This Side of Paradise Fragments of An Unfinished Biography (1999)

Unpredictably as most of my lifes key events have been for a period of several years of late sixties and early seventies I had the fortune to spend some time mostly during the summers with Jackie Kennedys and her sister Lee Radziwills families and children Cinema was an integral inseparable as a matter of fact a key part of our friendship The time was still very close to the untimely tragic death of John F Kennedy Jackie wanted to give something to her children to do to help to ease the transition life without a father One of her thoughts was that a movie camera would be fun for children Peter Beard who was at that time tutoring John Jr and Caroline in art history suggested to Jackie that I was the man to introduce the children to cinema Jackie said yes And thats how it all began