64, No. (Page 53), Jack, Lem, and Dunker, the dog they bought on their European tour in 1937"Jack and Lem failed to make any friends in Germany, unlike in the other countries they visited, except one -- Dunker, a lovable Dachshund that they ran into on their way to Nuremberg. Lem Chesmore is a 34-year-old Billings native who grew up on the sport. "[59], In 1964, Billings was named to select a memorial to Kennedy to be placed in the Kennedy Center. The murder of Curtis Lemansky marked the beginning of the end for the Strike Team. Lem Billings - Wikipedia Billings as a teenager was 6' 2", weighed 175 pounds, and was the strongest member of the Choate crew. "[Billings] was a witness to so much of what was going on. Where you live matters: Life expectancy and causes of death in Latin He helped handle even some of Jack's most personal affairs, Pitts writes in his book: "Jack's dates would be managed by Lem. The Shield - Lem's death [5x11] - YouTube In recent years, there has also been talk of a movie adaptation. However he does quote Billings admission that he may have been in love with Kennedy his whole life. I'd read a bit about Lem Billings in various Kennedy bios . John F. Kennedy and Lem Billings - Internet Archive Later Years. The pair matriculated at Princeton together in the fall of 1935, although Jack had to withdraw for health reasons, probably early signs of the Addisons disease that would plague him the rest of his life. 25 Things You May Not Know About JFK - Purple Clover [13] He later had several jobs, including selling Coca-Cola dispensers to drugstores and working at a General Shoe store. ", Matriarch Rose Kennedy wrote in her biography that Billings was "one of 'Jack's surprises,' " and soon found a place for himself: "He has really been part of 'our family' since that first time he showed up at our house. According to the book, a gift from Billings a whale's-tooth scrimshaw was buried with him. 1934: John F Kennedy in hospital: enemas, porn and blondes - Past Peculiar [14] In 1958, he moved to the Manhattan advertising firm Lennen & Newell[15] as an advertising executive. They were bound together by a love of fun and practical jokes, resentment of Choate, and envy of their higher-achieving elder siblings -- Joe, Jack's brother, and Josh, Lem's brother." "[48] Billings spent the last weekend of October 1963 with the couple, the last time he saw them together. [60] In 1965, Jacqueline Kennedy invited Billings to accompany her and her children to England for the unveiling of a memorial to President Kennedy at Runnymede. He was by all accounts JFK's best friend . But straight men can have a gay side, and JFKs life was filled with prominent gay men, friendships which open the door to other histories. In "Jack and Lem", author David Pitts looks at the relationship between the late president and Kirk LeMoyne Billings or "Lem". We are a non-profit organization, wholly supported by The New School, and by the generosity of our sponsors and readers. Booth, 32 years old, died of "undetermined causes" with no obvious signs of . https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3269576/How-Ethel-Kennedy-.. view all Lem Billings's Timeline In which 20 year old John F Kennedy's best friend shows up on his doorstep one evening. William Lemp III died an untimely death of a heart attack at the age of 42. [51] Red Fay, a friend of the President from his World War II service, said of Billings: "I didn't see anything overtly gay about him; I think he was neutral. Naval Academy. Both Jack and Lem were crazy about dogs and soon fell totally in love with little Dunker. After the assassination of RFK in 1968, the flamboyant Billings transferred his obsessive affection for Jack, to handsome teenager Bobby Jr. David Pitts, the author of 'Jack and Lem: The Untold Story of an Extraordinary Friendship,' told me, 'Lem was a gay man and he had a 14-year-old, good-looking kid living in his house with him and there had been rumors because of that. That he is believed to have been gay at a time when homosexuality was still illegal even being somewhat open about his sexuality, including within the powerful Kennedy clan sheds light on the strength of his ties to the family. One of their friends thought "that Jackie was trying to close Lem out. The importance of other causes of death such as communicable diseases, maternal, neonatal and nutritional causes, and noncommunicable diseases like cancer and heart disease varied most between different countries. (Page 276). Newly-Digitized Documents (218,000 of them!) from the Archives [4], Some historians believe that Billings expressed his sexual interest in Kennedy in writing in 1934 and that Kennedy rebuffed his advances. [30], The press frequently reported on his presence at Kennedy family events, such as the arrival of the Kennedy children in Washington in February 1961. With that out of the way, their relationship continued essentially unchanged until JFK's assassination thirty years later.". [62], After the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, Billings became depressed and