Photograph of courtroom sketch of Patricia Kohs "Penny Dollar" at Ruby trial

Howard Brodie (1915-2010) was a sports artist for the San Francisco Chronicle when he enlisted in the U.S. Army with America's entry into World War II. He ultimately became one of the best-known sketch artists of the war, frequently published in the weekly U.S. military magazine, Yank, which ran from June 1942 to December 1945. After the war, Brodie spent the next thirty-five years as a courtroom artist, attending several notable trials including the Chicago Seven, Charles Manson and, of course, the Jack Ruby trial in 1964. For the Ruby trial, Brodie worked as a CBS-TV artist correspondent. Mr. Brodie recorded an oral history with the Museum in 2006. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator

Twenty-one-year-old Patricia Ann Kohs was under arrest at the time of her Ruby trial testimony. She had been arrested for drug possession the Friday before her Monday testimony in Orange, Texas, and was quickly flown the 300+ miles to Dallas by request of the defense team so that she could testify. Performing under the name "Penny Dollar," Kohs had briefly worked at the Carousel Club. Melvin Belli was only focused on one specific incident she had witnessed. She had observed Ruby beating someone on the sidewalk outside the club, and then Ruby, according to Kohs, suddenly, stopped and acted as if he was unaware of what he was doing. This played into the defense argument that Ruby suffered from psychomotor epilepsy and would go into fugue states where he would not be aware of his actions. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator