Julian Read Oral History

Object number2013.001.0077

Date06/28/2013

ClassificationsOral Histories

Oral history interview subject Julian Read

Oral history interviewer Stephen Fagin

ObjectOral history

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

MediumBorn digital (.m2ts file)

DimensionsDuration: 88 Minutes

Terms

Collections

DescriptionVideotaped oral history interview with Julian Read. A longtime public relations and political consultant, Read was press aide to Texas Governor John Connally in 1963. Traveling with the presidential party in Fort Worth and Dallas, Read was aboard the White House press bus in the motorcade when he heard shots fired in Dealey Plaza. He gave media briefings at Parkland Memorial Hospital and stayed with the Connallys throughout the ordeal. Read maintained close ties to the Connally family for the next four decades. Interview recorded at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on June 28, 2013 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is one hour and twenty-eight minutes long.

Curatorial Commentary

Julian Read was a longtime friend of The Sixth Floor Museum. I first met Julian when he toured the Museum in 2002. At the time, he was helping Nellie Connally with her upcoming autobiography, From Love Field, which was published in 2003. I will be forever grateful to Julian for introducing me to his longtime friend, Mrs. Connally, even though - despite our best efforts - we were never successful in getting her to record an oral history with the Museum. Julian, however, recorded two interviews himself, first in November 2003 and this one in June 2013.

He also took part in three public programs recorded between 2013 and 2016, all of which may be viewed on the Museum's YouTube channel: a talk based on his 2013 book, JFK's Final Hours in Texas (JFK's Final Hours In Texas - YouTube) a 2014 Living History (Living History with Julian Read - YouTube), and a 2016 panel discussion (JFK-LBJ: Transition of Power with Julian Read, J. Walter Coughlin, and Eamon Kennedy - YouTube). Julian Read passed away on May 8, 2021. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator