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

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