Allegheny Cemetery is one of the largest and oldest burial grounds in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Joseph Kennedy Sr. called him "my second son," and he sometimes acted as escort for several of the Kennedy women. And for Lem and Mark Chesmore, there's nothing more they enjoy doing than participating in their chosen sport of boxing. Lem Billings andBobby Kennedy Jr became close after JFK's death and allegedly took drugs together. It would be the last Christmas in which the United States would be at peace for more than four years. JFK's Best Friend Lem: Transcript. ", Last edited on 24 December 2022, at 15:36, "JFK's Best Friend Lem: Transcript | JFK Library", Princeton University Undergraduate Senior Theses, 1924-2018 Art and Archaeology, 1926-2018, Alfred E. Clark, "Adolph Toigo, Ex-Chairman of Advertising Agency Dies," January 1, 1982, "End Comes at Lennen & Newell," April 12, 1972, "Miss Jean Ann Kennedy Married," May 20, 1956, "Kennedy Names Friend," September 20, 1961, "U.S. Board Formed to Advise on Fair," January 12, 1962, "Choate Unveils Kennedy's Portrait," May 5, 1963, "Prayer for Nation Joined by Kennedy," January 2, 1961, "Caroline Learns Father Isn't Much of a Kite Pilot," July 7, 1963, "Caroline's 2 Hamsters Hunted in White House," March 5, 1961, "2 Kennedy Sisters in Poland for Visit," September 2, 1961, "Huntington Hartford Weds Diane Brown in New Jersey," October 8, 1962, Luther Turmelle, "Book details JFK's friendship with gay man," May 16, 2007, "Friend of Kennedy Named To Head Memorial Group," July 8, 1964, "Humphreys Attend a Gala Ballet Premiere," January 19, 1966, Nan Robertson, "Glittering Audience Attends Kennedy Center's Opening," September 9, 1971, Michael C. Jensen, "Managing the Kennedy Millions," June 12, 1977, Doris Kearns Goodwin, "Fitzgeralds and Kennedys," March 8, 1987, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lem_Billings&oldid=1129296144, This page was last edited on 24 December 2022, at 15:36. 1934: Young JFK in hospital The young JFK, messing around with Lem Billings during their Choate years In the summer of 1934, future United States president John F Kennedy was in his junior year at the prestigious Choate School in Connecticut. "Lem was sixteen, and Jack was fifteen, when they met while working on the school yearbook at Choate School for Boys, the prestigious New England preparatory school located in Wallingford, Conn. From all accounts it was instant friendship. The Man Who Loved JFK - The Gay & Lesbian Review Some of his partners saw the escape from monogamy as liberating too, understanding their romps with the President as special and carefree episodes that they were happy to flaunt. Wikipedia (3 entries) edit. ", Still, he was well aware of his proximity to history. "Jack was anxious to reach Lem and to find out how he was doing. During the night of May 28, 1981almost two decades after JFK's untimely death - 65-year-old Lem Billings died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack. JFK's Queer White House - Public Seminar It impressed . He remained in the closet until his death in. cause of death. Criticisms from others in the Kennedy orbit insinuate that Jack took advantage of Lems love for him without reciprocating. Kirk LeMoyne "Lem" Billings was an American businessman known for his close and long-time friendship with John F. Kennedy and the Kennedy family. While trying to locate the body of a dead CI named Angie Stubbs, Lem stole a brick of heroin from Salvadoran drug dealer Pittario and warned him that he would only give it back once he located the body. JFK Tapes - Boston & New York (Lem Billings) - YouTube Causes of death - Our World in Data [9] He saw action in North Africa in 194243. His name was Lem Billings. "I just became fascinated with Lem because he was a closeted but as they used to say 'practicing homosexual,' and he was very much part of the inner Kennedy circle from very early in his life," Bayard said. As for Kennedy himself, Vidal asserted that the president 'felt quite comfortable in the company of homosexuals as long as they were smart enough to hold his interest. (Page 213), "Jack made a big difference in my life. Kennedy first met Billings when they were teenagers at a school called Choate. (Note my reply) I think the interview I have reference to is less than a year ago! As we both know, homosexual relationships in English boarding schools were put down to adolescent hijinks and men *grew out of them*. He had clearly been adopted into the larger Kennedy clan, and Jackie drew him into her family circle as well. 12 pdf icon; leading cause of death data, including firearm, homicide, and drug poisoning mortality data, and infant mortality . This was at the end of their final presidential debate at Hofstra University in New York in October, 2008. [4], In 1939, Billings graduated from Princeton where he majored in art and architecture[5] and wrote his senior thesis on Tintoretto. Their lifelong relationship caused some of the presidents advisers to fear Russian agents may use the information as blackmail. Quirk immediately pegged Billings as gay, noting his 'high, screechy laugh,' and 'high nasal whine of a voice.' "[27] Billings never had a White House pass and said: "Jack and Jackie were so nice about this that I didn't even have to tell them whether I was coming or going. A telephone conversation between President Kennedy and Lem Billings. The year also brought a staggering . Ironically, Motlow, who had sustained a stroke in 1940, died that same year . In 1958, when Kennedy decided to launch a campaign for the presidency from his Massachusetts Senate seat, the United States had not yet experienced a sexual revolution that would challenge and change many people. Jack & Lem: John F. Kennedy and Lem Billings: The Untol Kara Kennedy's Heart May Have Taken 'Direct Hit' by Cancer Cure Ben Bradlee, a Kennedy friend who worked at Newsweek during the Kennedy Administration, and no friend of Billings,[40] said "they were childhood friends and stayed loyal to each other forever." and yet you still think JFK was alive in December 1963! As of 2018 Lem Billings is 65 years (age at death) years old. Because of him, I was never lonely. Billings was a prep school roommate of Kennedy, an usher at his wedding and a campaigner for his successful 1960 presidential bid. From there we would helicopter right to his father's front lawn. Pictures of the first family are typical of Cold War domestic norms: widely distributed before and after his death, these photographs show him as a conventional, heterosexual husband and a devoted father. Lem Billings may have been present for, but just outside the frame, of these pictures. This is fascinating, Claire. Bobby Kennedy Jr. read the eulogy. The Kennedys tolerated his homosexuality, which was considered taboo at the time, Lawrence J. Quirk, the author of'The Kennedys in Hollywood' said Billings and JFK's relationship turned sexual at a point. I have also studied the forensics of the assassination for 21 years. Jack and Lem, as a reviewer for The New York Daily News put it in 1996, engaged in the kind of sexual experimentation not unknown at all-boys boarding schools.. Lem Billings (left) with John F Kennedy (right) Kennedy and Billings had a sexual relationship including 'oral sex, with Jack always on the receiving end.' Kennedys in Hollywood by Lawrence J. Quirk / The Dark Side Of The Dream "Jack and Lem: John F. Kennedy and Lem Billings: The Untold Story of an Extraordinary Friendship" Kennedy knew Billings was in love with him (Billings declared his love and was rejected by Kennedy) and Kennedy liked that, the attention and knowing the power he has over billings also his wife Jackie Kennedy hated Billings and hated that he and . Billings, who was a year older than Jack Kennedy, made his desire known while the two were still at Choate in a bizarre love note, penned on a piece of toilet paper that could be disposed of easily to avoid incrimination at a time when homosexuality was illicit. [11], After working on Kennedy's successful campaign for Congress in 1946, Billings toured seven Latin American countries with Robert F. He was by all accounts JFK's best friend . [26] When the First Lady was away, Billings organized White House dinner parties for the President and old friends,[27] and when the President traveled he kept the First Lady company. Description: In this interview, Billings discusses John F. Kennedy's time at Choate, his family life, and their first trip to Europe together, among other issues. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Jack and lem billings jfk Kirk LeMoyne "Lem" Billings (April 15, 1916 - May 28, 1981) was a close friend of President John F. Kennedy and the Kennedy family. Access Restriction Status: Open. Later Years. enwiki Lem Billings; A crew jock, he met Jack at Choate, a boys boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut (it is now co-ed). He remained close with various family members, most notably Robert F. Kennedy Jr., though there was a dark side: Peter Collier and David Horowitz's The Kennedys: An American Drama for which Billings gave a number of interviews describes him descending into drug use in connection with his relationship with a young Bobby Kennedy (who had well documented drug issues himself). [16], On September 12, 1953, Billings was an usher at the wedding of Kennedy and Jacqueline Lee Bouvier. He once called Billings the 'chief f****t at Camelot.' Sitelinks. Though Billings who was working as a New York City advertising executive at the time of the assassination continued on at his firm for another decade, his life was never the same. I have no doubt the same was true in American upper-crust boarding schools in the single-sex days. Jerry Oppenheimer is a New York Times bestselling author who has written two books about the Kennedys. Billings, a 16-year-old third-year student, and Kennedy, a 15-year-old second-year student, met at Choate, an elite preparatory school, in the fall of 1933. Their very intimate relationship would last from those school days to Billings even having a room in the Kennedy White House distressing for the first lady to the day of Kennedy's assassination. [59], He escorted Jean Kennedy Smith, sister of the President, to a gala ballet performance in 1966[61] and Ethel Kennedy, the president's sister-in-law, to the 1971 opening of the Kennedy Center. [49], Friends from the 1970s confirmed that Billings was homosexual, but not open to discussing it. Still, Billings was viewed by many I interviewed for my biography of RFK Jr. as his gay Svengali who guided and literally tried to control every aspect of Bobby Jr.'s life from the time he was in his mid-teens. When the boy died at 4:19 a.m. Kennedy was clutching his little fingers. Kirk LeMoyne "Lem" Billings (April 15, 1916 May 28, 1981) was an American businessman known for his close and long-time friendship with John F. Kennedy and the Kennedy family. JFK appeared to be in love with the idea of Billings being in love with him. He reportedly never entertained or enjoyed social outings. "He did not want to hear one negative syllable, and there were a lot of negatives going along.". It was Bobby Kennedy Jr. who gave the eulogy. [34] He joined the President's entourage for his tours of Europe in both 1961 and 1963. [17] In 1956 he was an usher at the wedding of Kennedy's sister Jean to Stephen Edward Smith. From 1933 to 1946, Billings and JFK exchanged letters, with Jack often antagonizing Lem in the correspondence. Details of Lem Billings and JFK's three decade relationship are revealed in 'Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And The Dark Side Of The Dream'. [8] In 1942, supported by a recommendation from Joseph Kennedy Sr., his friend's father, who called him "my second son," he won admission to the American Ambulance Field Service, where his poor eyesight was not a disqualification. Either way, it was a courageous move in view of the casualties the navy was suffering in the Pacific at the time. According to the book, a gift from Billings a whale's-tooth scrimshaw was buried with him. 228. Billings had once told Bobby that. "[48] Billings spent the last weekend of October 1963 with the couple, the last time he saw them together. A Princeton friend and former business partner confided to Pitts about Billings that after Jacks death: He didnt want to live anymore, and other friends claimed that he never recovered from the loss. Billings could best be described as Kennedy's "wingman", closest male friend, and boon companion as they moved into adulthood. A Death in the First Family - Vanity Fair A historian wrote that after Kennedy's assassination 50 years ago Billings was "probably the saddest of the Kennedy 'widows.'" The one iconic photo of President John F. Kennedy up close and personal with a woman other than Jackie shows him and his attorney general brother, Robert, coming on to curvaceous Marilyn Monroe at a party. [28] He sat with the President's family at the Kennedy inauguration and walked not far behind his widow at the Kennedy funeral. Billings Murder Accessory Pamela Long Wiggins Dies In Prison When Billings learned that the love of his life was dead on November 22, 1963, Pitts writes: It was as if he had been struck by lightning; he was consumed by grief. Lem was the second person Jacks sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, called after reaching her sister, Pat Lawford. When JFK was assassinated, he turned his attention to his nephew Bobby Kennedy Jr. [25]:364 According to Kennedy family members, such as Peter Lawford, and others, Billings began using drugs[25]:365 due to the influence of the Kennedy and Lawford boys. Did JFK And Lem Bellings Have A Relationship? Details Of - YourTango With so many people looking for a relationship with him as he rose through the political ranks, there was one man who stood out as one of JFK's near-constant companions. At least one of these intimates, Kirk LeMoyne Lem Billings, was one of Jacks cherished body men, and he lived part-time in the White House throughout the three years of Kennedys