On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the John F. Kennedy Assassination, Blank on Blank has released another one of its distinctive animated videos. This one features Grace Kelly, the glamorous American actress and Princess of Monaco, contemplating her personal encounters with JFK, the heady days of Camelot, and the legacy of America’s 35th president. When asked whether the president died in vain on that day in Dallas, she offered these eloquent words:
Well, it might not seem so today, but I, for one, cannot believe that a man of Mr. Kennedy’s stature and achievements was put upon this earth for no other purpose than to stop an assassin’s bullet, or that the lesson will be wholly lost. It is only since the twentieth century that the majesty of Abraham Lincoln has been appreciated. I believe that God allows these certain tragedies to happen in order to emphasize the man and his achievements and to inspire those who follow to have the strength and the will to accomplish his unfulfilled dreams.
This interview was recorded on June 19, 1965, as part of an oral history project designed to preserve the memory of the late president. The project recorded interviews with people from all walks of life–from bus drivers to Leonard Bernstein–but, as David Gerlach, founder of Blank on Blank explains to us, few people have heard these recordings over the years. Now, however, a Boston-based radio project has turned them into an hourlong radio documentary called We Knew JFK: Unheard Stories, and it’s available online here.
You can read a transcript of the Grace Kelly interview courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum.
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