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This Is the Real Jackie Interview With LIFE Magazine

2 minute read

In the dark and dramatic days following the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, his widow had much to do—but she also took the time to speak to Pulitzer-winning journalist Theodore H. White, of LIFE Magazine, in Hyannis Port.

Their conversation, which is prominently featured in the new movie Jackie, out Friday, was extensive—but the essay White produced for the Dec. 6, 1963, issue of LIFE Magazine was a short one. Billed as an “epilogue” for President Kennedy, White (played by Billy Crudup in the film) described in two short pages what Jackie Kennedy (played by Natalie Portman) had told him about that day in Dallas, and what came after. She told him of the heat, the crowds, how much she’d wished she could wear sunglasses—and how, when everything was over, she kept thinking of a line from a song that the President had loved, from the musical Camelot, about the “one brief shining moment” that had been lost. That association between the Kennedy era and the idea of Camelot would endure throughout the decades to come.

From the December 6, 1963 issue of LIFE magazine.
From the December 6, 1963 issue of LIFE magazine. (Expand image)LIFE Magazine

“All through that night they tried to separate him from her, to sedate her, and take care of her—and she would not let them,” White wrote. “She wanted to be with him. She remembered that Jack had said of his father, when his father suffered the stroke, that he could not live like that. Don’t let that happen to me, he had said, when I have to go.”

JFK's Funeral: Photos From a Day of Shock and Grief

John F. Kennedy's flag-draped casket lies in state in Washington, D.C., November 1963
Not published in LIFE. John F. Kennedy's flag-draped casket lies in state in Washington, D.C., November 1963Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
John F. Kennedy's flag-draped casket lies in state in Washington, D.C., November 1963
Not published in LIFE. John F. Kennedy's flag-draped casket lies in state in Washington, D.C., November 1963Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
John F. Kennedy's flag-draped casket, Washington, D.C., November 1963
Not published in LIFE. John F. Kennedy's flag-draped casket, Washington, D.C., November 1963Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Wife. Mother. Niece. Three generations wait outside St. Matthew's for procession to cemetery. Behind Mrs. Kennedy stands the President's mother. Sydney Lawford, daughter of Kennedy's sister Pat, is at rear.
Caption from LIFE. Wife. Mother. Niece. Three generations wait outside St. Matthew's for procession to cemetery. Behind Mrs. Kennedy stands the President's mother. Sydney Lawford, daughter of Kennedy's sister Pat, is at rear.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
John F. Kennedy's cortege leaves the White House, November 1963.
Not published in LIFE. John F. Kennedy's cortege leaves the White House, November 1963.John Loengard—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Young Kennedys prepare to leave the White House for John F. Kennedy's funeral, November 25, 1963.
Not published in LIFE. Young Kennedys prepare to leave the White House for John F. Kennedy's funeral, November 25, 1963.John Loengard—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
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Not published in LIFE. Horse-drawn caisson bearing the body of Pres. John F. Kennedy across the Memorial Bridge into Arlington Cemetery.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
JFK's funeral, 1963
Caption from LIFE. With the sound of creaking wheels and clattering hoofs breaking the silence, the President's caisson entered Arlington Cemetery, passed the graves of American war heroes and headed toward the burial spot on a grassy hill which looks over the Potomac.John Loengard—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
John F. Kennedy's funeral, Arlington Cemetery, November 25, 1963.
Not published in LIFE. John F. Kennedy's funeral, Arlington Cemetery, November 25, 1963.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Robert Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy and Edward Kennedy at John F. Kennedy's funeral, Arlington Cemetery, November 25, 1963.
Not published in LIFE. Robert Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy and Edward Kennedy at John F. Kennedy's funeral, Arlington Cemetery, November 25, 1963.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Jackie Kennedy at JFK's funeral, November 1963
Caption from LIFE. Pausing for a moment after the graveside service with Robert Kennedy, who was ever at her side, Jacqueline Kennedy had a word of thanks for Bishop Philip Hannan (left), who spoke at the funeral, and other Catholic prelates who had taken part in the services.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
As taps sounded, [French] President de Gaulle and [Ethiopian] Emperor Haile Selassie saluted the grave
Caption from LIFE. As taps sounded, [French] President de Gaulle and [Ethiopian] Emperor Haile Selassie saluted the grave.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Jacqueline Kennedy and Robert Kennedy at John F. Kennedy's funeral, Arlington Cemetery, November 25, 1963.
Not published in LIFE. Jacqueline Kennedy and Robert Kennedy at John F. Kennedy's funeral, Arlington Cemetery, November 25, 1963.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
John F. Kennedy's funeral, Arlington Cemetery, November 25, 1963.
Not published in LIFE. John F. Kennedy's funeral, Arlington Cemetery, November 25, 1963.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Jacqueline Kennedy and Robert Kennedy at John F. Kennedy's funeral, Arlington Cemetery, November 25, 1963.
Not published in LIFE. Jacqueline Kennedy and Robert Kennedy at John F. Kennedy's funeral, Arlington Cemetery, November 25, 1963.Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

White would later donate his relevant papers to the Kennedy Library, including his handwritten notes on the conversation, which were made public a year after the former First Lady’s death.

The papers are a vivid document of White’s working process, exposing the questions he wanted to ask, the extent to which she participated in crafting the “Camelot” image that would stick with the family for decades to come—and the one matter he kept coming back to: “When did farewell really come?”

December 6, 1963 cover of LIFE magazine.
Dec. 6, 1963 cover of LIFE magazine.LIFE Magazine
From the December 6, 1963 issue of LIFE magazine.
From the Dec. 6, 1963 issue of LIFE magazine.LIFE Magazine
From the December 6, 1963 issue of LIFE magazine.
From the Dec. 6, 1963 issue of LIFE magazine.LIFE Magazine
From the December 6, 1963 issue of LIFE magazine.
From the Dec. 6, 1963 issue of LIFE magazine.LIFE Magazine
From the December 6, 1963 issue of LIFE magazine.
From the Dec. 6, 1963 issue of LIFE magazine.LIFE Magazine
From the December 6, 1963 issue of LIFE magazine.
From the Dec. 6, 1963 issue of LIFE magazine.LIFE Magazine
From the December 6, 1963 issue of LIFE magazine.
From the Dec. 6, 1963 issue of LIFE magazine.LIFE Magazine

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Write to Lily Rothman at lily.rothman@time.com