All language subtitles for American.Prince.JFK.Jr.S01E03.540p.X265.AAC.[9jaRocks.Com]_track3_[eng]

♪

I never understood why
he needed to take up flying.

I said to him like,
"john, come on.

Look, I know you
pretty damn well.

You know, it's like,
it's not in your --

Not your sweet spot."

And he said to me,
really interestingly,

"it's the only place
where I can go

Where I'm left entirely alone.

♪

"I love the silence.
I love the solitude."

It was a pure escape for him.

How do you argue with that?

♪

Gillon: One of the things
I did not know about john

Was how difficult
that last year of his life was.

The magazine is failing.

John is lying around
trying to find investors.

His marriage was falling apart.

Reporter: Jfk jr. And new wife
headed for splitsville

After just four months.

It seems to kind of be
a typical tiff of things

That go on between
the two of them.

Gillon: And his best friend
and cousin,

Anthony radziwill, was dying.

Man: Anthony,
you all set now?

The symbolism of flying,
psychologically, is power.

It's control.
It's navigation.

A time for john to be
just with himself,

His own thoughts,
his own feelings.

John will forever love flying
because he felt free.

♪

♪

You don't call women [bleep]
you don't call women [bleep]

Your mother ever
tell you that?

Reporter: Dumping a bucket of
water on a prying photographer

Probably wasn't what
"john-john" had in mind

To get some r&r.

So why does john have
such a short fuse lately?

Well, there have been reports
of possible trouble in paradise.

Ginsberg: You know, it seemed
like a storybook marriage.

It's just, you know,
beneath the surface,

Every relationship is
complicated.

Jfk jr. And bride...

Yeah?

Talking bust-up.

No way.

Yeah.

Oh, come on.

South: She loved john.
I think john loved her.

They both knew what
their life was going to be like.

But to take that on and succeed
or fail when you're them

And surrounded
by all that magnification,

I think it's an altogether
different level of pressure.

Reporter: One reason carolyn is
able to travel these days

Is that she recently quit
her job

As a public-relations executive
at calvin klein.

Radziwill:
She had left calvin klein,

So she was at an
inflection point in her own life

And trying to decide
what she was going to do.

Ginsberg:
It was hard for her to work.

In the business that she was in,
you're dealing with people

Who your job is to kind of put
them at the front and center

Of every single conversation.

And to have an employee
working for you

Who overshadows you,
no matter who you are,

Is antithetical to the job.

After the first year,
I was down at their place,

And she must have given me
10 prada suits and

Coats and everything.

She's like,
"I'm never going to wear this."

And I was like,
"I'll wear all of this."

[ laughs ]

She had left everything she knew
up until that point in fashion

And she was just married

And just not used to
that level of scrutiny.

Ginsberg: Carolyn was young
and smart and ambitious

And had a big brain
and, I think,

Really wanted to do things
and to kind of have a big life.

And it's tough
when you go from that

To suddenly being overwhelmingly
known for one thing.

Radziwill: It just felt
sometimes unbearable.

I know it sounds weird,

Because it's like
it seems glamorous, maybe.

But it's not.
It's really intrusive.

This was a woman who had
great confidence and self-esteem

And very grounded, and even I
could see it wears on you.

You start feeling
a little bit insecure

And you always have to look
a certain way.

It was very intense.

Brown:
She was very neurotic.

And as we've seen, you know,
with meghan and harry,

There was quite a lot
about carolyn bessette

That was a bit meghan-ish,

That she had sort of wanted
in for all of these reasons

Of glamour and elegance.

But that came
with so much pressure

In terms of placating
the monster of the media,

That she sort of fell apart,
really.

In the later part
of their lives,

John and carolyn
really begin to argue over this,

Because, yes,
the celebrity is necessary,

It is valuable, but
not at the risk of your life.

But last week, lee radziwill
just made a statement

That the family
didn't really like her.

And then, around two weeks ago,

There were reports that
carolyn was in some paris bar,

Necking with a guy.

And I think that creates
a kind of tension

That is unimaginable
for most people

As they think about
these kinds of situations.

Radziwill:
John couldn't understand,

Being a very privileged male,

He had no sense of what
the press would say about her.

I remember we
came up with a plan

That every day, she would wear,
like, the same levi jeans

With boots
and a white button-down.

There's a lot of pictures of her
with, like,

White button-down shirts
and blue jeans.

And then she thought, because
if she wears the same thing,

They would just tire
of taking pictures.

But they never tired.
Not once.

You know, she was a commodity.

This is john kennedy here,
speaking from nbc news.

Oh, boy.
Can you help me?

Anthony!

Ginsberg: All of this
was against the backdrop

Of anthony having cancer.

And so while this was going on,

It was interspersed
with a lot of time

Spent at
columbia presbyterian hospital

While anthony got chemo.

And it was a very,
very tough period.

Radziwill: I mean,
it was heartbreaking.

They were really close.

They were best friends
and cousins.

John couldn't believe
it was going to happen.

And I think part of it
was like

He had experienced
a lot of tragedy,

And it becomes your memories.

And anthony was so handsome,
so young, and strong,

And he just refused to believe
that anthony was going to die.

It was so difficult for him,

And this was a physical
embodiment of another death.

♪

♪

I came at this
as somewhat of a novice,

So I didn't really --
I hadn't -- we had --

My partner and I,
michael berman,

We had an idea, and --

But we didn't know quite how
it would show in the real world.

So, yeah -- and I mean, I still,
you know, every month, it's --

I haven't really
gotten rid of the jitters.

Radziwill: He was right at
a crossroads

Of saving his magazine.

I think because it was new

And like anything that's
new and different,

People are a little skeptical.

And it's a start-up
business, right?

I think people understand
what that is more now.

There's, like --
he was an entrepreneur,

And it was a startup business.

And I think it was
at an inflection point

Where people weren't quite sure,
"is this going to be something?"

He definitely had
the right concept,

That politics and entertainment
were fusing,

But he was also editing
in the era of bill clinton,

And the biggest story
around bill clinton was monica.

I did not have
sexual relations

With that woman, miss lewinsky.

Thank you.

And he didn't want to
go there,

Because he was
too much of a gentleman.

So, the shock here
at the white house this morning,

The independent-counsel
investigation now expanded

To include allegations
of sexual misconduct

By the president
in the white house.

She is somebody
who the media treated terribly.

Did you see monica's
new hairdo,

All slicked down
with that hair gel?

At least I think it was
hair gel.

Larry king:
Why is this funny?

Jon stewart:
Why is it funny?

Larry: Why is it funny?
I mean, it's tragic.

Jon: No one gets hurt.

Soren: Her whole life
was turned upside down.

And who was the person
in a position of power

In that relationship?

It was not her.

I wonder if we aren't
going too far in terms

Of excavating the sexual
history of monica lewinsky.

We've seen stories
quoting ex-boyfriends

About what she
did as a teenager.

♪

John kennedy sr.
Had all kinds of

Lurid affairs in and out
of his marriage,

But none had been
in the white house,

While president,
covered with such,

At that moment, seemingly
ghastly graphic specificity

As what had happened
with monica lewinsky.

Ginsberg: You know, having to
grow up with all the suggestions

About his father and fidelity,

I don't think
john wanted to re-examine it.

And I think that infused how
he approached covering clinton

And a story that
otherwise would have been

Kind of tailor-made for george.

Carter: It was simple. The
country was obsessed with it.

And, as we discovered,
it had legs.

It had, you know,
20 years of legs to it.

But that's the part of the issue
is, if your named kennedy,

You're not going to go after the
sitting democratic president.

Can you talk to us further
about the mentality

At the white house tonight?

They're very worried
about all of this,

The accumulation of events.

They're worried
that the charge,

Obstruction of justice,
a cover-up.

That should have been,
like, the story

For george magazine in 1998.

It just should have been.

But, god almighty,
what a mistake.

I mean, was it like, "oh, no,
that's too undignified"?

Well, dude, you
started this magazine

That is about the undignified
nature of stars and starlets

And celebrity

That have nothing to do with
the substance of politics.

Why is this the line
you draw now?

"are politicians celebrities?

These days, politicians,
like celebrities,

Are as newsworthy
for their private conduct

As they are
for their public duties."

"so why do we hold them
to a higher standard

Than the other glitterati
who are famous for being famous?

And don't tell me it's because
politicians are role models.

That solemn fraud is obsolete."

What mother wants her child to
grow up and become a politician?

It might still be an honorable
profession, but it is combat."

You know, when you are in this
family of political celebrities,

It seems to me you're in
a pickle from the get-go,

And you better have figured out
what you think about it

And what you're going to say
about it.

And if that had been
a republican president

With a 22-year-old intern,

I'm sure they would
have covered it like crazy.

But that's where, like,
not having worked in a magazine

Might have hindered him.

He should have had, like, a
great number two who would say,

"no, this is not the best idea"
or "this is a good idea,"

Because he was probably
just too much in charge,

And you want a lot of people
around you.

You want people around you

Who fold their arms
and come into your office

And say,
"this is a terrible idea."

And then you realize,
"okay, it's a bad idea."

Imus: Well, did
you notice any --

Has it had any impact
on your magazine?

Kennedy: I'm not
sure if the majority

Of the people
in the country --

I mean, certainly, there
are those who care,

And I'm not saying it's not
something not to care about,

But, clearly, if you're in
the journalism business,

It is a much more
riveting story

Than if you have
kids in college

And you're trying to make
payments on your house.

Ginsberg: We didn't
cover it in any kind of

Provocative, colorful way.

You know,
I think people started --

They were expecting to see it,
they didn't see it,

And I think it was
a disappointment.

Leno: Thanks so
much for coming.

Kennedy: Thank you so much.

Leno: A pleasure
to meet you, finally.

Brown: I think it was
a big problem for him.

Clinton began the absolute sort
of cultural change in which,

You know, sex and scandal
and the melding of those things

Became so much a part of the
reporting that we were doing.

That didn't really fit with
the jfk jr., you know,

Ethos, in that sense.

He was too much of a kennedy.

So, in the end,
it wasn't going to work for him,

I think,
as a magazine editor.

♪

♪

I mean, sometimes, I look back,
especially that summer,

And it feels like a film almost.

It feels like a story
that happened to somebody else

Or, like, some weird fever dream
that I'm going to wake up

And be like, "that was intense,"
but I never did.

One of the great lucky
things about being in my family,

Which I'm --
which has stayed.

That gathering
concept, right?

Yeah. Yeah.

It is familial, right?

Mm-hmm. Yes, it is.

It's a touching
family too, right?

Very much so.

The family and the cousins
and making a kind of a

Sense of community, especially
in the summertime.

Radziwill: Anthony had had
cancer for over five years

At that point.

He had started chemotherapy
and radiation

And all these
experimental drugs.

But by the summer of '99,
it was very clear

That he was probably not going
to make it through the summer.

And that's
why we moved up to the vineyard.

John was, like,
resigning to the fact

That anthony was likely
not going to make it back

To the city
at the end of the summer.

And then john broke his foot,
and that was just a disaster.

It was memorial day weekend,
I think.

He would get on
this contraption.

Man: It doesn't
take off real easy,

Unless you get
too much gas in it.

Radziwill: I used to call it
a flying lawnmower.

It looked like a lawnmower.

Man:
Good. Good job.

But I'll tell you,

The damn thing could fly
10,000 feet in the air.

Man: That's good.

Forget how powerful
that motor is.

It wants to go up.

I remember him trying one
weekend to get me to go on it,

And I'm like, "fuck that."

Like, "I'm not going on
that thing."

And he landed awkwardly
and he just broke his ankle.

It was, like, a fluke.

Like, a stupid, stupid thing.

I feel like that was,
like, a turning point.

Like, I remember carolyn calling
from the hospital,

And she was crying because
she knew the implications

Of john having to be in a cast
for two months.

Yeah, I'm in a cast.
I broke my ankle.

I was playing sports first
weekend of the summer,

And I'm laid up
for a couple weeks.

John getting hurt
was a big deal,

Because john was such
an active guy.

He loved to play.

♪

I didn't have a hint

That any of the other stuff
was going on.

John was
one of these guys who --

Just always optimistic,
always hopeful.

Despite all this enormous pain
that was going on in his life

And the pressure
that was on him,

You know, he never revealed it,
I never saw it.

Larry king: Are there
ever days you say,

"I wish my name
were david?"

No. I'm pretty happy
with what it is.

I mean, if you're asking
if it's hard being me --

Well, it's brought
you a unique life.

Yeah, absolutely.

And great opportunities
and some challenges.

But all in all,
I feel very fortunate.

So it's not so --
it's not so bad.

I only saw john cry one time,
and it was that summer.

Like, really cry.

We were at the beach,
and anthony took his shirt off.

And you could see his chest
was all marked up with scars

From so many operations.

And he was pretty thin
at that point.

And I don't know.
I think the visual, for john,

He just, like, fell to the sand

And just put his head in
his hands and was really crying.

And thank god anthony
was a little ahead of him

And the sound of the waves
were covering up the cries,

But I could see what
was happening.

Anthony -- he was really
the brother he never had.

And I think carole was a real
part of john and carolyn's life

Because they were preparing
to basically take on

Carole as some extension
of their life.

That whole month of June
was really brutal for him.

John was also trying
to save his magazine,

And carolyn was trying to help,

But then, like,
being frustrated at him

Because he wasn't acknowledging,
at that point

In the beginning of the summer,
that anthony was dying

And that he needed to focus
and spend time with anthony.

He was really focused
on the magazine,

And she was really focused
on the magazine.

I feel like it was just
as much her baby as it was his.

Ginsberg: John wanted her
to be a part of the magazine,

Liked her being around.

So it just naturally happened.

She took a particular interest
in the look

And the feel of the magazine,

Spent a lot of time
in the art department.

South: George was meant
to be this collision

Of politics and pop culture.

I think carolyn knew it
in a way that was very immediate

And loved that part of it.

And I'm sure it was a source
of irritation for people

That worked at george
as it is in any situation,

When the kind of boss' wife
has a strong point of view

About things.

And she had a strong
point of view about things.

She was good,
I mean, but sometimes a little

Brutal in her assessments.

Depaulo: Carolyn was
in and out of the office,

But I knew her more from parties
like the correspondents' dinner.

He'd say, "I'm sitting you
next to my wife,

Because she'll have fun
with you."

And we did have fun. We'd, like,
go out and sneak cigarettes.

She was great.

I mean, look,
was she a total

Pain in the ass
to certain people in there?

Yeah.

It was a problem
for michael.

Welcome.
My name is michael berman,

And I am the co-founder and
executive publisher of george.

Gillon: The two of them
together created george.

When john and I first began
to talk about the magazine,

The experts, early on,
advised us,

"never go into business
with a friend."

There would have been
no george magazine

Without michael berman,

And there would have been
no george magazine

Without john kennedy.

They hadn't worked
a lot of things out,

And there are
very different expectations

About how you do that.

It's a constant source
of tension in the magazine,

And michael berman

Wanted john as the editor
to commission stories

And to write stories that would
reflect the uniqueness

Of his life growing up.

And john just had
no interest in doing that.

But there was always
this pressure on john

From every direction for him
to make it more about himself.

David pecker,
the c.E.O. Of hachette,

Would put john on the cover
every day with his shirt off.

That's the magazine they wanted.

Say you have a fight,
michael, over the next cover.

Let's say? I think we've
had about four today.

Advertisers then
re-negotiated their fees.

George was not getting
the amount of money

It was getting before.

Michael was hearing this
from the advertisers --

"it's not distinctive enough.

We wanted a magazine
that had more john in it."

And so michael
was getting that pressure.

And then their own
personal dynamic changed,

Especially when carolyn
comes into the office

And starts getting involved
in some editorial issues.

You know, a partnership
is really difficult,

Especially when you
know the other person

And, you know, you
had a friendship

Before the partnership.

Carmody: John was afraid of
being seen as a business shill.

He wasn't used to having to ask
people for favors.

