Dangerous Knowledge: The JFK Assassination in Art and Film

Acknowledgments

xxi Acknowledgments Many people have played important roles over the course ofmy work on this project. My greatest debt is to Robert Sklar. I have benefited immeasurably from his teaching and counsel, and my approach to history and film has been profoundly influenced by our friendship and dialogue over the years. I am grateful to Paul Arthur, my colleague at Montclair State University, not only for his input into this project, but for what he has taught me about the avant-garde cinema. Paul's casual remarks about film are generally more insightful than most people's concentrated efforts at critique. Teresa Podlesney has made an extraordinary contribution to my thinking about the cinema and, in fact, about anything worth having a passion for - politics, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, good scotch, Dean Martin. Ann Harris provided constant support, both intellectual and emotional, throughout the entire writing process. For their generous concern for my work and assistance with this project I want to thank William Simon, Peggy Phelan, Richard Allen, Melinda Barlow, and Fay Plant. Amber Hewins and Kevin Walter provided crucial help during the final stages. I am especially grateful for the support and consideration ofJanet Cutler and Jim Nash. My thanks go to Janet Francendese at Temple University Press. I want to also acknowledge the editors ofMotion Picture, Women and Peiformance, and Cineaste, who granted me space in their journals to work out some ofthe ideas in this book. For their assistance in providing illustrations or permissions I want to thank Bruce Conner, Chip Lord, Michael McClure, Beth Savage at the Warhol Foundation, and David Russick at the Phyllis Kind Gallery in Chicago. Friends and family outside the university have been incredibly helpful and supportive. There is no way to adequately thank Neal Karlen. Since the days of Metropolitan Stadium, whether via short or long distance, he has provided me with nothing but encouragement and great humor. My work has been sustained by the camaraderie and patience ofJody Abramson, Jeff Cohen, Steve Burnham, Ed Markovitz, Craig Hunegs and Daniela Roveda, Carolyn Hunegs and Stuart Bloom, Harlan Berger, Sheila Berger, and MichaelRips . Tom Simon first introduced me to the literature of the assassination; he and Vicki Simon have been as enthusiastic and supportive as any brother and sister could be. Melinda Peterson, Glen MacWilliams, Carrie Simon- xxii Acknowledgments MacWilliams, and Saul Simon-MacWilliams all endured many hours of conversation about the Kennedy assassination. I am most grateful for the love and loyalty ofmy father, Stan Simon, who taught me to keep my eye on the ball, take a level swing, and guard the plate when there are two strikes. I ask him to share the dedication with Barbara Berger. Barbara's patience and understanding never wavered, especiallyduring those periods when I grew impatient and unsure. Without her extraordinary personal commitment, generosity, and love, this book would never have been written. Dangerous Knowledge The JFK Assasination in Art and Film ...