I don’t know who came up with the timing—probably network
executives--but First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s tour of the restored White
House was aired by CBS on Valentine’s Day 1962.
Mrs. Kennedy narrated the one-hour black-and-white program along with
the urbane journalist Charles Collingwood.
President Kennedy joined them at the end.
Mrs. Kennedy was delighted with the efforts that had been
undertaken, which were the most extensive in the décor and furnishings at the
White House since Theodore Roosevelt’s administration. Eighty million people—30 percent of all
Americans at the time—watched the broadcast, and the First Lady was given an
honorary Emmy.
The reports on the program were glowing. The New York Times in a front-page story the
next day called her “a virtuoso among guides.”
An Associated Press report said, “It was informative, entertaining
television at its very best and credit is due largely to the easy,
authoritative commentary by Mrs. Kennedy.”
As a result of the broadcast,
this thirty-one-year old First Lady’s role in American society was
significantly enhanced.
Jacqueline Kennedy placed a high premium on upgrading the
executive mansion—highlighting art and history—and making it a living
museum. Among other initiatives, she
hired the first White House curator, established a White House Fine Arts
Committee, and launched the White House Historical Association.
Some of these developments were highlighted in an extensive cover
story in the September 1, 1961 issue of Life magazine. Following closely after the February 14
televised tour, a grand—if more intimate unveiling—took place at the dinner for
Nobel Prize winners and other American intellectuals ten weeks later. Perhaps the most impressive room on display
was the Blue Room, which was restored to the grandeur of President James
Monroe’s time.
Perry Wolff, the producer of the program, released a book
which was, in effect, an annotated transcript of the Valentine’s Day
presentation.
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