He was used to people
asking him for favors.

...Wasn't getting the readers.

It wasn't getting
the advertisers.

South: Just by nature
of that business,

Everybody is chasing newness.

Advertisers were horrible then,

And carolyn knew that john

Could be a little princely
about things.

And I think carolyn certainly
knew how the system worked.

I'm sure carolyn
was a taskmaster

About that stuff with john.

If people call 316-8735,

They'll be able to get
a subscription to george.

King: An 800 number -- did you
think it would come to this?

Kennedy: Spoken
like a true publisher.

Gillon: Michael berman believes
that george has no identity,

No definition separate
from other magazines.

And he's coming
to editorial meetings

And trashing the writers.

And it got to the point
where john was actually

Holding editorial meetings
at a hotel across the street.

You're having fights.
How is it --

Absolutely.

It makes for a
great partnership.

Who wins?

It depends.

You know, some --

The better party
usually wins,

And that's the great thing
about a 50/50 partnership.

Gillon: You know, in most
magazines, you have a publisher

And then you have an editor.

And because john and michael
were both partners,

Michael wanted to be involved in
every decision that john made,

Including editorial.

His battles with michael berman
culminated in a shoving match

Where john ripped
michael's shirt.

Michael chased john across
the floor of george magazine.

And when john
went into his office,

Michael was trying
to pick the lock to get in.

It was really
an explosive relationship.

Imus: How are things
at the magazine?

We had a big
power struggle there

Last time we
talked, right?

Kennedy: No, I mean,
I think we had, um --

What's the term of art? --
Creative differences.

Anthony: I believe the fights
that took place at george

Were about the editorial.

They were really having
fights up there every day,

Physical fights.

There was enormous pressure.

John -- when he was mad,
he could be raw.

He and michael?
It was a fucking disaster.

It just went from bad to worse,

And eventually michael
left the magazine for good.

I feel like the vision
for the magazine

Got really blurry
after michael left.

♪

♪

King:
Who runs the show?

Berman: Should we
both answer at once?

Ohh.

Carmody: I think
they started going wrong...

...Right when michael left.

Now, you're a friend
of his, right?

Absolutely. Some days.

How do you -- [ laughs ]

Michael and john's
relationship

Had deteriorated before that.

And also michael was
the gatekeeper for john.

He would be the one
to go to john

And say, "you have to do this,"
or, "you have to do that."

Lamb: Does the
magazine make money?

Uh, not quite yet.
Soon.

Lamb: When do you
think it will?

Well, I mean, usually it
takes about 10 years or so

For a magazine
to get into the black.

Gillon: He was down.

He was tired.

He had just gotten a letter
from hachette

That shook him up.

And he said,
"come back to the apartment,

And I want you
to read the letter

And give me, you know,
fresh eyes."

And carolyn comes in,
and she's smoking a cigarette.

She's wearing
a columbia university

Oversized sweater.

And I'm trying
to read the letter,

And she's like, "john,
everybody [bleep] you, john.

You let everybody [bleep] you.

You got to start [bleep]
people back, john."

With carolyn, I mean,
it's obvious from what I saw

That there was, you know,
issues there.

He was trying
to keep the magazine alive,

And it was failing.

It was clear that hachette

Was not interested
in publishing the magazine.

Reporter: Stars and gossip
hasn't increased

The magazine's readership
or ad sales.

Monthly circulation hovers
at about 400,000.

Kennedy recently said
it would take a circulation

Of about 600,000 for
george to turn a profit.

With george,
I definitely sensed a stress

That I never sensed when we were
in college, law school,

The d.A., never.

You know, I'd known him at that
point for 20 years, I guess,

And I'd never sensed

That he felt professional
pressure until george.

You know,
now he's in his mid 30s.

"I'm gonna devote
however many years

I need to devote
to make this work

So that I can get on
to the next,

More important part of my life."

King: Your own interest in
politics -- you write about it.

You were raised in a
family that lives off it...

Mm.

...And on it and
through it and with it.

Mm-hmm.

What about you?

The old definition
of politics

Was that you bring it
at the end of your life,

When you really have
something to sort of offer.

