Reel 1270G

Unauthorized biography of Sen. Edward Kennedy.

The American Experience

series: THE KENNEDYS; close up; AMERICAN EXPERIENCE (CC); SUN. 7 PM WED. 10:35 PM; Part 1; Return: The series' fifth season begins with a two-part chronicle of a political dynasty. Part I examines how patriarch Joseph P. Kennedy used guts, guile and a genius for self-promotion to become "the richest Irish-American on earth" and propel his ambitions for himself and his sons. Discredited by some as an oppressor and a defeatist while serving as ambassador to Great Britain at the start of World War II, Kennedy—following the wartime death of the oldest of his nine children, Joe Jr.—poured his energy, influence and money into the political campaigns of his second son, John. The second hour traces JFK's rise as a national figure; his health problems, which remained largely a secret outside the family; his narrow—and still controversial—win over Richard Nixon in the 1960 Presidential race; the April 1961 Bay of Pigs fiasco, which brought the new Administration "to the brink of disaster"; and the growing influence of his brother and top advisor, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. "Bobby is the first in and the last out," then Vice President Lyndon Johnson told a friend. "And Bobby is the boy [JFK] listens to." Among those interviewed are Sen. Edward Kennedy, former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, JFK's press secretary Pierre Salinger, and JFK confidant and advisor Clark Clifford. Stacy Keach narrates. (2 hrs.)

"I remember leaving the White House at the end of that Saturday," former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara says, "and thinking that might be the last sunset I saw." That day—Oct. 27, 1962—found the U.S. and the USSR on the verge of nuclear confrontation. Cuban Missile Crisis: At the Brink, one of several specials commemorating the 30th anniversary of the crisis, traces "the miscalculations and mistakes" that precipitated the emergency and the tense negotiations that defused it.—8 PM 7

Unauthorized biography of Sen. Edward Kennedy.

The American Experience

series: THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE; 2-Parts.

Unauthorized biography of Sen. Edward Kennedy.

The American Experience

series: THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE; SUN. 7 PM WED. 10:35 PM; Part 1; Return: The series' fifth season begins with a two-part chronicle of a political dynasty. Part I examines how patriarch Joseph P. Kennedy used guts, guile and a genius for self-promotion to become "the richest Irish-American on earth" and propel his ambitions for himself and his sons. Discredited by some as an aggressor and a defeatist while serving as ambassador to Great Britain at the start of World War II, Kennedy—following the wartime death of the oldest of his nine children, Joe Jr.—poured his energy, influence and money into the political campaigns of his second son, John. The second hour traces JFK's rise as a national figure: his health problems, which remained largely a secret outside the family; his narrow—and still controversial—win over Richard Nixon in the 1960 Presidential race; the April 1961 Bay of Pigs fiasco, which brought the new Administration "to the brink of disaster"; and the growing influence of his brother and top advisor, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. "Bobby is the first in and the last out," then Vice President Lyndon Johnson told a friend. "And Bobby is the boy [JFK] listens to." Among those interviewed are Sen. Edward Kennedy, former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, JFK's press secretary Pierre Salinger, and JFK confidant and advisor Clark Clifford. Stacy Keach narrates. (2 hrs.) 2-Parts.

"I remember leaving the White House at the end of that Saturday," former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara says, "and thinking that might be the last sunset I saw." That day—Oct. 27, 1962—found the U.S. and the USSR on the verge of nuclear confrontation. Cuban Missile Crisis: At the Brink, one of several specials commemorating the 30th anniversary of the crisis, traces "the miscalculations and mistakes" that precipitated the emergency and the tense negotiations that defused it.—8 PM