All language subtitles for America in Color S02E05 American Royalty

Narrator:
This is the story of america...

Seen in color
for the first time.

[crowd cheering]

In the early 20th century,
moving pictures

Spark a new fascination
with america's rich and famous.

Legendary families
that rule the worlds

Of power, money and style.

The roosevelts produce
two presidents...

Franklin roosevelt: To restore
america to its own people.

Narrator: The rockefellers
and vanderbilts

Build empires
and spend fortunes.

William randolph hearst
uses film to cash in

On the glitzy lives
of the rich and famous.

And a glamorous first family
spawns a political dynasty...

John kennedy:
The torch has been passed

To a new generation
of americans.

Narrator: This is the story
of american royalty...

As you've never seen it before.

♪

Kennedy: I want us
to recapture that...

♪

September 12, 1953.

The wealthy resort town
of newport, rhode island.

The storybook wedding

Of 36-year-old senator
john f. Kennedy

And 24-year-old
jacqueline bouvier.

This union between two legendary
american families

Is the social event
of the season.

[applause]

This bright young couple

Will one day come to define
an american kind of royalty:

An enduring mix of glamour,
popularity and power.

And for the groom's father,
joseph,

Seen here dancing
with wife rose,

Power has long been
the family goal.

Joe kennedy,
like so many americans,

Is the descendant of immigrants.

In the 19th century,
millions cross the ocean

Seeking freedom and opportunity.

They find a country
starkly divided

Between the haves
and the have-nots.

Between 1860 and 1900,

The richest 2%
of american families

Own one third
of the nation's wealth.

Ruthless operators, like
industrialist charles schwab,

Banker j.P. Morgan,

Real estate magnate
jacob astor iv,

And steel tycoon andrew carnegie
have amassed piles of money...

But little public admiration.

Most americans call them
"robber barons."

In the early 20th century,

These bare-knuckled businessmen
rule industry,

Wall street and washington.

The most powerful of all:

Oil tycoon john d. Rockefeller,
the world's first billionaire.

His company, standard oil,

Savages and then swallows up
its competitors...

And ends up controlling 90%
of the american oil industry.

In upstate new york,

He builds a private estate
called pocantico hills.

Lavish gardens surround
the 40-room mansion.

One observer jokes,
"it's what god would have built

If only he had the money."

Rockefeller is
america's richest man.

By 1896 he has assets
of $200 million--

Over $5 billion
in today's money.

He's the bill gates of his day.

But in his 50s,
amid work stress,

He develops alopecia
and goes bald.

Image conscious, he wears wigs
for the rest of his life.

Rockefeller and his fellow
robber barons are not loved.

Ordinary americans resent
their wealth and power...

But a new populist president

Will promise
to drain this swamp.

In 1901,
president william mckinley

Visits the pan american
exposition in buffalo, new york.

The next day, an anarchist's
bullet takes his life.

Vice president teddy roosevelt
follows mckinley's coffin.

His sudden rise to power and
prominence does not faze him.

Teddy is from a wealthy family
of dutch descent...

Pillars of new york's
high society.

But this son of privilege feels
a bond with average americans.

And they feel he understands
their struggles.

[crowd cheering]

In a famous address
in 1910 he says:

"nothing in this world
is worth having or worth doing

Unless it means effort,
pain, difficulty."

[applause]

Teddy embraces
a recent invention:

The silent movie camera.

When he visits san francisco
in may 1903,

Crowds clamor for a glimpse
of this new celebrity president.

And in 1904, thousands see him
sworn in for a second term.

Teddy targets the monopolies
of the robber barons.

He calls the rockefellers

"the biggest criminals
in the country."

He sues standard oil
for violating antitrust laws...

And in 1911, the company
is forced to break up.

But this blow, ironically, not
only makes rockefeller richer...

It will help transform his image

From hated robber baron
to revered american royalty.

A transformation that starts,
strangely enough,

With a tragedy caused
by his son, john jr.

In colorado,
a rockefeller-owned company

Runs the state's largest
coal mining operation,

With 11,000 workers...