And maybe that's
a good thing for me.

I think that just added
to this sense

That he's the chosen one.

He believed
that he was the heir apparent.

[ cheers and applause ]

I never looked so good.

[ laughter ]

Reporter: Kennedy even hired
political figures

To jazz up the magazine.

Former u.S. Senator al d'amato

Dispenses advice in his column.

Ginsberg: He was looking
at the political horizon.

What al d'amato had been
kind of encouraging him

Was to run for office.

At some point in time,
there's going to be a vacancy.

And so who knows?
It may be john kennedy.

What do you think, john?

Not today, certainly,
and not --

Not while we have such an
exciting roster of columnists.

[ laughter ]

On saint patrick's day 1999,

He met with a powerful leader
of a new york labor union,

Who said, if john were to run,
he would throw his support.

And he sent a message to
hillary clinton not to get in.

Reporter:
On February 16, 1999,

Hillary clinton confirmed
she was considering

Running for the u.S. Senate.

Well, I mean, listen, it's made

A otherwise humdrum race

Into something
that is truly exciting

And has engaged new yorkers
of all stripes.

But john didn't want to be
in the senate.

He was gonna run
for governor of new york.

And I'm not being coy here,

But if it changes
into something else in --

In a number of years, great.

And if it doesn't,
then I have no complaints.

He was now ready to serve
the public in a meaningful job.

You know,
he looked at his father's career

And had heard enough

About how his father
was frustrated

Being a house member
and a senator

Because of the tedium
of legislative hearings.

If he had a choice,

He'd much rather be
in an executive role

Than in a legislative role.

So what john, I think, realized
from george

Was what a good leader he was,
a leader of men and women,

That he could inspire,
he could set agendas,

He could set priorities and
then let others execute on that.

John's greatest accomplishment
was his ability to navigate

These pressures that were placed
upon him by everybody

And come up with
a true identity.

And it took him
a long time to do it.

And one of the many tragedies
of his death

Was that he had finally
figured it out.

He had finally decided that,

"yes, I want to get
into politics."

Do you still use the "jr."?

Sometimes, but generally not.

King: You're your own
man, aren't you, john?

You are your
own bewilderment.

We'll be right back.

He's in the right
business -- media.

We'll be right back.
Don't go away.

♪

Radziwill: Ironically and -- oh,
it's sort of awful to think --

But what would be
the last week of his life,

He was writing anthony's eulogy.

And carolyn was really glad
about that

Because he was finally coming
to terms

With the fact
that anthony was going to die.

And he struggled with it
so much.

The heartache that he was in
over his cousin dying

And the pressure and the stress
he was feeling

Over trying to save his magazine
at the same time.

Brown: You know,
I think that john kennedy

Loved that magazine.

It was also a major
embarrassment for him

If the magazine folded,
and everybody would have said,

"you know,
'gilded kid' couldn't do it."

He would have had to find
someone to buy it,

I think,
to get out from under.

Reporter: George achieved
a circulation of 420,000,

But it's been struggling,

Its publisher weighing
whether to drop it.

And in recent weeks, kennedy has
been looking for other partners

In an effort to keep
his creation alive.

I knew that john was looking
for new owners for the magazine.

Hachette had already told him
a few months earlier

That they were no longer
gonna finance it.

If he wanted to keep it alive,
he had to finance it on his own.

James murdoch
and lachlan murdoch

Were interested
in taking a look at it.

Announcer: John kennedy jr.
In the ballpark tonight.

So I was like, "hey, john, let's
just go to this yankees game

With lachlan and james."

Lachlan and james
chatted with john,

You know,
during the break in innings.

Um, it wasn't gonna go anywhere.

I could tell.

He had to make a graceful exit
out of that

Into a political future.

This was actually
the last night of his --

Last full night of his life.

He was gonna fly the next day,

Friday night, the 16th.

It was just, you know,
one of those phone calls

That you dread.
Immediately, you know.

It's 11:00 or nearly midnight
Friday night.

And john's friend pinky
was calling from hyannis airport

Saying, "they're not here.
Are they there with you?"

