Jackie and President Jack Kennedy land at Orly Airport, Paris, on May 31, 1961
It was May 31, 1961, when Air Force One, carrying American President John and First Lady Jackie Kennedy, landed on the tarmac at Orly Airport in Paris. The president was less than five months into his term of office and this was his first European stop. The Kennedys were greeted by French President Charles DeGaulle and Madame DeGaulle. The contrast between the trim and stylist Americans and their “grizzled” counterparts was striking.
“As soon as the crowds pressed against the airport fences spotted Jackie in her navy-blue silk suit and black velvet pillbox hat, they broke into a rhythmic chant: ‘Vive Jacqui! Vive Jacqui!’ (1)
First Lady Jackie Kennedy is greeted warmly by Parisians on May 31, 1961. Her style was understated: a wool suit, double strand of pearls, and her trademark pillbox hat. The French were captivated by "Zhak-kee."
Hundreds of thousands of people followed their motorcade through the streets of Paris, waving little French and American flags as the open limousine carrying Jack and DeGaulle passed by. When the second car appeared, carrying Jackie and Madame DeGaulle, the crowd sent up a wild roar. Later, during an official luncheon at the Palais de L’Elysée, Jackie chattered away in French about Louis XVI, the Bourbons, and French geography. DeGaulle turned to Jack Kennedy and said:
“‘Your wife knows more French history than any Frenchwoman!’ [He then] turned back to Jackie and did not take his eyes off her for the rest of the meal.” (1)
The Hall of Mirrors at Versailles
The next night was the big event of the three-day visit: a candlelit supper in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palais de Versailles. Jackie wanted to look extra good. But to look good, Jackie had to “feel good” – and Jackie didn’t. She suffered from migraines and depression since her C-section 6 months earlier. Jack didn’t feel good either. His back pain was agonizing. That’s why, on this trip to Europe, Jack had brought along not just his extra-firm horsehair mattress but New York physician Max Jacobson. Presidential photographer and friend Mark Shaw had referred President Kennedy to Dr. Jacobson. Jacobson’s “miracle injections” instantly stopped Jack Kennedy’s pain. Jack didn’t know what was in the shots – only that they worked.
First Lady Jackie Kennedy wore this graceful Givenchy gown to the June 1, 1961 dinner at the Palace of Versailles.
The night of the Versailles dinner, Max visited Jack Kennedy at the Palais des Affaires Estrangères. Jack occupied a suite of rooms called “the King’s Chamber” in the elegant 19th Century palace on the Quai d’Orsay. The president soaked his back in “a gold-plated bathtub the size of a pingpong table” (2) then Max gave him his customary injection. Max then ambled down the long hallway to the Queen’s Chamber and was admitted to Jackie’s bedroom.
“Jackie sat in front of a mirror, being fussed over by Alexandre, the famous Parisian hairdresser, and a bevy of his assistants….In another part of the room, Jackie’s maid was laying out two different gowns for the evening – one an American design by Oleg Cassini, and the other a French creation by Hubért de Givenchy. Earlier, Jackie had planned to wear the Cassini [Jack preferred her to wear American clothes], but then she was not so sure.” (2)
Alexandre finished with Jackie’s hair and left the room so she could slip into her gown. But first Jackie motioned to Max. She was ready for her shot. The short, dark-haired man with the red cheeks and German accent reached into his black doctor’s bag and withdrew a syringe.
“He injected his magic elixir into her buttock. She was ready for Versailles. She took one last look at the two ball gowns hanging side-by-side…and chose the one she knew would attract the more favorable reaction from the French press [and play up her French bloodline]. She slipped into the Givenchy….” (2)
Jackie Kennedy dazzled French President Charles DeGaulle at this June 1, 1961, dinner in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. 150 guests ate a 6-course dinner served on Napoleon's gold-trimmed china. Jackie sported an elaborate topknot with a diamond tiara. Her rhinestone-studded white satin gown with embroidered bodice was by French designer Givenchy.