started to drink in excess, an addiction that plagued him for most of his life. I mean, I could have had a wife, and family, but what the hell -- do you think I would have had a better life having been Jack Kennedy's best friend, having been with him during so many moments of his presidency, having had my own room at the White House, having had the best friend anybody ever had, or having been married and settled down and living somewhere." He escorted Mrs. Stephen Smith, sister of the late President, to . [34] He joined the President's entourage for his tours of Europe in both 1961 and 1963. Jacqueline Bouvier would have the same problem, using every possible excuse to avoid the game, after she and Jack were married in 1953." [16], On September 12, 1953, Billings was an usher at the wedding of Kennedy and Jacqueline Lee Bouvier. After Jack Kennedy's election to the presidency, Billings was a constant presence and overnight guest at the White House. This may have been true of his wife, although perhaps she understood from the beginning that their marriage would be non-monogamous. Stats of the State of Montana - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention In Jackies absence, Lem managed the Presidents dinner parties, social life and children. The Depression had hurt the Billings family financially, and Lem Billings was at Choate on scholarship. Lem Billings (right) was Kennedy's roommate at Choate and Princeton and an usher at his wedding, Spending most weekends at the White House during JFK's presidency, he became known as the "first friend." Although Billings kept his homosexuality private, it wasn't entirely a secret. The . The story of Jack and Lem opens a window into the presidency, but it also suggests that historians of heterosexuality might want to look more closely to see which gay lives are lived near, but outside the conventional frame, of heterosexual families, a project that novelist Amy Bloom has recently undertaken in her fictional account of the love affair between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickock. A crew jock, he met Jack at Choate, a boys' boarding school, in Wallingford, Connecticut (it is now co-ed). Release of Secret JFK Assassination Records Delayed by Biden, Angering Some of the Kennedys. Anyone who wants to know more about JFKs actual sex life can email me at tim.a.nicholson@gmail.com Here is my sons grandfather with JFK in Dec 1963. [64], Billings' behavior changed drastically in the late 1960s. When their brother Bobby married Ethel Skakel in a royal-like wedding in Greenwich, Connecticut, the staunchly conservative republican and seemingly homophobic Skakels let their feelings about Billings' gayness be known. They remained close until Kennedy's assassinationBillings had his own room in the White House, and Joe Kennedy Sr. called him "a second son." (Which is odd considering JFK . "[52] One historian wrote that after the 1963 assassination Billings was: "probably the saddest of the Kennedy 'widows'. [68] His dying wish was for the young Kennedy men to carry his casket to its final resting place. However, he avoided the notoriety of coming out even after Kennedys death, perhaps because he feared that it would draw more negative attention to the extended Kennedy family, which soon struggled with a range of scandals: Chappaquidick, alcoholism, divorce and drugs were but a few. After cocktails, Jackie and JFK proposed some skeet shooting and, legend has it, Williams was a better shot than Jack. As of 2018 Lem Billings is 65 years (age at death) years old. 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. Lem Billings may have been present for, but just outside the frame, of these pictures. (Page 80), Lem examines a damaged ambulance door following the Messerschmitt attack, Sirte, Libya, 1943. 0 references. Lem was born on April 15, 1916 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.. Lem is one of the famous and trending celeb who is popular for being a Celebrity. Billings Murder Accessory Pamela Long Wiggins Dies In Prison He never lost this.". Lem Billings - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia Collier and Horowitz described Billings, later in life, as invariably enmeshed in his late friend's larger family. 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. 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. enwiki Lem Billings; Now thats very exciting! said Kennedy with a grin.. The first time Kirk Lemoyne 'Lem' Billings was . And, say those close to him, Billings never, ever got over how his friend was assassinated one sunny day in Dallas exactly 58 years ago. An autopsy report says Billings' cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. He claimed he was rebuffed: according to Pitts, it was Jacks decency at that moment that caused the pair to become close, and the moment they decided to become roommates. When JFK was assassinated, he turned his attention to his nephew Bobby Kennedy Jr. But the point of the picture is the grief any couple would feel at the loss of a much-wanted child. Elisa Lam was a 21-year-old woman on an adventure when she died at the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles' skid row. "[25]:244 Sometimes he stayed for longer periods. 