And I mean, even like --
oh, my god --

25 years later, I still get,
like, this pit in my stomach.

And then I went
into the kitchen,

And I just started
making phone calls.

And, you know, I was a reporter,
so I knew how to get

Information from people.

And I just started calling --

You know, I called everybody,

The coast guard, the faa,
logan air traffic control,

Caldwell airport,
hyannis airport.

Every call I made was just
more bad news, more bad news.

Called caldwell,
and I got a janitor.

He said, "I see his car.
It's in the corner of the lot.

But his plane's not here."

John was flying carolyn's
sister lauren to the vineyard.

And so I called again,
and I said,

"did she -- is lauren there?"

And he said, "no."

You know,
I called carolyn's mom

Just to tell her that, you know,
they hadn't arrived

And that the plane
was kind of missing,

But, you know,
how do you say that to a mother?

Finally, someone from hyannis
called.

I think it was joe kennedy,
yeah.

And I'm like,
"um, joe, john never arrived,

His plane is missing, and I just
called the coast guard

And reported it missing,"
you know, just thinking,

"well, wait a minute.
Maybe it's not

What I think it definitely is."

Anthony did get up,
and he came into the kitchen.

And he saw at that point
I had, uh, yellow post-it notes

All over the wall
next to the phone.

He just looked at it
and was like --

Just the sadness, just like...

I remember him just
putting his head down

In his -- his -- his hands
and was just like --

He couldn't even cry,
he was so weak.

Gillon:
The last time I saw john,

I think I, you know, hugged him

And I went right
and he went left.

And at some point,
for some reason,

I turned around and saw him,

The silhouette
in the streetlight.

He just looked so lonely.

His hands in his coat pocket
and head bowed down.

I just felt so bad for him.

Yeah.

Reporter: Many are saying
that the kennedy legacy meant

That if john jr. Had decided
at some point in the future

To run for office, he would have
had enormous potential.

It was on every news channel
across the world.

It was a crazy fucking summer.

[ airplane engine humming ]

South: The one thing
I will never forget

Is the sound of the helicopters.

[ helicopter blades whirring ]

Helicopters
that were doing the search,

But also news helicopters.

And then it just kind of
went from there.

I was in connecticut.

I was supposed to have been
with them that weekend,

But I'm a nervous flyer.

And I flew enough times
with john.

I think john
was a very good pilot,

But the idea of, like,
those little planes,

Going back and forth with him --

I'd done it enough
and thought, "never again."

I got a phone call from carole
like 5:00 a.M. In the morning.

I got on a plane

And flew to the vineyard
early enough that morning

That we still didn't know
the news.

Reporter: The us coast guard
is conducting a search

For a private aircraft.

South: Senator kennedy's
office had been notified.

There are reporters
everywhere,

And they're gonna find out
that john kennedy's plane

Has been reported missing.

Reporter: The faa would not
confirm the number of passengers

On board the aircraft,
but all odds are pointing

Toward it being the plane
with john kennedy jr.

Gillon: I'm on the phone
with people at george,

And I was like,
"they're gonna find

That the plane
made a soft landing

And john had a rope in his mouth
and he's swimming to an island

And lauren and carolyn
are sitting in the back seat."

I just couldn't -- I couldn't
imagine john being gone.

More information
now concerning a private plane

Believed to be piloted
by john f. Kennedy jr.

Thought to have been
on board with him

Was his wife
and one other person.

Anthony: That morning
there was a news alert

The plane had gone missing

Because he was going for
rory's wedding.

It was dark.

It became something
that people obsessed about.

It got non-stop coverage.

It was something
that every person in america

Was well aware of.

Gillon:
I just couldn't imagine it.

As the day went on,

The big thing was
that john's sister, caroline,

Called george and told them
to tape up john's office.

And that's when we kind of knew
that it was over.

Reporter:
The transportation safety board

Has just made it official.

At the wreckage site,
the divers successfully located

The bodies
of john f. Kennedy jr.,

Carolyn bessette-kennedy,
and lauren bessette.

Radziwill: It was so cruel for
anthony to have to watch that.