Most of them poor immigrants
from southern europe.

They're paid not by the hour,

But by how much coal
they mine...

A system that encourages
risky practices.

[crash]

In September 1913, 8,000
of the coal miners strike.

They want higher pay,
better conditions

And the right to form a union.

Rockefeller jr.
Refuses their demands.

He pressures the governor
to send in the national guard,

With the rockefellers
paying their salaries.

A pathé news cameraman
films the guardsmen...

Who are ready
for a confrontation.

[gunshots]

A gun battle with the strikers
breaks out.

This footage is seen
across the country.

On April 20, 1914,

Guardsmen open fire
on the strikers' camp.

21 are killed,
including women and children.

The incident becomes known
as "the ludlow massacre."

There's an outpouring
of sympathy for the miners.

Hundreds turn out
for the funeral.

A little more than two months
later, on July 4, 1914,

A bomb explodes
in new york city.

Four are killed,
and many are injured.

Radicals seeking vengeance

Were preparing
an explosive device

To send to john d. Rockefeller.

It blew up in their faces.

The rockefellers decide
to redeem their public image.

John d. Jr. Travels
personally to the mines...

And dresses down in denim.

He also creates opportunities
for workers' voices to be heard.

John sr., to win
american hearts and minds,

Publicizes his philanthropy.

♪

By now he has already given away
around $150 million...

Over 4 billion today.

With his trademark cap,

John sr. Appears more often
in front of the cameras.

Crowds, like this one
welcoming him

At a florida railroad station,
treat him warmly.

The strategy pays off.

Americans start to associate
the rockefellers

Less with ruthless
business practices

And more with good works.

Thanks to film, audiences
can now see the lifestyles

Of the rich and famous.

The robber barons
become celebrities.

[train whistle blows]

Before rockefeller,
the biggest fortune in america

Belongs to railroad magnate
cornelius vanderbilt.

When he dies in 1877, he leaves
$100 million--$2 billion today.

What his family does
with this huge inheritance

Makes the vanderbilts a name
that all americans know.

Grandson cornelius vanderbilt ii

Builds a family summer residence
in newport, rhode island,

Called "the breakers."

Boasting some 70 rooms
and imported marble,

It costs $7 million.

Palaces like the vanderbilts'

Become a trademark
of american royalty.

Cornelius vanderbilt's
great-grandson,

William kissam vanderbilt ii,

Likes to burn his cash
on fast cars.

October 8, 1904.

The inaugural run
of the vanderbilt cup,

A 284-mile automobile race
he organizes on long island.

It's the first international
auto race ever held in the u.S.

After nearly 5 1/2 hours,
the frenchman george heath wins.

♪

The luxuries enjoyed by the rich

Are swelling to a scale that
fascinates ordinary americans...

Especially when
disaster strikes.

This is the only footage
of the ocean liner titanic,

Seen before her fateful
1912 voyage

From southampton, England,
to new york.

[ship horn blows]

She is carrying 325 passengers
in first class.

The most expensive suite
costs nearly $4,500--

More than $100,000 today.

A price that secures a luxurious
floating accommodation,

Including an onboard gym.

Banker j.P. Morgan,
the liner's owner,

Is booked to travel,

But at the last moment
cancels his trip.

In this lonely stretch
of the north atlantic,

When the titanic
hits an iceberg,

Other rich americans
are not so lucky.

Property tycoon
john jacob astor,

Macy's owners
isidor and ida straus,

And businessman
benjamin guggenheim

All lose their lives,
along with 1,500 others.

The front pages
plaster the names

Of the first-class passengers

To feed a growing fascination
with fame.

At the time,
the biggest name in publishing

Is william randolph hearst...

The rupert murdoch of his day.

His chain of newspapers
makes and breaks people.

Hearst has the ear
of presidents.

In 1923, cameras capture him
and wife millicent

Outside the white house after
meeting president coolidge.

♪

In 1914, hearst enters
a new business: Newsreels.

And the american public

Are eager to see
the rich and famous,

No matter what they're doing.

