/internal/media/dispatcher/77728/fullWFAA-TV tape: "Pres. Kennedy Master PK-16"11/24/196315 × 15 × 3 in. (38.1 × 38.1 × 7.6 cm)
Duration: 69 MinutesMagnetic tape; Video, Quadruplex, 2"WFAA-TV Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza1998.010.001602" video reel with original black and white coverage by Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA-TV. The reel contains news footage and coverage of various events and interviews from November 24, 1963, in the following order, beginning with a slow-motion (no audio) video of Lee Harvey Oswald shot by Jack Ruby. Following the shooting, Captain Fritz can be seen walking down the hallway of Dallas police headquarters. Bill Lord sits down with Dallas police detective Jim Leavelle for an interview about the Oswald shooting, followed by Dallas Morning News nightclub editor Tony Zoppi, talking about Jack Ruby's sister, Eva Grant. Carousel Club headlining performer Jada speaks about Jack Ruby with interviewer Paul Good. Dallas attorney Tom Howard discusses Ruby's defense with reporters, followed by a recap of the Oswald shooting, replaying the slow-motion video. Bill Lord reports from the basement of Dallas police headquarters, followed by footage of Oswald being taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital where Dr. Tom Shires makes the official announcement of Oswald's death; shortly after Marina and Marguerite Oswald leave the hospital. Jack Ruby is escorted to an interrogation room, paired with shots of the Carousel Club's exterior on Commerce Street. Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade recaps evidence against Oswald, and Dallas city manager Elgin Crull responds to rumors about Chief Curry's resignation. Tom Howard discusses Ruby's mental state, interrupted by Chief Curry asking for a moment of silence to honor President Kennedy over the loudspeaker at Dallas Police headquarters. Commotion continues with reporters gathered in the hallway where WFAA-TV broadcaster Ed Hogan reads a statement on Chief Curry's intention to make the case file public. Detective Jim Leavelle then recaps the Ruby transfer in an interview with Bill Lord.
WFAA-TV footage recorded primarily at Dallas police headquarters and WFAA-TV studios on November 24, 1963. The tape is approximately one hour and nine minutes long.
The WFAA-TV Kennedy assassination tapes were donated to the Museum in 1998. This tape is labeled "Pres. Kennedy Master PK-16 / Oswald shooting, Henry Wade discussing evidence"Videos7303138.10000000000E-1038.10000000000E-1018479Video, 2"7.62000000000E-102" video reel with original black and white coverage by Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA-TV. The reel contains news footage and coverage of various events and interviews from November 24, 1963, in the following order, beginning with a slow-motion (no audio) video of Lee Harvey Oswald shot by Jack Ruby. Following the shooting, Captain Fritz can be seen walking down the hallway of Dallas police headquarters. Bill Lord sits down with Dallas police detective Jim Leavelle for an interview about the Oswald shooting, followed by Dallas Morning News nightclub editor Tony Zoppi, talking about Jack Ruby's sister, Eva Grant. Carousel Club headlining performer Jada speaks about Jack Ruby with interviewer Paul Good. Dallas attorney Tom Howard discusses Ruby's defense with reporters, followed by a recap of the Oswald shooting, replaying the slow-motion video. Bill Lord reports from the basement of Dallas police headquarters, followed by footage of Oswald being taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital where Dr. Tom Shires makes the official announcement of Oswald's death; shortly after Marina and Marguerite Oswald leave the hospital. Jack Ruby is escorted to an interrogation room, paired with shots of the Carousel Club's exterior on Commerce Street. Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade recaps evidence against Oswald, and Dallas city manager Elgin Crull responds to rumors about Chief Curry's resignation. Tom Howard discusses Ruby's mental state, interrupted by Chief Curry asking for a moment of silence to honor President Kennedy over the loudspeaker at Dallas Police headquarters. Commotion continues with reporters gathered in the hallway where WFAA-TV broadcaster Ed Hogan reads a statement on Chief Curry's intention to make the case file public. Detective Jim Leavelle then recaps the Ruby transfer in an interview with Bill Lord.
WFAA-TV footage recorded primarily at Dallas police headquarters and WFAA-TV studios on November 24, 1963. The tape is approximately one hour and nine minutes long.InterrogationVideoBasementDistrict AttorneyEvidenceKennedy, John F.Tippit, J.D.Leavelle, JimOswald, MarinaOswald, Lee HarveyWade, Henry M.Ruby, JackFritz, WillZoppi, TonyHoward, TomSharp, RogerGood, PaulLord, BillShires, George Thomas "Tom"Crull, Elgin E.Hogan, EdMacNeil, RobertJadaOswald, MargueriteCarousel ClubABCWFAA-TVDallas Police DepartmentDallas Police HeadquartersParkland HospitalDallasAt the time of the Kennedy assassination in 1963, the WFAA Communications Center Studios was located at the corner of Young and Record Streets in downtown Dallas, approximately two blocks north of Dealey Plaza. As a result of their proximity, WFAA-TV/Channel 8 was the first local television station to break into programming with news of the shooting on November 22, 1963. Program director Jay Watson, himself an eyewitness to the assassination, interrupted the Julie Bennell Show, a local lifestyle and fashion program, approximately fifteen minutes after shots were fired in Dealey Plaza. In another first, Watson was the first to interview assassination eyewitnesses on the air after collecting the stunned Newman family in the plaza and rushing them to WFAA studios. The coverage that followed represents one of the most substantial archives of Kennedy assassination broadcast news footage in existence.
Amazingly, this historic news footage was nearly lost forever in the early 1980s. During that era, it was common for television stations to dispose of or recycle outdated broadcast tapes in order to save space and reduce costs. Prior to the age of widespread digital archiving, expensive videotapes were frequently erased and reused. Nearly twenty years after the assassination, a young WFAA-TV employee named John Sparks noticed all of the station's Kennedy tapes were boxed up and marked for disposal. Sparks, who had been part of the high school band that performed for President and Mrs. Kennedy in Fort Worth that fateful date, instantly recognized the historic significance of the material, and he singlehandedly rescued the tapes from destruction. The full WFAA-TV archive of Kennedy assassination news coverage was later donated to The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in 1998. Hear the inside story about how John Sparks saved this historic broadcast news footage in this 2025 Living History conversation: Living History from Fort Worth, November 22, 1963. - Stephen Fagin, Curator WFAA-TV tape PK-16 includes a rare on-camera interview with Janet Mole Conforto, more famously known as Jada, a headlining exotic dancer at Jack Ruby's Carousel Club. Jada was hired by Ruby in June 1963 after he saw her perform in New Orleans. She first performed at the Carousel Club in Dallas on July 17, 1963. She and Ruby frequently clashed, arguing about her salary, absenteeism from the club, and performances that pushed the boundaries of Dallas' decent laws. Ruby ultimately fired her - though some accounts indicate that Jada quit - about three weeks before the assassination.
Jada sometimes appears on lists of "mysterious deaths" in the assassination story, largely because researchers were unable to locate her for many years due to her multiple marriages and low profile. She was killed on May 9, 1980, when her motorcycle collided with a school bus in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The mother of two was forty-four years old.
A promotional card advertising Jada as the "World's Hottest Exotic," one of many recovered from Jack Ruby's vehicle following the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald, may be seen here: Photo card advertising exotic dancer Jada at Jack Ruby's Carousel Club – Works – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. - Stephen Fagin, Curator A number of the individuals seen on WFAA-TV tape PK-16 have recorded oral histories with The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza over the years. Among them are:
(01:16) - KRLD-TV stage manager Ben Molina (in white shirt on far right with microphone): Ben Molina Oral History – Works – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
(02:08) - Dallas police detective Jim Leavelle: James Leavelle Oral History – Works – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
(07:11) - Dallas Morning News nightclub editor Tony Zoppi: Tony Zoppi Oral History – Works – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
(34:33) - Parkland Hospital administrator Steve Landregan (in dark suit behind Dr. Tom Shires): Steve Landregan Oral History – Works – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
(37:10) - Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade: Henry Wade Oral History – Works – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
(1:00:17) - NBC News correspondent Robert MacNeil (speaking into microphone, walking towards camera): Robert MacNeil Oral History – Works – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
(1:00:41) - Dallas Times Herald reporter Darwin Payne (next to Tony Zoppi, turned toward camera, holding notepad): Dr. Darwin Payne Oral History – Works – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
(1:02:31) - Dallas Times Herald photographer Eamon Kennedy (holding camera): Eamon Kennedy Oral History – Works – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
(1:02:31) - KRLD-TV broadcaster Bob Huffaker (checkered suit, turning towards camera): Bob Huffaker Oral History – Works – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
(1:03:53) - WFAA-TV broadcaster Ed Hogan: Ed Hogan Oral History – Works – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
--Stephen Fagin, Curator