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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, a ...
and Ethel Skakel.


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, a ...
and Ethel Skakel. 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 Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Motors ...
accident left Kennedy's then girlfriend, Pamela Kelley, paralyzed. His oldest brother, Joseph Kennedy II, 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 Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and br ...
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 A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of " room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exte ...
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 conflu ...
. 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 the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Numerous indigenous cultures formed, and many saw transformations in the 16th century away from more densely ...
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 be ...
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 prox ...
, and
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
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, 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 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, 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 Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intracoa ...
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 Ame ...
, Demerol, and Mellaril. David was interred on April 27 in the family plot at Holyhood Cemetery in
Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Allston, Fenway–Kenmore, Mission Hill, Jamaica Plain, and ...
.


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. Ken ...


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 signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy ...
'' 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)