1.1. Obituaries

A number of popular people died during the 1960s, but two of these deaths certainly shocked the world: the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and the death of actress Marilyn Monroe.

Kennedy
Image in Wikimedia Commons under Public Domain
Marilyn Monroe
Image in Wikimedia Commons under Public Domain

Conocimiento previo

Kennedy
Image in Wikimedia Commons
under Public Domain

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 at 12:30 p.m. while riding in a motorcade in Dallas during a campaign visit. Kennedy's motorcade was turning past the Texas School Book Depository at Dealey Plaza with crowds lining the streets—when shots rang out. The driver of the president's Lincoln limousine, with its top off, raced to nearby Parkland Memorial Hospital, but after being shot in the neck and head, Kennedy was pronounced dead at 1 p.m. He was 46 years old. A generation of Americans would forever remember where they were when they heard about the president's assassination, as it would have a profound political and cultural impact on the nation.

By 2:15 p.m., Lee Harvey Oswald, a new employee at the Book Depository, was arrested for JFK's assassination, as well as for the fatal 1:15 p.m. shooting of Dallas patrolman J.D. Tippit. Two days later, on Nov. 24, Oswald would be murdered by local nightclub owner and police informant Jack Ruby at point-blank range and on live TV.

Source: https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/jfk-assassination 

Pregunta de Elección Múltiple

Pregunta

Watch the following video in which the assassination of JFK is told from the perspective of a reporter. Then read the statements and choose A, B, or C.


Video on Youtube

1. The place from which Lee Harvey Oswald shot the President

Respuestas

a. was on the 16th floor of the Book Depository 

b. required precision in shooting

c. allowed for a mediocre shot

Retroalimentación

Pregunta

2. Being considered the most hated suspect of the 20th century, Lee Harvey Oswald...

Respuestas

a. declared himself innocent

b. was considered to be in a state of unsafety

c. was shot by two individuals

Retroalimentación

Pregunta

3. After the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald...

Respuestas

a. everybody was in a state of confusion

b. people were pleasantly surprised

c. reporters informed that he died on the way to hospital

Retroalimentación

Pregunta

4. The assassination of President Kennedy, and the subsequent death of Lee Harvey Oswald ...

Respuestas

a. had a greater impact on American society than 9/11

b. entailed a turning point in American society

c. made all Americans try to enjoy life more

Retroalimentación

Pregunta

5. The assassination of President Kennedy...

Respuestas

a. marked the beginning of an uncertain and violent period for the US

b. made people believe in the preciousness of life

c. made the society believe in political leaders and institutions

Retroalimentación

Actividad desplegable

Working with words

Read a brief biography of Marilyn Monroe and fill in each gap with one word.

Marilyn
Image in Wikimedia Commons under Public Domain

Marilyn Monroe, original name Norma Jeane Mortenson (born June 1, 1926, Los Angeles, California, U.S.—died August 5, 1962, Los Angeles), was an American actress who became a sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s.

Norma Jeane Mortenson later took her mother's name, Baker. Her mother was frequently in an asylum, and Norma Jeane was reared by 12 successive sets of foster parents and, for a time, in an orphanage. In 1942 she married a fellow worker in an aircraft factory, but they divorced soon after World War II. She became a popular photographer's model and in 1946 signed a contract with Twentieth Century-Fox, taking as her screen name Marilyn Monroe. After a few brief appearances in movies made by the Fox and Columbia studios, she was again unemployed, and she returned to modeling for photographers. Her nude photograph on a calendar her a role in the film Scudda-Hoo! Scudda-Hay! (1948), which was followed by other minor roles.

An appearance in All About Eve (1950) won her another contract from Fox and much . In a succession of movies, including Let's Make It Legal (1951), Love Nest (1951), Clash by Night (1952), and Niagara (1953), she advanced to star billing on the strength of her studio-fostered image as a "love ." With performances in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), and There's No Business Like Show Business (1954), her fame grew and spread throughout the world, and she became the object of unprecedented popular . In 1954 she married baseball star Joe DiMaggio, and the attendant publicity was enormous. With the end of their marriage less than a year later she began to discontented with her career.

Monroe studied with Lee Strasberg at the Actors' Studio in New York City, and in The Seven Year Itch (1955) and Bus Stop (1956) she began to emerge as a comedian. In 1956 she married playwright Arthur Miller and briefly retired from moviemaking, although she costarred with Sir Laurence Olivier in The Prince and the Showgirl (1957). She won critical acclaim for the first time as a serious actress for Some Like It Hot (1959). Her last role, in The Misfits (1961), was written by Miller, whom she had divorced the year before.

In 1962 Monroe began filming the comedy Something's Got to Give. However, she was frequently absent from the because of illnesses, and in May she traveled to New York City to attend a gala where she famously sang "Happy Birthday" to Pres. John F. Kennedy, with whom she was having an affair. In June Monroe was fired from the film. Although she was later rehired, work never . After several months as a virtual recluse, Monroe died from an overdose of sleeping pills in her Los Angeles home. Her death was ruled a "probable suicide," though conspiracy persisted.

Source: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marilyn-Monroe

Habilitar JavaScript

What do you think after all this information? What really happened to the President? What really happened to Marilyn Monroe?

Talk to members of your family. Do they remember when this happened?

What was your country like then? How did people take it?

Creado con eXeLearning (Ventana nueva)