David Anthony Kennedy (June 15, 1955 – April 25, 1984) was the fourth of eleven children of
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
and
Ethel Skakel
Ethel Kennedy (' Skakel; born April 11, 1928) is an American human rights advocate. She is the widow of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, a sister-in-law of President John F. Kennedy, and the sixth child of George Skakel and Ann Brannack. Shortly a ...
.
[
]
Life
David Anthony Kennedy, born on June 15, 1955 in Washington, D.C., was the fourth child of
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
and
Ethel Skakel
Ethel Kennedy (' Skakel; born April 11, 1928) is an American human rights advocate. She is the widow of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, a sister-in-law of President John F. Kennedy, and the sixth child of George Skakel and Ann Brannack. Shortly a ...
. As a child, David was shy, introverted and sensitive, and shared a particularly strong bond with his father.
On June 4, 1968, 11 days before his 13th birthday, Kennedy nearly drowned while he and his siblings were swimming in the Pacific Ocean near the
Malibu, California, beach house of Hollywood film director
John Frankenheimer
John Michael Frankenheimer (February 19, 1930 – July 6, 2002) was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films. Among his credits were ''Birdman of Alcatraz'' (1962), '' The Manchurian Candidate'' ( ...
, a Kennedy family friend. Kennedy had been knocked over by a wave and was trapped on the bottom by the
undertow. His father dived under the water and rescued him, scraping and bruising his own forehead in the process. Frankenheimer gave Senator Kennedy theatrical makeup to hide the bruise, as he would be appearing on television hours later.
At just after midnight on June 5, 1968, David watched on TV as his father claimed victory in the
California presidential primary election; the 12-year-old then watched as the same broadcast reported
his father's assassination moments later. The event left an emotional scar on David and he began recreational drug use shortly thereafter.
A 1973
Jeep accident left Kennedy's then girlfriend, Pamela Kelley, paralyzed. His oldest brother,
Joseph Kennedy II
Joseph Patrick Kennedy II (born September 24, 1952) is an American businessman, Democratic politician, and a member of the Kennedy family. He is a son of former United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, and he is also a nephew ...
, had been driving the Jeep and was charged with reckless driving. Kennedy suffered a fractured vertebra and
became addicted to the painkillers he was given in the hospital. He began using
heroin intravenously that autumn in his final year at
Middlesex School
Middlesex School is a coeducational, non-sectarian, day and boarding independent secondary school for grades 9-12 located in Concord, Massachusetts. It was founded as an all-boys school in 1901 by a Roxbury Latin School alumnus, Frederick Winsor, ...
, a
boarding school in
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the confl ...
. Kennedy spent two years as a student at
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
, pursuing a major in
American history
The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of Settlement of the Americas, the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Native American cultures in the United States, Numerous indigenous cultures formed ...
before dropping out in 1976. He had ambitions of becoming a journalist and spent several months as an intern for a Tennessee newspaper in 1974. Some staff there were impressed with his aptitude.
In 1974 Kennedy and his siblings were the target of kidnapping threats, and were given
Secret Service
A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...
protection.
After dropping out of Harvard, Kennedy alternated his time between the
Kennedy family
The Kennedy family is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P. J." Kennedy beca ...
home "
Hickory Hill" in
McLean, Virginia
McLean ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. McLean is home to many diplomats, military, members of Congress, and high-ranking government officials partially due to its proxi ...
, and
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
until February 1979, when he moved to New York City full-time. He was frequently seen in Manhattan discos with a succession of attractive women. His most notable involvement was with British actress
Rachel Ward
Rachel Claire Ward (born 12 September 1957) is an English-Australian , whom he met in one such establishment in 1979. In his memoir ''Symptoms of Withdrawal: A Memoir of Snapshots and Redemption'', cousin
Christopher Kennedy Lawford
Christopher Kennedy Lawford (March 29, 1955 – September 4, 2018) was an American author, actor, and activist. He was a member of the prominent Kennedy family, and son of English actor Peter Lawford and Patricia "Pat" Kennedy Lawford, who was ...
describes Kennedy as his best friend, and devotes much of Chapter 10 to their relationship with one another and the extended Kennedy family.
Kennedy was diagnosed twice with
bacterial endocarditis
Infective endocarditis is an infection of the inner surface of the heart, usually the valves. Signs and symptoms may include fever, small areas of bleeding into the skin, heart murmur, feeling tired, and low red blood cell count. Complicatio ...
, an inflammation of the heart often associated with the use of intravenous drugs. He overdosed on drugs in 1976 and 1978 and also had some skirmishes with the law, which included speeding offenses and
DUI
Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...
.
Death
In the spring of 1984, Kennedy completed a month-long stay at St. Mary's Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
. On April 19, he flew down to
Palm Beach, Florida for Easter, where several members of the Kennedy family had gathered. Kennedy checked into Room 107 of
the Brazilian Court Hotel and spent the next few days partying. On April 25, staff went to check on his welfare at the insistence of concerned family members; he was found dead on the floor of his suite from an overdose of
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...
,
Demerol
Pethidine, also known as meperidine and sold under the brand name Demerol among others, is a synthetic opioid pain medication of the phenylpiperidine class. Synthesized in 1938 as a potential anticholinergic agent by the German chemist Otto Eisl ...
, and
Mellaril.
David was interred on April 27 in the family plot at
Holyhood Cemetery in
Brookline, Massachusetts.
See also
*
Kennedy family tree
*
Kennedy Curse
The Kennedy curse is a series of premature deaths, accidents, assassinations, and other calamities involving members of the American Kennedy family. The alleged curse has primarily struck the children and descendants of businessman Joseph P. Kenn ...
References
External links
David Kennedy website*
* ''Growing Up Kennedy: The Third Generation Comes of Age'' by Harrison Rainie and John Quinn, 1983
* ''
Life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...
'' special issue, ''The Kennedys: The Third Generation'', 1997.
* ''RFK: A Candid Biography of Bobby Kennedy'' by C. David Heymann (Pages 516 - 521), 1998
* ''Searching For The Impossible: The Quest To End All Addiction'' by Dr. Meg Patterson (pages 152-163), 2006.
* ''The Kennedys: An American Drama'' by Peter Collier and David Horowitz, 1984.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, David
1955 births
1984 deaths
American Roman Catholics
Harvard College alumni
Cocaine-related deaths in Florida
Drug-related deaths in Florida
American people of Irish descent
American people of Dutch descent
David Anthony
People from Washington, D.C.
Robert F. Kennedy
Middlesex School alumni
Burials at Holyhood Cemetery (Brookline)