presidency. Billings reportedly wrote the future president a love note on a piece of toilet paper (pictured at the Kennedys' Palm Beach estate), JFK was famous for his womanizing habits, but one of his closest relationships was withLem Billings. [48] Billings saw the President for the last time when they dined at the White House with Greta Garbo on November 13, 1963, nine days before the President's assassination in Dallas. Jacqueline Bouvier would have the same problem, using every possible excuse to avoid the game, after she and Jack were married in 1953." The Story Behind the Man Who was Killed in the Famous "Saigon Execution https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/661850801540d07650fabf52ced798bc30b638466ac906855c1e19da231d68b5.jpg. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to receive selections from new issues of Public Seminar. 0 references. Featuring interviews with Ben Bradlee, Gore Vidal, Ted Sorenson, friends, family, and many others, award -- winning journalist David Pitts begins the story with the early friendship between the men. Kirk LeMoyne "Lem" Billings and Mary Lasker attend a party at the New York City home of Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. On June 14, 1977. Jack Kennedy and Lem Billings met at Choate and remained friends until the Dallas gunfire that ended Kennedy's life thirty years later. "[44], Many testify to Billings' wit and ability to help the President relax. In the epidemiological framework of the Global Burden of Disease study each death has one specific cause. 'What the hell have you been doing? How remorseless Stephen Bear continued his arrogant antics up until Do not sell or share my personal information. When Billings died of a heart attack in 1981, Bobby Jr gave the eulogy (From left to right: Lem Billings, Bobby Kennedy Jr andEthel Kennedy), Part of the family: From childhood to adulthood, Billings stayed close to Jack Kennedy and his family. Elisa Lam's Cause of Death & Autopsy: Cecil Hotel Mystery - Heavy.com ", Billings' family could chafe at his adoration: "My uncle was not someone you could have a reasonable conversation with about what was going on with the Kennedys," his nephew said in Princeton's alumni magazine. [64] Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis included Billings as a guest at a party marking the birthdays of her children Caroline (21st) and John Jr. (18th) in 1978. "[27] Arthur Schlesinger thought Billings "used to glare at me when we occasionally encountered each other in the company of JFK, and for a time I took this rather personally. The . Wiggins was serving a 28 years . Sign up for our weekly newsletter to receive selections from new issues of, what historian David K. Johnson calls the lavender scare, According to author Christopher Bram (2012), her fictional account of the love affair between Eleanor Roosevelt. Booth, 32 years old, died of "undetermined causes" with no obvious signs of . [64], Billings' behavior changed drastically in the late 1960s. 'It was very hard for him, but he wanted to do it and he stuck with it,' Lucretia added. Billings had once told Bobby that when he died he wanted the pall-bearers to be members of Bobby's circle of young friends, whom he knew well and with whom he had done drugs. Remembering JFK's Bond with His Boyhood Best Friend, Who Never Got Over As Vice President at the Emerson Drug Company in Baltimore, he was responsible for inventing the 1950s fad drink Fizzies by adding a fruit flavor to disguise the sodium citrate taste. 7 Gay Presidential Rumors You Won't Believe (But Maybe Should) Billings reportedly told Kennedy of his romantic intentions in prep school (JFK pictured chatting with Marilyn Monroe and Robert F Kennedy). Billings was so much a part of the extended Kennedy clan that he was regularly included in family gatherings, and Attorney General Robert Bobby Kennedy named his son Michael LeMoyne Kennedy. With that out of the way, their relationship continued essentially unchanged until JFK's assassination thirty years later.". 'Yesterday was Jack's birthday. "Because of him, I was never lonely. Jack Kennedy and Lem Billings met at Choate and remained friends until the Dallas gunfire that ended Kennedy's life thirty years later. John F. Kennedy, whose 100th birthday is being celebrated this year with a Kennedy Centennial postage stamp, TV memorials, a slew of books, and much media coverage, was revered as the 35th president of the United States. "Because of him," Billings once said. And he also played a very important role in the courtship between Jackie Bouvier and Jack Kennedy," Bayard told PEOPLE in an earlier interview about his book, which will be published by Algonquin Books in June.