T03 Transcript of State vs. Ruby: Motion for a Change of Venue, Volume 1

The Museum recorded oral histories with the following individuals named in this document: journalist A. C. Greene, defense attorneys Joe Tonahill and Phil Burleson and Dallas County D.A. Henry Wade. - Stephen Fagin, Curator

Dallas Times Herald editor and columnist A. C. Greene recalled in his 1992 oral history an encounter that he once had with Jack Ruby in the Times Herald newsroom about the Carousel Club's marquee performer, Jada:

[Jack Ruby] said, "I want you to write an editorial about my exotic." By an "exotic," he meant a stripper--an exotic dancer, he called them. I said, "Well," you know, "why?" He said, "Well, she's a college graduate." And I said, "Well, Mr. Ruby, that's probably very, very interesting." I said, "I assume it's very unusual." "Darn right, it is!" And I said, "Well, but," I said, "you know, we just don't write editorials about things like that." "Well, you should," he says. "This is real news." And I said, "Yeah, I know, but," I said, "we may get way off into left field sometimes, but we just don't write editorials about exotics," or strippers, "and that sort of thing." He started to give me reasons why we should, and it was Jada. He kept saying, "Jada, you ought to know her. She's an unusual woman." Well, I thought, yes, if she's a college graduate, she must be pretty unusual to be a stripper, even though I figured she made pretty good money.... "Well," he said, "Come on over to the club anytime to see her." He said, "Maybe you'll change your mind."

Some time later, A. C. Greene did have the opportunity to meet Jada, and he told her about Jack Ruby's insistence that she was unique because she was a college graduate. According to Greene, Jada sighed and said, "That's Jack. You know, I went to a little cow college for one semester. But to Jack, that's a college education." - Stephen Fagin, Curator