littell told him he was pushing himself too hard. "No sh*t," he muttered. Effy held dinner that night until we got home from the hospital. While his friends felt sympathy for John, we were also happy to be sitting around our favorite table, awaiting another of Effy's dinners—this time, swordfish. John was quiet, but the rest of us chattered noisily.

Initially, John was angry with himself, but he never dwelled on negative thoughts, and he refused to feel sorry for himself. Instead, he viewed the accident as an opportunity. "That night, he was very emotional," recalled Sasha. Sasha lay down next to John on the living room floor, where he rested with his leg propped up next to his crutches. “I lay down next to him and put my feet up on the couch and we lay back on the floor face-to-face and held hands, entwining our fingers. He was incredibly emotional.
Tender. He was squeezing my hand really hard. Carolyn walked by and looked at us and there was this look between them. She said, "I'll be with the kids," and then she left. It felt as if she should be where I am and I should be where she is. She was furious with him, as if he'd made a stupid mistake.”

He talked to Sasha about how he needed to spend the summer with Anthony. "I am literally going to be sitting in a rocking chair next to Anthony for the next six weeks," he concluded. "And that is exactly where I belong." The plan was for Anthony to come to Martha's Vineyard for the Fourth of July weekend and spend the rest of his life there.

Shared by Barbara DeVries on her substack ‘Stupid Model’:

(Fall 1993):

Expectations for our second CK show ran high, not least because Marc Jacobs had shaken the New York fashion scene by introducing Grunge, a look far removed from our modern, stylish, carefree CK launch six months earlier. What would the new team at Calvin do, our critical audience wondered. The collection that follows a successful one is always a hard one, as the hyenas circle. But Calvin agreed that we should stay on brand and only style the jeans collection with a nod to heroin chic, but “nothing too gloomy.”

Half an hour before the show started, we were one model down. I had walked in the London designer shows more than a decade earlier, and someone suggested I should fill in. It had taken me years to get away from the image of (stupid) model and be seen as a real designer. No way was I going to save the show by compromising myself. I suggested that Carolyn was by far the most beautiful woman at Calvin Klein, and the superior choice. Danny went to find her, and I went through the rack of looks, to see if we could make it happen. Luckily, just then, Shalom came breezing in, apologetic, she’d been in Isaac’s show, and it ran late.

Carolyn and I had bonded in our dread and subsequent relief of ending up on the catwalk, and laughed that I’d tried to dump the mission on her. Shortly after the show was over, she came to me with Anne, a fashion editor from London whom I knew well from both my modeling days and later, when she reviewed my collections at the London Fashion Week shows.

“So, you’re here,” Anne said, thrilled, “I wondered who was behind all this.”

Before I really knew what was happening, Carolyn had maneuvered Anne and Roy, her photographer, into my office. She’d cleared my desk, helped Roy with his lights, and Anne was asking me questions for the article she was going to write on the “London-bred designer behind CK’s success.”

I felt uneasy, as if I was doing something illegal, overstepping onto forbidden ground. But Carolyn’s authentic rebellion and Anne’s enthusiasm were contagious and I went along, until the door flung open and there stood Paul Wilmot. Carolyn beamed at her boss, like what we’re doing here is really cool, but I knew better.

“I’m afraid we got to shut this down,” Paul said, in his usual snooty way.

I remember feeling embarrassed, as if I’d lied to Anne and I wasn’t for real, unworthy of recognition. Carolyn seemed unperturbed, like whatever, it had been worth a shot. Anne was disappointed, she’d looked forward to delivering a bit of exclusive New York gossip to her British readers. I knew all along that Calvin wouldn’t allow it. We were just trying to get away with it.

Later, Calvin took me aside. He was sort of sympathetic. Understood that Paul’s missive had been an unwelcome interruption. “But now is not the time,” he said. “Maybe later, we can do something together.” I knew later would never come. Even now, decades and several cultural/gender power shifts later, it’s still not how it works. You’ve got to write your own story, or others will write it for you, as the saying goes.

Link to Barbara’s Substack: (https://stupidmodel.substack.com/p/now-is-not-the-time)

Why Michael’s September 1997 Claim Is Hard to Believe:

In Michael’s book on page 212, he wrote “In September, as I struggled to make sense of my personal life, Carolyn called to say she missed me too much and couldn't stay away.

"I need to see you again," she said.

"What are you going to tell John?" I asked.

"I*'ve already told him*," she said. "I said I was going out to visit a girlfriend."

So, it was done. She had already decided. I couldn't put her up at my place, since I had a roommate, and we couldn't risk anyone finding out about us, so she took a room at a downscale Days Inn on Sunset Boulevard.”

So, Michael claims that sometime in September 1997, Carolyn flew to California to meet him at a Days Inn on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood — now known as the Palihotel Hollywood.

What else was happening in September 1997? The world was still reeling from the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales on August 31, 1997, and John and Carolyn first wedding anniversary fell on September 21, 1997. Why is this important to mention? Carolyn had a STRONG reaction to Princess Diana’s death and several people who knew her have written about it. Here’s what they said:

Billy Noonan: In his book Forever Young, Noonan wrote that John called him after Princess Diana died and told him “I’m not sure what I’m going to do about Carolyn. She’s really spooked now.”

Robert Littell: Robert Littell wrote in his book that Carolyn watched the coverage on Princess Diana’s death constantly after her tragic death and that Carolyn was “scared by it all” constantly shaking her head and muttering “that poor woman”.

Also, Robert wrote that he and his wife arranged for a limousine to pick them up in front of John’s apartment and take them out to dinner to celebrate John and Carolyn’s first anniversary. Rob chose the limousine to “spare Carolyn from having to stand in the street while they hunted for cabs.” However, when they arrived at the apartment and John began to climb into the limo, Carolyn “turned away and walked over to the stoop, where she sat down and told John she couldn’t do it and go with them, and she began to cry.”

John comforted her, and she then “still tentative, stood up and climbed into the limo.” Robert said the dinner went well, and Carolyn appeared to enjoy herself, seeming like her normal self by the end of the evening. Still, Robert wrote that on the ride back, Carolyn became increasingly preoccupied, saying things like how much she hated that there were photographers outside their apartment, that she was obsessed. "No, listen, Rob," she said vehemently. "They're out there every day. It's horrible."

Kathy McKeon: Jackie’s assistant mentioned in her book ‘Jackie’s Girl’, that she saw John and Carolyn on the Cape shortly after Diana died. On September 6, 1997, Kathy wrote about meeting Carolyn for the first time that weekend, noting that “Carolyn and John were about to celebrate their first anniversary” and that “it was the day of Princess Diana’s funeral in London and talk turned to the horrid paparazzi who were accused of causing the accident. Carolyn, who had seemed shy and reserved until then, opened up. She felt besieged. John was clearly worried about his high-strung bride.

"Kath, tell Carolyn how Mom used to handle them," he prompted me.. Provi jumped in to answer first, but John cut her off.

"No, wait, I want to hear from Kathy," he said.

"When she was up here, she'd leave the gate smiling, give them one good picture, and they'd let her go." I remembered.

"No!" Carolyn nearly shouted. "I hate those bastards! I'd rather just scream and curse at them."

September 19-22, 1997: John and Carolyn were in San Francisco to attend the opening of a Saks Fifth Avenue Men's Store, benefitting the Delancey Street Foundation, in San Francisco, on September 19, 1997. They stayed at the Huntington Hotel on Nob Hill. Their anniversary was on Sunday, September 21 so John and Carolyn made plans in Big Sur. They stayed at the Ventana Inn and Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur.

More details about their anniversary trip can be found in this Post

With all of that in mind, would Carolyn really have flown to Hollywood alone to see Michael at a Days Inn that September? By multiple accounts — including John’s — Carolyn was deeply shaken by the death of Princess Diana. Several people described her as frightened, fixated on the tragedy, and increasingly fearful of the paparazzi. During that period, most of her appearances seemed to be alongside John. She was with him on the Cape, with him at dinner with the Littells celebrating their first wedding anniversary, and with him in San Francisco and Big Sur for an event and anniversary trip.

That’s why Michael’s account is hard to believe. Would Carolyn really have been secretly meeting an ex-boyfriend around the time of her first wedding anniversary, especially during a period when she reportedly felt so vulnerable and unsettled?

Photo shared by Rachel DiCarlo on IG, captioned:

“Reunited with the infamous and legendary Susan Sokol — my very first boss and President of Calvin Klein Collection when I began my career in fashion sales (wholesale), all thanks to Susan hiring me in 1989! Susan ran a very tight ship and could be incredibly intimidating and stern, but maintaining the Calvin brand image in the ’90s was no small task — brand image was everything! Clean desks, a minimal and meticulous showroom… I can still vividly picture it all today. The minimal way we dressed — mainly in suits! Those years made such a lasting impression on me before I eventually moved into public relations. And also… funny story — back in the early ’90s, we used to take team photos on ‘show day.’ We called them our ‘class photos.’ The photo was the very first one I was ever part of… I was 22 years old! The OG girl power team. Such an incredible group of women — supportive, inspiring, so kind, and so much fun both in and out of work.”

In a 1996 The New York Times article, it mentioned that Carolyn was recommended to Susan Sokol by a traveling sales coordinator who had visited the Boston store. ''Carolyn fit the bill perfectly,'' said Sokol, who was then a president at Calvin Klein. ''She was absolutely charming, she was completely refreshing, she was completely outgoing. Here was a young woman, who wouldn't feel intimidated working with these kinds of people.''

I also wanted to share this memory from Barbara De Vries, who was hired by Calvin Klein in 1990 as director of design for the CK collections at Calvin Klein, from her Substack 'Stupid Model':

"I’m a few minutes late for my meeting with Carolyn. In my memory, she’s in a slightly elevated position, which can’t be right because the showroom is as flat as any room, and I am a few inches taller than her. She stands next to one of the large black display tables and smiles as if I’m a dear friend whom she hasn’t seen in ages. Her hug feels as warm and uplifting now as it did three decades ago. (It also feels melancholy, since the same memory came to me at the news of her death, only a few years later.)

Our meeting is a moment of happiness during an otherwise dreary, stressful winter day, as we’ll be spending time together choosing my Calvin Klein wardrobe for the following summer. Carolyn is wearing a forest green cashmere sweater over a long flowing CK Collection dress in a similar hue, and black leather boots. I wear a brown woolen CK Collection suit draped to fit as loose and easy as her dress. Her long hair is a tousled mix of light and dark shades of blond, the top layers more bleached than the hair below, which is the same color as mine. I have a boyish Linda cut.

We sit down at the wooden table on the infamous black floor that, for years, defined Calvin’s perfectionism. A cautionary tale for his designers, since the painters never got the color right. He wanted the darkest brown, verging on black, à la Christian Liaigre (the French architect who introduced the iconic blackened floor of the early nineties). To Calvin’s discerning eye, each new layer of the showroom floor was somehow too brown or too black, and eventually the wood was stripped and sanded so many times that it became too thin, and a whole new floor had to be installed. I tell Carolyn its history, the same way Zack had told me, like a rite of passage. We laugh, roll our eyes, and allow Calvin’s extravagance to set the tone for the spending spree that follows.

As Senior VP of CK Design, I have a large clothing allowance and twice a year, I review samples and line-sheets and pick my wardrobe for the next season. It’s the first time I do so with Carolyn’s guidance, who was just placed in charge of private orders. Together we review the Spring ‘93 collections and choose silk slip dresses, linen suits, cotton tops, jackets, pants, jeans, summer tees, linen sweaters and a long silk duster coat.

“Shall I throw in some underwear for your boyfriend?” she asks, as we finish the order. “Does he wear them? Do you like them?”

“Yes, he wears them. But no, I don’t really love it.” I say.

She frowns. “Why?”

“I just don’t like seeing the name of my boss in our bed. In my face. It kind of ruins foreplay.”

Carolyn laughs. Everyone always does. It’s my go-to joke when people ask if Alastair gets free Calvin Klein underwear."

Another memory shared by Elizabeth Hart who worked in the CK Sales Promotion & branding :

"I was there only from ’89–’91. I reported to Barry and Calvin but worked with Marty Staff, heading Sales Promotion and branding with licensees. A few of us were in temporary offices across from Barry while our offices were being built on another floor. When Carolyn was hired, she’d visit us to get away and chat, often sharing flowers from admirers. She reminded me of Elaine Irwin. She was stunning, smart, and effervescent. I loved her, and we’d walk to the train together because she was still living in CT.

I introduced her to my colorist in Greenwich, who gave her a “money piece.” I moved on and then out of state, and when I read that she was dating JFK Jr., it totally tracked. I hated that the press portrayed her as scared and shy—she was such a dynamic personality. The recent love-story craze has just made me sad. Since I worked in advertising with models over the years, people often ask me what it was like working with beautiful people. I’ve always said the most beautiful woman I ever met was Carolyn. Kelly was beautiful too—I didn’t really know her, though. I sat in a few design meetings with her, but that was about it."

I was on a business trip in California, hosted by Patrick Kennedy, when I heard the news, after Patrick left suddenly due to a “family matter.”

There’s so much more to say about my dozen years in the industry in the ’80s and ’90s. People romanticize how glamorous it must have been. It was a tough industry, but I’m grateful for the training I received, first from Ralph and then from Calvin. I used black paper clips before the memo. White flowers on ebony-washed oak. Clean necklines. Futura Light font..."

On this day 32 years ago, the world lost former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who died in New York at the age of 64 after a battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. John addressed the crowd outside his mother's apartment on May 20, 1994: “Last night at around 10:15, my mother passed on. She was surrounded by her friends and her family and her books... the people and the things that she loved, and she did it in her own way, and in her own terms.... We all feel lucky for that, and now she's in God's hands.”

Following her death, John told his friends “You don't really grow up until both of your parents are gone."

Memory of Jackie’s final days shared by her friend Joe Armstrong:

Carly Simon and I had lunch with Jackie the day before she went to the hospital for the last time. That day was hard because she had no eyebrows, no eyelashes, and an ill-fitting wig, but she wanted to be upbeat. We had to act like it was a regular lunch, but my heart was just breaking inside because it was just, "Oh my gosh, she's so different." She said to me, "Four more weeks and I get my life back." And four more weeks and she was gone. She collapsed the next day, and she was taken to the hospital, and I never saw or heard from her again.

John and I were scheduled to have lunch the day she died. That morning he called and said, "Joe, I'm not gonna be able to have lunch today." I said, "How's Jackie doing?" He said, "Well, it's like a car speeding down the highway and parts are falling off." Carly Simon came over to my house because we'd spent time together with Jackie and we were praying, and I got a call from Marta [Sgubin], who was sort of the house guru, and she just said, "You might want to come over." Carly and I went over there, and Marta said, "I don't know if Jackie would want a man to see her like this." I said, "I’ll just wait here in the living room."

I talked to John and he walked us to the door. He just said, "Mummy really loved you two." He had tears about to start rolling down his cheeks. I'd never seen him be emotional. He took it really hard. And now he had to go be composed and be the spokesman.

Robert Littell also shared: “During one of many stress-relieving racquetball games we played that spring, John told me he was grateful that if his mother had to die from cancer, at least it wouldn't be a long battle. He said that she was comfortable with her own fate and that her comfort made him feel better. John stayed by her side as much as she wanted, making his peace with things in her presence.”

Russell Simmons talks with John F. Kennedy, Jr for One World, the lifestyle and entertainment magazine launched by Simmons in 1994:

On a recent drive with John F. Kennedy Jr. and his cousin Bobby Shriver to an event sponsored by GEORGE magazine, I decided to bring up a question I've had on my mind for quite some time. The question, of course, was what was it like for him to be married after his single life? To which he responded, "It is the difference between being in a horror house and a roller coaster."

Bobby and I, being bachelors responded by asking, "Which is which?"

All jokes aside, his answer stuck in my mind and I knew that the next 411 would have to be with him.

RS: Are you a big music fan?

JFK, Jr: Yeah, I listen to music. I try to keep up with what is current. I'm interested in what people in college listen to so I don't feel so old.

RS: Do you listen to Rap?

JFK, Jr: I listened to Dre's and Snoop's records when they first came out. But basically, I'm a rock and roll fan. My musical tastes haven't changed much since college. I think people like certain music because it reminds them of how they felt when they first heard the song. Now that I'm an old married guy I want to be reminded of how I felt in my carefree days way back when.

RS: What is the one thing that stands out on your publishing venture?

JFK, Jr: The irony-in that I got involved with GEORGE, despite the fact that I'm someone who's pursued by the press, and now I'm in the press business.

RS: What made you decide to get into publishing?

JFK, Jr: I think for people who were my parent's age, politics was the venue in which people felt they could influence public opinion-now it is the media. This has a lot to do with why I am putting out a magazine.

RS: To turn people on to politics?

JFK, Jr: I want GEORGE to turn a whole different group of people on to politics, people who thought that it was dull or dry.

RS: By making it popular?

JFK, Jr: Yes. I find it interesting to play by the same rules as people who use glossy or glamorous images to promote music or movies or sports. We want to entertain people like any other magazine. And once they are entertained maybe they'll get involved and go out and vote or join a cause. Ultimately, we hope people will be less cynical about politics.

RS: What things do you consider when choosing a cover? Your covers are quite interesting and different.

JFK, Jr: Since most of our sales are generated from the newsstand, I understand the importance of putting familiar faces on our cover such as Cindy Crawford or Charles Barkley or Tyra Banks. If Strom Thurman sold issues, I would put him on the cover. But, since our goal is to sell issues, we use provocative images by using people like Cindy or Charles.

RS: After an almost notorious single life, how are you finding married life?

JFK, Jr: This would be a good thought for you to ponder Russell. A partnership makes you stronger, and in addition to feeling very lucky to find the person that I did, it is a true revelation how much stronger you are when you unite with someone else.

RS: (Laughs) When I meet that person you'll be one of the first to know.

On October 16, 1993, John was in Asheville attending the wedding of his friend Joshua Tager, whom he had known since their time together at Brown University.

The Asheville Citizen-Times reported:

“Was that really John F. Kennedy Jr. who was spotted in several downtown Asheville locations last weekend? The son of the late president was in town for a weekend wedding at the green door on Carolina Lane, behind and below the Broadway Arts Building, said Bonnie Hobbs, who runs the gallery with her husband, David.

A Charlotte couple, Joshua Tager and Jane Anne Rolston, decided to be married in Asheville, and picked the green door for the occasion, Hobbs said. Kennedy attended as a friend of the groom, she said. Hobbs didn't even realize who the guest was until the evening was almost over, but reported that Kennedy was "very nice" and agreed to pose for a photo with David Hobbs, and the green door mascot-mannequin, “Bernie."

Kennedy was also spotted Friday night at Magnolia's Raw Bar and Grille on Market Street, and stopped in for a bit at the next-door Cinjade's nightclub. Kennedy didn't reveal his identity, said Diane Blackwell of Cinjade's. Cinjade's has hosted a number of stars over the years, from actor Daniel Day-Lewis to magician David Copperfield, Blackwell said.

Kennedy has been making tabloid headlines lately for his own reported upcoming marriage to film star Daryl Hannah, but she was not seen at the green door or Magnolia's.”

Shortly after Carolyn was photographed with John aboard his boat, the PT-109, in Martha’s Vineyard and dining with him at the Menemsha Galley on August 16, 1994, where a waitress reportedly described Carolyn as “beautiful and all over him,” the couple traveled to Washington State, spending several days in and around Poulsbo.

On Thursday, August 18, 1994, John and Carolyn dined at That’s A Some Italian Ristorante. The restaurant later framed John’s dinner receipt and dedicated Table 1 to the couple. John ordered the halibut with lemon-tarragon cream sauce, while Carolyn chose the chicken piccata. They shared a bottle of Pouilly-Fuissé wine with dinner. Afterward, the couple was reportedly seen dancing in the moonlight at Liberty Bay Waterfront Park.

The Seattle Times also reported that John was spotted shopping at Red Apple, a grocery store in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood. Cashier Myron Cross recalled that John purchased picnic supplies, including Ice House beer, Sprite, cheeses, chips, and deli specialties. According to Cross, John remarked, “I come here a lot to visit family friends.”

Carolyn was later seen with John at Newark Airport following their return from the trip, as reported by the New York Post on August 22, 1994. John was also reportedly seeing Julie Baker between dates with Carolyn, and A Current Affair reporter Lucy Cornachio told Fox News that she “saw JFK Jr. running by me on the beach and I followed him down and he joined a woman who looked very much like Julie Baker, and they lay down on some towels together and they looked like they were having a really good time.” On August 27, 1994, John attended the wedding of Anthony and Carole Radziwill in East Hampton without a date.

By Jeffrey Slonim for the August 1999 issue of Manhattan File:

I hesitate to write a word on this gruesomely sad subject. We've all noticed that the people running for the media micro-phones tended not to know Kennedy and Bassette very well, and I certainly didn't. I only met him and Carolyn a couple of times. One of my jobs at Allure and a few other magazines is to interview celebrities at events. And while there are few whose media auras I respond to, my heart used to pound when I approached the hypersexy, extraordinarily-looking young beauties. Almost no one in Hollywood-and I run into almost everyone-has a similar effect on me.

When John and Carolyn attended the party for the renovation of Grand Central Station, about three-quarters of the way through the dinner, they locked hands with a row of bodyguards to scoot out of the 42nd Street entrance. But the car wasn't ready, so the couple was just standing there staring awkwardly at the glass doors while large men wearing earplug headsets surrounded them. I'd seen them at four or five other events over the years, but that night I had a vaguely appropriate question to ask. So this would be my first time. I held my breath, approached, and asked John if it was alright to ask a question for Elle Decor.

"Yeah, sure," he agreed, graciously glad-handing me.

"What's next after minimalism?" I queried.

Eunice Shriver and John's brother-in-law Edwin Schlossberg had come up with terrific answers that night. And his mother, who had helped to save Grand Central Station, was such an aesthete that I assumed that an articulate answer would be forthcoming. But the huge, handsome smile immediately shot across young Kennedy's face as he looked at me, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry," he said, "but that is just so way beyond me." He was so candid, that we both just burst out laughing.

That night, and on other occasions, Carolyn tended to touch me when she answered-or didn't answer-my questions for Allure and, of course, with the long, satiny, gloved hand on my dinner jacket, and the field of her pale décolletage and shoulders, and bright silky blonde hair, I melted.

On May 19th, George held an exceedingly glamorous dinner at the Museum of the American Indian in the old Customs House. As cocktails were coming to a close, I was standing talking to Patrick McMullan and Kenneth Cole when Carolyn glided over and began chatting about her allergies with Patrick.

“I can't sit anywhere near you at dinner," she kidded him, "because we'd just talk about our allergies all night long."

Patrick reintroduced us, and she spoke warmly and unguardedly about Allure. She was just so thin, beautiful, and elegant, she could have said anything and worn anything and I would have been mesmerized. As the stately JFK Jr. and Paul Newman and most of the other guests proceeded into the polished marble dining room for the seated dinner, I quietly headed for the stairs to the street.

But out of the corner of my eye, I saw Carolyn rushing across the room towards me. At the door, she rested a hand on my shoulder. When she started whispering to me, it felt as if my face was burning. I was in shock.

"I've heard there have been some changes at Allure," she said quietly, "and I just wanted to tell you that I really hope everything goes well for you."

It was a big night for them, and she was looking me in the eyes. She meant it, and I really admired her. I practically felt tears welling up. Sometimes it gets lonely interviewing celebrities all night, but never really connecting. This was uniquely thoughtful and kind. And it made my night, made my week, really.

