16 Outstanding Oprah Show Openers

On September 3, 1996, Oprah welcomed the man many considered America's prince—John F. Kennedy Jr. The interview was big national news. John had just delivered a speech introducing his uncle Sen. Ted Kennedy at the 1996 Democratic National Convention. In addition, the gossip pages were ablaze with John's recently announced engagement to Carolyn Bessette.

Years later, Oprah reflected on the day she interviewed JFK Jr. "It was a very exciting day because John F. Kennedy Jr. didn't sit down and talk to anybody," Oprah remembered on what would have been his 50th birthday. "We'd been on the air for 10 years and had been trying to get him to talk, and only I think because he was releasing his magazine, George, was he willing to do it. It was still a huge, huge, huge coup for all of my team to talk him into saying yes."

Look back at Oprah's 1996 interview with John