The Keith-Albee Theatre is a performing arts center, located across the street from the Frederick Building in downtown Huntington, West Virginia , United States .
65-567: At the time of its construction, the Keith Albee Theatre, named after Keith-Albee-Orpheum , was thought to be the second largest theater in the United States. The theater, built by brothers A. B. and S. J. Hyman from Huntington, opened to the public on May 7, 1928.. The new theater was built under the guidance of vaudeville moguls B. F. Keith and Edward Albee and soon became a key venue in their esteemed Keith-Albee circuit,
130-594: A stereotypical Irish vice that he offered his sons $ 1,000 not to drink until they turned 21. Kennedy reinvested the proceeds he made from liquor importing into various residential and commercial real estate ventures, much of it concentrated in New York City, and the Hialeah Park Race Track in Hialeah, Florida . The most important purchase of his real estate investment career was marked by
195-423: A bachelor's degree in economics. Kennedy set his future sights on embarking on a business career upon his graduation from Harvard. During his mid to late 20s, he made a large fortune as an active commodity and stock investor; he then reinvested much of his proceeds into film studios, real estate, and shipping lines. Although Kennedy never built a significant business from scratch, his timing as both buyer and seller
260-467: A chain of vaudeville and motion picture theatres in the United States and Canada with a seating capacity of 1,500,000 persons. The combined theater chain then had over 700 theaters in the United States and Canada. A total of 15,000 vaudeville performers were booked through the new entity. In May 1928, a controlling portion of stock was sold to Joseph P. Kennedy , from whom it was purchased in October by
325-983: A colleague, "Look at that bunch of pants pressers in Hollywood making themselves millionaires. I could take the whole business away from them." One small studio, Film Booking Offices of America (or FBO), specialized in Westerns produced cheaply. Its owner was in financial trouble, and asked Kennedy to help find a new owner. Kennedy formed his own group of investors and bought it for $ 1.5 million. In March 1926, Kennedy moved to Hollywood to focus on running film studios. At that time, film studios were permitted to own exhibition companies, which were necessary to get their films on local screens. With that in mind, he bought controlling shares in Keith-Albee-Orpheum Theaters Corporation (KAO), which had more than 700 vaudeville theaters across
390-434: A large fortune as a stock and commodity market investor, and later rolled over his proceeds by dedicating a substantial amount of his wealth into investment-grade real estate and a wide range of privately controlled businesses across the United States. During World War I he was an assistant general manager of a Boston area Bethlehem Steel shipyard; through that position he became acquainted with Franklin D. Roosevelt , who
455-528: A list of recommended candidates for the SEC chairmanship. Kennedy headed the list, which stated he was "the best bet for Chairman because of executive ability, knowledge of habits and customs of business to be regulated and ability to moderate different points of view on Commission." Kennedy sought out the best lawyers available, giving him a hard-driving team with a mission for reform. They included William O. Douglas and Abe Fortas , both of whom were later named to
520-641: A major in the Coldstream Guards , was killed in action in 1944. Kennedy rejected the belief of Winston Churchill that any compromise with Nazi Germany was impossible. Instead, he supported Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain 's policy of appeasement . Throughout 1938, while the Nazi persecution of the Jews in Germany intensified, Kennedy attempted to arrange a meeting with Adolf Hitler . Shortly before
585-1028: A marvelous sense of timing". During the Great Depression , Kennedy shrewdly increased his wealth by devoting most of it into investment-grade real estate. In 1929, Kennedy's fortune was estimated to be $ 4 million (equivalent to $ 71 million in 2023). By 1935, his wealth had increased to $ 180 million (equivalent to $ 4 billion in 2023). He also acquired enough capital to establish million-dollar trust funds for each of his nine children that guaranteed lifelong financial independence. Kennedy generated windfall profits from reorganizing and refinancing several Hollywood film studios . He began with film distribution in New England, buying first movie theaters in Massachusetts, but quickly moved on to industry-wide arrangements and production. While still at Hayden, Stone & Co., Kennedy boasted to
650-674: A premier vaudeville tour along the East Coast of the United States. The Keith-Albee Theatre was designed by the renowned Scottish-born architect Thomas W. Lamb , who created approximately 150 theaters around the globe. Seating approximately 3,000 patrons, the Keith-Albee exemplified the opulence and grandeur of the 1920s with a New Spanish Baroque style. Intricate plasterwork , chandeliers , and balconies created an atmosphere of sophistication, along with cosmetic rooms, smoking rooms, and fireplaces in men’s and women’s restrooms adjoining
715-515: A prominent stock brokerage firm with offices in Boston and New York, where he became an expert dealing in the unregulated stock market of the day, engaging in tactics that were later considered to be insider trading and market manipulation violations. He happened to be on the corner of Wall and Broad Streets at the moment of the Wall Street bombing on September 16, 1920, and was thrown to
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#1732801062567780-539: A raid against the stock himself. In 1933, he helped establish a "stock pool" that bought large quantities of stock in Libbey-Owens-Ford (LOF), an auto-glass manufacturer, and wash-traded huge volumes of stock among themselves while promoting the outright fraud that their company was related to Owens-Illinois , a glassmaker that made bottles which presumably would have profited from the imminent repeal of Prohibition. Kennedy later claimed he understood that
845-427: A run for Governor of Massachusetts in 1942. However, even during the darkest months of World War II, Kennedy remained "more wary of" prominent American Jews, such as Associate Justice Felix Frankfurter , than he was of Hitler. Kennedy told the reporter Joe Dinneen: It is true that I have a low opinion of some Jews in public office and in private life. That does not mean that I. ... believe they should be wiped off
910-636: A significant share, was under threat of takeover. Kennedy borrowed $ 45,000 (equivalent to $ 1.4 million in 2023) from family and friends and bought back control. At the age of 25, he was rewarded by being elected the bank's president. Kennedy told the press he was "the youngest" bank president in America. In May 1917, Kennedy was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Massachusetts Electric Company, New England's leading public utility at
975-431: A third term, which began in 1941. Kennedy may have wanted to run for president himself in 1940 or later. Having effectively removed himself from the national stage, Joe Sr. sat out World War II on the sidelines. Kennedy stayed active in the smaller venues of rallying Irish-American and Roman Catholic Democrats to vote for Roosevelt's re-election for a fourth term in 1944 . Former Ambassador Kennedy claimed to be eager to help
1040-453: Is a helluva long way from East Boston, isn't it?" On May 6, 1944, Kennedy's daughter, Kathleen , married William "Billy" Cavendish , Marquess of Hartington, the elder son of the Duke of Devonshire . The union was disapproved by Rose Kennedy due to Hartington being an Anglican. Unable to reconcile their religious backgrounds, Hartington and Kathleen were married in a civil ceremony. Hartington,
1105-787: Is finished in England. It may be here [in the United States]", he stated in the Boston Sunday Globe of November 10, 1940. With German troops having overrun Poland , Denmark , Norway , Belgium , the Netherlands , Luxembourg , and France , and with daily bombings of Great Britain, Kennedy unambiguously and repeatedly stated that the war was not about saving democracy from National Socialism (Nazism) or from Fascism. In an interview with two newspaper journalists, Louis M. Lyons of The Boston Globe , and Ralph Coghlan of
1170-562: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch , Kennedy said: It's all a question of what we do with the next six months. The whole reason for aiding England is to give us time ... As long as she is in there, we have time to prepare. It isn't that [Britain is] fighting for democracy. That's the bunk. She's fighting for self-preservation, just as we will if it comes to us. ... I know more about the European situation than anybody else, and it's up to me to see that
1235-546: The Nazi bombing of British cities began in September 1940, Kennedy once again sought a personal meeting with Hitler without the approval of the U. S. Department of State, in order to "bring about a better understanding between the United States and Germany". When war came in September 1939, Kennedy's public support for American neutrality conflicted with Roosevelt's increasing efforts to provide aid to Britain. "Democracy
1300-553: The Radio Corporation of America (RCA) as part of the deal, along with Film Booking Offices of America (FBO), that created the major motion picture studio Radio Keith Orpheum ( RKO Pictures ). After the establishment of RKO, motion pictures became the primary focus of entertainment at the former KAO theaters. Vaudeville survived only as an interlude for feature films . Joseph P. Kennedy Joseph Patrick Kennedy Sr. (September 6, 1888 – November 18, 1969)
1365-475: The richest people in the United States in 1957, it placed Kennedy in the $ 200–400 million group, which is equivalent to roughly 3.2 billion dollars in 2023. Kennedy's first job after graduating from Harvard was a position as a state-employed bank examiner, where the job allowed him to learn a great deal about the banking industry. In 1913, the Columbia Trust Bank, in which his father held
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#17328010625671430-476: The silent films shown in the theater. The organ was removed and sold in the 1950s after live musical accompaniment lost some appeal. Following an effort by Huntington native Robert Edmunds and his Huntington Theatre Organ Project, a 1927 Wurlitzer organ was purchased and reinstalled in the Keith-Albee in 2001. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Keith-Albee and the Hyman family began to feel the impact of competition from
1495-717: The "Jew media" in the United States to become a problem, that "Jewish pundits in New York and Los Angeles" were already making noises contrived to "set a match to the fuse of the world". By August 1940, Kennedy worried that a third term for President Roosevelt would mean war. Biographer Laurence Leamer in The Kennedy Men: 1901–1963 reports: "Joe believed that Roosevelt, Churchill, the Jews, and their allies would manipulate America into approaching Armageddon ." Nevertheless, Kennedy supported Roosevelt's third term in return for Roosevelt's promise to support Joseph Kennedy Jr. in
1560-602: The "shining star among the dim 'knights' in the [Roosevelt] Administration". In 1938, Roosevelt appointed Kennedy as the United States ambassador to the Court of St James's (United Kingdom). Kennedy hoped to succeed Roosevelt in the White House, telling a British reporter in late 1939 that he was confident that Roosevelt would "fall" in 1940 (that year's presidential election). Kennedy and his family retreated to
1625-545: The 1930s, with a radio audience that reached millions every week. Having been a strong supporter of Roosevelt since 1932, in 1934 Coughlin broke with the president, who became a bitter opponent and a target of Coughlin's weekly anti-communist, anti-Semitic , far-right, anti–Federal Reserve and isolationist radio talks. Roosevelt sent Kennedy and other prominent Irish Catholics to try to tone down Coughlin. Coughlin swung his support to Huey Long in 1935, and then to William Lemke 's Union Party in 1936. Kennedy strongly supported
1690-530: The German ambassador to the United Kingdom, who claimed upon his return to Berlin that Kennedy had told him that "it was not so much the fact that we want to get rid of the Jews that was so harmful to us, but rather the loud clamor with which we accompanied this purpose. [Kennedy] himself fully understood our Jewish policy." Kennedy's main concern with such violent acts against German Jews as Kristallnacht
1755-595: The Keith-Albee featured a recreation of a vaudeville show starring singer Rudy Vallee . Ten years later in 1988, the theater hosted a pre-opening screening of the movie Rain Man . Star Dustin Hoffman , Barry Levinson and Mark Johnson attended the event. On December 12, 2006, the Keith-Albee hosted the premiere of the feature film We Are Marshall , with actors Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox , plus director Joseph McGinty Nichol attending. The theatre appears in
1820-643: The Kennedy family's private fortune, including being a source of funding for financing his sons' future political campaigns. In 1932 , Kennedy supported Franklin D. Roosevelt in his bid for the presidency. This was his first major involvement in a national political campaign, and he donated, lent, and raised a substantial amount of money for the campaign. In 1934, Congress established the independent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to end irresponsible market manipulations and dissemination of false information about securities. Roosevelt's brain trust drew up
1885-580: The New Deal (Father Coughlin believed that the New Deal did not go far enough, and thought that Franklin Roosevelt was a tool of the rich) and reportedly believed as early as 1933 that Coughlin was "becoming a very dangerous proposition" as an opponent of Roosevelt and "an out and out demagogue". In 1936, Kennedy worked with Roosevelt, Bishop Francis Spellman and Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli (later Pope Pius XII ) to shut Coughlin down. When Coughlin returned to
1950-513: The SEC was protecting their interests. He resigned from the SEC in September 1935. In 1936 , Roosevelt sought Kennedy's help on the campaign, and Kennedy responded with his book I'm for Roosevelt , which he had published and made sure was widely distributed. The book presented arguments for why businessmen should support Roosevelt and the New Deal , told from the perspective of Kennedy's own personal endorsement. The book had significant impact in
2015-502: The Supreme Court. The SEC had four missions. First was to restore investor confidence in the securities market, which had collapsed on account of its questionability, and the external threats supposedly posed by anti-business elements in the Roosevelt administration. Second, the SEC had to get rid of penny-ante swindles based on false information, fraudulent devices, and get-rich-quick schemes . Thirdly, and much more important than