One of hearst's newsreels shows

The now former president
theodore roosevelt...Rowing.

This exposure of the super rich

Creates a class
of new celebrities.

And some of them play along
for the cameras,

Including hearst himself.

1919, san simeon, california.

The media millionaire
takes a bold leap

Toward making himself a legend.

He builds his own hearst castle
on his 250,000-acre estate.

♪

With 56 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms,
19 sitting rooms

And 127 acres of gardens,

The mansion is one
of the most opulent ever

And dwarfs
the vanderbilts' breakers.

It costs nearly $10 million--
close to $700 million today.

It even has a private zoo.

No one turns down an invitation
to hearst castle.

Movie stars like marie dressler,
here seen on hearst's arm...

And his long-time mistress,

Actress marion davies,
on the left,

Ham it up in home movies.

Charlie chaplin also clowns
for the camera.

They schmooze with new york
city's corrupt mayor,

Jimmy walker...

While actress hedda hopper
rubs shoulders

With the chairman of the
bank of america, a.P. Giannini.

But fun and games

Aren't the only thing
the hearst cameras capture.

In 1917, the united states
enters world war I.

[boom]

Hearst's newsmen film the horror
of the trenches.

[gunfire]

America needs weapons,

And one man has a virtual
monopoly on supplying munitions.

Charles schwab
owns bethlehem steel,

The second largest steel company
in the world.

♪

At his fore river shipyard
in massachusetts,

When schwab needs
a new general manager...

29-year-old joseph kennedy
gets the job.

The ambitious father
of a future president

Is married to rose fitzgerald,
the daughter of boston's mayor.

The shipbuilding job gives
kennedy an important contact--

Franklin delano roosevelt,

Who is the assistant secretary
to the navy,

Seen here clambering aboard
a naval weapons train in 1918.

He's a distant relation
of the legendary teddy

And married
to teddy's niece, eleanor.

The assistant secretary visits
the massachusetts shipyard

To see the vast number
of destroyers

Kennedy is helping deliver
for the u.S. Navy.

[ship horn blows]

After the war, the ambitious fdr
enters national politics.

In 1920, he wins the democratic
nomination for vice president.

Roosevelt:
The men who represent us

In the affairs
of our government

Shall be more
than politicians,

That they shall
subordinate always

The individual ambition
and the party advantage

To the national good.

Narrator: ...And campaigns

With presidential candidate
james cox.

Though republican
warren g. Harding

Defeats them in a landslide...

Fdr's political future
seems bright.

But nine months after
this footage is taken,

He is paralyzed by polio.

The next time he's seen
in public,

Here at the 1924 democratic
national convention,

He is on crutches.

Determined to recover,
fdr goes to a resort

In warm springs, georgia,

Hoping its 88-degree water
will help him grow stronger.

Home movies capture his
rehabilitation with a therapist.

In 1926, he buys the place...

And turns it
into a polio treatment center.

Roosevelt: To these buildings
will come,

We hope for many generations,

People, and especially children,

Who will be greatly helped
along the road of life.

[applause]

Narrator: This 1928 home movie

Shows a family picnic
with a 13-year-old fdr jr.

It offers a rare view
of a relaxed fdr

Openly wearing leg braces.

In private, he doesn't hide
his disability.

Publicly, he and rockefeller,
still wearing his wig,

Are much more image conscious.

Rockefeller hypes
his own philanthropic image

For the newsreels
at this christmas party.

By 1921, he has given away
over half a billion dollars--

6.5 billion in today's money.

But the gift that becomes
his trademark

Hardly dents his wallet.

He hands out shiny new dimes.

♪

Americans fall in love
with the aging billionaire.

Reporter: Won't you give her
a dime, mr. Rockefeller?

Please.

Woman: Thank you, sir.
Man: Thank you very much.

Rockefeller:
And I thank you for the ride.

Man: I consider myself
more than amply paid.

Rockefeller: Bless you,
bless you, bless you.

Woman: Thank you.

Narrator: Along with his dimes,

The old oil man
gives lectures on thrift.

