In 1928, when John F. Kennedy was a young boy living with his family in the Bronx (the Riverdale section, not the South Bronx), his father, Joe, was forming RKO studios and producing a movie called "Coney Island. " The flick starred silent picture queen Lois Wilson and was directed by Ralph Ince.

The motion picture industry had recently moved from Brooklyn (Vitagraph Studios in Midwood) to Hollywood and most of the Coney scenes were shot in Los Angeles. Promotion for the film described it as the story of " a young woman swept up in the romantic magic of America's favorite fun destination. . . "

Joseph P. Kennedy sold his movie studios in the early 1930s, went into the liquor business, and then into politics as President Roosevelt's ambassador to Great Britain. The rest is history.