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2080-588: The U.S. According to Harvey Klemmer, who served as one of Kennedy's embassy aides, Kennedy habitually referred to Jews as " kikes or sheenies". Kennedy allegedly told Klemmer that "[some] individual Jews are all right, Harvey, but as a race they stink. They spoil everything they touch." When Klemmer returned from a trip to Germany and reported the pattern of vandalism and assaults on Jews by Nazis, Kennedy responded, "Well, they brought it on themselves." On June 13, 1938, Kennedy met in London with Herbert von Dirksen ,
2145-414: The United States that had begun showing movies. In October 1928, he formally merged his film companies FBO and KAO to form Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) and made a large amount of money in the process. Kennedy had no interest in vaudeville; he just wanted the theaters, which he planned to convert to movie houses for the film booking interests he ran in cooperation with Radio Corporation of America (RCA). As
2210-642: The United States. Although he was skeptical of American involvement in World War I , Kennedy sought to participate in wartime production as an assistant general manager of Fore River , a major Bethlehem Steel shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts . There, he oversaw the production of transports and warships. Through this job, he became acquainted with Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt . In 1919, Kennedy joined Hayden, Stone & Co. ,
2275-442: The air in 1940, Kennedy continued to battle against his influence among Irish Americans. Despite his public disputes with Coughlin, it has also been acknowledged that Kennedy would also accompany Coughlin whenever the priest visited Roosevelt at Hyde Park. A historian with History News Network also stated that Coughlin was a friend of Kennedy as well. In a Boston Post article of August 16, 1936, Coughlin referred to Kennedy as
2340-558: The business community and after his re-election, Roosevelt appointed Kennedy as Chairman of the United States Maritime Commission , which built on his wartime experience in running a major shipyard. Kennedy spent only ten months at the Commission. Father Charles Coughlin , an Irish Canadian priest near Detroit , became the most prominent Roman Catholic spokesman on political and financial issues in
2405-458: The country gets it. Kennedy's views became inconsistent and increasingly isolationist . British MP Josiah Wedgwood IV , who had himself opposed the British government's earlier appeasement policy, said of Kennedy: We have a rich man, untrained in diplomacy, unlearned in history and politics, who is a great publicity seeker and who apparently is ambitious to be the first Catholic president of
2470-537: The countryside during the bombings of London by German aircraft in World War II. In so doing, he damaged his reputation with the British. This move prompted Randolph Churchill to say, "I thought my daffodils were yellow until I met Joe Kennedy". Kennedy developed a reputation as a defeatist . According to the U.S. National Archives: In London, the American Ambassador and his wife soared to
2535-539: The developer of photophone , a sound system for the new " talkies ", RCA needed to forge a connection with Hollywood to sell its product. At the same time Kennedy knew that he needed to compete in the new market of sound films and to do so he would have to have access to a technology that was not proprietary. Keen to buy the Pantages Theatre chain, which had 63 profitable theaters, Kennedy made an offer of $ 8 million (equivalent to $ 142 million in 2023). It
2600-469: The exclusive American agent for Haig & Haig Scotch, Gordon's Dry Gin and Dewar's Scotch. Kennedy kept his Somerset company for years. In addition, Kennedy purchased spirits-importation rights from Schenley Industries , a Canadian distillery and liquor company. Though he possessed substantial investments in various shipping lines that imported significant shipments of liquor, Kennedy himself drank little alcohol. He so disapproved of what he considered
2665-479: The face of the Earth. ... Jews who take an unfair advantage of the fact that theirs is a persecuted race do not help much. ... Publicizing unjust attacks upon the Jews may help to cure the injustice, but continually publicizing the whole problem only serves to keep it alive in the public mind. When the White House read his quotes, it became clear that Kennedy was completely out of step with Roosevelt's policies. Kennedy
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2730-464: The frauds, the SEC had to end the million-dollar maneuvers in major corporations, whereby insiders with access to high-quality information about the company knew when to buy or sell their own securities. A crackdown on insider trading was essential. Finally, the SEC had to set up a complex system of registration for all securities sold in America, with a clear set of rules, deadlines and guidelines that all companies had to follow. The main challenge faced by
2795-423: The ground by the force of the blast. In 1923, he established his own investment company. Kennedy subsequently became a multi-millionaire as a result of taking " short " positions following the 1929 stock market crash. Kennedy was enlisted in 1924 to help stabilize the stock of John D. Hertz 's Yellow Cab Company , a taxi cab operator, against a bear raid ; afterward, Hertz suspected Kennedy of carrying out such
