Original WFAA-TV news film of assassination eyewitnesses Bill and Gayle Newman

Full Screen

Back

Original WFAA-TV news film of assassination eyewitnesses Bill and Gayle Newman

Original black and white WFAA-TV news film of assassination eyewitnesses Bill and Gayle Newman speaking with Jay Watson in the WFAA Dallas studio. The interview was recorded shortly after the assassination on November 22, 1963; recorded on 2" videotape.The Newmans sit beside Watson in the studio, holding their two young sons in their laps. The Newman family were the closest eyewitnesses to the assassination; Bill and Gayle dropped to the ground to protect their sons as the shooting occurred. During the interview they describe what they saw and heard in Dealey Plaza as the motorcade went by.The WFAA-TV Kennedy assassination tapes were donated to the Museum in 1998. This tape is labeled "Pres. Kennedy Master PK-3"; it is one of 31 similar tapes included in the donation.

Object Details
Object title:

Original WFAA-TV news film of assassination eyewitnesses Bill and Gayle Newman

Date:

11/22/1963

Medium:

Magnetic tape; Video, Quadruplex, 2"

Dimensions:

13 1/4 × 13 1/4 × 2 1/2 in. (33.7 × 33.7 × 6.4 cm)Duration: 36 Minutes

Credit line:

WFAA-TV Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

Object number:

1998.010.0003

Curatorial Note:

Standing on the north side of Elm Street, Bill and Gayle Newman, along with their two young sons, Billy and James Clayton, were the closest civilian eyewitnesses to President Kennedy at the moment of the fatal shot. They were also the first eyewitnesses to be interviewed live on television, appearing here with WFAA program director Jay Watson within approximately fifteen minutes of the assassination. In this first significant interview, Bill Newman recalled hearing two shots fired and indicated that the shots sounded like they came from the "mall" behind him. In subsequent interviews, Newman has said that three shots were fired, though he has always maintained that he felt like the fatal shot came from "behind." Bill and Gayle Newman have appeared at numerous public and educational programs at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza since 2004. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the assassination in November 2013, the entire Newman family (including Billy and James Clayton) participated in a Museum panel discussion, marking the only time that all four of the Newmans have spoken together publicly about the assassination. - Stephen Fagin, Curator

Original WFAA-TV news film of assassination eyewitnesses Bill and Gayle Newman

Original black and white WFAA-TV news film of assassination eyewitnesses Bill and Gayle Newman speaking with Jay Watson in the WFAA Dallas studio. The interview was recorded shortly after the assassination on November 22, 1963; recorded on 2" videotape.The Newmans sit beside Watson in the studio, holding their two young sons in their laps. The Newman family were the closest eyewitnesses to the assassination; Bill and Gayle dropped to the ground to protect their sons as the shooting occurred. During the interview they describe what they saw and heard in Dealey Plaza as the motorcade went by.The WFAA-TV Kennedy assassination tapes were donated to the Museum in 1998. This tape is labeled "Pres. Kennedy Master PK-3"; it is one of 31 similar tapes included in the donation.

Object Details
Object title:

Original WFAA-TV news film of assassination eyewitnesses Bill and Gayle Newman

Date:

11/22/1963

Terms:

Motorcade

Assassination

Eyewitnesses

Interviews

Bulletin

Video

Grassy knoll

Kennedy, John F.

Connally, John

Watson, Jay

Newman, Bill

Newman, Gayle

Newman, Dale

Haynes, Jerry

Parkland Hospital

WFAA-TV

Secret Service

ABC

Medium:

Magnetic tape; Video, Quadruplex, 2"

Dimensions:

13 1/4 × 13 1/4 × 2 1/2 in. (33.7 × 33.7 × 6.4 cm)Duration: 36 Minutes

Credit line:

WFAA-TV Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

Object number:

1998.010.0003

Curatorial Note:

Standing on the north side of Elm Street, Bill and Gayle Newman, along with their two young sons, Billy and James Clayton, were the closest civilian eyewitnesses to President Kennedy at the moment of the fatal shot. They were also the first eyewitnesses to be interviewed live on television, appearing here with WFAA program director Jay Watson within approximately fifteen minutes of the assassination. In this first significant interview, Bill Newman recalled hearing two shots fired and indicated that the shots sounded like they came from the "mall" behind him. In subsequent interviews, Newman has said that three shots were fired, though he has always maintained that he felt like the fatal shot came from "behind." Bill and Gayle Newman have appeared at numerous public and educational programs at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza since 2004. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the assassination in November 2013, the entire Newman family (including Billy and James Clayton) participated in a Museum panel discussion, marking the only time that all four of the Newmans have spoken together publicly about the assassination. - Stephen Fagin, Curator