Why JFK Jr. made a rare TV appearance on a 1995 episode of "Murphy Brown" Raechal ShewfeltWed, March 11, 2026 at 5:35 AM UTC 0 John F. Kennedy Jr.'s 'Murphy Brown' cameoCredit: CBS JFK Jr., one of the biggest celebrities of the '90s, once appeared on one of the decade's most popular sitcoms, CBS' Murphy Brown. But Kennedy wasn't considering being an actor. The son of President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie Kennedy, who had always sought to live his life away from the spotlight, was a fan of the show and did it days before the release of George, the magazine he founded in 1995.
Why JFK Jr. made a rare TV appearance on a 1995 episode of "Murphy Brown"
Raechal ShewfeltWed, March 11, 2026 at 5:35 AM UTC
0
John F. Kennedy Jr.'s 'Murphy Brown' cameoCredit: CBS
JFK Jr., one of the biggest celebrities of the '90s, once appeared on one of the decade's most popular sitcoms, CBS' Murphy Brown.
But Kennedy wasn't considering being an actor. The son of President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie Kennedy, who had always sought to live his life away from the spotlight, was a fan of the show and did it days before the release of George, the magazine he founded in 1995.
"I hope the show will introduce George to an audience of potential readers who clearly enjoy politically related entertainment," Kennedy told The Tampa Bay Times, per PEOPLE.
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The show depicted Candice Bergen as the titular character, working on a newsmagazine alongside a team of colleagues including Grant Shaud's Miles Silverberg, Faith Ford's Corky Sherwood, Charles Kimbrough's Jim Dial, and Joel Regalbuto's Frank Fontana. The show won 18 Emmys during its initial run, from 1988 to 1998. It was revived for one season in 2018.
Kennedy's episode, "Altered States," aired as the season 8 premiere on Sept. 18, 1995. His scene featured Kennedy paying a visit to Murphy's office to deliver a wedding gift to the journalist. The event had actually been called off, however.
John Kennedy Jr. in New York CityCredit: Lawrence Schwartzwald/Sygma via Getty
"John, hi! Oh, I guess the lawyer thing didn't work out," Bergen's Murphy cracked, in reference to him having infamously failed the bar exam twice. "That's a tough break."
He then gifted her a copy of George with her on the cover, explaining that it's his new project.
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"I had the guys in the art department mock up a cover with you on it," he told her. "It's pretty great, huh?"
When she was unimpressed — as the hard-hitting journalist often was — Kennedy said he was also gifting her with a year's subscription.
The Murphy Brown cast fondly recalled the moment in a 2018 cast reunion for Entertainment Weekly, because they were impressed.
"He was a god," Bergen said. "Every woman on the Warner lot was on our soundstage."
Regalbuto echoed the sentiment.
"I never saw a guy so good-looking in my life," he said. "It was ridiculous!"
As fans of the FX show Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette know, Kennedy was spending a lot of time on the magazine during his final years.
He died in 1999, after the small plane that he was piloting on July 16 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. Carolyn Bessette, his wife since 1996, and Carolyn's sister, Lauren Bessette, both of whom are depicted on the show, also died. The couple had planned to drop off Lauren in Martha's Vineyard, Mass., before flying on to his cousin's wedding in Cape Cod.
on Entertainment Weekly
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Source: Entertainment
Published: March 11, 2026 at 08:01AM on Source: MANUEL MAG
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