I was working on 1968  --  The Year in Pictures, when I came upon this story.  It comes from a British Internet Publication, Mail Online.  Date of publication was 1/12/09.  It is being reproduced, herein, purely for its prurient,  sensationalism value and not for the truth of anything stated therein.  How's that for a legal disclaimer? 
     That being said, remember, Robert Vaughn was the Man from U.N.C.L.E. (the United Network Command for Law Enforcement).  That was a very sharp organization.  They had to be in order to be able to battle THRUSH.  Don't ask me to remember what THRUSH stood for.  Napoleon Solo was pretty smart as he actually did earn a PhD from UCLA.   And, of course, he had help from Ilya Kuryakin, who we all know went on to become a forensic pathologist for NCIA.  Who knows more about murder than a forensic pathologist?  And, dont't forget about Mr. Waverly, also known as Leo G. Carol.  He even had help from the world of the supernatural.  Remeber, he was the only one who could communicate with George and Marian Kirby.  They were real live ghosts from the show Topper.  We're talking about some pretty serious pedigrees here.  Maybe there is something to this story?


I know who was behind Bobby Kennedy's murder, by his actor friend Robert Vaughn

By Robert Vaughn
Last updated at 10:57 AM on 12th January 2009

When Bobby Kennedy's death was announced that day in June 1968, I cried myself to sleep. It was months before I was able to function normally again.

I had deeply admired Bobby since I was first introduced to him in 1960. Ironically, we met at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles where, eight years later, he would be assassinated.

We ran into each other again at the University of Southern California in 1965, when I was concluding work on my PhD in communications and my show, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., was at the height of its popularity.

I was asked if I would host Bobby and his wife Ethel when they visited the campus for a speech.

After that, I stayed many times at Hickory Hill, the family's estate in Virginia, with Bobby, Ethel and their children, all big U.N.C.L.E. fans.

The accused: Tycoon Aristotle Onassis and glamorous friends at a party in Paris in 1974

For years, I had been actively involved in the civil rights movement and Democratic politics, speaking out against American involvement in the Vietnam War and trying to persuade Bobby to stand against Democrat President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Indeed, a short time before Bobby announced that he would run for the Democratic nomination in 1968, he even suggested I try for a Senate seat. I was flattered.

'When you're sitting in the Oval Office having stopped the war, we'll talk again,' I said. He smiled and replied: 'We'll see.' I never saw him privately again.

Like the murder of his brother John almost five years earlier, Bobby's shooting was a watershed for America. Most people believe a lone assassin - a Palestinian refugee Sirhan Bashara Sirhan - was responsible for his death.

I shared that assumption until my continued involvement in political debate brought the real questions about Bobby's killing to my attention.

After studying documents, talking to experts and interviewing a crucial witness, I believe there is strong evidence that Bobby's killing was carried out by more than one gunman. And, more shockingly, that the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis paid for the assassination.

This is not to say there is no evidence linking Sirhan to the crime. He was seen by many people at the Ambassador Hotel firing his .22 pistol at Kennedy as the Senator walked through the kitchen on a shortcut between meetings.

Sirhan was arrested, charged and convicted of the crime. He was sentenced to die in the electric chair. But California abolished capital punishment in 1972 and today, 40 years on, Sirhan is still serving a life sentence.

So was Bobby Kennedy's shooting a non-controversial, open-and-shut case with a single, obvious suspect? Here's a summary of the facts.

Firstly, Sirhan was apparently not in the right place to fire the bullets that killed Kennedy. The autopsy shows Kennedy was shot from behind, from below, from the right and with a gun positioned no more than three inches from his head.

Yet all the eyewitnesses said they saw Sirhan between one-and-a-half and five feet in front of Kennedy - a completely different location to the one he would have needed to be in to fire the fatal shots. This information was withheld until after Sirhan's lawyers conceded his guilt.

Using the US Freedom of Information Act, Bernard Fensterwald, a Washington lawyer, obtained an FBI report on the shooting in 1976. It indicated that at least 12 bullets were fired in the hotel kitchen that evening.

