Chris Kennedy Lawford - Actor, Author and Advocate

Last Thursday (3/22/07), M's organization put together a community forum on Hepatitis C sponsored by Roche. The featured speaker was Chris Kennedy Lawford, who is the son of actor, Peter Lawford, and nephew of J. F. Kennedy -quite a mix of celebrity blood on both sides.

After work, I strolled over to Bell Harbor where the Forum was being held. I noticed that a few people were circling him talking. I didn't expect much beyond a brief introduction. As I was just wondering when and how to go over and introduce myself, he asked me first, "Are you with Roche?" That served as a good ice-breaker. The next thing I knew was that we sat down at a table and chatted for a good while until the Forum officially started. I was telling him about China, he was telling me about his experience in Cuba. He also told me his ex-wife is half-Asian and half-Swedish. He is very charming and down-to-earth; one can definitely sense the star quality in him.

He was asked to speak about his struggle with addictions and his victory over alcohol and drugs; now he's been clean for almost 20 years. In fact, he just wrote a book "Symptoms of Withdrawl." The book is a memoir with a focus on recounting his journey from becoming an addict to overcoming addictions with determination and honesty.

He's been in a number of movies, one of which I've seen before, "Thirteen Days." Now that I've met him in person, I feel the need to watch that movie again. In fact, I only vaguely remember that the movie is about the Cuban Missile Crisis, but I have no memories of other details.

Surely, born into a well-known family, the privileges are numerous. He talked about growing up with family friends like Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra, and later, Arnold Schwarzenegger, among other personalities. On the other hand, it's also encouraging to see him taking on the role of an advocate and putting the power of his name to a good cause, that is, to educate people and help addicts to overcome addiction.