JFK—The Making of a President

PBS Western Reserve (WNEO 45.1 / WEAO 49.1):

Saturday, June 17, at 9 PM
Sunday, June 18, at 1 AM and noon

Fusion (WNEO 45.2 / WEAO 49.2):

Thursday, June 22, at 8 PM

The life of John F. Kennedy is so often defined by his death. His assassination in November 1963 came to be seen as a turning point for America. JFK himself was transformed from man into legend. But that reading of history can disguise the fascinating and contradictory man behind the myth. 

JFK’s public life details his travels through Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, and his fighting in WWII, including swimming for survival to a tropical island. His personal life, including many different illnesses, was often hidden from the public. His glamorous marriage to Jackie and his meteoric rise to become a senator and eventually president captured the imagination of the public.