Kenneth O'Donnell

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Kenneth Phillip O'Donnell (March 4, 1924–September 9, 1977) was a top aide to U.S. President John F. Kennedy and part of the group of Kennedy's close advisors called the "Irish Mafia."

Born Phillip Kenneth O'Donnell in Worcester, Massachusetts, he had his first two names legally reversed in the 1960s. During World War II O'Donnell served in the US Army Air Corps (1942-1945). After the war O'Donnell studied at Harvard College, where he met Robert Kennedy. He later attended Boston College Law School.

In 1951 O'Donnell worked as a salesman for Hollingsworth and Whitney in Boston. A member of the Democratic Party, O'Donnell helped in the campaign to get John F. Kennedy elected to the United States Senate. O'Donnell worked in public relations before being appointed as Assistant Counsel to the Senate Select Committee to Investigate Improper Activities in Labor-Management Relations (1957-59).

In 1960 O'Donnell was the organizer and director of John F. Kennedy's presidential campaign schedule. The following year he became Kennedy's special assistant. O'Donnell was an early critic of the Vietnam War and advised Kennedy to bring an end to America's involvement in the conflict.

He is survived by his five children.

O'Donnell in the movies

• The Missiles of October (1974, TV): played by Stewart Moss
• Kennedy (1983, TV): played by Trey Wilson
• JFK (1991): played by David Benn
• Thirteen Days (2000): played by Kevin Costner
• Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis (2000, TV): played by Brian Wrench