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On July 16, 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and her sister Lauren Bessette tragically died in a plane crash in the Atlantic Ocean.
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A former George magazine writer recounts the publication’s response to its founder’s passing and its subsequent tribute.
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John F. Kennedy Jr. co-founded George in 1995 with Michael Berman, serving as its editor-in-chief until his untimely death.
John F. Kennedy Jr.’s passing profoundly impacted George magazine.
On July 16, 1999, Kennedy, piloting a plane with his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and her sister Lauren, was flying towards his cousin Rory Kennedy‘s wedding. Navigating dense fog near Martha’s Vineyard, he is thought to have become disoriented, leading to the plane’s fatal plunge into the Atlantic Ocean, claiming all three lives.
Senator Ted Kennedy, his uncle, released a statement expressing the family’s “unspeakable grief and sadness” over their losses. He described John as “a shining light” in their lives and for the nation and world, which had first known him as a child.
The tragedy also deeply affected the staff at George, the political and lifestyle magazine co-founded by Kennedy and publisher Michael Berman in New York City in 1995. When the crash occurred, the team was finalizing the October 1999 issue; they promptly resolved to transform it into a memorial for George’s visionary founder.
Since its inception, Kennedy had pledged to “do whatever he can to ensure the success of the magazine,” as Berman stated in a Vulture interview at George‘s launch. However, he consistently avoided leveraging his celebrity for sales, explicitly choosing never to grace the magazine’s cover.
Following his death, the George staff respected his preference, opting instead for a poignant image of a blurred, waving flag accompanied by a concise coverline: “John Kennedy: A Tribute.”
George Magazine’s Oct. 1999 cover
Credit: George Magazine
Before Kennedy’s sudden passing, an alternative cover was planned for that issue. George had arranged a photoshoot with Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas, who co-starred in the Washington D.C.-based thriller Random Hearts. They were photographed together, draped in an American flag, for a feature on capital city romance, coinciding with the film’s release.
On July 16, a George contributing writer, Allison Adato, was in New York City, conducting a late lunch interview with Kristin Scott Thomas for the aforementioned story, which extended into the evening. Mere hours later, news of the plane crash began to circulate, quickly followed by confirmation that all passengers had died.
Despite the tragedy, work on the magazine continued. Days later, Adato traveled to Wyoming to interview Ford at his sprawling ranch on hundreds of acres of protected land. Ford, an avid pilot and aviation enthusiast, typically offered guests aerial tours of his property and did so that day.
“I turned it down,” recalls Adato, currently the editor of PEOPLE special editions. “I was feeling nervous about small aircraft in that moment,” she explains, adding that Ford was very understanding. “Instead, he gave me a tour of the property in a golf cart. I also recall that, like everyone else, he spoke only highly of John.”
The feature on Ford and Thomas for Random Hearts was published within the October 1999 issue of George, while the American flag tribute to its editor adorned the cover.
Kristin Scott Thomas and Harrison Ford for “George” magazine
Credit: George Magazine
Kennedy held a majority ownership in the magazine, published by Hachette Filipacchi Media, at the time of his death. Jack Kliger, Hachette’s new CEO, initially contemplated discontinuing the magazine. However, the tragedy unexpectedly led to a surge in sales and advertising revenue.
A new editor was subsequently appointed, and numerous staff and contributors remained, committed to preserving Kennedy’s magazine. Nevertheless, sales and advertising revenue eventually dwindled, leading to the magazine’s closure in January 2001.
The magazine’s concluding issue, a tribute to John, featured several of his past interviews from George. Notably, it displayed his image on the cover for the very first and only time.
Final issue of “George” in 2001
Credit: George Magazine
Discover more about the lives of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy in PEOPLE’s special edition, accessible here.
Source: The original article from People