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Leonard Bernstein opened the JFK Center for the Performing Arts with a performance dedicated to JFK. While the performing arts center was proposed by Eisenhower, JFK brought poets, artists and musicans to the White House on a regular basis, had Rober Frost compose a poem for the inaguration and let Jackie restore the White House to its historic legacy.

Bernstein was completing the composition of his Kaddish when word came of JFK's murder, and the funeral piece became a celebration of life rather than an ode to death, dedicated to JFK.

In 1980, Bernstein was reportedly booed on stage when he made the following remark, which I would like to learn where and exactly when it was said:

"We don't dare confront the implicaitons. I think we've all agreed there was a conspiracy to kill President Kennedy, and we just don't want to know the complete truth. It involves such powerful froces in what we call high places that if we do know, everything might fall apart. We don't dare confront the implications."

Does anyone have any more on that quote, exactly when and where it was when Bernstein said that?

BK

bkjfk3@yahoo.com

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Leonard Bernstein opened the JFK Center for the Performing Arts with a performance dedicated to JFK. While the performing arts center was proposed by Eisenhower, JFK brought poets, artists and musicans to the White House on a regular basis, had Rober Frost compose a poem for the inaguration and let Jackie restore the White House to its historic legacy.

Bernstein was completing the composition of his Kaddish when word came of JFK's murder, and the funeral piece became a celebration of life rather than an ode to death, dedicated to JFK.

In 1980, Bernstein was reportedly booed on stage when he made the following remark, which I would like to learn where and exactly when it was said:

"We don't dare confront the implicaitons. I think we've all agreed there was a conspiracy to kill President Kennedy, and we just don't want to know the complete truth. It involves such powerful froces in what we call high places that if we do know, everything might fall apart. We don't dare confront the implications."

Does anyone have any more on that quote, exactly when and where it was when Bernstein said that?

BK

bkjfk3@yahoo.com

Bill, it was likely during an anniversary event on Nov 22, 1980 since it was reported by Associated Press on Nov 24, 1980.

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Thanks for the AP lead Greg, my notes on this have no reference other than 1980.

There's no reference to it in the published bios I've checked on LB.

As I type this WHYY Philadelphia Channel 12 - PBS TV promotes a tribute they will air about Bernstein on Wednesday - Sept. 6.

From what I've read, LB's Mass includes a rock band.

Maybe it was a tribute performance.

BK

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Perhaps it happened here.

Aaron Copland's 80th birthday in 1980 was celebrated in many venues across the United States. The actual date of his birthday, November 14th, was reserved for a special, gala performance by the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, were in attendance. Conductors on the all-Copland program included Mstislav Rostropovich,
Leonard Bernstein
, and Copland. Leo Smit was the soloist in Copland's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, with Copland conducting. Smit continued the celebration of Copland's 80th birthday when he performed a program of Copland's solo piano music two days later at the 92nd St. YMHA in New York City.

http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/m...it/copland.html

Perhaps it is an urban legend attributable to a guy named Charles Savoie who wrote:

On November 24, 1980, the Associated Press quoted Leonard Bernstein, a globally prominent musical conductor, as saying in reference to the Kennedy assassination, “We don’t dare confront the implications. I think we’re all agreed there was a conspiracy and we don’t want to know. It involves such a powerful high force in what we call the high places, if we do know, everything might fall apart.�

http://blogs.albawaba.com/Alexanderjames/archives/2006/01/

(Look about 3/4 of the way down the page)

Maybe Greg has a better source.

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Bill, it was likely during an anniversary event on Nov 22, 1980 since it was reported by Associated Press on Nov 24, 1980.

Okay... found the story:

BERNSTEIN CONDUCTS SOMBER MOMENT

Daily Herald, Chicago Nov 24, 1980 (section 1 - p2)

A speech by conductor Leonard Bernstein on the assassination of President John F Kennedy temporarily dispelled the mood of genteel celebration at a party to mark the publication of the 20 volume New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Bernstein spoke after an address by former Brittish Prime Minister Harold MacMillan at the party Saturday night. Bernstein said the anniversary of Kennedy's death. Nov 22, 1963, goes unnoticed in the press year after year. We don't dare confront the implicaitons. I think we've all agreed there was a conspiracy and we don't want to know, he said. It involves such a powerful high force in what we call the high places, if we do know, everything might fall apart. One listener interrupted with, I think you're talking rubbish. Bernstein asked for two minutes of silence in memory of Kennedy. MacMillan Publishers Ltd of London, took the microphone to reinstate a celebratory mood, saying, This is a very great occasion for my firm and my family.

