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23-year-old Hoosier native explores life, legacy of JFK in History Channel docuseries

Ashton Gleckman directed, edited and co-scored the eight-part docuseries, "Kennedy," which premieres Nov. 18 on The History Channel.

INDIANAPOLIS — On Nov. 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while in a motorcade in Dallas.

Born and raised in Carmel, Indiana, 23-year-old director and composer Ashton Gleckman is the mastermind behind "Kennedy," an eight-part docuseries on the life and legacy of JFK.

"One of the things that was interesting about JFK is that he was president during one of the most difficult periods in American history," Gleckman said, citing the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Bay of Pigs invasion and Civil Rights Movement during his presidency. "He was someone that really had a sense of knowing what a crisis was like, and he was also someone that learned (from his mistakes)."

And Gleckman didn't just direct "Kennedy" — he also edited and co-composed the docuseries. 

"When I started out the project, it was just me in my house, researching, spending months in the archives, looking at memos, letters," Gleckman said. "Throughout the process, my first cut as an editor was 14 hours."

The docuseries unfolds through a library of archival materials and more than 70 interviews from historians, politicians, family members and even Conan O'Brien, who is on the board of directors of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.

"I wanted to talk to people from a wide range of perspectives," Gleckman said. "I was personally interested in how all these people saw Kennedy through their own lense."

Here is the docuseries' release schedule on The History Channel: 

  • Episodes 1-3: Saturday, Nov. 18 beginning at 8 p.m. ET
  • Episodes 4-6: Sunday, Nov. 19 beginning at 8 p.m. ET
  • Episodes 7-8: Monday: Nov. 20 beginning at 8 p.m. ET

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