OrangeEmpire
The White Debonair
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2005
- Messages
- 74,988
- Likes
- 59
globeandmail.com: The man who says he's JFK's son
Thoughts?
The man at the centre of a John F. Kennedy mystery is revealing new details, including his name and his birthday an astonishing date should he indeed be related to the Kennedy clan.
Jack Worthington also agreed to allow The Globe and Mail to take his photograph, but only after his name was revealed by a Vancouver publication. He had been speaking with The Globe over the past few days on condition of anonymity.
The British Columbia man is asking the Kennedys to provide a DNA sample so tests can be run to determine whether there is a match with the 35th president of the United States.
President Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963 Mr. Worthington's second birthday. He presented a U.S. passport, Canadian visitor's visa and driver's licence indicating his date of birth.
Enlarge Image Jack Worthington, shown in British Columbia Tuesday night, would have been conceived a few weeks after JFK was inaugurated in 1961. (John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail)
If he is JFK's son, he would have been conceived in the early days of the presidency, about a month after Mr. Kennedy wowed the world with the words, ask not what your country can do for you ask what you can do for your country.
No proof of any connection to the late president has been obtained.
Last week, the New York Post reported that Vanity Fair magazine has been working on a story about a possible biological son of JFK living in Vancouver. The report said the man's mother was from Texas, and had been introduced to Mr. Kennedy by his vice-president, Lyndon Johnson.
Vanity Fair has been working on the story for about 18 months, according to the Post, but was holding off on publishing it after contacting Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, JFK's brother. The report indicated that Vanity Fair would print the story once proof could be found through measures such as DNA testing.
Caroline Kennedy, the one surviving child of JFK and his wife, Jacqueline, was born in 1957. John F. Kennedy Junior was born on Nov. 25, 1960, about a year before Mr. Worthington. Patrick, who died when he was two days old, was born in August, 1963. John F. Kennedy Junior was killed in a plane crash, along with his wife, Carolyn Bessette, on July 16, 1999.
JFK is reported to have been promiscuous. His conquests are said to have included Marilyn Monroe and Judith Campbell Exner, who claimed to have aborted his child.
In a statement that Mr. Worthington read to The Globe during a meeting late Tuesday, he says: Part of [Vanity Fair's] research focuses on my mother's paternal family and their history as lifelong political allies of [Lyndon Johnson] in South Texas. That research is related to the rise of LBJ and fall of JFK, which is an extraordinarily sensitive topic to Americans, so caution and analytical rigour are extremely important.
There is intense interest in the tale. The Globe took calls from many media outlets on Monday, when details of the first interview with Jack were printed, including ABC, CBS and People magazine.
As for why he is coming forward, Mr. Worthington stated: It's simply a profound duty I feel to do the right thing. Many Americans won't agree and will want to sweep the dirt under the rug. Unfortunately for them ... I'm constitutionally incapable of it. I'm a born whistle-blower. Mr. Worthington moved to B.C. about six months ago. His wife is Canadian and he indicated that his in-laws are nearby. He says he works in business, but would not elaborate.
When asked how he expects his life will change now that his identity has been revealed, he responded: Please, as little as possible. I really enjoy my life. I'm really enjoying my life as it is here in B.C.
Thoughts?
