Pink Triangle: The Feuds and Private Lives of Tennessee Williams, Gore Vidal, Truman Capote, and Famous Members of Their Entourages (Blood Moon's Babylon Series) (131 page)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

There are
a number of books out there similar to
Who’s Had Who
, a title published in 1990 by three authors: Simon Bell, Richard Curtis, and Helen Fielding. The best of the lot is Mart Martin’s
Did He or Didn’t He?
, published in 2000, revealing details about the intimate sex lives of 201 famous men.

Martin, along with many other writers, includes on John F. Kennedy’s list of conquests everyone from Hedy Lamarr to LeMoyne (Lem) Billings. In his book, Martin wrote, “Kennedy was the frequent recipient of nonreciprocal fellatio from Billings. Meeting in prep school
[Choate]
in 1933, the two became lifelong friends and even toured Europe together.”

As has been frequently reported, Kennedy enjoyed many temporary
ménages à trois
with his brother-in-law, Peter Lawford. A bisexual secretly in love with the President, Lawford was forced to procure many a starlet
du jour
for encounters with Kennedy, some of them three-ways, a few with Lawford as a participant.

On some of the compilations (including Mart Martin’s) of names of Kennedy’s lovers, Tennessee Williams’ name appears. Additionally, a description of JFK’s sexual encounter with Tennessee has appeared in a number of other books as well, and Gore Vidal
[who introduced JFK to Tennessee, and because the assertion is so prevalent]
has even mentioned it in his writings.

Gore more or less dismissed the possibility of an intimate encounter as an urban myth, but those closer in friendship to Tennessee than Gore repeat it as “gospel truth,” having frequently heard it from the mouth of the playwright himself.

Over the years, an assertion of a sexual link between JFK and Tennessee has been promulgated by some of his closest female friends, including Maria St. Just, Marion Vaccaro, and Margaret Foresman.

In 1958, before going to Hollywood to write the screen version of Tennessee’s play,
Suddenly Last Summer
, Gore flew to Key West to confer with the playwright.

Before the end of his sojourn there, Gore suggested that Tennessee should travel with him to Palm Beach for an afternoon with the future president of the United States, John F. Kennedy. At the time, he was still serving as a Senator from Massachusetts.

[It was Jackie was wanted to meet Tennessee more than JFK did. Of course, their 1958 meeting in Palm Beach with Tennessee occurred before she occupied the White House, but in 1961, she told Gore, “One of the glories of living in the White House is that you can meet almost anybody you want to.” As a demonstration of that, one of the first celebrities she invited to dinner was Greta Garbo. At that dinner, JFK embarrassed Jackie by asking Garbo, “Did my father seduce you?”

Garbo’s sphinx-like face remained an enigma. She neither denied nor admitted it.]

Tennessee was apolitical. To Gore’s astonishment, he had never heard of Senator Kennedy. “Well,” Gore responded. “You will hear of him, because he’s going to run for President of the United States—sooner than later. Then the whole world will hear of him.”

Northbound traffic from Key West was heavy that day, and in Palm Beach, Jackie was getting restless, wondering if Gore would actually show up at all, with or without Tennessee. Fortunately, the cook had prepared a lunch featuring cold lobster, so that any delay in serving it would not complicate her role as a hostess.

Arriving an hour late, Gore was filled with apologies.

Ever the courtly Southern gentleman, Tennessee was introduced to Jackie. “You’re far too pretty to be a First Lady,” he told her. “Perhaps a movie star. I’m sure you could play roles suitable for the near departed, Grace Kelly, or the still-with-us, Audrey Hepburn.”

Jackie was flattered, and confided to Tennessee that she had once entertained the possibility of becoming an actress instead of the wife of a Boston politician.

“Jack’s office used to be right across from Richard Nixon’s,” Jackie told Tennessee. “One afternoon, when Jack was away making one of his endless speeches, Nixon made a pass at me.”

“Jackie just blurted this out,” Tennessee recalled. “I think this was my signal that the luncheon would be filled with indiscreet gossip. Later, as time went by, I discovered that Jackie and I shared some things in common. Both of us had powerful crushes on Marlon Brando.”

Jackie led Gore and Tennessee out onto the lawn, where JFK was target shooting. From the looks of things, he was a poor shot, having missed every bull’s eye at which he’d aimed.

When Tennessee was introduced to JFK, the playwright was startled. JFK complimented him on what a brilliant play
Summer and Smoke
was. Tennessee was used to receiving compliments for
A Streetcar Named Desire
, and was pleasantly surprised the JFK had cited his enjoyment of one of his lesser works.

Even though one of his eyes was severely nearsighted, Tennessee shouldered JFK’s gun and scored a bull’s eye with his first shot. The future U.S. President was impressed and put his arm around Tennessee in a congratulatory, very macho hug.

Jackie had already told Gore that Jack, when introduced socially to a homosexual, always asserted his male virility to that person in an intimate way: “He flirts with them and, I think, basks in their adoration of his manhood.”

“Better that than burning them at the stake!” Gore responded.

Then Jackie headed back inside the house to check whether the long-delayed lunch was ready, and JFK walked ahead to wash up, since he was sweaty. Tennessee remained on the lawn with Gore, checking out the future President’s retreat. “Look at that ass!” Tennessee said to Gore.

Gore scolded him. “You can’t cruise our next President.”

“Let’s stop all this talk about him being President,” Tennessee said. “With that voice of his, those good looks of his, and his hip nature, he will never go over with the public. He’d be a rage in Hollywood. He’s more of a leading man than president. He’d look great on screen making love to Arlene Dahl or Lana Turner.”

“I’m sure he’s already been there and done that,” Gore responded.

Over lunch, Jackie told Tennessee, “I’m jealous of Tommy Auchincloss, my half-brother. It’s a family legend that you took Tommy to Coney Island in 1951.”

“I have no recollection of that event,” Tennessee said. “I don’t know how old Tommy would have been in 1951, but it never happened. Besides, New York has laws against child molestation.”

JFK joined in the laughter. Much of the other gossip centered on Elizabeth Taylor, who was contracted to appear in the upcoming film version of
Suddenly Last Summer
. JFK didn’t appear to even be vaguely interested in her co-star, Katharine Hepburn, but—much to Jackie’s annoyance—he pumped both Tennessee and Gore for gossip about Elizabeth.

“I saw
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
three times,” JFK told them.

“I saw it, but objected to how Richard Brooks was forced to obscure Brick’s
[the character played by Paul Newman]
homosexuality,” Jackie said. “I think there should be more openness on the screen. When Jack becomes President, I want him to fight to get rid of all vestiges of that old-fashioned Production Code. It’s stifling in its conformity, and I want it to die with the Eisenhower years.”

“Oh, my God,” JFK said. “The future First Lady is a rebel in the making! Wait until Dad hears about this.”

What happened next remains a matter of conjecture, even to this day. Jackie asked Gore to drive her to Worth Avenue for a shopping expedition, as she needed to buy some summer dresses.

As she headed out with him, JFK warned her, “Don’t spend too much money. I’m not as rich as people think.”

Left alone with JFK, Tennessee later claimed, “He pumped me for gossip about stars, including Marlon Brando, of which I knew intimate details, but also about Joan Collins, of which my information was very limited.”