But the youngest rockefellers
burn through their money.

♪

These home movies capture
john d. Jr.'s children--

Winthrop, laurance, nelson,
david and babs--

Enjoying life
during the roaring '20s

At the family's expanding
pocantico hills property

In upstate new york.

With speedboats...

And horseplay in something
few can afford:

An indoor swimming pool.

♪

But these movies
are never widely seen.

The richest and
most powerful americans

Will soon understand

That while the camera
can create public reputations,

It can also destroy them.

Wall street.

The early 1920s.

Scene of the next triumph
in the rise of joseph kennedy.

He becomes a multi-millionaire,
thanks in part

To insider trading deals
that would be illegal today.

♪

In 1926 he sets out to conquer
another freewheeling industry--

Hollywood.

Kennedy buys studios in trouble,
cuts costs, fires people,

Then cashes out at a profit.

In 1931 he leaves hollywood
an estimated $5 million richer.

That's around $70 million today.

But making money
isn't enough for joe.

This immigrant's son
sets his sights on washington.

♪

Media mogul
william randolph hearst

Already wields power...

Amplified by his
enormous wealth.

♪

In 1929, he pays $175,000
to sponsor

The first round-the-world flight
by an airship--

The graf zeppelin.

A full onboard kitchen serves
green turtle soup and pigeon...

And in-flight entertainment
helps pass the long hours aloft.

Officer: And in 69 hours
from our departure from japan,

We arrived at the golden gate.

Narrator: The historic flight
attracts tons of publicity--

Perfectly timed for the launch
of hearst's first sound newsreel

At new york's embassy theatre
on September 28, 1929...

♪

Just one month before the crash

That starts
the great depression...

A calamity that hurts
millions of ordinary americans.

But for the super rich,

The depression is not
a barrier to ambition.

May 17, 1930.
Midtown manhattan.

Construction starts on a project

That will lift the spirits
of a city in crisis.

Rockefeller jr.
Uses his own money

On his biggest business project:

Rockefeller center,
a city within a city--

With a price tag
of $250 million,

Over 2 billion in today's money.

♪

♪

An investment that provides
40,000 jobs for new yorkers

At a time when 1 in 4 people
are out of work.

This film, made by architect
walter harrington kilham, jr.,

Shows vertigo-inducing
building practices,

Unrestrained by safety rules.

The centerpiece
of the development

Is the 70-story
art deco skyscraper

30 rockefeller plaza...

Popularly known as 30 rock.

December 27, 1932.

The complex's first building--

Radio city music hall,
a new york icon to this day--

Opens with a lavish performance
by the roxyettes...

Later known as the rockettes.

While the rockefellers
burnish their fame

With their manhattan towers,

Some of their fellow magnates
choose to escape the depression.

William vanderbilt ii
and his wife rosamund

Spend their millions
on a world cruise.

William: Hello, rose.
Well, we're off at last.

Rosamund: Well, I'm delighted.

We've waited so long
for this day.

♪

Narrator: 264 feet long
and luxuriously appointed,

Their ship, the alva,
is the original superyacht.

With a crew of 50...

They collect specimens
for a marine museum

On the grounds of their
long island mansion.

[sea lion barks]

A crew of nine
films the journey.

Polynesians and
australian aborigines

Treat these americans
as visiting royalty.

♪

[bell rings]

Originally screened for charity,

A 1932 commercial release
in new york

Gives the public a glimpse
of the elite at play.

♪

[crowd cheering]

But some american royals
work for their subjects.

While the vanderbilts
tour the world,

Franklin delano roosevelt
campaigns for the presidency.

Roosevelt: ...In this crusade
to restore america

To its own people.

[crowd cheering]

Narrator: One of his big
financial backers: Joe kennedy.

A $25,000 donation
and loan of a further 50,000

Secures him a seat
on the campaign train.

Fdr is victorious
and rewards kennedy,

Appointing him head

Of the securities and exchange
commission.

His mission?

To crack down on the same
shady stock market tactics

That earned him millions.

While joe cleans up
wall street...

