Jul 26 2001
Leo vs. JFK Jr.
It’s been two years this week since the world said goodbye to John F. Kennedy Jr., who died in the crash of his private plane along with his wife and sister-in-law. I was in England when it happened and could hardly believe it. As Rufus says, nature abhors a Kennedy. It is amazing that one family should suffer so much tragedy (and notoriety).
Did anyone else catch the original “Four Women and a Funeral ” episode during the second season of “Sex & the City”? Samantha gets caught kissing a socialite’s husband and is summarily placed on the black list of New York society. Finally, she is brought back to social life and acceptance by JFK Jr. — in the original version. In the version shown now and, disappointingly, the version out now on DVD, she is brought back by Leonardo di Caprio. What could be more absurd? The calibre of people Samantha is trying to impress — the Auchinclosses, the Mellons, the Astors — are completely unimpressed by upstart young movie starlets like Leo. They would hardly be impressed by Paul Newman or Gregory Peck. These people care about family history and breeding more than money. The Kennedys are usually referred to as America’s royal family, which is why JFK Jr. was the perfect choice to redeem Samantha. I assume HBO replaced him with Leo because they thought it was an insult to his memory, but I think the real insult to his memory is replacing him at all, let alone with someone whose star shines so much dimmer.