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. Lem Billings is a well known Celebrity. "'I'm sure he's already organizing everything in heaven so it will be completely ready for us . 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. John F. Kennedy's best friend for three decades was a gay man, according to a new book titled, "Jack and Lem: John F. Kennedy and Lem Billings.The Untold Story of an Extraordinary Friendship;" the book documents the relationship between the two men from its beginnings at a New England prep school in 1933 until the gunfire in Dallas in 1963. Once, Alford remembered, Kennedy suggested that she would be doing him a favor if she agreed to help his younger brother, Ted, a newly elected Senator, with his own tensions, while the President watched from across the pool. He certainly didn't have the same interest in politics and women that Jack had. Bobby Kennedy Jr. gave the eulogy. Lem Billings relaxed on the Kennedys' Palm Beach estate the summer of 1936. 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. I have one additional comment, probably to be regarded as politically incorrect. 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. David Pitts quotes Vidal cruelly calling Billings "a lifelong slave," "the principal fag at court," and a "nurse" who helped Jack deal with the pain caused by Addison's disease. By the time he became president, however, that revolution had been launched: the birth control pill, developed in the 1950s, became widely available in the 1960s and, more importantly, in 1964, Life magazine would publish a major photo essay about gay mens bars in San Francisco. Lem and Jack were insulated by money, and by the reticence of journalists to open closet doors that powerful men, gay and straight, preferred to leave closed. Criticisms from others in the Kennedy orbit insinuate that Jack took advantage of Lem's love for him without reciprocating. Lem Billings may have been present for many of these events, but if he was, he was just outside the frame of these pictures. The Man Who Loved JFK - The Gay & Lesbian Review The story about Lem Billings '39 and JFK was very interesting and even moving (cover story, April 12). Like the rest of the free world, Billings was devastated when President Kennedy was assassinated. [17] In 1956 he was an usher at the wedding of Kennedy's sister Jean to Stephen Edward Smith. But there is also an important story about race, and social class, to be told here. It impressed . Because of him, I was never lonely. Billings, he said, "had a natural jealousy. Lem Billings Is JFK's 'Go-Between' During Jackie Romance - Peoplemag Soon I discovered that he glared with equal suspicion at anyone whose friendship with JFK postdated his own. Cocaine Caused Bias' Death, Autopsy Reveals - Los Angeles Times "[21] In September 1961, he accepted an appointment to the board of trustees of the planned National Cultural Center, which later became the Kennedy Center. The two became friends, then roommates. 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. He may have been the reason I never got married. [6][7], In 1941, Billings failed medical tests required by the military. He remained in the closet until his death in 1981 at the age of 65, according to Pitts. Perhaps, given his deep personal knowledge of the President and his friendship with the First Lady, he even gave directions as the photographer snapped the candid shots that would charm both the nation and historians. Kennedy first met Billings when they were teenagers at a school called Choate. Both men are being held in . For Billings' funeral, some of the younger Kennedys served as pallbearers (as Billings himself had done for some of their own, like the slain Sen. Robert F. Kennedy). In 2009, Robert Dallek published part of an interview with Barbara Gamerekian, a former White House aide, who named three prominent women, two secretaries nicknamed Fiddle and Faddle and a college sophomore who couldnt type (Alford) as a few of the sexual partners who helped the President release his daily tensions, often in the White House swimming pool or on official trips around the nation, where women were sometimes flown in on separate planes so that they could be available. It would go on to become one of his most prized possessions." As Billings told researchers for an oral history interview for the John F. Kennedy Library, the two met as teenagers at Choate Preparatory School for boys in Wallingford, Connecticut, in 1933, while working on the student yearbook. [4], In 1939, Billings graduated from Princeton where he majored in art and architecture[5] and wrote his senior thesis on Tintoretto. JFK, or 'Jack' as he was known by his close friends and family, had a gay best friend named Lem Billings, who he met in prep school when Kennedy was 15 and Lem . Like millions of other young Americans, they faced an uncertain future. Joe generously paid for half