"William Kennedy's Prohibition Story" on NY History Blog

NYH: What was it like working with William Kennedy?

DS: Kennedy himself will relate that researching the ‘true’ history of Jack Legs Diamond was a mammoth undertaking, and fraught with dead ends and bogus accounts of people who supposedly knew him. We interviewed Kennedy for 5 marathon hours in one day. For a man in his 80’s Kennedy was a complete gentleman, and was as sharp as a tack. It was a great experience. His encyclopedic knowledge and really his performance in the delivery made every edit difficult. I hated to have to leave anything on the cutting room floor.

Read more of the New York History Blog's interview with PBS documentary filmmaker Dan Swinton.