His sons are being groomed

At one of america's most
prestigious universities:

Harvard.

By 1934, four presidents
have been educated here,

Including both roosevelts.

Joe kennedy, jr.,
jack, bobby, and teddy

All become harvard men.

A confetti fight
celebrates graduation

From a place where powerful
networks that last a lifetime

Are born.

Summer 1934.

Fdr takes time out to watch
the harvard-yale regatta.

19-year-old franklin jr.,
a talented athlete,

Rows for harvard's
freshman team.

As they pose here
before the race,

He's fourth from the right.

[starting gun fires]

[cheering]

Newsreel narrator:
The president, waving happily

From the referee's boat,

Is just an eager father today
getting a big thrill

As the harvard crew makes
a desperate spurt for the lead.

Narrator: Harvard loses.

But roosevelt's love of boating
doesn't falter.

Ships bring the american
aristocracy together.

In September 1934,

Fdr joins distant relative
william vincent astor

To watch the america's cup.

One of the vanderbilts, harold,

Is racing his yacht,
the rainbow,

Against endeavour,

Owned by british aviation
pioneer thomas sopwith.

A friendly pre-race faceoff

Sees sharp-suited vanderbilt
and his rival trade compliments.

Sopwith: I'd like to tell you

How much we've all been admiring
your beautiful rainbow

And the way you and your crew
have been handling her.

Astor: Well, we feel
precisely the same way

In regards to endeavour.

Narrator: Fdr and astor see
vanderbilt secure the victory.

But while cameras capture
a vanderbilt triumph at sea...

In new york, the family runs
into much choppier waters.

A sensational public trial

Is laying
their private lives bare.

[crowd shouting]

1934.

10-year-old gloria vanderbilt

Is the most famous heiress
in america.

In new york, she's the subject
of a tawdry custody battle

Between her inattentive young
widowed mother, gloria morgan,

And her blueblood aunt,
gertrude whitney.

Gloria morgan's self-indulgent
lifestyle is laid bare

In court and in the press...

And she is sensationally accused
of romantic interest in women.

William randolph hearst's
newsreels

Show captivated crowds
outside the court...

And his cameras hound
little gloria.

[engine starts]

After seven weeks
of dramatic testimony,

The judge awards custody
to aunt gertrude.

Years later, young gloria
gains fame once again

As a model and fashion designer.

Stories like hers enthrall
the 69 million americans a week

Who are now flocking
to newsreels.

Even more read the gossip
in hearst newspapers.

The private lives of the rich
and powerful are now fair game.

♪

It's 1935,
and president roosevelt,

Halfway through his term,
has been fighting

For the ordinary folks
stung by the depression.

People crowd to see him.

He is a beloved president.

Sharing the spotlight:
His wife eleanor.

Newsreel narrator: Everything
eleanor roosevelt says and does

Becomes news.

True to her prediction,

Her personal life
is no longer her own.

Narrator: She knows publicity
can be powerful...

So she opens her public life
to the cameras

As she supports
progressive causes...

Models the latest fashions...

And square dances with miners
in west virginia.

America has fallen in love
with the first family.

The roosevelts
are american royalty--

Wealthy, powerful
and glamorous.

[crowd cheering]

And it's no surprise
that in November 1936,

Roosevelt wins a second term.

♪

Seven months later,

22-year-old fdr jr.
Marries ethel du pont.

She's the granddaughter

Of explosives tycoon
eugene du pont

And heiress
to an estimated $5 billion.

The happy occasion

Is more than just a joining
of wealthy families.

It's america's equivalent
of a royal wedding...

A bonanza for the press
and the public.

And americans
are still entranced

By the first of the royals.

John d. Rockefeller, sr.,
now in his late 80s,

Is a newsreel favorite.

Audiences see him celebrate
his 90th birthday in style.

♪

He dies in 1937...
Two years short of 100.

Once hated as a robber baron,
at his death,

He is the embodiment
of selfless charity.

Newsreel narrator:
He passes into history

As the greatest philanthropist
of all time,

A man who gave away
$530 million.

