Literature / Blue Skies in Camelot

aka: Blue Skies In Camelot An Alternate60s And Beyond

“It’s not snowing like it was last year, Jack. It’s warmer too. I think it’s a good sign.” She put her other hand over her husband’s and squeezed it tightly.
“There’s blue skies ahead for us, my love.”

—Jacqueline to John F. Kennedy, before his second inauguration

Blue Skies in Camelot: An Alternate 60's and Beyond is an alternate history timeline written by AlternateHistory.com user President_Lincoln. Set around the premise of Marilyn Monroe not dying in 1962 leading to JFK surviving his own assassination the following year.

From political changes such as a joint American-Soviet Moon Mission and no Vietnam War, to pop culture changes such as Marylin Monroe as an early feminist icon, Elvis Presley collaborating with The Beatles and Star Trek: The Original Series not getting canceled, Blue Skies in Camelot highlights a more hopeful alternate 1960s with a surviving JFK at the helm.

It can be read here, with a second thread continuing to the 80s also here as well.

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This work features the following tropes:

• Adaptational Sexuality: Brian Epstein (who IOTL was a closeted gay) is ITTL openly dating Elton John.
• Adaptational Villainy: The Punisher is a prominent member of Spider-Man's rogues gallery ITTL. IOTL, Frank Castle is more of an anti-hero.
• Allohistorical Allusion:
  • This timeline's equivalent of the USS Liberty incident happened to a British ship, the HMS Hope, with similar consequences for Anglo-Israeli relations.
  • Much like in our timeline, Alec Guinness gets involved in a popular sci-fi property playing a character that comes to be his most famous role. Unlike in our timeline, that role isn't Obi-Wan Kenobi, but the Third Doctor.
  • At least one American President is the victim of a high-profile assassination during his first term. Except that it isn't John F. Kennedy but instead George W. Romney.
  • JFK's tour of Dallas ends in tragedy but it results in the death of Texas Governor John Connally.
  • The U.S. is involved in a conflict in Southeastern Asia for the purpose of containing communism. In this case, it's Cambodia and not Vietnam.
  • In 1981, a first-term President barely survives an assassination attempt. Here, RFK is crippled by Mark David Chapman's assassination attempt.
• Alternate History: An obvious inclusion. Though the 1960s of this timeline do parallel our own in many ways, there are several differences:
  • Some figures live longer than in our timeline; John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe both survive their deaths, as do Otis Redding, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Randolph Churchill. While others are not so lucky... including Bob Dylan who dies in a Motorcycle crash in 1966, the Animals, killed in a bus accident the year after that, and Pierre Trudeau and Barbra Streisand, along with several others who become TTL's Manson Family victims.
  • The People's Republic of China is thrust into further upheaval in 1968 when Marshall Lin Biao assassinates Chairman Mao during a summit between Mao and Secretary of State Robert McNamara with the aim of opening relations with the west. The tragic result being The Cultural Revolution and its ensuing bloodshed are prolonged and intensified.
  • With a second term to pursue his agenda, President Kennedy enters into legend; becoming known as "the Second FDR" with his New Frontier programs of Medicare, Medicaid, Universal Guaranteed Income for American families, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and more. The 1960's subsequently earn the descriptor "The Wonder Years" to describe the progress and prosperity of the decade.
  • As the result of a failed coup attempt in 1964, Nikita Khrushchev remains in power in Soviet Union until 1967, when he is succeeded by Alexei Kosygin. Leonid Brezhnev, who attempted the coup, is quietly killed by a Khrushchev-loyal KGB.
  • The Equal Rights Amendment passes in 1975, and becomes TTL's 27th Amendment.
  • The Godfather only has two parts ITTL.
• Alternate Techline: Naturally occurs as a result of Alternate History.
  • Xerox enters the home computer market in 1982.
  • Betamax wins the format wars ITTL.
  • Philips abandons plans to work on the CD-I, and works with Nintendo on the SNES-CD for real.
• Black Dude Dies First: As IOTL, the Manson Family's first target is an African-American drug dealer named Bernard Crowe whom they mistakenly believe to be a Black Panther. Unlike IOTL, they succeed in killing him.