John and anthony --
they were real brothers.

And all I could think of
is, like,

"I'm the only one left."

♪

♪

Reporter: The skies were hazy,
it was dark,

And he was over water.

Those are conditions
that contributed

To spatial disorientation,

Where a pilot
has difficulty determining

Whether the plane is climbing,
descending, or in a turn.

Anthony: He was there almost,

But he flew by sight.

He didn't fly by instruments.

The whole thing was just
not a good idea.

I just said, you know,

"how could he do this
to himself, to his family?"

Just no matter what,
I wish he hadn't done that.

Obviously, we all do.

Crawford: I remember having
that thought, like,

"oh, I'm gonna remember this,

Just like my mother remembered
when john kennedy was shot."

Brown: It's just astounding
how many of the kennedys

Have ended in tragic ways.

Jfk jr. Should not have been
at the helm of that plane.

He was told it was
not a good time to fly.

So, in that sense,
character is destiny.

You know, it was like,
"I'm gonna do it anyway."

And that's really what the
kennedy curse is, essentially.

People don't say no to you.

And sometimes
you have to listen.

They are,
as a family collectively,

Often doing reckless things,

Dying in ski accidents
and air crashes.

Gillon:
The whole week was a blur.

I couldn't watch the news.
I didn't watch tv.

I just couldn't read a paper,

Just blocked it out completely.

Some of the streets
are now being shut down

As the family members
of john f. Kennedy jr.

And carolyn bessette-kennedy

Prepare to say a final goodbye
to their loved ones.

The overwhelming memory
I have of that day

Was just silence of getting
to the upper east side

And then walking into the church
and seeing just pure grief,

Seeing john kerry crying
in the back.

It was less than a week
after the plane had gone down.

Carolyn will ever be
that beautiful, 6'0" blond,

Blue-eyed, mysterious woman
who married john f. Kennedy.

Gillon:
And then we left the church,

And there was a reception
a few blocks away.

And the streets were lined
with people.

And for me, that was
the first realization I had

Of what john meant
to so many other people.

He was john to me.

And every once in a while,
I had to be pulled out of that

And to recognize
that he was john f. Kennedy jr.

And we were walking
to the convent.

I was like, "you know, john,
you did okay."

[ cries ]

Wright rigueur: When we think
of these big political moments

From the 1960s --

The assassination
of john f. Kennedy,

The assassination
of martin luther king jr.,

The assassination
of robert f. Kennedy --

Similar kind of gravitas
in the 1990s

Because of princess diana's
death

And then john and carolyn's
disappearance.

It's not political violence,

But it still has
the kind of weight that matters.

This has implications
for politics

And how we understand, you know,

Our connection
to political memory.

It's a generational-defining
moment.

Clinton:
For more than 40 years now,

The kennedy family has inspired
americans to public service,

Strengthened our faith
in the future,

And moved our nation forward.

And through it all,
they have suffered much.

From the time he saluted
his dad at the funeral,

John was never going to be
fully human, you know?

He was always
gonna be part of the myth

Of camelot in the culture.

Born of the sun,

They traveled a short while
towards the sun.

An unwavering commitment
to the poor,

To the elderly,

To those without hope,

Regardless of fashion
or convention,

Is the greatest reward
of public service.

Wright rigueur:
But actually, I think if we look

At the brief flash of success
of george,

He ushers in an era
that really captures

The intersection
of politics and celebrity.

He had the foresight
to understand,

"this is where the country
is going,

And we need to address it."

There was
an opportunity here

To change the definition
of a political magazine.

Lots of people write about john
as the "what-ifs."

What could he have been?

And this is, I think,
the great tragedy

Of john's death,

Which is, at exactly the moment

Where he looks poised to take
the mantle from his father,

His life is cut short.

What would he have done?

What would he have been?

I think john's legacy is far
more complex and comprehensive

Than we actually give
credit for.

♪

♪

Kennedy: If you're asking
if it's hard being me, it's --

King: Well, it's brought you
a unique life.

Kennedy: Yeah, absolutely,
and great opportunities

And some challenges.

But all in all,
I feel very fortunate.

♪