Gene Gordon Oral History

Object number2003.001.0024

Date07/23/2003

ClassificationsOral Histories

Oral history interview subject Gene Gordon

Oral history interviewer Stephen Fagin

ObjectOral history

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

MediumHi-8 videotape

DimensionsDuration: 44 Minutes

Collections

DescriptionVideotaped oral history interview with Gene Gordon. As the chief photographer for the Fort Worth Press in 1963, Gordon covered the Kennedys in Fort Worth on November 21 and 22, 1963. Three days later, he photographed Lee Harvey Oswald's funeral. His images were acquired by The Sixth Floor Museum in 2014 and 2016. Interview conducted at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on July 23, 2003 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is forty-four minutes long.

Curatorial Commentary

This 2003 oral history was my first time meeting Gene Gordon, though I am proud to say that I came to know him quite well in the years ahead. In 2014 and 2016, the Museum acquired Gene's negatives and contact sheets of his Kennedy-related photography. Some of his 530+ images may be found here in the Museum's online collections database: Gene Gordon Collection – Collections – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza (jfk.org).

Gene returned to the Museum for a follow-up oral history recorded in June 2015. That November, he briefly took part in a Museum anniversary program, which may be viewed here: Moments & Memories: Reflecting on November 22, 1963 (youtube.com). (Note: Gene appears around the 19-minute mark.) Gene also took part in a Living History educational program at the Museum on May 15, 2017, which may be found here on the Museum's YouTube channel: Living History with Gene Gordon (youtube.com). Gene Gordon passed away on March 16, 2023. - Stephen Fagin, Curator