• The Bus Came Back: Lyndon Johnson resigns as Vice-President in 1964 due to an ethics scandal. When Senator George Bush becomes Vice-President in 1968, LBJ wins the special election for his seat. He ran for President in 1972 but lost to Bush Sr., and remains in politics until his death from a stroke in 1975.
• Celebrity Casualty: Barbara Streisand is among the victims of the Manson cult ITTL.
• Celebrity Paradox: Judy Garland as Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins.
• Cop Killer: Lee Harvey Oswald murders a police officer in a failed attempt to escape capture.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Ed White, Gus Grissom, Pavel Popovich and Valeri Kubasov burn to death with no hope of escape in the Apollo-Svarog 1 fire.
• Death by Adaptation:
  • Bob Dylan dies in the July 1966 motorcycle accident that he had survived in OTL.
  • Tex Watson is executed in 1970.
  • Barbra Streisand is one of the Manson family's victims.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation:
  • Pierre Trudeau and Omar Sharif are killed by the Manson family.
  • Soviet cosmonauts Valeri Kubasov and Pavel Popovich are killed alongside Gus Grissom and Ed White in the Apollo-Svarog I fire.
• Different World, Different Movies: In a sense. Star Trek: The Original Series runs for five seasons.
  • Star Wars stars Toshiro Mifune and Christopher Lee instead of Alec Guinness and James Earl Jones.
    • The The Star Wars Holiday Special is a completely different work that is not a variety show, and instead focuses on Han and Chewy trying to get home to their family and chased by Boba Fett.
  • Elvis Presley and Steve McQueen co-star in the Getaway.
  • Disney releases The Snow Queen and Scruffy in this timeline, when in our timeline they were canceled.
  • A Star is Born, released in 1976 and starring Elvis Presley and Olivia Newton-John.
  • Instead of Gwen Stacy being killed off, Aunt May is killed off in TTL's equivalent storyline.
  • Jack Kirby remains with Marvel instead of leaving for DC, leading to Darkseid being the biggest threat the Avengers have ever faced.
  • The Punisher is a Cambodian War veteran turned villain who is an enemy to both Spider-Man and Daredevil.
• Disc-One Final Boss: When Ian Smith is killed by some of his own RSF officers, bringing about the fall of Salisbury to British troops, nearly everyone assumes the serious fighting in Rhodesia is over. They turn out to be very wrong.
• Domestic Abuse: Manson is violently abusive to his lover "Mother Mary" Brunner.
• Election Day Episode: First in 1964, on which JFK wins reelection handily over New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller; then in 1968, when American Conservative Party Candidate George Wallace siphons just enough support from Democrat Hubert Humphrey to throw a plurality in several states, and the election, to Republican George Romney. Romney becomes the first President since Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876 to win the electoral, but not the popular vote.
• Everyone Has Standards: Strom Thurmond might be a commited segregationist, but even he refuses to work with George Lincoln Rockwell when he manages to get himself elected to Congress, on his party.
• False Flag Operation: In 1966, ZANLA defectors shoot down two Supermarine Scimitars participating in the British naval blockade of Rhodesia, correctly predicting that the UK government would blame the Rhodesian Security Forces and go to war against Ian Smith's government.
• Faux Affably Evil: Like any successful cult leader, Manson's a very charming and charismatic individual. But this doesn't change the fact that he's a brutal and depraved monster.
• Fictionalized Death Account: Quite a few.
  • John Connally is shot by Lee Harvey Oswald in a failed attempt to assassinate JFK.
  • Ian Smith is murdered in 1966 by members of the Rhodesian Security Forces near the end of the Siege of Salisbury.
  • Colonel Tom Parker dies in a car accident in 1964.
  • Mao Zedong is assassinated by Lin Biao.
  • Leonid Brezhnev is murdered by the KGB for attempting to overthrow Khrushchev.
  • Pierre Trudeau, Barbra Streisand, Omar Sharif and a few others are killed by the Manson family.
  • Charles Manson is shot dead by his girlfriend after trying to persuade her to kill their infant son to make their escape easier.
  • George Romney is assassinated by Arthur Bremer.
  • Martin Luther King Jr. passes away in his sleep in 1976.
  • John Wayne and his wife Pilar Pallete are killed in 1972 after a drunk driver crashes into their limousine.
  • Steven Tyler is killed in a motorcycle accident in Boston in 1981.
  • Jerry Lee Lewis dies in 1981 following complications from surgery
• Fictional Political Party: George Wallace and Jerry Falwell create the American Conservative Party in 1967.
• For Want Of A Nail: Marylin Monroe doesn’t die in 1962, followed by JFK surviving in Dallas in 1963. What follows is a very different sixties and beyond.
• Genius Cripple: RFK becomes this after the failed attempt on his life.
• He's Back!: After being forced to resign in 1964 due to a pending ethics investigation, Vice President Lyndon Johnson "retires" for several years before returning to the United States Senate in 1968. From there, he quickly plans to grow his own power once again.
• Heroic BSoD: Mitt Romney has one upon seeing his father get assassinated.
• Historical Domain Character: Another obvious inclusion.
• Historical In-Joke: Arthur Bremer is involved in an assassination attempt on an American politician named George. Except that it's not George Wallace but instead George W. Romney.
• Historical Villain Upgrade: A few people who in our timeline were already guilty of some crimes get into even hotter water in this timeline.
  • Charles Manson's followers kill Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Superstar Barbra Streisand, along with a few others. Much bigger targets than Sharon Tate and her friends.
  • Arthur Bremer shoots and successfully kills the 36th President of the United States George Wilcken Romney.
• Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Each chapter from the second onward is named after a song that was released in the year the chapter is set in (example: Chapter 2 is titled You've Really Got a Hold on Me, a Smokey Robinson song recorded in 1962).
• In Memoriam: In-Universe, Hello, Dolly! is dedicated to the memory of Barbara Streisand, which helps the film succeed.
• In Spite of a Nail: While a lot has changed from OTL since Marilyn's addiction was discovered, some things have not changed.
  • Gus Grissom and Ed White still die in the Apollo 1 (ITTL Apollo-Svarog 1) fire, which also claims the lives of Soviet cosmonauts Valeri Kubasov and Pavel Popovich.
  • The La Bianca family's parents are still killed by the Manson family, even after Pierre Trudeau is assassinated.
  • While only 100 people died in TTL's Jonestown massacre, Jim Jones is still among the dead.
  • Morgan Freeman is still the lead in The Shawshank Redemption despite a radically different career up to that point.
• Karmic Death: Charles Manson is shot and killed by Mary Brunner after being handed a gun and told to "kill the monster".
• The Kingslayer:
  • Marshall Lin Biao, who assassinates Mao Zedong.
  • The Manson Family graduates to this, murdering Pierre Trudeau.
  • Arthur Bremer, who in our world unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate George Wallace, manages to murder another George... President George W. Romney.
• Massively Numbered Siblings: RFK has a total of 11 kids, becoming an inspiration for this universe's version of The Loud House.
• Mood Whiplash: "This Magic Moment", which details the joint US/Soviet moon landing mission and is optimistic in tone, is followed up by "Helter Skelter", wherein Charles Manson's Family murders Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, Barbra Streisand, and several others as part of their Reign of Terror.
• Our Presidents Are Different: President Ace John F. Kennedy, an exceptional leader bordering on being President Mary Sue, survives the attempt on his life in 1963, going on to win reelection to a second term over Nelson Rockefeller in 1964. This leads to a prosperous, mostly peaceful four years which cement JFK's legacy as one of the nation's greatest Presidents. He is followed in 1968 by President Personable; Republican George Romney, a liberal in his party whose grandfatherly demeanour and moderate tendencies are soon put to the test by an increasingly hostile political environment. He is assassinated in 1972, being succeeded by his Vice-President George Bush, who is elected to a full term from 1973 to 1977. His successor is Democrat Mo Udall, president from 1977 to 1981. Then, after Mo Udall announces he will not run for a second term in office due to health problems, he is succeeded by Democrat nominee, Robert F. Kennedy, who wins the 1980 election over Ronald Reagan.
