Richard Stolley Program

Object number1996.055.0023

Date11/22/1996

ClassificationsOral Histories

Oral history interview subject Richard Stolley

Oral history interviewer Jeff West

ObjectOral history

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

MediumBetacam SP

DimensionsDuration: 49 Minutes

Terms

Collections

DescriptionProgram titled "Legacy 1996: A Conversation with Richard Stolley." The senior editorial advisor of Time, Inc. and founding managing editor of People Magazine, Stolley was the Los Angeles bureau chief for Life Magazine in 1963. Immediately after the assassination, he traveled to Dallas and negotiated the magazine's purchase of the rights to the Abraham Zapruder film. This program was recorded at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on November 22, 1996 and was moderated by Jeff West. The program is forty-nine minutes long.

Curatorial Commentary

For a number of years, the Museum held annual private programs for supporters called "Legacy" to commemorate the anniversary of the assassination. The annual "Legacy" program featured a number of significant figures over the years, including Hugh Sidey, Jacques Lowe, and Bob Schieffer. After the series launch in 1995 (with inaugural guest Hugh Sidey), the second "Legacy" program featured journalist and editor Richard B. Stolley. In this conversation with then-Executive Director Jeff West, Stolley discusses his initial reluctance to revisit the site of the assassination. However, after this 1996 program, Stolley became a longtime friend and supporter of the Museum. He returned for various programs and panel discussions in 2003, 2008, 2011 (Zapruder And Stolley: Witness to an Assassination - YouTube), and 2013 (LIFE: The Day Kennedy Died - YouTube) - more than any other out-of-state program guest -- and also recorded a one-on-one oral history in 2008. Stolley passed away on June 16, 2021. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator