JFK Assassination 50th Anniversary: Tom Hanks & More Remember Where They Were

Friday marked the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Over the weeks leading up to November 22, 2013, Access Hollywood spoke with many stars who shared their memories of where they were when they heard the tragic news.

Here’s what they told Access:

Tom Hanks: “We were drawing in the second grade and the principal showed up in the classroom — the principal never came around your classroom — and he whispered something to the teacher and then he left. Then just a few minutes later the teacher was in tears.”

WATCH: JFK 50th Anniversary: Stars Share Their Memories Of The Day JFK Was Shot

Meredith Vieira: “I was in fourth grade, actually. I’ll never forget rounding the corner of the school and seeing all the parents standing outside their cars and so many of them were crying.”

Betty White: “We were going back to New York for a visit and I called to cancel the newspaper and the girl on the other end of the line was sobbing and crying. I asked, ‘Honey what’s the matter?’ and she said ‘You haven’t heard?’… I said ‘Heard what?’”

Robert Redford: “I remember being in a comedy on Broadway. When it happened, I was in a cab. We heard it on the radio. And I said, ‘Excuse me.’ I got to get out this car. You had to be alone and figure out what am I going to do with this information. Not in this country. It’s not possible. It shouldn’t happen in America.”

Regis Philbin: “I just could not believe it, and yet there it was, happening right before my ears. Then, of course, on TV — I was working in San Diego — I was just starting in television myself. It was in the morning, when I first heard it — it was [news delivered by] Walter Cronkite.”

Copyright © 2024 by NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

This material may not be republished, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read More

‘90 Day Fiancé: Love In Paradise’ Returning With Dramatic & Wild New Season