Bill Mercer Oral History

Object number2005.001.0004

Date02/25/2005

ClassificationsOral Histories

Oral history interview subject Bill Mercer

Oral history interviewer Stephen Fagin

ObjectOral history

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

MediumHi-8 videotape

DimensionsDuration: 104 Minutes

Terms

Collections

DescriptionVideotaped oral history interview with Bill Mercer. An award-winning broadcast journalist, Mercer is a member of the Texas Radio Hall of Fame. As a broadcaster with KRLD Radio and TV, he reported live from Dallas police headquarters on November 22, 1963. At a midnight press briefing, Mercer was the one who initially informed suspect Lee Harvey Oswald that he was being charged with the murder of President Kennedy. Interview conducted at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on February 25, 2005 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is one hour and forty-four minutes long.

Curatorial Commentary

Bill Mercer has been a longtime friend of The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. After co-authoring the book, When the News Went Live in 2004, Mercer and his KRLD colleagues Bob Huffaker, George Phenix and Wes Wise participated in several public programs and book signings at the Museum. Three may be viewed online, from 2007 ("When the News Went Live" Program – Works – eMuseum (jfk.org)), 2008 (When The News Went Live: Author Panel Discussion (2008) - YouTube) and 2013 (When The News Went Live: Author Panel Discussion (2013) - YouTube).

On his own, Mercer participated in a Living History public program to commemorate the 56th anniversary of the assassination on November 22, 2019: Living History with Bill Mercer - YouTube. Most recently, in January 2023, 96-year-old Mercer returned to The Sixth Floor Museum once more to get a surprise look at a recent Museum acquisition, KRLD-TV Camera 3, the same camera that captured Mercer informing suspect Lee Harvey Oswald that he was being charged with President Kennedy's murder on the night of the assassination. A video highlighting this 2023 visit may be seen on the Museum's YouTube channel: Rediscovering History: KRLD-TV Camera 3 with Bill Mercer - YouTube. - Stephen Fagin, Curator