2860-490: The growing television and motion picture industries. With significant competition from surround-sound multiplexes, the Hymans divided Keith-Albee's main auditorium into three movie theaters. Two smaller theaters were constructed in the east and west sections of the main auditorium. A fourth theater was later added in a street-facing retail space and has since become a screening room. In celebration of its 50th anniversary in 1978,
2925-575: The heights of British society. In the spring of 1938...the couple luxuriated in the warmth of English hospitality, hobnobbing with aristocrats and royalty at the many balls, dinners, regattas, and derbies of the season. The highlight was surely the April weekend that they spent at Windsor Castle , guests of King George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth . While getting dressed for an evening at Windsor Castle soon after he arrived, Kennedy paused in momentary reflection and remarked to his wife, "Well, Rose, this
2990-497: The land acquisition of the largest privately owned building in the country, Chicago's Merchandise Mart (the world's largest building at the time), which gave his family an important base in that city and an alliance with the Irish-American political leadership there to lay the groundwork for realizing his sons' future political ambitions. The Merchandise Mart's revenues became a principal source of wealth that formed much of
3055-525: The main lobby. The Keith-Albee cost $ 2 million USD to construct in 1928 and was dubbed a “temple of amusement” by the Herald-Dispatch . The opening day performance on May 8, 1928, featured performer Rae Samuels , nicknamed the “Blue Streak of Vaudeville.” The Keith-Albee was originally equipped with a Wurlitzer organ to accompany live performances and motion pictures. The organ was said to be capable of creating almost any sound effect needed for
3120-537: The movie. Later that year in 2006, the Keith-Albee ended its run as a functioning movie theater and, after almost 80 years of ownership, the Hyman family donated it to the Marshall University Foundation, which in turn passed it over to the newly formed Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center Foundation (KAPAC). Keith-Albee-Orpheum The Keith-Albee-Orpheum Corporation was the owner of a chain of vaudeville and motion picture theatres. It
3185-431: The rampant stock speculation of the late 1920s would lead to a market crash . It is said that he knew it was time to get out of the market when he received stock tips from a shoe-shine boy, but no evidence has been found of the anecdote and the first known version of the same tale was associated to Bernard Baruch in 1957. Kennedy survived the crash "because he possessed a passion for facts, a complete lack of sentiment and
3250-399: The time. Kennedy emerged as an astute businessman who possessed an eye for value , both with regard to his shrewd entrepreneurial acumen and savvy investment foresight. For example, as an active real estate investor , he turned a handsome profit from his privately-controlled ownership of Old Colony Realty Associates, Inc., an investment company which bought distressed real estate throughout
3315-466: The young lawyers was drafting precise rules. The SEC succeeded in its four missions, as Kennedy reassured the American business community that they would no longer be deceived and taken advantage of by Wall Street. He trumpeted for ordinary investors to return to the market and enable the economy to grow again. Kennedy's reforming work as SEC Chairman was widely praised on all sides, as investors realized
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#17328010625673380-495: Was recalled from his diplomatic duties and returned to the United States. Roosevelt urgently needed his support to hold the Catholic vote and invited him to spend the night at the White House. Kennedy agreed to make a nationwide radio speech to advocate Roosevelt's reelection. Roosevelt was pleased with the speech because, Nasaw says, it successfully "rallied reluctant Irish Catholic voters to his side, buttressed his claims that he
3445-716: Was a leading member of the Democratic Party and of the Irish Catholic community. President Roosevelt appointed Kennedy to be the first chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which he led from 1934 to 1935. Kennedy later directed the United States Maritime Commission . Kennedy served as the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1938 to late 1940. With the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, Kennedy
3510-519: Was an American businessman, investor, philanthropist, and politician. He is known for his own political prominence as well as that of his children and was a patriarch of the Kennedy family , which included President John F. Kennedy , attorney general and senator Robert F. Kennedy , and longtime senator Ted Kennedy . Kennedy was born into a political family in East Boston , Massachusetts. He made