Narrator: In 1938, one year
after rockefeller's death,

Joseph kennedy moves up
in politics.

Fdr appoints him
ambassador to britain.

It's the job that this son
of an irish catholic immigrant

Has most longed for.

Kennedy: I'm looking forward
with great anticipation

To taking up my duties here.

Narrator: The father of nine,

He's joined by his wife
and children.

Ted, the youngest, is 6.

Rose: Don't get him excited.

Ted: This is my first trip
to europe,

And I'm very excited.

I couldn't even sleep
last night.

Narrator: The kennedys mix
with british high society.

The king and queen
attend a dinner

At the american embassy...

And joe's wife rose and
daughters kathleen and rosemary

Are presented
at the royal court.

The kennedy women
attend the debutantes ball

With aristocracy and royalty.

The ambassador himself,
as tensions rise in europe,

Thinks the way to avoid war
is to appease hitler.

Kennedy: I've been asked by
the newspapermen this afternoon

What the chances were
of appeasement.

I said I didn't know
what they were,

But they certainly
were worth trying.

Narrator:
A furious fdr disagrees

And summons him
back to the u.S.,

With orders
to keep his mouth shut.

Kennedy's 1940 farewell
to the british people

Is delivered after bombs
start falling on london.

Kennedy: It's been
a tough two months.

You have faced it day and night
with plenty of courage,

Faced it with your chins up
and with a grin.

My hat's off to you.

Narrator: Kennedy's political
views have cost him his job,

But he is not alone
in his aversion to war.

[crowd cheering]

William randolph hearst
once eyed the presidency.

Now he uses his media power

To support a policy
of "america first."

William thompson: I have
the honor to present to you

The greatest living american
of the hour,

William randolph hearst.

[cheering]

Narrator: Hearst believes
in staying out of war

And bitterly opposes fdr.

But the aging publisher's grip
on public opinion

Is starting to slip.

[horns honking]

May 1, 1941.

The premiere of "citizen kane"

At new york's
rko palace theatre.

The movie is orson welles'
unflattering story

Of a newspaper tycoon...

A character based on hearst.

Welles is all smiles
at his premiere...

But the 78-year-old hearst
fights back

In bareknuckle tabloid style.

A threat to expose family gossip
leads john d. Rockefeller, jr.,

To cancel the planned opening
at his radio city.

And soon, "citizen kane"
is tanking at the box office.

Six months later,
fdr leads the nation to war.

Roosevelt: With confidence
in our armed forces,

With the unbounding
determination of our people,

We will gain the inevitable
triumph, so help us god.

[applause]

Narrator: Some wealthy americans
respond patriotically.

William vanderbilt ii
is too old to serve

But gives his superyacht
to the navy.

The alva becomes a gunboat--
uss plymouth.

In 1943 off north carolina,
she's sunk by a german torpedo.

Though joe kennedy
supported appeasement...

Joe jr. And jack
sign up for service.

Newsreel narrator: Air cadet
joseph p. Kennedy, jr.,

Reports for
preliminary training.

With other college men,
he'll try for navy wings.

Narrator: Joe jr. Volunteers
for a secret assignment.

This footage shows test flights
for his mission.

He's to parachute
from his plane

Before the explosive-filled
aircraft crashes

Into german v2 rocket sites.

This photograph is taken
just before his first mission.

Soon after takeoff,
on the 12th of August 1944,

His plane explodes in midair
over England.

Joseph kennedy, jr., is killed;

His death, the first
of a string of tragedies

That will stalk the family.

His brother jack,
serving in the navy,

Is decorated as a hero

For saving 10 of his sailors
when his boat is destroyed.

Most of the war's horror,
and its bravery,

Takes place
out of the camera's eye.

The daring rescue
of one 20-year-old pilot

Is captured by first lieutenant

And photographic officer
bill edwards

On the submarine uss finback.

The airman is the sole survivor

Of a japanese attack
on his squadron.

Eight others die.

The young pilot is future
president george h.W. Bush.

With america's victory,

He's part of a new generation
that is about to take power.

