Photograph of courtroom sketch of Patricia Kohs "Penny Dollar" at Ruby trial
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Photograph of courtroom sketch of Patricia Kohs "Penny Dollar" at Ruby trial
Photograph of courtroom pencil sketch on paper by CBS News courtroom artist Howard Brodie. The sketch shows witness Patricia Kohs, aka "Penny Dollar," testifying during the Jack Ruby trial on March 9, 1964. The sketch shows Kohs, who was a dancer at Ruby's Carousel Club, sitting in the witness stand with her hands in her lap, facing the viewer. Handwritten captions in the upper right corner and the bottom right corner of the image respectively read "Penny $" and "3/9/64 stripper."Brodie made the original pencil sketches for CBS News during the trial of Jack Ruby after the judge barred cameras from the courtroom. Brodie then gave Joe Tonahill this photograph of a courtroom sketch as part of a collection of more than 40 in 1964.
Photograph of courtroom sketch of Patricia Kohs "Penny Dollar" at Ruby trial
03/09/1964
Paper
14 5/8 × 19 1/4 in. (37.1 × 48.9 cm)
Tonahill Family Partners Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
2014.034.0027
Howard Brodie (1915-2010) was a sports artist for the San Francisco Chronicle when he enlisted in the U.S. Army with America's entry into World War II. He ultimately became one of the best-known sketch artists of the war, frequently published in the weekly U.S. military magazine, Yank, which ran from June 1942 to December 1945. After the war, Brodie spent the next thirty-five years as a courtroom artist, attending several notable trials including the Chicago Seven, Charles Manson and, of course, the Jack Ruby trial in 1964. For the Ruby trial, Brodie worked as a CBS-TV artist correspondent. Mr. Brodie recorded an oral history with the Museum in 2006. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator
Twenty-one-year-old Patricia Ann Kohs was under arrest at the time of her Ruby trial testimony. She had been arrested for drug possession the Friday before her Monday testimony in Orange, Texas, and was quickly flown the 300+ miles to Dallas by request of the defense team so that she could testify. Performing under the name "Penny Dollar," Kohs had briefly worked at the Carousel Club. Melvin Belli was only focused on one specific incident she had witnessed. She had observed Ruby beating someone on the sidewalk outside the club, and then Ruby, according to Kohs, suddenly, stopped and acted as if he was unaware of what he was doing. This played into the defense argument that Ruby suffered from psychomotor epilepsy and would go into fugue states where he would not be aware of his actions. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator
Photograph of courtroom sketch of Patricia Kohs "Penny Dollar" at Ruby trial
Photograph of courtroom pencil sketch on paper by CBS News courtroom artist Howard Brodie. The sketch shows witness Patricia Kohs, aka "Penny Dollar," testifying during the Jack Ruby trial on March 9, 1964. The sketch shows Kohs, who was a dancer at Ruby's Carousel Club, sitting in the witness stand with her hands in her lap, facing the viewer. Handwritten captions in the upper right corner and the bottom right corner of the image respectively read "Penny $" and "3/9/64 stripper."Brodie made the original pencil sketches for CBS News during the trial of Jack Ruby after the judge barred cameras from the courtroom. Brodie then gave Joe Tonahill this photograph of a courtroom sketch as part of a collection of more than 40 in 1964.
Photograph of courtroom sketch of Patricia Kohs "Penny Dollar" at Ruby trial
03/09/1964
Photographs
Jack Ruby trial
Sketches
Witnesses
Testimony
Trials
Artist
Artwork
Brodie, Howard
Kohs, Patricia Ann Burge
Carousel Club
CBS News
Dallas
Paper
14 5/8 × 19 1/4 in. (37.1 × 48.9 cm)
Tonahill Family Partners Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
2014.034.0027
Howard Brodie (1915-2010) was a sports artist for the San Francisco Chronicle when he enlisted in the U.S. Army with America's entry into World War II. He ultimately became one of the best-known sketch artists of the war, frequently published in the weekly U.S. military magazine, Yank, which ran from June 1942 to December 1945. After the war, Brodie spent the next thirty-five years as a courtroom artist, attending several notable trials including the Chicago Seven, Charles Manson and, of course, the Jack Ruby trial in 1964. For the Ruby trial, Brodie worked as a CBS-TV artist correspondent. Mr. Brodie recorded an oral history with the Museum in 2006. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator
Twenty-one-year-old Patricia Ann Kohs was under arrest at the time of her Ruby trial testimony. She had been arrested for drug possession the Friday before her Monday testimony in Orange, Texas, and was quickly flown the 300+ miles to Dallas by request of the defense team so that she could testify. Performing under the name "Penny Dollar," Kohs had briefly worked at the Carousel Club. Melvin Belli was only focused on one specific incident she had witnessed. She had observed Ruby beating someone on the sidewalk outside the club, and then Ruby, according to Kohs, suddenly, stopped and acted as if he was unaware of what he was doing. This played into the defense argument that Ruby suffered from psychomotor epilepsy and would go into fugue states where he would not be aware of his actions. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator
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