I came across these three stories about John on Facebook and thought they’d be great to share. I always enjoy reading things like this, personal encounters and memories shared by people who met him.

(1): Shared by ‘John-Hunter D :

“With all the buzz over FX's Love Story, I thought I’d share my encounter. About 30 years ago or so, I was waiting tables at a place called Park Avalon on Park Avenue South. During a lunch shift, I heard a small frenzy among some of the female staff and, as it turned out, JFK Jr. had just sat down with two other men dressed in suits. This was between his lawyer days and his George days. They were having a quick business lunch and were very focused, spreading papers and files across the table. I remember they ordered right away — no small talk — and asked for the check as soon as the food arrived. They finished lunch and left quickly, as if they were late for a meeting.

When I went over to clear the table, I couldn’t find the checkbook anywhere. I checked with the hostess and the bar to see if they had dropped it off there. No. I asked the other servers and bussers if they had picked it up. No. I went to the manager on duty and told him the check was missing, and I was basically told that if I didn’t find it, I’d have to pay for it out of my own pocket. I couldn’t believe I’d been stiffed by John-John!

About an hour later, the hostess and manager excitedly called me over and said I had a phone call. It was JFK Jr. — he called me personally! He explained that when they got to their meeting and he opened his briefcase, he realized he had accidentally scooped up the checkbook along with his papers. He called to apologize and added, “I hope you didn’t get into too much trouble because of me.” He then said he would send a messenger over to pay the bill. Sure enough, a messenger showed up a short time later with a manila envelope. Inside was the checkbook, cash to cover the bill, and a handwritten note. It hangs over my desk to this day and remains a very special memory every time I look at it.”

(2) Shared by David M :

“I have a story to share about JFK Jr. from when I worked at a hotel in Boston. I’ve never really spoken about it in detail until now, but in light of FX’s new Love Story, I figured I’d finally tell it. Between 1984 and 1986, I worked at the Parker House in Boston as the night audit manager. I generally worked from 10 PM to 6 AM and, after 2 AM, I was essentially the hotel’s night manager. I saw a lot of interesting things over the years, but the most memorable was a visit from JFK Jr.

Let me preface this by saying that the owners of the hotel at the time, the Dunfey family, were very good friends with the Kennedys. Ted Kennedy was often at Parker’s Bar, and other Kennedy family members visited on occasion as well. At roughly 2 AM, while I was auditing the books behind the front desk, an American Express card landed on the counter. I looked down at the card and saw the name John F. Kennedy Jr. I was in semi-shock.

I looked up and saw JFK Jr. standing there with a male friend and two gorgeous blonde women who looked like twins. I’m a straight man, but I can honestly say JFK Jr. was the most handsome man I’ve ever seen. I don’t know for certain whether either of the women was Daryl Hannah, but I don’t think so. I was a big fan of The Pope of Greenwich Village and several of her other movies, and I think I would have recognized her. Besides, these women definitely looked like twins, and neither had the aura of a movie star.

JFK Jr. and his friend didn’t have reservations, so I booked them into two separate mini-suites for $75 each. That was the unofficial Kennedy rate at the time. I also arranged complimentary room service for them. It wasn’t required, but I knew it would be appreciated by the Dunfey family.

One final thing: after I checked them in, one of my coworkers — who was gay and a huge fan of JFK Jr. — begged me for the carbon copies of his American Express receipt slips. I’m not sure what they’d be worth now, but if my friend still has them, I’m certain they’d be something to treasure.”

(3) Shared by Darby N:

“I walked by JFK Jr and Daryl Hannah in a jetway in Denver after they disembarked from an inbound flight on their way to Aspen. I was a flight attendant on my way to my plane a little early. They were having a disagreement, and I had heard a few crumbs of their verbal sparring long before they could see me. As I passed them on the isolated, long, narrow jet bridge, I kept my eyes focused forward, trying not to give any clue that I knew who they were. Would you believe they both apologized to me as I passed? I assured them it was no problem, but I never turned around to look at them. I wanted to, but I knew it wasn’t the right thing to do.”