Jackie dazzled everyone at the dinner, and it is no wonder. Dr. Jacobson’s shots were a mixture of amphetamines, vitamins, painkillers, and human placenta. (3) The mysterious physician referred to his particular brand of therapy as “miracle tissue regeneration.”
“You feel like Superman,” said writer Truman Capote, one of the high-profile clients who experienced instant euphoria from Dr. Feelgood’s injections of ‘speed.’ “You’re flying. Ideas come at the speed of light. You go 72 hours straight without so much as a coffee break….Then you crash….” (2)
The crash for Dr. Jacobson came in 1969 when his patient and Kennedy friend Mark Shaw died at the young age of 47 due to “acute and chronic intravenous amphetamine poisoning.” The Bureau of Narcotic and Dangerous Drugs discovered that Dr. Jacobson was buying huge quantities of amphetamines in order to deliver high level amphetamine doses to his clients. “Miracle Max” and many of his clients had become amphetamine addicts. Dr. Jacobson’s medical license was revoked in 1975.
(1) Spoto, Donald. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: A Life. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000.
(2) Klein, Edward. All Too Human: The Love Story of Jack and Jackie Kennedy. New York: Simon & Schuster Inc., 1996.
(3) Leaming, Lawrence. The Kennedy Women: The Saga of An American Family. New York: Random House, 1994.
Lisa's History Room 
Fascinating!
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So glad you liked it.
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oh. my.
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I knew that the Kennedy’s had amphetamine injections, but this was wonderfully written… really painted a picture for me.
As Rob V commented, it IS fascinating. Dr. Max was totally a Dr. Feelgood – they took him with them on foreign business – I’d say that the Kennedy’s were addicts, then…
I lose no respect for Jackie (or JFK) even knowing this – sometimes you just do what you must to get through life.. and it wasn’t easy for Jackie to be in the spotlight as First Lady. She was amazing, no matter what.
Thank you, Lisa!
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Thanks, Angela. Dr. Max didn’t reveal the ingredients of his shots to his clients so Jackie didn’t know what she was getting. She was completely exhausted. She had given birth in late November and Jack was sworn into office in Jan. Back in the sixties, people didn’t understand drug abuse the way we do now.
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This is going to seem like a nitpick, but according to Oleg Cassini, JBK called him before the Versailles event to “explain why, for political reasons, that she had to wear a French dress.” [Cassini, Oleg. “A Thousand Days of Magic”] Jackie had already appeared in Paris a Cassini outfit–the yellow suit she’s wearing in the first two pictures–and wore a Cassini gown to the state dinner at the Elysée Palace. [http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/arts/photos/2006/03/18/cassini_oleg_cp_9699428.jpg] Any last-minute drama about choosing between a Cassini dress and a Givenchy is pure fabrication. Jackie never would have left an important decision like that hang until the last possible moment.
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You are probably right.
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stumbled upon your blog; fascinating! Subscribed, and passed it along to friends.
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JG, thanks for the neat compliment. Keep coming back, spreading the word, and I’ll keep up the writing.
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Very interesting bit of information, succinct and artfully done. I wrote a thesis about amphetamine and barbiturate use from 1930 to 1970 in the United States. These substances, it seems, were consumed in quantity by practically every big name in Hollywood, every leader in Washington and every middle-class family across the country. I have speculated these stimulants made the US a power, and then destroyed it in the late sixties when the use turned, invitably, into chaotic addiction. I do not know a single person who’s Mother did not take diet pills post-WWII. These little pills fueled the creative process behind “Gone With The Wind” and “The Wizard of Oz”, both representing the cream of American cinema. But they also influenced diabolical plans among the top brass on both sides of World War Two; Hitler and Churchill both took amphetamine and methamphetamine. They energized divisons of regulars in the bloodiest battles as well. Terribly good, and frighteningly bad all at once.
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Crawford, thank you for the history. We didn’t know back then what we know now to be damaging effects (and addictive effects) of amphetamines. They were wonder drugs for JFK, Jackie, Eddie Fisher,…who consumed them regularly to keep going.
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This Aussie in Germany was sent your page as a link from a friend who knows I’m a history buff. You write interesting stuff and I’ve definitely subscribed for your updates. Thanks for keeping the past alive!
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Look around the site and find more of interest. Tell your friends what you find. I’m glad you are pleased. I appreciate it!
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I love this article, I love this site. I receive all the info concerning everything I have ever wanted to know. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, one of my most favorite people.
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Aren’t you a dear with all the compliments I need to keep writing. Keep coming back, LInda, and tell your friends about Lisa’s History Room.
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Great post, so informative! And just when I thought I knew everything about Jackie…
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She was a many-angled thing.
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i used to wonder how they kept up with the hectic pace of life. It is far more complicated now in the present, this explains how many keep up with the speed of things. I used to think i was lacking in some ways, but the insight of this article says it all.
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It makes sense now.
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Interesting..wonder if the Former President happened to give this Miracle Shot information to a certain high profile Movie Starlet..Things that make you go HMMMM..
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Marilyn was already taking prescription pills and drinking.
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Jackie ended up ceasing the “medication” right? Can’t really blame them because of all the stress and things that needed to get done. Not counting the fact that they didn’t even realizing how bad those drugs can be. Really great read, thanks!
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I think. JFK did what he had to do to survive. He should have drank coffee instead. Most speed users are gay!
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“Most speed users are gay!”
what nonsense! methamphetamine was, until the mid 1960s, used for a variety of medical and psychological reasons by the medical profession.
you must know a great cross-section of the global community (gay and straight) and the drug taking preferences to make such an assertion…
I agree with the first part of your post – president kennedy did what he had to survive, as he had long been a very unwell man – but unfortunately his survival was cut violently short, along with the usa’s pride and rational dignity.
back then, politicians hid their frailties in any way possible – now we have an endless, pointless ‘war on drugs’ that persecutes (usually less privileged) individuals for doing much the same as on of america’s most beloved political leaders. kennedy is regarded – for all his shortcomings – to have prevented huge scale destruction of life on this planet, by negotiating the cuban missile crisis successfully.
in more recent times, people like george bush made virtually no effort to mask their intellectual shortcomings whilst launching global wars on illegal grounds, killing millions of innocent people.
how far we have come.
yes, drugs ruin many people’s lives – but far less than war.
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Lower back pain is an increasingly common problem. An injury may be responsible, but often it’s the consequence of poor posture or an awkward twisting movement, bending or reaching – or a combination of these, along with inactivity which results in stiffness and poor flexibility. Being overweight, especially if excessive, also adds to the discomfort and pain.;
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You’ve made some really good points there. I looked on the web for more info about the issue and found most people will go along with your views on this web site.
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wonderful wonderful
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The classical early 1960’s “feel good” injections were a preparation of Dextro- amphetamine, Methyl Amphetamine, The B- Vitamins as well as others, Demerol ( a pain killer), Darvon another pain killer, Glucosamine and in this case Dr. Feel good’s addition of Placental proteins. When one became tired or crashed later on from their shot they had a bevy of sedatives to chose from, Seconal, Amytal, Tuinal, Butisol, Miltown, & Librium.. ( Valium was not yet on the market) any one of these medications could have been also injected by the doctor if needed. Then starting the next day one would begin all over again.
At the time these medications were part of “modern day medication” They were not frowned upon by the public as they are today.
President Kennedy had horrible health problems including Major Back Pain. He had many surgeries one that almost killed him. He lived most of his life in pain. Jackie was very tired and stressed from so much travel and multiple miscarriages.
These injection treatments were really only given to the upper-class power players. Although millions of every day people used amphetamines and Barbiturates on a daily basis in 1961.
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