Two were recovered from Bobby's body and five from the bodies of wounded bystanders. Two more passed through Kennedy's body, while three were found lodged in ceiling panels.

Meeting of minds: Robert Vaughn, left, with Bobby Kennedy, right, and Norman Topping, president of the University of Southern California, in 1965

Yet the Sirhan theory relies on the notion that his gun, which held a maximum of eight bullets, was the only one fired. It just doesn't add up.

What's more, criminologist William Harper swore in an affidavit that the bullets that killed Kennedy could not have been fired by Sirhan's pistol because the ballistic characteristics did not match.

Finally, there are reasons to believe the Los Angeles police obstructed or neglected aspects of the case.

For example, although an armed security guard stated he was standing behind Kennedy at the time of the shooting - the location from which the fatal shots must have come - and even admitted dropping down and pulling his gun when the shooting began, his weapon was never checked to see if he might have fired any of the bullets that killed Kennedy, whether deliberately or accidentally.

New evidence has recently come to light. Dr Robert Joling, a past president of the American Academy of Forensic Scientists, and sound expert Philip Van Praag concluded that, based on exhaustive analysis of audio tapes from that fateful night, at least 12 shots were fired using at least two guns.

What about the mental state of Sirhan? Is it possible he could have been programmed to take the fall for Bobby's murder?

This may sound implausible, but Dr Herbert Spiegel, a New York psychiatrist who teaches at Columbia University and is considered an expert on hypnosis, supports this theory. He believes Sirhan was probably acting in response to hypnotic directives when he fired at Kennedy.

Sirhan appeared badly disorientated after his arrest, and when he was given a psychiatric examination before his trial, he was found to be susceptible to hypnotic suggestion, even climbing the bars of his cell like a monkey upon command.

In all probability, Dr Spiegel suggests, Sirhan was still in a state of hypnotically induced amnesia.

These questions continue to attract interest from a few intrepid researchers. Was there a second or even a third gunman? If so, who was it? Could the security guard behind Kennedy who admitted pulling his gun have had something to do with the killing? And, assuming that more than one gunman was involved, who was the mastermind behind the plot?

Even those most eager to blame the crime on Sirhan do not pretend he had the intellect, resources or the organisational ability to pull together an assassination conspiracy.

Investigative journalist Peter Evans suggested in his 2004 book Nemesis that Onassis was responsible in part for Kennedy's murder.

According to Evans, Onassis and Bobby first crossed paths in 1953, when Bobby became assistant counsel to Roy Cohn, the chief investigator working for Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-Communist crusade.

Riddles remain over the murder of Bobby Kennedy, pictured a moment after he was shot

One of Bobby's assignments was to study what McCarthy called the 'blood trade' between certain American allies and Red China, whose soldiers were fighting US troops in Korea.

Bobby found that more than 300 New York Greek shipping families were trading regularly with China. None of Onassis's vessels was involved, but he was afraid anyone prying into his business would discover he was secretly negotiating with Saudi Arabia to supply tankers to transport oil under the Saudi flag.

Onassis's fears were realised in October 1953 when sealed indictments were handed down to seize any ships owned by Onassis that came into an American port. He blamed Bobby for his predicament.

Despite - or perhaps because of - his resentment of Bobby, Onassis gradually became socially and romantically entangled with the Kennedy family.

He met then-Senator John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie in 1956 when he invited them aboard his yacht, the Christina. Shortly after JFK became President, Onassis began an affair with Lee Bouvier Radziwill, Jackie's sister.

But Onassis wasn't satisfied with Lee - he wanted Jackie herself. He took advantage of the First Lady's vulnerability in August 1963, shortly after the devastating death of her two-day-old son, Patrick. Jackie accepted his invitation to stay on the Christina while she recuperated.

For Bobby, the way Onassis thrust himself into the Kennedys' personal drama heightened the hostility between them. Onassis, of course, went on to marry Jackie in October 1968, five years after JFK's death.

According to Evans, the notion of killing a Kennedy did not take shape in Onassis's mind until early 1968 when he met Mahmoud Hamshari, a follower of Yasser Arafat and a fanatical anti-American and anti-Israeli activist.