the cost of Lem's ticket on the way over, saying Lem could pay at least part of it back when he graduated from Princeton. It was Bobby Kennedy Jr. who gave the eulogy. Kennedy was allegedly on the receiving end of oral sex. Kara Kennedy's Heart May Have Taken 'Direct Hit' by Cancer Cure cause of death. Billings was a prep school roommate of Kennedy, an usher at his wedding and a campaigner for his successful 1960 presidential bid. Billings worked on the 1960 campaign, and then lived at the White House for long stretches of time, a room permanently set aside for his visits. [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. Billings, for his part, never married and eventually became a marketing executive and worked on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. His father was a prominent physician and a graduate of the U.S. Ironically, Motlow, who had sustained a stroke in 1940, died that same year . A queer perspective on JFK is not readily visible in official histories that feature iconic images and stories about one of the first administrations to offer the public ongoing access to the White Houses backstage. From the time John F. Kennedy and Kirk LeMoyne "Lem" Billings met at Choate, until the President's assassination thirty years later, Jack and Lem remained best friends. Kirk LeMoyne "Lem" Billings (April 15, 1916 - May 28, 1981) was a close friend of the Kennedy family, who had his own room at the White House during the Kennedy presidency. Indeed, it often seems that Kennedy did treat people who loved him for granted. JFK also shared women with male friends and relatives, a homoerotic impulse often seen in fraternities or other male organizations where men reinforce intimacy by having sex with the same woman. it would not surprise me knowing how most of the Kennedys (including ole Joe!) Even worse, many such slurs aren't from men but 'I couldn't do it without you': Victoria Beckham poses with her whole family after her PFW show - as she Brooklyn Beckham puts on a loved-up display with wife Nicola Peltz as they head back to hotel after Cruz Beckham supports his mother Victoria as he carrying his very own VB handbag on the way to her show Like father, like daughter! Between 1933 and 1935, The bond between Jack and Lem grew so tight, journalist David Pitts wrote in Jack and Lem (2008), that they really had no need for friendships with other boys.. Quirk immediately pegged Billings as gay, noting his 'high, screechy laugh,' and 'high nasal whine of a voice.' Kennedys social intimacy with gay and bisexual men, and his comfort around homosexuality, is remarkable at a time when those friendships were stigmatizing and when gay and lesbian people were still prohibited from working on most federal jobs. I suppose if you dont do the missionary sex position thing you can call yourself straight and for any other position, it is just experimental straight sex? From there we would helicopter right to his father's front lawn. On school breaks, Jack often brought Billings home with him, sparking Joe Kennedy to complain to his wife, Rose, 'Do we have to have that q***r around all summer?'. [56] Charles L. Bartlett, a journalist who introduced Kennedy to Jacqueline Bouvier[57] and friend of both Billings and Kennedy, described their relationship: "Lem was a stable presence for Jack. 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. "Early on in their friendship, Lem sent Jack such a note and Jack replied in their usual jocular way, adding in parentheses, 'Please don't write to me on toilet paper any more. The year also brought a staggering . The fighting Chesmores: Ring veteran Lem Chesmore passing the craft on In her memoir, Times To Remember, published eleven years after Jack's assassination in Dallas in 1963, she wrote that Billings had 'remained Jack's lifelong close friend, confidant, sharer in old memories and new experiencesHe has really been part of 'our family' since that first time he showed up at our house as one of 'Jack's surprises. With his political influence, Jack Daniels became a monopoly as the only legal whiskey distillery in 1947 in Tennessee. He believed Billings loved Kennedy. It would be the last Christmas in which the United States would be at peace for more than four years. Here is a look at their friendship. The bond between Billings and John F. Kennedy continues to be of interest to many, with a new wave of attention cresting on social media apps like TikTok, where users have pored back over candid photos of the young men together. "He may have been the reason I never married." This essay was originally published at OutHistory.org on November 22, 2013; it has been updated and re-edited. But Kennedy's reaction to Billings gay come-on soon changed and he became more amenable to his friend's advances, according to the writer Lawrence J. Quirk, author of 'The Kennedys in Hollywood.' Born in 1916, Billings was the son of a Pittsburgh doctor. However, an earlier book by Hollywood writer Lawrence Quirk alleges that Billings was not rebuffed.

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