OK, we can’t pass this up
Tuesday, May 6, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Former Illinois Congressman Ken Gray wrote a letter to Caroline Kennedy and then talked to the Daily American about his relationship to Caroline’s father John F. Kennedy…
“Your dad asked me to run for president after his two terms would have expired,” writes Gray.” The Constitution only allows two terms for a president and he was not fond of Lyndon Johnson and wanted me to succeed him.”
Why this revelation had never seen the light of day has more to do with Gray’s safety than it did his privacy. He says he was concerned for his own life which would have paralleled his dear friend in politics, issues and programs.
“He wanted me to be a candidate because he knew we shared the same ideology,” said Gray. […]
Gray says he was more interested in hunting down a killer than becoming president which could have been fatal. […]
He says from that time on he knew that his life was at risk should he continue in the footsteps of Kennedy.
“I feel there is still some danger, but I’m at an age now that it wouldn’t be so harmful,” said Gray who spoke with authority and total clarity throughout the interview.
“I could have been killed if they knew of the friendship,” he continued.
Um, OK.
* The accompanying photo…
No, that’s not Phil Spector.
Caption?
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 2:50 pm:
“…and in the middle, Paul Lynn. Let’s play Hollywood Squares!”
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 2:51 pm:
Playing the role of Congressman Gray, Christopher Walken…
- Responsa - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 2:51 pm:
How can we comment? There is nothing that can possibly be said.
- A guy... - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 2:52 pm:
“No, that’s not Phil Spector.”
With all due respect, can you offer proof.
Caption:
You remember me; 12 noon every weekday on WGN.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 2:52 pm:
“…I told them, 30 years ago, I need more Cowbell…”
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 2:52 pm:
This was personally disappointing; I have that same suit.
- Wensicia - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 2:53 pm:
Where’s his tinfoil hat?
- Spliff - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 2:53 pm:
I see you!
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 2:53 pm:
“I ordered that drink, Sweetie, and a side order of you!”
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 2:55 pm:
“If I recharge my ‘Lil Rascal’ in time, you want to join me for some shuffle board?”
- I B Strapped - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 2:56 pm:
LBJ was the south end of a northbound donkey, but even LBJ wouldn’t whack Ken Gray. (Sorry Kenny)
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 2:56 pm:
“I didn’t want to ruin our night, but my reserve unit got called up, and I leave in the morning, not knowing if I will return…”
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 2:57 pm:
“For those wondering what happened to ‘Larry’ from ‘Three’s Company’…”
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 2:59 pm:
“Yep. Me too. Marilyn Monroe.”
- OneMan - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 2:59 pm:
After Letterman announced his retirement his announcer Alan Kalter really let himself go…
- I B Strapped - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:01 pm:
Could that be Joe Biden’s dad?
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:02 pm:
- OneMan - well done, Sir!
Ralph Malph - he’s still got it!
- wordslinger - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:02 pm:
Who knew Kenny was still around? A quick check shows that he’s 93.
The first thing that comes to mind with Kenny is that he handed off one of his assistants, Elizabeth Ray, to Wayne Hays.
Elizabeth confessed she couldn’t “type, file or answer the phone” but Hays, to his ultimate regret, found other duties for her.
- Spliff - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:03 pm:
” … and then Johnnny said, he liked his friends to call him Johnny. Johnny said Kenny …. he really liked names to end in Y. He said Kenny I want you to be the president …”
- Just Me - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:04 pm:
You, sir, are no President Kennedy!
- Spliff - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:04 pm:
Why no I haven’t been drinking … does it look like I have been drinking?
- A guy... - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:06 pm:
“If you don’t believe me, ask Bobby and Teddy, they was in on this too”.
- VanillaMan - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:07 pm:
Man Survives 55 Years of Cuban Death Threats
- Anonymous - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:07 pm:
tour guide for rauner nursing home
- Anon - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:08 pm:
That’s Al Pacino who played Spector. Boolah!!
