Journalist Ivor Davis to speak at Museum on 50th anniversary of event
VENTURA, Calif.– Ventura County writer-journalist Ivor Davis was in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel half a century ago to witness the horrendous assassination of the man who would be President—Senator Robert Kennedy, younger brother of John F. Kennedy.
On Wednesday, June 6, at 6:30 p.m. – the 50th anniversary of the assassination – Davis will appear at the Ventura County Museum with an eyewitness account, which vividly brings to life that shocking night in American political history. Davis, as foreign correspondent for the London Daily Express, was covering Kennedy’s whistle stop presidential campaign which took the popular candidate campaigning in Ventura County shortly before heading to claim victory in the California primary over rival Senator Eugene McCarthy.
“Now onto the Chicago convention,” said the jubilant Kennedy, who seemed likely to follow his brother John into the White House. Moments later, followed by reporter Davis, he walked into that hotel pantry only to be gunned down by 22-year-old Sirhan Sirhan. Kennedy was 42 and the father of eleven.
“Bobby lay bleeding in the arms of his wife Ethel who was screaming, ‘give him air’.” Davis recalls. “It was a scene that is forever etched in my mind.” The presentation includes dramatic footage of the last moments of Bobby’s life—and eye-catching historic photographs of the Senator as he triumphantly campaigned in Ventura shortly before his untimely death.
Davis, a 40-year resident of Ventura, is the author of books about the Sharon Tate murders, and “The Beatles and Me on Tour,” a memoir about his travels with a new rock and roll group from Liverpool called The Beatles when they made their first American tour in l964.
Doors open at 6:15. Admission is $5 for museum members, $10 for non-members. No host bar. For more information, visit venturamuseum.org or call 805-653-0323.
About the Museum
The Museum of Ventura County celebrates, preserves and interprets the art, history and culture of Ventura County, the California Channel Islands and the surrounding region through its collections, exhibitions, events, educational programs, publications and its research library, and serves as a gathering place for the community. Located at 100 East Main Street, Ventura, CA 93001, the Museum of Ventura County is open Tuesday – Sunday 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. For more information, visit venturamuseum.org or call 805-653-0323.
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