Jim Marrs Oral History
Object number2002.001.0015
Date06/04/2002
ClassificationsOral Histories
Oral history interview subject
Jim Marrs
Oral history interviewer
Stephen Fagin
ObjectOral history
Credit LineOral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumHi-8 videotape
DimensionsDuration: 117 Minutes
Collections
DescriptionVideotaped oral history interview with Jim Marrs. A former journalist and longtime conspiracy researcher, Marrs was the author of the bestselling book, "Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy" (1989), part of the basis for Oliver Stone's 1991 film, "JFK." Marrs taught a non-credit course on the Kennedy assassination at the University of Texas at Arlington from 1976 to 2007.
Interview conducted at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on June 4, 2002 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is one hour and fifty-seven minutes long.
Curatorial CommentaryJames Farrell "Jim" Marrs passed away on August 2, 2017 at the age of 73. Although best remembered as a Kennedy assassination researcher, who taught a non-credit course on the assassination at the University of Texas at Arlington for thirty years, Marrs only wrote one book on the subject out of more than a dozen published in his lifetime. His other books focused on various conspiracy theories involving aliens, psychic warfare, the Freemasons and secret societies and the September 11th terrorist attacks. Marrs also hosted a radio program, The View from Marrs, on satellite radio. Until his passing in 2017, Marrs participated in a number of programs, debates and conferences. A 2013 lecture at the Allen Public Library in Allen, Texas may be viewed here: Nov 20, 2013 November 20, 2013 - Allen Public Library Jim Marr - Allen, TX (swagit.com). - Stephen Fagin, Curator
Years before I joined the staff of The Sixth Floor Museum, I had an opportunity to meet author Jim Marrs at Eastfield College in Mesquite. Marrs took part in a Kennedy assassination debate program on March 3, 1993 with another researcher, Jim Moore, author of Conspiracy of One (1990). I vividly recall that Marrs, naturally representing the conspiracy side of the debate, was far more popular with the audience, and at the conclusion of the program, a large crowd surrounded Marrs to ask questions and get copies of Crossfire autographed while no one approached Moore. An interested eighth grader at the time, I brought copies of both of their books and had a chance to visit individually with each of them after the program. Little did I know that, some nine years later, I would have the chance to record a two-hour oral history with Marrs at the Museum. Jim Moore, who was inspired to write Conspiracy of One while volunteering as a consultant on The Sixth Floor exhibit project in the late 1980s, also recorded an oral history in 2011. - Stephen Fagin, Curator
March 1997 - April 1997