Joe Tonahill Oral History

Object number1996.055.0014

Date08/09/1996

ClassificationsOral Histories

Oral history interview subject Joe H. Tonahill

Oral history interviewer Wes Wise

Oral history interviewer Bob Porter

ObjectOral history

Credit LineOral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

MediumHi-8 videotape

Dimensions2 3/4 × 4 × 3/4 in. (7 × 10.2 × 1.9 cm)
Duration: 65 Minutes

Terms

Collections

DescriptionVideotaped oral history interview with Joe Tonahill. A longtime lawyer in Jasper, Texas, Tonahill served as one of Jack Ruby's main defense attorneys during his 1964 trial and the subsequent appeal process. He continued to be associated with the case until Ruby's death in 1967. Interview recorded at Mr. Tonahill's office on August 9, 1996 by Wes Wise and Bob Porter. The interview is one hour and five minutes long.

Curatorial Commentary

Alongside his defense partner, flamboyant attorney Melvin Belli, lawyer Joe Tonahill (1913-2001) was one of the most colorful and frequently photographed personalities in the widely publicized Jack Ruby trial in 1964. In stark contrast to Belli, Tonahill exhibited a warm and folksy larger-than-life Texas charm that made him a favorite among journalists and photographers. Perhaps most notable was his brief yet blunt response to the guilty verdict on March 14, 1964: "It's a violent miscarriage of justice. I'm about to throw up!" During the trial, Tonahill was once fined $25 for throwing a pencil on the floor in anger. To much media fanfare, he dramatically paid the fine with a one hundred dollar bill. By searching "Tonahill" in the Museum's online collections database (Search tonahill (Objects) – Search – eMuseum (jfk.org), one can find a number of photographs and courtroom sketches featuring Joe Tonahill. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator