F. Nick Ciacelli Oral History

Object number2011.001.0034

Date04/08/2011

ClassificationsOral Histories

Oral history interview subject F. Nick Ciacelli

Oral history interviewer Stephen Fagin

ObjectOral history

Credit LineOral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

MediumBorn digital (.m2ts file)

DimensionsDuration: 56 Minutes

Collections

DescriptionVideotaped oral history interview with F. Nick Ciacelli. A collector of Kennedy memorabilia since 1963, Ciacelli opened a 1960s-themed McDonald's restaurant in Florida and later developed the traveling exhibition "JFK Remembered." The centerpiece of his collection, a replica Kennedy limousine, was used in numerous films and documentaries including Oliver Stone's "JFK" (1991). Ciacelli was in the fourth grade at the time of the assassination. Interview conducted at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on April 8, 2011 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is fifty-six minutes long.

Curatorial Commentary

In 2023, Fred Nicholas Ciacelli self-published an autobiography, JFK, Jailed for Kennedy: While owning Dominos and McDonalds Franchises. As discussed in this interview, the title refers to the eight months that Ciacelli spent in jail during a bitter divorce dispute in the late 1990s that involved ownership of his Kennedy collection as marital property. Ciacelli was jailed after refusing to comply with a court order to give his ex-wife half of his collection or sell the collection and split the proceeds. - Stephen Fagin, Curator

Curatorial Commentary

In addition to the replica presidential limousine, F. Nick Ciacelli's Kennedy collection includes 1960 campaign buttons, Kennedy-era napkins and matches from Air Force One, a presidential tie clip, a pair of Kennedy cuff links, newspapers and magazines, and Kennedy memorial items such as international medallions commemorating the late president. - Stephen Fagin, Curator