In the midst of all this election talk and a killer deadline I had to meet, I somehow managed to miss noting the death of Vaughn Meader, the man who played John F. Kennedy on what was at the time, the fastest-selling record album ever. That The First Family was a comedy album made that even more remarkable. And of course, it is remarkable how short-lived was Mr. Meader's tour of duty as a comedian. When J.F.K. died, so did the career of his impersonator. It is said that the first time Lenny Bruce took the stage following the Kennedy Assassination, his opening line was either, "Phew! Vaughn Meader!" or "Poor Vaughn Meader," depending on which version you believe. (More vulgar permutations of the line have also been quoted.)
A couple of things should be noted about The First Family. One, which obituaries like this one did not make clear, is that Meader did not write or even conceive the album. Writer-producers Earle Doud and Bob Booker did. Meader was just the actor they hired to play Kennedy. He was one of several young performers around who were then doing impersonations of the Chief Exec, and he was the one Doud and Booker selected.
Another thing that should be noted is that, for all its success, The First Family was not very good and not very memorable, nor were its sequels and many imitators, many of which were also by Doud and/or Booker. Everyone bought the album but I doubt very many listened to it a second time. It was a fad and not a very long one, at that. I suspect that even if Kennedy had not been shot, Meader's career would have taken the same trajectory, albeit slower. He tried a few non-Kennedy albums later and they're just as unlistenable as The First Family.
The most interesting thing about the whole album is that it existed…and in so doing, it knocked down a lot of taboos relating to political comedy in this country. Initially, record companies were afraid of it, especially ABC Records, which rejected it on the advice of Jim Hagerty, an executive with the firm. Hagerty had worked as Dwight Eisenhower's press secretary and he thought the whole idea of mocking the President of the United States was just this side of treason. But the small company that finally put it out had very little to lose, and when Kennedy himself gave it a boost by (reportedly) being a good sport and playing it for his friends, the thing took off. Thereafter, its sheer financial success endorsed the propriety of lampooning politicians, and established the market for it. That, I think, is the enduring legacy of Vaughn Meader. And since I believe mocking politicians is a noble pastime, I think that's a darn good legacy.