Named: The Kennedy Teen in Bob Vaughn's Life - TV Radio Show 1966

by Louise Ezor

Just about every pretty young thing in Hollywood has, at one time or another, been seen with and photographed with and been courted by Bob Vaughn. Barbara Parkins was fresh on the star scene when she and Bob first met. They dated until Barbara switched her affections to David Hedison. Connie Stevens had "friendly dates" with Bob right up until the time she and Jim Stacy were married. Dorothy Provine, Fay Spain, Inger Stevens and Julie Newmar drifted into and out of Bob's life. So did Joan O'Brien, who made headlines with a suicide attempt in his apartment. Joyce Jameson was the most tenacious. She hung around for ten years, waiting for Bob to change his mind about marrying her. Instead Bob discovered Mary Ann Mobley, and broke off with Joyce just before he left for Europe to make The Venetian Affair. Joyce said she wasn't dating anybody in particular and busied herself working with Rowan and Martin on the summer replacement for the Dean Martin Show. By the time Bob returned from Europe, she was busy with her ABC-TV program interviewing political candidates and their families. Bob was busy too. He had discovered Ruta Lee. But Bob's many romantic excursions keep him busy and camouflage his real interest. There is a girl in his life. And she matters very much. But although he hasn't been shy about making headlines with a series of Hollywood beauties, he won't talk about this girl at all. She is equally interested in him. Her parents know. He has met all the family. She is the most important person in his life. But he just won't talk about her. To understand why - you have to understand what Bob Vaughn is all about. Where there is great hunger, there must come a great feeling. Bob Vaughn is a man with a great hunger. He is also a young man of many complex parts. Since he broke into TV in 1955 with a small part in Medic, he has thrown himself into an assortment of activities that have no relationship to his career, but propel his life, slowly, systematically and almost imperceptibly in another direction. The first thing he did was - go to school. He completed enough credits at the University of Southern California to qualify for a Ph.D in Communication Arts. He is at work on his thesis and the degree will be bestowed upon him as soon as his thesis is out of the way. "I might want to do a little teaching in my Mr. Chips years," he says casually. But almost nothing about Bob Vaughn is casual. Everything is directed, mapped out with great care to satisfy his Big Need, to feed his Big Hunger. Next, Bob got involved with California politics. He is Chairman of the Democratic State Speakers' Bureau in his state. In February of this year, he spoke before the Notre Dame faculty on "Extremism." It was the first time an actor had been so honored by the venerable University. A week before that, he had delivered another address to the California Democratic Council rally at Bakersfield. Last year, he flew to Indianapolis to speak to 100 Young Democrats and the Governor of Indiana. He spoke on Viet Nam and was rewarded with a standing ovation. And he worked for Pierre Salinger, who lost the California race for U.S. Senate to George Murphy. Bob is laying the groundwork for his own political career and he doesn't try to conceal it. Even the way he lives, girls apart, is true to his ultimate goal. He has earned the tag "self-centered snob" in some Hollywood circles because he doesn't like to make the rounds of Hollywood clubs, because he reads a lot, and because only a few, select visitors are welcome to his $75,000 Hollywood Hills house. But there is one room which few of his friends are encouraged to enter. This is Bob's spacious office. It is more indicative of him than any other room in his house - even the bedroom. It is the repository of his innermost dreams and his real reasons for being. All the clues are there. In one corner, there is a large American flag, balanced by a California flag in the opposite corner. His desk is a careful replica of the one used by President Kennedy, and on it, there is a portrait inscribed by the late President. Also on display, are the Public Papers, a three-volume edition that contains every word John Kennedy ever spoke for the record. Bob lives alone in his sprawling 12-room house. "I guess the reason I like such a big place is that during my youth, I lived only in small, confining apartments," he explains. "You might say the house represents a certain psychological throwback to the days when I was a kid." It was while Bob was a kid, that his mother jocularly predicted that one day he would be President of the country. Bob has thought a lot about that. "Politics is pretty much of a rich man's indulgence," he says realistically. But politics is the most important thing in the world to Bob. So is Power. His great hunger is for Power. And Status. And everything else is subservient to this real drive for these goals. Everything. Even Love. Bob is the first to admit that "I've always gone with the voluptuous Hollywood types." But the girl he has set his sights on, the girl he will marry, must fit into the total plan of his life and the precise qualifications he has drawn up for a wife, must be met. Bob dismisses all the lovelies he has dated as serious romantic possibilities. In fact, he isn't interested in marrying a star at all. "To be a star in this town," he says, "a woman has to have an oversupply of psychological male hormones. They may look nice in a wedding scene, but they make lousy wives." Bob is a life-long Catholic, and the girl he has focused on is also Catholic. He has always expressed a preference for "Eastern-born, eastern-bred, old money, the best schools, riding to hounds, docile, encourager, non-competitive" women. Many have speculated on how closely this description fits Jacqueline Kennedy, but Jackie is not the woman on whom Bob has riveted his romantic ambitions. She is related, though, to the girl of first choice. When Robert Kennedy and his wife, Ethel, were in Los Angeles late last year, they struck up quite a friendship with Bob. This was really not surprising because Bob Vaughn is a tremendous admirer of the late President. The first thing Robert Kennedy said when they met was: "My 14-year-old daughter is madly in love with you!" Ethel Kennedy promptly invited Bob to be their guest any time he was in the East. Both the invitation and the friendship are very important to Bob. Because the oldest of Kennedy's nine children, Kathleen, became fifteen years old on July 4th this year. Just before he left for Europe, Bob took advantage of the invitation extended last year by Ethel, and was a guest at the Kennedy home, Hickory Hill, in McLean, Va. He met Kathleen. Tennis is Bob's favorite sport. Kathleen proved an excellent player. They went horse-back riding together, and even watched Bob's N.B.C. show, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Bob discovered that Kathleen had clipped pictures of him from fan magazines (just as you might do if you like Bob Vaughn) and hung them around her room. Bob's own childhood was lonely and loveless. He was enchanted by the atmosphere of warmth and affection created by the many Kennedy brothers and sisters playing, chattering, tumbling around together. He had always planned his life, almost scientifically, avoiding the pitfalls it is so easy for a popular actor to make because he knew what he wanted. But he had not known how badly he wanted it until he visited the Kennedy home. His visit confirmed his thoughts about the future and his thoughts about a wife. Kathleen was scheduled to attend a dance in Washington, D.C. Bob was a willing escort. This was their first official "date." Kathleen is young - but young marriages run in the Kennedy line. Bob is an actor, but Pat Kennedy broke precedent by marrying an actor when she fell in love with Peter Lawford. Kathleen is dedicated to the Kennedy regimen of sports, exercise, devout religious activity, and keen political interest. This is part of her appeal for Bob, who is a health faddist, runs two miles every morning, lifts weights, and swallows 42 vitamin pills daily. He even clomps around his house in wooden shoes because a dentist once recommended them. He is charged with political ambitions, and one of the reasons he has never married is that, being a devout Catholic too, he cannot take marriage lightly. Had he been divorced, he could never qualify for Kathleen Kennedy's hand. Bob already has most things a 33-year-old bachelor can come to want in life. He has money, the promise of even greater earning power, fame, adulation. The producer-writer of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. likes Bob. He said, "I had the lead well set in my mind. Bob Vaughn, as Napoleon Solo, would be a Cary Grant type." When he arrived in London, last March, he was mobbed by scores of screaming teenagers at the airport. He was dragged to the ground by the crowd before police could control the situation and get him to his car safely. But the one thing he doesn't have is status. Only a wife can bring him that...a wife who is well-born, well-bred, and has powerful family connections. The only unmarried girl in the United States who meets these conditions, and is also Catholic, is 15-year-old Kathleen Kennedy. Even the 18-year difference in their ages is not significant. It is only a slightly wider age gap than that existed between John Kennedy and Jackie. Kathleen Kennedy is the only girl in Bob's life who he has refused to talk about. She is also the only girl who really matters. Thanks to Georgie Smith for scanning this gossipy tabloid magazine article. Visit her site Raspberry World for this and many other vintage magazine articles.

Below is a screencap of an article that was originally hosted at the now-defunct fansite Vaughn Lounge run by Daniel Bolton.
It describes Vaughn's visit to Robert Kennedy's home in more detail.
Unfortunately the source magazine is not listed, but it was probably published in the same year, 1966.