♪

In the new york nightclubs,

In the closing days
of world war ii,

The good times roll.

The stork club is one
of the top hotspots.

The wealthy elite mingle
in the cub room.

♪

Fdr jr. And ethel du pont
and war hero jfk

Share the night
with such notables

As judy garland
and frank sinatra.

Two more regulars:
Lucille ball and desi arnaz...

Stars of a wildly popular
new medium.

♪

In 1950, only 9% of american
households own a tv set.

By 1954, over half do.

No technology
has ever spread so fast.

In connecticut, prescott bush,
father of george h.W. Bush,

Recognizes the advantages
of reaching voters at home.

In 1952, he runs
for the u.S. Senate

And produces one of the first
campaign commercials.

Prescott bush: Some of our
friends and television audience

Have asked if we have
any pictures of the family.

So here are a few shots
that were taken last summer.

Narrator: The candidate
uses home movies

To portray a successful
family man...

Who's strong and healthy...

And the proud father
of a war hero son.

Bush: I hope all of you have
as much fun and happiness

In your family life as we do.

Narrator: Bush wins the seat.

In massachusetts, in 1952,

John f. Kennedy is elected
to the senate.

He marries jackie a year later,
and the young glamour couple,

Seen here
in private home movies,

Also grasp the political
potential of tv.

Edward r. Murrow:
We're going up to boston

To meet senator john kennedy
and his bride.

Narrator: One month
after their 1953 wedding,

Jfk and jackie invite
cbs newsman edward r. Murrow

Into their home

For his interview show
"person to person."

Kennedy reminds the audience
of his heroic war record.

Murrow: Is that a model
of your pt boat there?

Kennedy: Yes, it is.

That was made over
at the boston navy yard.

Narrator:
And they show wedding gifts...

Like a football from harvard's
athletic department.

Jackie: This is john's favorite,

Which he's always throwing
around this apartment.

Narrator: Tv gives politicians
a new way to reach the public.

While some american royals
are rising...

Others decline.

William randolph hearst
dies in 1951.

For decades he shined
a spotlight

On those striving for a place
in the nation's heart.

1,500 mourners turn out
in san francisco.

His five sons follow him
as publishers and businessmen,

But none captures
the public imagination

Like the man nicknamed
"the chief."

In 1958, the family donates
the majestic hearst castle

To the state of california.

A quarter million people
still visit each year.

[crowd cheering]

Many of the vanderbilts
continue to live the high life.

But with the fortune scattered

Among many branches
of the family,

It's used up fast.

The vanderbilts live on...

But most of their money is gone.

On January 20, 1961,

John f. Kennedy is sworn in
as president.

Kennedy:
The torch has been passed

To a new generation
of americans.

[crowd cheering]

Narrator:
Jfk's youngest brother, ted,

Fills his senate seat...

Which he holds
until his death in 2009.

Nicknamed
"the lion of the senate,"

He authors
over 300 successful bills

And becomes the standard bearer
for the kennedy name.

In 1962, glamorous first lady
jackie kennedy

Invites america into her home.

And she gives a tour

Of her $2 million
white house renovation.

Jackie kennedy: And there is the
beautiful monroe centerpiece

And his flower or fruit baskets
and candelabra.

Narrator:
The broadcast is considered

The first prime time documentary

Ever targeted
at a female audience.

Charles collingwood:
Mr. President, what do you think

Of the changes that she's made?

Kennedy: Well, I think
the great effort that she's made

Has been to bring us
much more intimately in contact

With all the men who lived here.

When we were founded,
there was a king in France,

A tsar in russia,
an emperor in peking.

All that's been wiped away,
and yet this country continues.

[crowd cheering]

Narrator: America doesn't have
hereditary kings and queens.

But it has created
its own kind of royalty...

Men and women whose hunger
for success and wealth

Fascinate the nation.

Storied families rise and fall,

But the power and glamour
of the kennedys

Will tower over
the 20th century.

Their triumphs and tragedies
become legendary.

They are the epitome
of american royalty.