Mary Moorman, JFK Assassination Photographer, Tells Where She Stood and What She Saw

One of three remaining Polaroid photos taken by Mary Moorman at the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. Photo: Mary Moorman.
NEW YORK, NY (BUSINESS WIRE).- If you were alive on Nov. 22, 1963, you remember, or have been told, where you were when President John F. Kennedy was killed.

Perhaps no one remembers better than Mary Moorman, who was just 15 feet from JFK’s motorcade when gunshots rang out. Ms. Moorman, then 31 years old, stood poised with her Polaroid camera as the presidential limousine passed by and captured the most famous image of that most infamous day: the president being shot.

Where exactly Ms. Moorman stood is a key piece of information that has been debated for nearly five decades. The answer has ramifications for a number of theories, including one that opines there are frames missing from the film shot by Abraham Zapruder.

In contrast to her friend, Jean Hill, who leveraged her presence at the assassination into a career as a consultant to conspiracy theorists, including Oliver Stone, Ms. Moorman shied away from the press, never giving a comprehensive interview, until now. Despite having a piece of critical evidence, Ms. Moorman was not interviewed by the Warren Commission.

Ms. Moorman, 78, will finally break her silence at the Brass Armadillo® Antique Mall in Wheat Ridge, Colo., during a live interview on iAntique®.com, an Internet news and social networking community for dealers, collectors and antiques enthusiasts.

Gary Stover, an iAntique® host, will interview Ms. Moorman for more than an hour. The interview, which starts at 6 p.m. MDT on Tuesday, May 24, will stream live at iAntique.com as part of The Stover Hour. A full-length, professional souvenir video will be produced with additional information and commentary from Mr. Stover, audience members and other authorities.

NEW INFORMATION FROM ONE OF THE LAST LIVING WITNESSES
Among the questions Mr. Stover will tackle is Ms. Moorman’s precise position when she took the photograph of JFK slumping over. That positioning is a key factor in many theories about the assassination.

“The popular view is that Mary was standing on the grass,” Mr. Stover said. “While there are photos that might indicate she was on the grass at one point, her exact location when she snapped the photograph has long been a matter of debate. We believe Mary plans to set the record straight with this interview.”

Ms. Moorman’s interview at the Brass Armadillo® is open to the public, but viewing space is limited. As The Stover Hour streams the event live, members of iAntique® will be able to watch the interview online and interact on the site’s live chat room. The interview will focus on what Ms. Moorman saw the day of the assassination, her relationship with parade police officers who afforded her unequaled access and whether she plans to sell the historic photographs.

In conjunction with the interview, an online drawing will be held featuring authentic vintage cameras used during the Kennedy era. The prizes include a Polaroid Highlander 80A, similar to the camera Ms. Moorman used to shoot her famous photos; a Bell & Howell Zoomatic 8 mm movie camera, similar to the camera Zapruder held when shooting his moving pictures of the assassination, and the Minox Type III “Spy Camera,” like the one found among Lee Harvey Oswald’s possessions. Interested participants can enter the drawing at http://www.iantique.com/pages/camera-contest.

The Brass Armadillo®, featuring more than 3,000 dealers in the Midwest and West, is the leader among antiques and collectible retail merchants in the United States, operating malls in Denver; Des Moines, Iowa; Kansas City, Mo.; Omaha, Neb., and Phoenix.

iAntique® is an antiques social networking site that brings together a community of knowledgeable antiques and collectibles enthusiasts, dealers and collectors to share information. Currently free to join, iAntique® features live chats, workshops, seminars, training events, web casts and an online antiques marketplace.

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