Enraged by US support for Israel during the Six Day War in 1967, Hamshari suggested killing 'a high-profile American on American soil' would make the US government 'think twice about backing the Jews'.

When Hamshari had an opportunity to meet Onassis, he used it to shake down the Greek magnate for money to carry out the plot.

Evans provides extensive detail about the dealings between Onassis and Hamshari. He describes the apparent involvement in the conspiracy of Dr William Bryan, an expert in hypnosis based in Los Angeles.

He quotes a defence witness from the trial of Sirhan describing the accused killer as being 'out of control of his consciousness and his own actions [and] subject to bizarre disassociated trances in some of which he programmed himself to be the instrument of assassination'.

And he describes pages from Sirhan's notebook, once in the possession of Christina Onassis, that seem to implicate Onassis not just in Bobby's killing but also in two other business-related murders.

Jackie Kennedy with Onassis after their 1968 wedding. His intrusion into the Kennedys' lives was deeply resented by Bobby

Then there is Hélène Gaillet, one of the players in Evans's story, whom I have interviewed myself. On an autumn afternoon in 2007, I met Helene at her apartment on New York's Upper West Side.

Statuesque and elegant, Hélène had worked as a photographer for The New York Times and New York magazine.

Hélène met Onassis for the first time at the Coach House restaurant in New York in the early Seventies. As the dinner came to a close, he raised the palms of her hands to his lips and said: 'The next time you are in Paris and need a place to stay, call me.'

In 1973, she was due to cover the fight between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali in Zaire. But when it was postponed for a month, she found herself in Paris with time on her hands.

Hélène remembered Onassis's invitation and called him. Fifteen minutes later, he invited her to his estate on the Greek island of Skorpios.

Onassis's daughter Christina was there. She was worried about her father's welfare and made Hélène promise not to take any pictures of him. Onassis was dealing with some difficult business issues, Christina said, and she was worried that any unflattering pictures would make him more vulnerable to his enemies.

During her visit to Skorpios, Hélène stayed on Onassis's yacht while he remained at his estate. One day, they went skinny-dipping and he came on to her. Helene reciprocated enthusiastically. It was the first and last time that happened between them.

A few days later, Hélène dined with Onassis at his beach house. They talked about many things, including religion. Hélène had been raised a Catholic and Ari questioned her closely, saying he was fascinated by confession and absolution.

In the course of the conversation, she asked Ari whether he agreed with Hemingway's famous remark about the difference between rich people and the rest of us - 'They have more money'.

With a laugh, Onassis replied: 'The rich get laid more, I know that ... Even that little runt Bobby Kennedy got laid more.'

More disturbingly, Onassis went on to speak freely about Bobby. According to Hélène, Onassis's hatred for him was still vivid and intense.

In the small hours, Onassis walked Helene to the beach from where a launch would take her back to the Christina. They stood together, gazing out to sea, for a long time.

After a while, Hélène realised Onassis was talking to himself, in low, murmuring tones, like someone deep in prayer.

Finally, as she strained to hear what he was saying, he turned to her and, clearly and simply, said: 'You know, Hélène, I put up the money for Bobby Kennedy's murder.'

I spent almost two hours with Hélène at her apartment. I was most impressed with her ability to place herself in the time and emotions of some of the world's most powerful and famous people and her conversations with them.

Not once did I feel that Hélène, now in her 70s, was anything but honest. I'm convinced her story is a faithful rendition of what happened to her.

Does Hélène's story settle forever the question of who killed Bobby Kennedy? Not in a legal sense and perhaps not even in a moral sense. But along with the other evidence, it makes abundantly clear that one of the greatest crimes of the 20th Century remains unresolved by the official verdict, even to this day.

• A Fortunate Life, by Robert Vaughn, is published by JR Books priced £18.99. To order your copy for £17.10 inc p&p, call the Review Bookstore on 0845 155 0713.

    It was quite an evening for the school of red and blue as hundreds converged upon the 82 year old edifice.  Michael Bloomberg, the Mayor of the City of New York designated Wednesday, June 17, 2009 as “Jamaica High School Day in New York City”.  That evening, a ceremony was held to celebrate the designation of  Jamaica High School as a New York City Landmark.
    The significance of landmark status is that the exterior of the school will forever remain as we remembered it.  The exterior can not be changed, except for renovations to maintain the property’s current aesthetics.
    How did all of this come about?  One could argue that the party responsible is the Jamaica High School Class of 1969.  What?  How could this be?  I’ll tell you.  Let’s harken back to yesteryear.  A decade ago, to be exact.  A wonderful group of our classmates decided it would be a great idea to have a 30th reunion.  And, it certainly was.  I was not one of the original organizers, but, when I heard about the reunion I wanted to somehow contribute.  I thought everyone would appreciate the opportunity to return to the school and visit.  Being involved in Queens politics I made a call to the City Councilman in whose district the high school resides.  I spoke to his Chief of Staff, a friend, by the name of Jeff Gottlieb.  Jeff made the arrangements for access to the school for Saturday afternoon of the Reunion weekend.  There must have been 50 to 100 of us gathered, that afternoon, around the flagpole, just like it was, nearly every morning in 1969.  We were waiting for the doors to open and I spied Jeff.  He told me he was going to lead the tour and then I remembered he was the President of the Central Queens Historical Society.  Before his retirement, Jeff was a social studies teacher at Cardozo High School.  He led us through the school and also sat us down in a classroom and proceeded to present us with a historical lecture of the school that we never received as students.  As they say, “A good time was had by all”.
    I fondly remembered the tour but didn’t give it much thought beyond that memory.  Jeff, on the other hand, had become inspired.  He tells me he had given some thought before the tour to the historical significance of the school.  After the tour he became really motivated and commenced a ten year campaign which culminated in the achievement of landmark status for our venerable institution.  So, one could argue that if we did nothing else for Mr. Schuker, we helped get his beloved school landmarked.