3575-506: Was declined. He then stopped distributing his movies to Pantages. Still, Alexander Pantages declined to sell. However, when Pantages was later charged and tried for rape, his reputation took a battering, and he accepted Kennedy's revised offer of $ 3.5 million (equivalent to $ 62.1 million in 2023). Pantages, who claimed that Kennedy had "set him up", was later found not guilty at a second trial. The girl who had accused Pantages of rape, Eunice Pringle , confessed on her deathbed that Kennedy
3640-457: Was excellent. Various criminals, such as Frank Costello , have boasted they worked with Kennedy in mysterious bootlegging operations during Prohibition . Although his father was in the whisky importation business, scholars dismiss the claims. The most recent and most thorough biographer David Nasaw asserts that no credible evidence has been found to link Kennedy to bootlegging activities. When Fortune magazine published its first list of
3705-633: Was formed by the merger of the holdings of Benjamin Franklin Keith and Edward Franklin Albee II and Martin Beck 's Orpheum Circuit . The company was incorporated in Delaware on January 28, 1928, to acquire the stocks of the B.F. Keith Corporation; Orpheum Circuit, Inc. ; Vaudeville Collection Agency; B.F. Keith-Albee Vaudeville Exchange; and Greater New York Corporation. The company operated
3770-470: Was heavily involved in the political careers of his sons. Three of Kennedy's sons attained distinguished political positions: John served as a U.S. senator from Massachusetts and as the 35th president of the United States, Robert as the U.S. attorney general and as a U.S. senator from New York, and Ted as a U.S. senator from Massachusetts. Joseph Patrick Kennedy Sr. was born on September 6, 1888, at 151 Meridian Street in East Boston, Massachusetts . Kennedy
3835-550: Was involved in was the importation of large shipments of high-priced Scotch where he earned a handsome profit in the process. Various contradictory "bootlegging" stories surrounding Kennedy have circulated but historians have not accepted them. At the start of the Franklin Roosevelt administration in March 1933, Kennedy and future Congressman James Roosevelt II founded Somerset Importers, a business entity that acted as
3900-491: Was not going to take the nation into war, and emphasized that he alone had the experience to lead the nation in these difficult times." After Roosevelt was reelected, Kennedy submitted his resignation as ambassador. Throughout the rest of the war, relations between Kennedy and the Roosevelt administration remained tense, especially when Joe Jr., a Massachusetts delegate at the 1940 Democratic National Convention , vocally opposed President Roosevelt's unprecedented nomination for
3965-515: Was pessimistic about Britain's ability to survive attacks from Nazi Germany . During the Battle of Britain in November 1940, Kennedy publicly suggested, "Democracy is finished in England. It may be here [in the United States]." After a controversy regarding this statement, Kennedy resigned his position. Kennedy was married to Rose Fitzgerald ; the couple had nine children. During his later life he
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#17328010625674030-556: Was that they generated bad publicity in the West for the Nazi regime, a concern that he communicated in a letter to Charles Lindbergh . Kennedy had a close friendship with Viscountess Astor , and their correspondence is replete with anti-Semitic statements. According to Edward Renehan: As fiercely anti-Communist as they were anti-Semitic, Kennedy and Astor looked upon Adolf Hitler as a welcome solution to both of these "world problems" (Nancy's phrase). ... . Kennedy replied that he expected
4095-526: Was the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. In the 1920s Kennedy made huge profits by reorganizing and refinancing several Hollywood studios; several acquisitions were ultimately merged into Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) studios. Kennedy increased his fortune with distribution rights for Scotch whisky . He owned the largest privately owned building in the country, Chicago's Merchandise Mart . Kennedy
4160-563: Was the elder son of Mary Augusta (née Hickey) Kennedy and businessman and politician Patrick Joseph "P.J." Kennedy . Kennedy attended Boston Latin School , where he excelled at baseball and was elected class president before graduating in 1908. Kennedy then attended Harvard College , where he gained admittance to the prestigious Hasty Pudding Club but was not invited to join the Porcellian Club . Kennedy graduated in 1912 with
4225-679: Was the mastermind of the plot to frame Pantages. Many estimate that Kennedy made over $ 5 million (equivalent to $ 88.7 million in 2023) from his investments in Hollywood. During his three-year affair with film star Gloria Swanson , he arranged the financing for her films The Love of Sunya (1927) and the ill-fated Queen Kelly (1928). The duo also used Hollywood's famous "body sculptor", masseuse Sylvia of Hollywood . Their relationship ended when Swanson discovered that an expensive gift from Kennedy had actually been charged to her account. As soon as it became legal to do so, Kennedy ventured into liquor importing. One of his shipping ventures he
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