Kennedy (1983 miniseries)

*Kennedy*
Kennedy
Written by	Reg Gadney
Directed by	Jim Goddard
Starring	Martin Sheen; Blair Brown; John Shea; E. G. Marshall; Geraldine Fitzgerald; Vincent Gardenia; Kelsey Grammer
Music by	Richard Hartley
Country of origin	United States; United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	3
Production
Executive producers	Alan Landsburg; Margaret Matheson
Producer	Andrew Brown
Cinematography	Ernest Vincze
Editors	Andrew Nelson; Ralph Sheldon
Running time	311 minutes
Production companies	Alan Landsburg Productions; Central Independent Television
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	November 20 –; November 22, 1983

Kennedy is a 1983 five-hour television miniseries written by Reg Gadney and directed by Jim Goddard.^[1] The miniseries is a biography of the 1961–1963 presidency of John F. Kennedy. It was co-produced by Alan Landsburg Productions and Central Independent Television and originally aired in the United States starting on November 20, 1983, and concluding on November 22, the twentieth anniversary of Kennedy's assassination.

The miniseries stars Martin Sheen as President John F. Kennedy, Blair Brown as Jacqueline Kennedy, John Shea as Robert F. Kennedy, E. G. Marshall as Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., Geraldine Fitzgerald as Rose Kennedy, Vincent Gardenia as J. Edgar Hoover, and Kelsey Grammer as Stephen Smith amongst many others.

The series was originally broadcast on NBC, and was also sold to 50 countries, with 27 of them broadcasting the series simultaneously.^[2]

Cast

Martin Sheen as John F. Kennedy
Blair Brown as Jacqueline Kennedy
John Shea as Robert F. Kennedy
E. G. Marshall as Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.
Geraldine Fitzgerald as Rose Kennedy
Vincent Gardenia as J. Edgar Hoover
Kelsey Grammer as Stephen Smith
Charles Brown as Martin Luther King Jr.
Kevin Conroy as Edward M. Kennedy
Nesbitt Blaisdell as Lyndon B. Johnson
Tom Brennan as Adlai Stevenson
Ellen Parker as Ethel Kennedy
Donald Neal as Ralph Yarborough
John Glover as Bill
Jessica Ann Durr as Caroline Kennedy (ages 5–6)
Hannah Fallon as Caroline Kennedy (ages 3–4)
James Burge as Peter Lawford
Peter Boyden as Pierre Salinger
Laurie Kennedy as Patricia Kennedy Lawford
Joe Lowry as Dave Powers
Joanna Camp as Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Al Conti as Sargent Shriver
Frances Conroy as Jean Kennedy Smith
Kent Broadhurst as Richard Paul Pavlick
Peggy Hewitt as Letitia Baldrige
David Leary as Arthur Schlesinger Jr.
Don MacLaughlin as Chief Justice Earl Warren
Larry Keith as Stanley Levison
Harry Madsen as Clint Hill
Tanny McDonald as Lady Bird Johnson
Carmen Mathews as Mamie Eisenhower
David Schramm as Robert McNamara
Janet Sheen as Elaine de Kooning
Trey Wilson as Kenneth O'Donnell
George Guidall as Nicholas Katzenbach
Barton Heyman as Curtis LeMay
J. R. Dusenberry as John Connally
Margo Tully as Nellie Connally
Satch Franklin as extra at armoury

Reception

The series was nominated for three Golden Globes and four BAFTA Awards, and won the latter for Best Drama Series or Serial and Best Make Up.

Nielsen Ratings

Part 1 averaged a 12.0/17, against The Day After, and ranked 54th out of 64 programs the week of November 14–20, 1983.^[3] However, Parts 2 and 3 both ranked in the Top 10 for the week, with Part 2 averaging a 22.3/34 and Part 3 averaging a 24.3/37. Out of 64 programs airing the week of November 21–27, 1983, Part 2 ranked 6th for the week, and Part 3 ranked 4th for the week.^[4]