David Kennedy
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- This article is about the writer. For other people with this name, please see David Kennedy (disambiguation)
| David Kennedy | |
| Born | June 15, 1955 Washington D.C. |
|---|---|
| Died | April 25, 1984 (aged 28) Palm Beach, Florida |
| Parents | Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel |
David Anthony Kennedy (June 15, 1955 – April 25, 1984) was born in Washington, D.C. He was the fourth of eleven children of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy.
Witnessing his father's assassination on June 5, 1968 fuelled David's introspection and sensitivity. Like others in his generation of Kennedys, he began recreational drug use shortly thereafter.
A 1973 Jeep accident, in which his eldest brother, Joseph Kennedy II, was driving, left his then-girlfriend, Pamela Kelley, paralyzed. David sustained a fractured vertebra and became addicted to the painkillers he was given in the hospital. He began shooting heroin in his final year at Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts, that autumn.
David was a talented writer who harbored ambitions to be a journalist. He spent several months as an intern for a Tennessean Newspaper in 1974 and impressed staff there with his aptitude.
David Kennedy spent several years in Harvard, pursuing an Arts degree with an American History major. He was unable to complete his studies before his death.
After dropping out of Harvard in the autumn of 1976, David alternated his time between the Kennedy family home, "Hickory Hill" in McLean, Virginia, and New York until February 1979, when he moved to New York City full time. He was frequently seen in the Manhattan discos with a succession of attractive women. His most notable involvement was with British actress Rachel Ward, whom he met in one such establishment in 1979.
Several drug-related problems surfaced in the 1970s. David was diagnosed twice with bacterial endocarditis, an inflammation of the heart often associated with intravenous drug use. He suffered drug overdoses in 1976 and 1978. He also had a few skirmishes with the law, including speeding offences and a DUI (driving under the influence of alcohol). He spent two months in Sussex, England under the care of Dr. Margaret Patterson, an addiction specialist, during the winter of 1978/79.
David moved to Sacramento, California, under the guidance of a drug counselor. The beginning of the 1980s saw a more quiet, settled period begin in David's life. Drug free, he found occasional work through family contacts. He enjoyed virtual anonymity in Sacramento, and adapted well to the laid back lifestyle.
David had renewed thoughts of Harvard and moved back east in the autumn of 1982. A 6 month stint with the Boston based Atlantic Monthly magazine followed. He spent time in Spofford Hall, a rehab facility in New Hampshire in September 1983 in order to curb his drinking before recommencing his studies. He completed a fall semester but his return to drugs again forced him out. He remained in Boston with his girlfriend, fashion photographer Paula Sculley, as the new year 1984 began.
He completed a month-long stint at St. Mary's Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, in Minneapolis, just before Easter 1984, to once again try to combat his addictions. He flew down to Palm Beach, Florida, on April 19, 1984, for Easter, where several members of the Kennedy family had gathered. David checked into room 107 of the Brazilian Court hotel and spent the next few days partying. At the insistence of concerned family members, staff went to check on his welfare and found David dead on the floor of his suite from an overdose of cocaine, Demerol, and Mellaril on April 25, 1984.
David Kennedy was interred in the family plot at Holyhood Cemetery, in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was 28 years old.
[edit] References
- Growing Up Kennedy: The Third Generation Comes of Age by Harrison Rainie and John Quinn, 1983
- Life special issue, The Kennedys: The Third Generation, 1997.
- RFK: A Candid Biography of Bobby Kennedy by C. David Heymann (Pages 516 - 521), 1998
- The Kennedys: An American Drama by Peter Collier and David Horowitz, 1984.