- VanillaMan - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:10 pm:
Kennedy Confidant Surprised By Newton Minnow Endorsement of Rauner
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:12 pm:
“I knew Sinatra. Hoffa. Kennedys. I knew ‘em all, Baby…”
- RMW Stanford - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:12 pm:
Wow a nice mixture of self promotion and craziness
- Oldboy - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:13 pm:
Who plays Giancana?
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:13 pm:
This IS my hair’s natural color…”
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:15 pm:
“Today, we at ‘Studio 54′, ok. He woke up from his nap and wanted to see Andy Warhol…so, we’re at ‘Studio 54′…”
- wordslinger - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:16 pm:
Are there still some interchanges-to-nowhere down in Southern Illinois, courtesy of Kenny? He was pretty good at bringing home the bacon, if I recall.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:17 pm:
“After all the ‘Airplane’ movies, Robert Hayes never really recovered…personally.”
- Stones - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:18 pm:
Somehow he doesn’t seem to fit the image of Camelot….
- Pat C - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:19 pm:
He was pretty good at bringing home the bacon, if I recall.
Quite above average in that regard. Really punched above his weight, so to speak.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:19 pm:
“I’m here to see…’Mercedes’…she working tonight?”
- Pat C - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:20 pm:
“Prince of Pork”
- CircularFiringSquad - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:22 pm:
All my look alikes…Rea, Forby, Poshard,…… will be happy that I have released these thoughts
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:22 pm:
“I would have thought Jason Plummer would have aged better, but that’s why you don’t time travel; you face disappointment.”
- Anonymous - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:25 pm:
A physical specimen / exhibit of the notion “Politics”
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:26 pm:
“I was more hip back when we only had 47 states…”
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:27 pm:
“Your doctor’s office, or mine?”
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:29 pm:
“I happen to have a Medical Marijuana prescription in my coat pocket. How about we go fill it and see what happens?”
- Dirty Red - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:32 pm:
“Anyways, I was cruising down Main Street with an onion tied to my belt, which was the style at the time.”
- Arthur Andersen - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:33 pm:
Word, those interchanges went somewhere. To every one-horse town every 3-4 miles south of Mt. Vernon all the way to Cairo.
Caption: Keep 50 Feet Away From Flame
- Dirty Red - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:33 pm:
“Then Jackie said to me, ‘Kenny, I’m not moving to LA with the team. I want you to take my spot on the roster.”
- Dirty Red - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:35 pm:
“And then Buddy said, ‘Kenny, I gotta go get on this plane,’ and I never heard from him again.”
- Give Me A Break - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:38 pm:
Is this Carrot Top without makeup?
- Dirty Red - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:38 pm:
“Had Franky not called me before he turned it in, the Star Spangled Banner might have said ‘Oh Jose’ instead.”
- SIUPROF - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:40 pm:
As one who was represented by Kenny Gray, there is an old story:
All that Kenny’s family wanted was to farm, but every time they bought some land, in about two years, the government built an interstate right through the middle of it.
- Dirty Red - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:43 pm:
“Steve was talking crazy. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was just hungry. So I gave him the piece of fruit I packed for lunch, and things just changed for that little computer outfit of his.”
- Formerpol - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:43 pm:
Ken Gray was a revered figure in Southern Illinois, who brought home the bacon and worked both sides of the aisle well. We need his kind of Congresscritter today! At 93, I bet he is still active and sharp.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:45 pm:
–All that Kenny’s family wanted was to farm, but every time they bought some land, in about two years, the government built an interstate right through the middle of it–
LOL, there was a state senator back in the day who kept having the same bad luck when they extended the tollway west from Aurora.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:49 pm:
–Ken Gray was a revered figure in Southern Illinois, who brought home the bacon and worked both sides of the aisle well. We need his kind of Congresscritter today!–
Here, you praise the career and integrity of Ken Gray, but on another thread, you say Quinn should resign right now?
You’re handling the cognitive dissonance quite well.
- Capitol Meme - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 3:53 pm:
= We need his kind of Congresscritter today! At 93, I bet he is still active and sharp. =
http://lolmeme.co/media/created/g5wfvx.jpg
- Secret Square - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 4:20 pm:
There’s a movie titled “Bubba Ho-Tep” with Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis as old guys in a Texas nursing home who insist that they are, respectively, the real Elvis (who switched identities with an Elvis impersonator) and the real JFK (whose skin was dyed to hide his identity). Has Gray been hanging out with them lately?
- wordslinger - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 4:25 pm:
–At 93, I bet he is still active and sharp.–
Apparently active.
You still want to go with that “sharp” stuff after reading about how JFK wanted him to succeed him, how he was hunting down the real killers and how his life was in danger because of their friendship?
- Arthur Andersen - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 4:32 pm:
“Hugh Hefner still rocks the ‘Bunny Ears’ in this undated photo.”
- Arthur Andersen - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 4:35 pm:
“my ringtone is Red-Headed Stranger!”
- democrat Grrrl - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 4:48 pm:
Oh, dear.
- Jake From Elwood - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 4:52 pm:
Anything I might say would just be piling on. The man is 93 for God’s sake, so let him have his little stories and his leisure suits.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 4:56 pm:
Now that I think about it, Kenny was legendary for some pretty swinging parties at his houseboat on the Potomac, back before that sort of thing made the news.
- Walker - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 5:15 pm:
“I did it my way.”
- SO IL M - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 5:22 pm:
“I never did find out who that Smart@&& SOB was, and what ever happened to that Randy Whats-his-name anyway.”
That’s kind of an obscure old joke
- Johnnie F. - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 5:33 pm:
And I said…I don’t care where the
donation comes from…just transplant it right to my scalp. Yeah baby!! Shag-o-delic!!
- VanillaMan - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 6:02 pm:
Is that Michael J. Madigan before his magic apple that morning?
- x ace - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 6:37 pm:
Caption : ” I Started That Legend Stuff Myself”
Gray’s own words upon our referring to him as the legendary Congressman Kenny Gray just a few year ago down at the DuQoin fair. A true character.
- 4 percent - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 6:40 pm:
And since I didn’t run for President, I decided to create the Illinois Policy Institute.
- Fearless Freep - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 8:23 pm:
Ken Gray is an example of a fine public servant who should be respected for his experience and wisdom. Obviously, some of the commenters here don’t know Mr. Gray or else they wouldn’t treat him with such mockery & foolish comments. Ken Gray was serving his second career in Congress (and retired) probably before many of you were even born! You don’t know what a real statesman is.
- Capitol View - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 9:38 pm:
what is there about Illinois politics that produces self grandizement and false narrativies?
- Anonymous - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 9:44 pm:
Richard Simmons Sweatin’ to the Oldies
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, May 6, 14 @ 9:45 pm:
- Fearless Freep -,
It’s just a caption. Its just Humor.
No personal harm intended.
- VanillaMan - Wednesday, May 7, 14 @ 7:40 am:
Betty White’s younger boyfriend.
- Bill - Wednesday, May 7, 14 @ 8:09 am:
Chick magnet, mmmhhhmmm.
- Upon Further Review - Wednesday, May 7, 14 @ 8:18 am:
The letter sounds as delusional as the final weeks of Dan Rutherford’s gubernatorial campaign.
- Northern Light - Thursday, May 8, 14 @ 1:34 am:
Kenny Gray was truly a character and very good for Southern Illinois. It was hard to take him seriously though, as colorful as he was - a carnival barker at heart. I will never forget the time he told me, while flirting with me of course, that he could see lightening and electricity bolts from my braces on my teeth! He was TOO MUCH! Hard to believe this tall tale though.