Signed book: Profiles in Courage. First edition. NY: Harper & Brothers, 1956. Hardcover with dust jacket, 6 x 8.5, 266 pages. Boldly signed and inscribed on the first free end page in fountain pen, "To Jan Mason—with thanks and very best wishes—John Kennedy, Omnibus—Feb. 1957." Autographic condition: fine. Book condition: VG/VG, with a small split at the head of the spine, and some minor edge tears and chips to the dust jacket.
Janet Mason worked in the control room for the CBS TV series Omnibus, an educational television series hosted by Alistair Cooke which ran from 1952 to 1961. In 1957, JFK was a featured guest on a segment called 'Call It Courage.' Janet watched the dry and dress rehearsals with John Kennedy, providing him with feedback about how to better use the camera to connect with the audience: 'Think of speaking to one person, don't move your head from side to side,' she advised him. After the airing, she was pleased with the outcome. Several weeks later she ran into JFK again in San Francisco at KQED while he was gearing up for the primaries. When he came into the control room, he and Janet shook hands and he said to her: 'I can't remember your name, but you saved my soul on Omnibus.'
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