(An Interview with Kidlat Tahimik by Caroline Kennedy) London, November 1980 “And it’s going to be a long, long time Till touchdown brings me home and they’ll find I’m not the man they think I am at home, Oh, no, no, no, I’m the rocket man….” (with apologies to Elton John) Kidlat Tahimik, alias Eric … Continue reading THE ORIGINAL IGO-ROCKET MAN
CRUISE CHRONICLES # 3 – THE ART AUCTION
Did I mention Art Auctions at sea? Yes, they really do hold them on board the Noordam. And, to make sure we all knew about it, loudspeakers had been proudly heralding yesterday’s auction of “important contemporary works of art” since we set sail on March 26th. Now these auctions, I soon discovered, are definitely … Continue reading CRUISE CHRONICLES # 3 – THE ART AUCTION
CHILDREN OF PEACE & WAR
An Academic Paper for The University for Peace in Costa Rica - by Caroline Kennedy The first time I became personally involved with “global initiatives” involving theatre was in 1982 when Peace Child International, a British NGO, was conceived in the living room of a friends’ house in Buntingford, Hertfordshire, some fifty miles north of London. “Wouldn’t … Continue reading CHILDREN OF PEACE & WAR
YES, I WAS THERE! Summer of ‘65 by Caroline Kennedy
Just as Beatlemania had taken hold in the United States in February 1964 so, too, had British youth been working themselves up into a frenzy of anticipation at the prospect of Bob Dylan’s first British concert at the Royal Albert Hall on the 9 May 1965. Donovan. Earlier in the day my friend Sarah and I … Continue reading YES, I WAS THERE! Summer of ‘65 by Caroline Kennedy
IMEE MARCOS IN LONDON
I had been making excuses all week but I knew the time had come to make up my mind. The Philippines Ambassador, the former anti-Marcos journalist J.V. Cruz, had warned me about the impending arrival of the Philippines’ first daughter for some time. Imee Marcos, my old nemesis from Manila, was going to be in … Continue reading IMEE MARCOS IN LONDON
Memoir Blog #20 Early Days in Manila
I arrived in Manila in late June 1968. My initial impression was of a sprawling, bustling and filthy city, its downtown roads continually jammed with impatient, honking traffic. Dilapidated, overloaded buses belching diesel fumes, vied for space with garishly painted and ingeniously adapted World War II jeeps, known as jeepneys. A motley assortment of decrepid … Continue reading Memoir Blog #20 Early Days in Manila
Andy, Edie and Baby Jane
By the end of 1964 I had met some of New York’s most prized artists, Larry Rivers, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Rauschenberg, Salvador Dali and Jasper Johns. But the artist I really wanted to meet was Andy Warhol. To me Warhol, though naturally shy on a personal level, epitomized everything that was brash, cocky and arrogant … Continue reading Andy, Edie and Baby Jane
Memoir Blog # 10 – Published At Last
In December I had the rare opportunity to interview the French sex goddess, Brigitte Bardot. Excitement had been mounting in New York for some time following the announcement that, for the first time, the beautiful French film star would visit the city. Bardot was already a huge star around the world by then, thanks to … Continue reading Memoir Blog # 10 – Published At Last
Tiptoeing Through the Tulips
Although I genuinely disliked most nightclubs, the Scene on 8th Avenue and West 46th Street, came to be one of my favourite watering holes in New York. Steve Paul, the enterprising 23- year-old owner, was determined to make his basement club the most important music venue in the city. Steve lived like a pauper most … Continue reading Tiptoeing Through the Tulips
New Neighbours
In less than a week I had been convinced to move out of 59th Street and into Joe’s studio above Carnegie Hall. The address was 881 Seventh Avenue. Joe’s neighbours in some of the other studios included the jazz pianist and cabaret singer Bobby Short, the Italian impresario Gian Carlo Menotti, the famous NY street … Continue reading New Neighbours
Caroline Kennedy: My Travels 