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Okay... found the story:

BERNSTEIN CONDUCTS SOMBER MOMENT

Daily Herald, Chicago Nov 24, 1980 (section 1 - p2)

A speech by conductor Leonard Bernstein on the assassination of President John F Kennedy temporarily dispelled the mood of genteel celebration at a party to mark the publication of the 20 volume New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Bernstein spoke after an address by former Brittish Prime Minister Harold MacMillan at the party Saturday night. Bernstein said the anniversary of Kennedy's death. Nov 22, 1963, goes unnoticed in the press year after year. We don't dare confront the implicaitons. I think we've all agreed there was a conspiracy and we don't want to know, he said. It involves such a powerful high force in what we call the high places, if we do know, everything might fall apart. One listener interrupted with, I think you're talking rubbish. Bernstein asked for two minutes of silence in memory of Kennedy. MacMillan Publishers Ltd of London, took the microphone to reinstate a celebratory mood, saying, This is a very great occasion for my firm and my family.

Excellent job Greg. Props to you for that.

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I know very little about Leonard Bernstein's music or career, although I knew he was a famous conductor.

If he was prepared to risk earning the wrath of the sneering defenders of the Warren Commission, it proves he was a class act, and not just musically. And he was right--America still hasn't confronted the implications of that crime and its subsequent coverup. America is still too frightened to disturb the memory of some of its icons of politics, business, philanthropy and the media.

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I seem to have read somewhere that Bernstein conducted Mahler's 5th symphony adagietto, with the New York Philharmonic, at Kennedy's funeral. Is this true?

BRIAN,

Google : Leonard Bernstein JFK Assassination:

"This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before."

-- Leonard Bernstein, November 1963

Funeral Music

Sunday, November 24, 1963 A Tribute to John F. Kennedy from the Arts , a somber variety show featuring classical music and dramatic readings from the Bible and from Shakespeare airs. Host Fredric March recites the Gettysburg Address, Charlton Heston reads from the Psalms and from Robert Frost, and Marian Anderson sings Negro spirituals.

Monday, November 25 A National Day of Mourning: the ceremonial transfer of the president's coffin by caisson from the Capitol rotunda to St. Matthews Cathedral, where the funeral mass is celebrated by Richard Cardinal Cushing, and on across the Potomac River for burial at Arlington National Cemetery... a day filled with moving, solemn sounds including drums and bagpipes, horses' hooves, fighter planes flying overhead, and, at the burial at Arlington, the missed note of a bugle playing "Taps."

The Funeral

We have provided links below to several sites that carry music, histories, and other information about Kennedy's funeral.

http://www.cs.umb.edu/jfklibrary/funeral_music.html

"An Accurate Listing of Funeral Music" by Irving Lowens, Star Music Critic

Reprint of the Washington Star article of 12/1/63

JFK Audio Links, including the Funeral "Taps"

http://www.jfklancer.com/Audio.html

The Story of "Taps" at President Kennedy's Funeral

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.com/jfk.htm

History of "Taps"

http://www.tapsbugler.com/

The Taps Project

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/tapsproj.htm

Memorials

Isaac Stern, Violinist

Isaac Stern was in Dallas the day that his friend, President Kennedy, was assassinated. Sitting in a cafe at the Dallas airport, a devastated Stern and a friend downed a bottle of bourbon. Looking out the window, they could see Air Force One which would carry Kennedy's body back to Washington. The next night, Stern was scheduled to play the Sibelius Violin Concerto in D Minor with the San Antonio Symphony, but at the morning rehearsal he told the conductor that the piece seemed inappropriate. The only thing he felt he could play was Bach. That night Stern quoted Augustine to the 4,000 people in attendance, stating that "he who sings prays twice," and insisting that they pray together by playing the "soul-cleansing" music of Bach. Stern asked the audience not to applaud at the end. While playing the Bach "Chaconne," he wept uncontrollably. After he finished the piece, the audience remained silent. He put his violin back in its case, left the auditorium and flew back to New York.3