• Point of Divergence: Marilyn Monroe's barbiturate addiction is discovered the day before her fatal overdose by her housekeeper, Eunice Murray, producing a butterfly effect where JFK survives his assassination.
• Retcon:
  • Lee Harvey Oswald was originally executed, but this was retconned into his sentence being commuted to life without parole.
  • Originally, Orson Welles played Darth Vader, but this was retconned into Christopher Lee.
• Richard Nixon, the Used Car Salesman: A few interesting examples of this come about such as:
  • Bill Clinton never becomes a politician. Instead, he becomes a famous Saxophone player and later marries Raquel Welch.
  • Hillary Clinton stays Republican. She later enters a relationship with George W. Bush.
  • Elvis marries Ann-Margret instead of Priscilla. Avoiding many of the... less than stellar films of his later career, Presley instead focuses on recording excellent music, including collaborations with the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix.
  • Lee Harvey Oswald spends the rest of his life in jail after his sentence is commuted to life without parole at the last minute.
  • Joe DiMaggio marries Marilyn once again shortly after her stint in rehab. Inspired by their newfound bliss and Monroe's decision to adopt a son and continue acting, DiMaggio becomes batting coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers throughout the 1960s and early 70s.
  • John Lennon begins an affair and eventually leaves his wife, Cynthia Powell, as per our timeline, only now it's with Ursula Andress; not Yoko Ono, whom Lennon never meets. Paul McCartney marries Jane Asher and becomes something of a music industry bigwig, working closely with a surviving Brian Epstein to turn Apple Corps. into a legitimate record label. As a consequence of these changes, the Beatles remain closer as a group and do not break up... yet.
  • Former Child Star Shirley Temple is elected to represent California in Congress as a conservative Republican in 1967. Temple would later become Senator for California in 1974.
  • Mark David Chapman fails to kill RFK, but succeeds in crippling him.
• Rule of Cool: Numerous examples of this are present in the story.
  • The Beatles and Elvis Presley go on a World Tour together in 1965.
    • Something similar happens with Elvis and Bruce Springsteen in the 70s.
  • The joint American-Soviet Moon landing, with Valentina Tereshkova walking on the moon with Neil Armstrong.
  • Johnny Hallyday, a French musician who has often been described as the 'Elvis Presley of France', doesn't stay an obscure figure outside of France thanks to the King himself.
  • Star Trek: Phase II, starring George Takei, Lesley Ann Warren, and Morgan Freeman. With a special guest appearance by Martin Luther King Jr.!
  • The Superman films, directed by Steven Spielberg.
• Rule 63: TTL's Star Trek features a Genderbent Universe with a Captain Jane Kirk played by Sharon Tate.
• Spared by the Adaptation:
  • Bruce Lee survives his allergic reaction that caused his death in 1973.
• Sugar Bowl: The story plays on this a bit. While the 1960s of this timeline is shown to be so much better than the 60s of our own timeline, that doesn’t necessarily mean everything's hunky dory.
• Summer Romance: Charles Manson and Mary Brunner first fall in love during the summer.
• Title Drop: At the end of Act 1, the title of TTL is dropped:

“The Kennedy administration had been an example to the nation of its ideals in action; a heroic display of what it could be. Truly, they were years of Blue Skies in Camelot.” - Arthur Schlesinger Jr., JFK: His Life and Times

• Together in Death: Pierre Trudeau and Barbra Streisand end up like this after they get killed by members of the Manson Family.
• Tranquil Fury: California Governor Ronald Reagan's address about the murders of Pierre Trudeau and multiple celebrities is described as being "controlled, but clearly enraged".
• Wham Episode:
  • Chapter 53. Pierre Trudeau, Barbra Streisand, Omar Sharif, and four others are gruesomely murdered by members of the Manson Family.
  • Chapter 71. George Romney being assassinated in 1972 as he headed into re-election, which causes a pro-Republican wave of sympathy that propels George H. W. Bush into the White House in his own right (Bush was Romney's Vice President).

Tropes impacted by the TL:

• I Let Gwen Stacy Die: Becomes "I Let Aunt May Die" after the comic storyline The Night Aunt May Died.
• Who Shot JFK?: Becomes "Who Shot J.R.?" as a result of the season finale of Dallas.
• Yoko Oh No: Butterflied as a result of John Lennon never meeting Yoko Ono.