    The landmark ceremony was really a moving affair.  People were milling about in front of the main entrance and in the lobby for a meet and greet.  Then we were invited into the beautifully restored auditorium for the ceremony.  Certainly nothing fancy.  The New York City Board of Ed never seems to have enough money to keep the schools open on a day to day basis, let alone cater a fancy spread.  You walked in and filled out your own name on your nameplate.  After the ceremony, we retired to the gym for a reception of cake and coffee and bottled water.  The fresh fruit was a nice touch.  However, notwithstanding the lack of glitz, there was a very special aura surrounding the school.  What did seem a a little incongruous was the music that was blasting out of the PA system.  Jazz, Anita Baker, Sting.  It was a good mix for the event.  Do you remember music worth listening to over the PA system?  It was used to berate us, yes, but serenaded?
    So, who do I run into in the lobby?  Everyone’s favorite guidance counselor and speaker at the 30th Reunion, Larry Edwards.  He’s slowed up a little, walks with a cane, but looks pretty good.  He credits his good health to his cardiologist, our classmate, Dr. Paul Harnick.  He was excited to hear about the website and plans for a 40th.  He couldn’t wait to get home and check out the site and pass it on to Paul, who he says saved his life.  He sends his best to everyone and hopes to make it to the 40th Reunion.
    The ceremony began with a presentation of colors and salute to the flag.  Before the ceremony one could not help but notice a very attractive and bubbly woman who was taking photographs of everybody and everything.  That was Cheryl Leader and she is a social worker at the school.  Personality plus does not begin to describe her.  After the salute to the flag, she walked to the podium and sang the Star Spangled Banner.  People’s jaws were dropping.  What a performance!  Fancy and theatrical, but not in the disrespectful way to which many divas have  succumbed, in recent years.  Just a beautiful, beautiful voice.  Frankly, I liked her rendition a lot more than Whitney Houston’s.
    Subsequent thereto, there were the customary speeches by local politicians and officials.  Proclamations were issued by the Mayor, the City Council, the Queens Boro President and others.  For Wednesday, at least, Jamaica High was a Big Deal.
    What I want to focus on is what’s going on at Jamaica High School, today.  When we went to JHS it was an overwhelmingly white school with a gradually increasing population of Blacks and Hispanics.  There were a few Asians, but to the best of my recollection, they were born here or had emigrated at a very young age.  Our tenure at the school was only a few years after the upheaval of the Civil Rights Acts and the Great Society Program.  Newark and Detroit were in flames the year before we graduated.  The Viet Nam War was ripping the country apart.  Jamaica High School was an oasis of academic excellence and a bastion of Westinghouse Scholarship.  The student body got along very well, for the most part, but one could not help but feel some degree of racial tension.
    The demographics of Jamaica High School, today, are shockingly different.  As set forth in the ceremony program, the school is now, approximately, 60% African, 20% Asian, 18% Hispanic and 3% white.  If you add up the percentages they equal 101%.  I’ve also seen estimates of the white population being as low as 2% so that probably accounts for the extra one percent.  For those of you that attended Van Wyck Junior High School (JHS 217) there was a math teacher there who began many of his classes forcing the students to sing a jingle.  The immortal words were “Percent means hundreds, hundreds means percent”.  Does anyone remember his name?  Short cropped white hair.  He made my life miserable, but I will always remember that percentages have to equal 100.
    A part of high school life that we never experienced at Jamaica was the Haitian Club.  A number of female students from today’s Haitian Club performed a native Haitian dance.  Wearing black leotards, decorated with colorful scarves, the girls were each, strikingly handsome.  The music was a driving  rhythm of jungle drums.  The girls gyrated their hips and shook their bodies in well practiced unison.  It was an excellent and skilled dance presentation.
    I can not help but remember that only a few years prior to our entering JHS, mainstream America was scandalized by the “profane” performances of a young Elvis Presley.  Ed Sullivan could only televise him from the waist up as Presley actually rolled his hips as he sang.  Sitting in the Jamaica High School auditorium, watching these attractive young girls “shakin’ their booties” for all it was worth, I can only imagine Louie Schuker rolling over in his grave in response to what he would consider the perversity being perpetrated in his school.  My, how times change.
    In addition to the landmark ceremony, the auditorium was rededicated to the memory of  Doris Reid.  The auditorium has been beautifully restored.  It’s really a remarkable room accented with marble and delicate metal grillwork.  The ceiling, consisting of an intricate box like pattern is particularly impressive.  The huge windows on both sides of the auditorium flood the room with natural light.  Although, apparently replaced, the seats are still constructed of a very hard, and not particularly comfortable, uncushioned wood.
    If the name Doris Reid doesn’t ring a bell, Ms Reid was Mr Schuker’s secretary.  But, not just Mr Schuker.  It seemed like Ms Reid was every principal’s secretary.  As was mentioned in the program, “Principals came and went, but Doris Reid remained constant”.  Ms Reid was the keeper of the Principal’s castle for more than half a century.  She served at JHS from 1948 through 2004.
    Facts you might not have known about Ms Reid were that she was born in Panama in 1919 and came to the US at five years old.  Remarkably, she graduated from both Hunter High School and Hunter College before the age of twenty.  This was an exceptional accomplishment for any woman in 1939, but especially so for an African American woman.  Ms Reid was a particularly cultured person with a passion for music, especially opera.  One can only wonder what more she could have accomplished had she born at a later time when more opportunities would have been open to her.  Notwithstanding, she lived a full productive life and naming the auditorium in her memory is a fitting tribute.
    Towards the end of the program was a vocal performance by two very talented student singers.  They were to sing the school song.  You can’t imagine how much I was looking forward to that.  They approached where they were to sing, both holding large portfolios of sheet music.  Think of the portfolios held by Christmas carolers.  I couldn’t imagine wh they needed to see the words of the song.  After all, the school song was an endless repetition of the words “red and blue and red and blue and red and blue and red and blue . . .” sung to the tune of Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender, Love Me True”.  But, what to my curious ears to I hear - lyrics.  Not just lyrics, but three stanzas!  I was overwhelmed.  And yes, there were dry eyes in the place.
    For me, the highlight of the evening was Walter G. Acham, the current principal.  How does one describe Mr. Acham?  For those of you who are football fans and those of you who watched a previous season of “Dancing With the Stars”, Mr Acham could be characterized as Jamaica’s own Warren Sapp.  On the football field, Sapp was a fearsome defensive tackle.  A monster of a man, he defended his team’s turf with a tenacity that will take him to the Hall of Fame.  On “Dancing With the Stars” he was probably everyone’s favorite personality.  The gentle giant with the ever present grin.
    Like Sapp, Acham is physically imposing.  Yet, he has a ready smile and exudes warmth and humor.  A big teddy bear of a man, it is apparent that his students are the focal point of his professional existence.  He is passionate, committed and his enthusiasm is infectious.  In his remarks, Mr Acham kept coming back to the theme that the people in the school at the top of a hill are a family.  That theme of family is exactly the aura I referred to earlier in this article.  I’m told that the principal’s office is continually filled with as many as a dozen students at any given time.  Students come to “hang out” with the Principal.
    Can you imagine hanging out with the high school principal?  My recollection was that the principal’s office was a place of dread.  It was one step away from confinement at Guantanamo Bay.  I managed to stay out of Mr Schuker’s vision until graduation rehearsal in the auditorium.  He caught me perpetrating the capital offense of talking to the kid in the next seat. He pointed his finger at me from the stage, and in a booming Charlton Heston as Moses voice
directed, “You, get in my office, now!”  I had to get up in front of the entire senior class, walk the long final mile up the aisle and go see Ms Reid while I waited for his pronouncement of punishment.  I thought of making a break for it because my mom was going to kill me when I got home.  I gave up that idea when I realized Mr Schuker would only have the State Police track me down with bloodhounds.  I have no memory, whatsoever, of the punishment, but I’ll never forget  the heart palpitations waiting for him on the principal’s bench.
    No palpitations with Mr Acham, although I’m sure students are careful not to cross him.  He appears capable of breaking a student over his knee.  He had a bottle of Noxon polish on the podium.  He boasted that if he wanted to scrub the cupola of the school, without even asking for volunteers, twenty students would beat him up to the roof with scrub brushes.  I got that priceless feeling of sincerity in the way he delivered his remarks.  And he seemed genuinely emotional when talking about his students.
    He’s got his hands full.  He has achieved a significantly reduction of crime and violence at the school.  A bigger problem is that today’s students don’t have the same parental push towards educational achievement that we experienced from our own parents.  Larry Orchier visited the school a few weeks ago, walking in unannounced.  He was greeted by the principal and spoke to a few teachers and a guidance counselor.  He recalls that their greatest concern was the lack of parental guidance as to the steps needed for upward mobility within our society.  The students are largely immigrants and their parents have not yet acclimated to the particularities of the United States in 2009.  Much like the “greenhorn” designation given to many of our grandparents who emigrated to America from Eastern Europe at the turn of the century.  A significant difference between our forebears and those of today’s JHS students is the reverence for learning and formal education that was inbred in our culture.
    Mr Acham reprised that concern in his remarks.  We are all constantly bombarded by requests from our colleges or other organizations for financial support.  Mr Acham also requested support but he emphasized that money was not his primary concern.  As Larry articulated, the primary need seems to be some sort of mentoring help for the students.  That’s something we may want to address in our Message Board dialogs.  Of course, I’m sure he wouldn’t turn away an alumni financial contribution.
    Besides the politicos, alumni, former and current school staff, there were plenty of current students.  I think Mr Acham is on the right track.  They come off as friendly and genuinely nice kids.  Although I was only there for a few hours, it was a good vibe.  I didn’t pick up any tension.  The kids were candid and easily engaged.  I was with Neil Curtis, whom I’m sure many of you know from the Class of 68.  Neil can best be characterized by the word loquacious.  Neil had no shortage of students to speak with.  As a teacher and guidance counselor in various Queens schools, for many years, he’s my expert in secondary education.  He was impressed with the character of these kids.  Mr Acham seems to be doing all he can with the resources at his disposal.  Moving these kids in the right direction is the challenge.  Can we as a class assist with that challenge?
    I like what’s happened with Jamaica High School.

RL

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Committee has designated Jamaica High School as a landmark.  The dedication ceremony will be held on Wednesday, June 17, 2009.  And, WE'RE INVITED.  See the invitation contained on the Welcome Page of this site.  Please join me andyour fellow alumni for the ceremony.  There may never be another opportunity for JHS to offer to feed you.

Following is a link to a PDF of the report of the Landmarks Preservation Committee, setting forth the historical significance of the school.  It contains an interesting history and includes seome excellent photos of the school. 
www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/JamaicaHighSchooldesigrep.pdf

Enjoy, and I hope to see some of you in Jamaica on Thursday, June 17, 2009 at 5:30 pm. 
RL

KING MANSION, ca 1900. The King mansion (or "King Manor", though never a true manor house) is the oldest building in Jamaica. The kitchen in the rear is the original farmhouse, dating to 1730. In 1805. Rufus King, congressman and senator, and active in the Constitutional Convention, bought the property and about 1806 built the main part of the house, seen here. It was later the home of his son, John Alsop King, Governor of New York, 1857-1858. The house was deeded to the Town of Jamaica in 1897 and since 1900 has been cared for by the King Manor Association. In 1986 a generous federal grant made possible the complete refurbishing and restoration of the house. (Photo by Charles Van Riper; Van Riper collection.)

Jamaica Avenue was an ancient trail for Native American tribes from as far away as the Ohio River and the Great Lakes, coming to trade skins and furs for wampum. It was in 1655 that the first settlers paid the Native Americans with two guns, a coat, and some powder and lead, for the land lying between the old trail and "Beaver Pond," later called Baisley Pond. Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant dubbed the area Rustdorp in granting the 1656 patent. The English, who took it over in 1664, renamed it "jameco," the Carnarsie word for beaver. And so, Jamaica was born.

Colonial Jamaica had a band of 56 Minute Men that played an active part in the Battle of Long Island, whose unfortunate outcome led to occupation by British troops during most of the Revolution. In Jamaica, "George Washington slept here" is indeed true—in 1790, in William Warner's tavern. With independence, changes came rapidly to the area. When Rufus King, an author of the Constitution, returned from 7 1/2 years as ambassador to Great Britain, he bought the old Smith farmhouse and renovated it into a stylish home reflecting his Federalist tastes. Once the centerpiece of a 122-acre farm, the home housed three generations of the King family, including John Alsop King, elected governor of New York in 1856.

By 1776, Jamaica had become a trading post for farmers and their produce. For more than a century, their horse-drawn carts plodded along Jamaica Avenue, then called King's Highway. The Village of Jamaica was incorporated in 1814; a year after the public school system was established with $125.00 for the first year. By 1834 the Brooklyn and Jamaica Railroad Company had a line into Jamaica. Jamaica Avenue, then Fulton Street, was, in 1850, a plank road with a toll gate; in 1866 the tracks were laid for a horse car line. Twenty years later those tracks were the first in the state to be electrified.

In the years following the Civil War, Jamaica grew rapidly. The 1875 population of 780 jumped to 3,922 five years later. By 1898, the year Queens was incorporated into New York City, 6,500 people lived in Jamaica. By 1910 that number topped 58,000. Business and residential development accelerated in the 20 th century, with the 1918 extension of the elevated transit lines (with a nickel fare!), which enabled people who worked in Manhattan to live in Jamaica. The Long Island Rail Road Station was completed in 1913.

Between 1920 and 1940 Jamaica Avenue commercial real estate boomed. The district included fine department stores, Gertz and Macy's, and later May's; the first modern supermarket, King Kullen; and a Spanish Baroque movie palace called the Loew's Valencia Theater. The 1937 opening of the IND Subway under Hillside Avenue linked Jamaica with Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Kwai Chang Cain

I know that Kung Fu was aired in the early 70s, after we graduated.  But, it was part of my college life.  I was big fan.  Too bad.
You can click on the following link and it will take you to the Yahoo story:

movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.ap.org/actor-david-carradine-found-dead-bangkok-ap

Click on any image to enlarge.

Page 1

page 2