KENNEDY, John F.

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Photograph inscribed to Peter Sellers. Inscribed by the 35th President at foot, "To Peter Sellers, with esteem and best regards. John Kennedy"; the photograph shows Sellers meeting Kennedy at the 1962 White House Correspondents' Dinner, alongside British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.Renowned for his comic versatility and vocal mimicry, Peter Sellers (1925-1980) had risen from radio fame in The Goon Show to international film stardom. At the dinner on 27 April, Sellers was among the entertainers performing for the 1,400 guests. "Peter began by announcing that he never consciously tried to be funny, after which he did a hilarious impression of Macmillan. Responding with characteristic warmth and laughter, Kennedy, who had recently ripped into the American steel industry for raising prices, said of Sellers and Reid (whose impersonation consisted of Kennedy ripping into the steel industry), 'I've arranged for them to appear next week on the US Steel Hour'". Kennedy also "told Sellers that he'd loved several of his films". Overall, "Kennedy and Sellers impressed each other; Macmillan's response remains less clear" (Sikov, pp. 178-9).Sellers was bitterly attacked in the British press for mocking the prime minister in front of the American president. Sellers replied that Downing Street had pressed him to perform despite his protest that he was not a stand-up comedian: "They insisted, and I finally agreed to do five minutes of mild political joking, on the condition I could have m

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