Igor Stravinsky, Composer

On November 22,1963, Stravinsky received word in Catania, Italy, that the President had been assassinated. He and Robert Craft sat stunned by the radio most of the night. By the next day, "black-bordered photographs of the late President [were] on walls all over the city, the flags on every public building [were] at half-mast, and the line of black, empty carrozze at the hack stand in front of the hotel looked more than ever like a funeral train." On the day of the burial, Stravinsky conducted a performance at a Roman cathedral of his "Mass for Mixed Chorale" in memory of the President.4

Leonard Bernstein, Composer/Conductor

Two days after the assassination, Bernstein conducted the New York Philharmonic in a nationally televised JFK memorial featuring Mahler's "Resurrection" Symphony. The following month, he dedicated his "Kaddish" Symphony to the memory of Kennedy, with its world premiere performance on December 12, 1963, in Tel Aviv, Israel. "We never really knew how different life was with Kennedy in the White House until it was over", Bernstein later commented.

Christopher Purdy, WOSU Producer

Following the horrific events of September 11, 2001, Christopher Purdy reflected on Kennedy's death with friends.

"The recent events of September 11 have taken me back to the recording of Mozart's Requiem I grew up on. We have all been thinking of the world events which have changed us, which we will never forget. Prior to this, it's the assassination of JFK in 1963 that baby boomers have remembered. I was in second grade but remember that day very well. Parents were waiting to take the kids home that Friday afternoon. Unusual, since most of us walked to school.

"When I got home from school that Friday afternoon I remember my parents in front of the old box of a black and white, with rabbit-ear antennae aimed at the ceiling. My mother had her rosary beads out and was already praying full speed: 'Jesus, Mary and Joseph.' The phone rang with aunts and uncles and sixth cousins from East Boston checking in. We only saw them at funerals, and their litany was well rehearsed: Everything from 'His poor mother and father' to 'Oh, my God! Those kids!' to the most repeated phrase (I remember this clearly) 'Look at Jackie, God love her. She didn't change her dress, poor soul!' It was later reported that Jackie refused to changing, saying 'I want them to see what they've done.' The Kennedys were Royalty and not just in Boston.

"Last night I went rummaging for the recording of Mozart's Requiem Mass as performed by the Boston Symphony and the Chorus Pro Musica with the Harvard and Radcliffe Glee Clubs and the Seminarians of St. John's. This was recorded at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston on January 19, 1964.

"The full Requiem Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Cushing, with Mozart's music performed in context. Erich Leinsdorf conducted, and the Kennedy family attended. The ceremony was televised too, and you can bet that we all went to 7 a.m. mass on that Sunday to be home in time. The Mozart Requiem sang and thundered and begged and comforted. The soloists still evoke powerful memories for us: Sara Mae Endich, Robert Shaw's favorite soprano who sadly took her own life; Contralto Eunice Alberts; Lexington's (my hometown) own Mrs. Nicholson who sang with Callas in Chicago and was the first operatic voice I heard up close; Mac Morgan who chaired the voice department at Boston University when I was there and was a superb raconteur; and Nicholas DiVirgilio who had an important career in opera.

"Even if "the only song Jack knew was 'Hail to the Chief'" was true, I'll bet the country began healing to Mozart's music in this performance. Even though the TV lights made the Cathedral unbearably hot on that January day, the crowds came to see Jackie and Rose Kennedy, not to hear Mozart, and Cardinal Cushing, in Boston a legend as potent as JFK, typically sang the mass sounding like a vacuum cleaner choking on sand paper, healing still took place during that mass.

Kennedy's assassination is the first event I remember that stopped the country. His private life, if known, was not discussed, and I'll bet even then it wouldn't have mattered. The adults felt John Kennedy was leading us somewhere, somewhere new and fresh and better. His picture went up on the walls next to the Sacred Heart and James Michael Curley (still known as "the Mayor" years after his death). We knew we'd never be the same again, just like today, September 11, we know we'll never be the same again. We knew we were vulnerable, that a symbol so important to so many had been destroyed in a few seconds. We knew we had to put differences aside and help each other. We just knew."

Discography of JFK Homages

Amram, David "Three Songs for America" (first song's text by John F. Kennedy) (1969), on An American Original. Newport Classic 85546

"Composed in memory of the three men from whose writings I chose the texts--John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy...These songs are an expression of my gratitude for the lives and labors of these wonderful people."

Barry, John "The Day the Earth Fell Silent," on The Beyondness of Things (1999). Decca 289 460 009-2

"The Beyondness of Things reflects a new and more personal direction, an inward, poetic voyage of discovery."

Bernstein, Leonard "Fanfare for JFK" (1961), on Twenty Fanfares for the Common Man. Koch 3-7012-2 H1

"Written for John F. Kennedy's Inauguration and first performed at the Inaugural Gala, conducted by the composer, on January 19, 1961."

Bernstein, Leonard "Kaddish" (Symphony No. 3) (1963), on Bernstein: Kaddish Symphony. Sony SMK 60595

"...it seems at once ironical and appropriate that Bernstein's "Kaddish", Symphony No. 3, composed in 1963 and based on the Jewish prayer for the dead, should be dedicated to the 'beloved memory' of John F. Kennedy."

Bernstein, Leonard "Mass" (1971), on Bernstein Century--Bernstein: Mass. Sony Classical 63089

"Alan Titus (Baritone), Orchestra, Norman Scribner Choir, Berkshire Boys Choir. This performance was recorded in August, September, and October, 1971 at the John F. Kennedy Center Concert Hall in Washington D.C. and at Studio B, 49 East 52nd Street in New York City."

Daugherty, Michael "Jackie's Song " (1995-96), on American Icons. Decca 289 458 145-2

"I imagine Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis... as a solitary and melancholy figure, after the assassination of her first husband John F. Kennedy in Dallas in 1962. My composition is a song without words, for chamber ensemble and solo cello."

Gillis, Don " Requiem for a Hero," excerpt from Symphony "X" ("The Big D") (1967), on Don Gillis: Music Inspired by the American Southwest. Albany Records TROY391

"In its four movements, "The Big D" evokes some very specific images of the city of Dallas: "Requiem for a Hero" [is about] remembering JFK's assassination."

Harris, Roy "Epilogue to Profiles in Courage - J.F.K." (1964), on Roy Harris Symphonies Nos. 7 and 9. Naxos 8.559050

"...a fully characteristic and appropriate response. Elegiac and impassioned strings, reinforced by brass and capped by tubular bells, set the mood of the piece and the commemorative purpose...the work closes quietly, with a sense of calm remembrance."

Howells, Herbert "Take Him, Earth, For Cherishing" (1963):

on English Choral Music: Howells - Requiem. Naxos 8.554659

"In 1963 Howells... was commissioned to write a motet to be sung at the memorial service [for Kennedy] in Washington Cathedral... the result... is quite simply one of the finest choral motets of the twentieth century."

on Howells: Requiem, Etc; Vaughan Williams: Mass In G / Best. Hyperion 66076

on The St. Paul's Service. Hyperion CDA66260

"Recorded in St. Paul's Cathedral, London, on 8,9,10 June 1987."

McKinley, William Thomas Dallas: 1963 (1995), on MMC 2073

"for baritone and orchestra... an intensely dramatic retelling of, and a lament for, the assassination of John F. Kennedy."

Russo, William "America 1966, Op. 48" (2nd movement: John F. Kennedy) (1966)

Sampson, David "Hommage JFK" (1995), on Monument. Summit DCD 237

"...commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the opening of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts... the music reflects these two elements: vitality and sudden loss."

Sessions, Roger "Sonata for Piano No. 3 'Kennedy'":

on Complete Works for Solo Piano. Koch 3-7106-2H1

"The concluding movement was written in memory of John F. Kennedy. It is a dirge, music of profound sorrow and tenderness, with an outcry as its central climax."

on In Memoriam J.F.K. Doron Music 3002

"Performer: William Grant Naboré (Piano)"

on Sessions: Sonatas For Piano No 2 & 3; Martino: Fantasies. New World Records 80546

"Performer: Robert Helps (Piano)

Stravinsky, Igor "Elegy for J.F.K." (1964), on The Essential Igor Stravinsky. Sony 9699-89910-2

"Stravinsky and his wife Vera had dined at the White House in 1962 ("Nice kids," the 80-year old composer observed of the Kennedys as he left the executive mansion.) and he shared in the general mourning that followed the assassination in Dallas."

Various Blues Artists Can't Keep From Crying: Topical Blues on the Death of President Kennedy (1994), Testament B000003OQR

"This CD is a unique document of precisely what John F. Kennedy meant to so many, and why he continues to inspire admiration."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3 ("Stern Reflects on His Life in Music" by David Kaplan, Rice News Staff, November 11, 1999.)

4 ("Stravinsky, Chronicle of a Friendship" by Robert Craft)

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  • 3 years later...
Bill, it was likely during an anniversary event on Nov 22, 1980 since it was reported by Associated Press on Nov 24, 1980.

Okay... found the story:

BERNSTEIN CONDUCTS SOMBER MOMENT

Daily Herald, Chicago Nov 24, 1980 (section 1 - p2)

A speech by conductor Leonard Bernstein on the assassination of President John F Kennedy temporarily dispelled the mood of genteel celebration at a party to mark the publication of the 20 volume New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Bernstein spoke after an address by former Brittish Prime Minister Harold MacMillan at the party Saturday night. Bernstein said the anniversary of Kennedy's death. Nov 22, 1963, goes unnoticed in the press year after year. We don't dare confront the implicaitons. I think we've all agreed there was a conspiracy and we don't want to know, he said. It involves such a powerful high force in what we call the high places, if we do know, everything might fall apart. One listener interrupted with, I think you're talking rubbish. Bernstein asked for two minutes of silence in memory of Kennedy. MacMillan Publishers Ltd of London, took the microphone to reinstate a celebratory mood, saying, This is a very great occasion for my firm and my family.

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Guest Tom Scully

Sheeple objected to Bernstein's opinion. Some folks take it personally when others challenge the official line.

4924268437_221100d85b_b.jpg

......I took the story back to Washington and Attorney General Clark authorized a dozen or so FBI men to check on

Ragen's facts. A couple of weeks later they reported that they were true. They also reported that control of the underworld reached into very high places. Some of the rulers of the underworld had become supposedly respected businessmen and politicians whose names were household words in Chicago. Some of them, it was stated, had reformed. Yet they still controlled the mob....

Edited by Tom Scully
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Robert: It is ironic to be delving into this aspect of the Oswald/Russian equation and the classical music legend Leonard Bernstein. Why?

The answer is below.

Why did Leonard Bernstein change his name from Louis? When he was 16 years old, Louis Bernstein decided to officially change his first name to Leonard, because there were already several other Louis Bernsteins in his family. Perhaps he already knew how famous that name would eventually become. Fresh out of the Curtis Institute, Bernstein was recommended by his musical mentor, Serge Koussevitsky, for the position of assistant conductor to the New York Philharmonic's Artur Rodzinski. Bernstein was put to the test — and passed — on November 14, 1943. Bruno Walter, who was scheduled to conduct at Carnegie Hall, became ill and Bernstein was called in as a substitute. The concert was less than 24 hours away and there was no time to rehearse. With just cursory study of the piece, Bernstein wowed the audience; The New York Times ran a front-page story about him the next day and Bernstein's career was off and running. Leonard Bernstein was born on this date in 1918.

Cast of characters

Van Cliburn - His name only appears in the JFK legacy, as far as I know when the DeMohrenschildt's attended a Van Cliburn concert circa 1962....

Boris Pasternak [Russian classical composer]

Leonard Bernstein [legendary composer of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra]

Shlomo Bernstein [Leonard's uncle]

Mikhoel Bernstein [shlomo's son]

Felecia Cohn Monteagle Bernstein [Leonard's wife]

she was with Leonard in the Soviet Union when they met with Boris Pasternak, and even though her father was named Roy Cohn, it was NOT that Roy Cohn

see below.

Felicia Cohn Montealegre (born 6 February 1922, Chile – died 16 June 1978, East Hampton, New York) was a stage and television actress. From 1951 until her death, she was the wife of American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein.

Born to Roy Cohn, the head of the American Smelting and Refining Company (not to be confused with Roy Cohn, the aide to Senator Joseph McCarthy) in Santiago, Chile, Felicia Cohn Montealegre established herself in New York. There, she had an affair of several years duration with Broadway and Hollywood actor Richard Hart, as documented in several biographies of Leonard Bernstein, composer, librettist, musician and polyglot. After Hart's death, she married Leonard Bernstein in 1951. They had three children.

Commission Document 1375 - SS Peyton & Anderson Report of 03 Aug 1964 re: Wm. Edgeton Morehouse

UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE TREASURY DEPARTMENT

Protective Research

INVESTIGATION MADE AT San Diego CLOSED

PERIOD COVERED 7-31 to 8-1-1964

SAIC Charles E Peyton and Roy B Anderson

SYNOPSIS

WILLIAM EDGERTON MOREHOUSE 4014 Skyline Road, Carlsbad, California will return to the United States on or about Sept 15, 1964

MOREHOUSE is 3rd Mate on American Mail Line vessel “Java Mail.” Mrs. Morehouse supplied the information concerning hospitalization

of her husband, WILLIAM, which indicates he was not in a hospital during the time that Lee Harvey Oswald was confined there.

Conductor LEONARD BERNSTEIN (New York Philharmonic) visited Morehouse and another American who was also hospitalized in Moscow.

This American is believed to be a member of BERNSTEIN’S orchestra.

DETAILS OF INVESTIGATION

This case originated when ATSAIC Gopadze, telephoned me on July 31, 1964 at 4:50 pm and requested that San Diego office establish residence and telephone

number of WILLIAM EDGERTON MOREHOUSE (or MOOREHOUSE). ATSAIC Gopadze furnished last known address of MOREHOUSE as 4014 Skyline Road,

Carlsbad, California (1961) and his wife, STELLA MOREHOUSE’S last known address as 166 Alansadro Avenue, San Clemente, California (1959).

San Diego was requested to furnish results of investigation to Inspector T. Kelley via Security phone line.

This same date I checked the San Diego City Telephone Directory, but did not find listed a WILLIAM EDGERTON MOREHOUSE (or MOOREHOUSE)

4014 Skyline Road, Carlsbad, California

On Saturday August 1, 1964, I interviewed Carlsbad Police Officer COCHBURN, Badge 310, Carlsbad Police Department.

The 1964 Carlsbad City Directory was reviewed and listed

a William Morehouse at 4014 Skyline Road, Carlsbad.

MOREHOUSE’S telephone number was listed as 729-2813. A telphone call was made under pretext to 729-2813 and a young boy, JOHNNY MOREHOUSE answered

The Criminal and General files of the Carlsbad Police Department were checked with negative results. The accident file was checked

and Case No. 1543-A listed a non-injury accident report re: STELLA MOREHOUSE 4014 Skyline Road, Carlsbad, California on May 25, 1964. The report contained

information that on May 25, 1964, STELLA MOREHOUSE, collided into a Stop sign breaking the wooden post.

The file listed her automobile as a 1964 V.W. sedan California License HMP 084, drivers license F82-8709 (Calif.), and her date of birth as November 25, 1930.

Officer COCHBURN was requested to keep my inquiry as confidential.

This same date, SAIC Peyton telephoned Inspector Kelley and relayed the above information.

Inspector Kelley requested that MOREHOUSE be interviewed regarding his hospitalization in Moscow due to an automobile accident.

MOREHOUSE was to be questioned regarding an elderly American believed to be in the hospital in the same time that Lee Harvey Oswald was there

and to determine if any other Americans were in that hospital prior to and around October 21-28, 1959.

SAIC Peyton telephoned the MOREHOUSE residence (729-2813) and was referred to telephone number

729-3355 where Mrs STELLA MOREHOUSE wife of WILLIAM EDGERTON MOREHOUSE answered.

Mrs MOREHOUSE operates a beauty shop in Carlsbad. It was learned from Mrs MOREHOUSE that her husband was employed by the American Mail Line

and was presently the Third Mate aboard the “Java Mail,” which is due to return to San Diego somewhere between September 10-15, 1964.

It was learned from Mrs. MOREHOUSE that her husband had been in Russia three days before the accident occurred advised and that he was

in the Russian hospital.

for 18 days. (Inspector Kelley said that MOREHOUSE was admitted to the hospital August 8, 1959.) Therefore, he would have been released from the

hospital August 26, 1959. Mrs. MOREHOUSE said that William was immediately transported to Sweden immediately after being released from the

Russian hospital and that he stayed with some of her relatives in another part of Sweden after staying with he was relesed from the Swedish hospital.

Mr. MOREHOUSE met LEONARD BERNSTEIN, conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, while he was in the Russian hospital.

BERNSTEIN was visiting a friend or possibly a member of his orchestra, who was in the hospital at that time.

Mrs. MOREHOUSE said, as far as she knew, her husband and this other man were the only two Americans at the hospital at the time.

Mrs. MOREHOUSE said her husband returned to the United States from Sweden on October 1959. She said she would be able to determine the exact date

from papers and letters she had at her residence.

She was not told the reason for our inquiry, other than her husband was possibly a witness to an incident that occurred while he was in Russia.

DISPOSITION: It appears from the interview with Mrs MOREHOUSE that her husband left Russia two months before LEE HARVEY OSWALD entered the hospital. Chief's office is requested to advise San Diego office if they desire MOREHOUSE to be interviewed upon his return to the United States on September 14, 1964

(UNDATED)

In Michael Freedland’s biography Leonard Bernstein - Harrap - 1987, contains the following passage, “Could Lenny go higher than the State Department? He could. He contacted the Vice President of the United States, Richard M. Nixon, who was working out his own way of trying to bring East and West together. Nixon liked the idea of having cultural friends and was as pleased with the contact from Bernstein as Lenny was to be able to pull strings— strange that considering that Lenny was later to appear on Nixon’s ‘enemies list,’ [probably, in truth when the list was publised in 1973, he wouldn’t have wanted to have been excluded from it].

Sam arrived in Moscow on 9 September — to be met by Lenny and Felecia. Later he met his brother. They hugged, they kissed, and discovered they had nothing in common.

Nothing. Nothing to say. Nothing it appeared, to feel — although probably their feelings were precisely what led to the silence.

He and Mikhoel, [Leonard Bernstein’s brother] spoke Yiddish together, but there was nothing to say to Shlomo.

Sam went to Lenny’s concerts. When they got ready to return to the airport, Lenny asked Sam if he wanted his stay extended— that was a string that wouldn’t be too

difficult to pull, he thought.

Sam’s answer was predictable: ‘Before I even got here,’ he said, ‘I had had enough of Russia to last me a lifetime. On the other hand, the Russuans did not feel that had had

enough of Leonard Bernstein. For a time the Cold War looked as though it might be thawing.

Robert: The “elderly American” referred to above is the subject of the following document. His name was Boris Waldemar Karapatnitsky...

Little is known about him, but the question is just how significant is he?

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Robert: The "elderly American" referred to above is the subject of the following document. His name was Boris Waldemar Karapatnitsky...

Little is known about him, but the question is just how significant is he?

Robert,

You've probably already seen this, but worth posting: http://www.russianbooks.org/oswald/moscow3.htm (actually the work of AJ Weberman)

He [Karapatnitsky] volunteered there had been only one American in Karapatnitsky's room in hospital but he was 69 year old industrialist

The speculation after that is that the 69 year old was Morehouse.

I do not think so. Morehouse left the hospital in Aug, and he was not an industrialist.

Either there was another American, or Karapatnitsky was lying to perhaps cover for the fact he did meet Oswald in that ward.

THis particular quote may well sum it up: The CIA was reluctant to take the testimony of Boris Karapatnitsky because of "complications that would later arise," and discussed the problem with David Slawson. David Slawson told the CIA he would get the State Department to take Boris Karapatnitsky's statement.

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Robert: The "elderly American" referred to above is the subject of the following document. His name was Boris Waldemar Karapatnitsky...

Little is known about him, but the question is just how significant is he?

Robert,

You've probably already seen this, but worth posting: http://www.russianbo...ald/moscow3.htm (actually the work of AJ Weberman)

He [Karapatnitsky] volunteered there had been only one American in Karapatnitsky's room in hospital but he was 69 year old industrialist

The speculation after that is that the 69 year old was Morehouse.

I do not think so. Morehouse left the hospital in Aug, and he was not an industrialist.

Either there was another American, or Karapatnitsky was lying to perhaps cover for the fact he did meet Oswald in that ward.

THis particular quote may well sum it up: The CIA was reluctant to take the testimony of Boris Karapatnitsky because of "complications that would later arise," and discussed the problem with David Slawson. David Slawson told the CIA he would get the State Department to take Boris Karapatnitsky's statement.

Call this post a stab in the dark regarding whether Oswald could have been debriefed before he left the Soviet Union.

- - - (Illegible) “B”

This reference appears to be to the Hotel Ostankiso 33 Bol’shaya Marfinakaya, Ulitsa,

telephone 83-86-20 where, according to a statement Marina OSWALD made to the FBI

on 4 Dec. 1963 the Oswalds stayed a few days prior to their departure from the Soviet Union.

http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=109895&relPageId=15

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