David Lifton Oral History
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David Lifton Oral History
Videotaped oral history interview with David Lifton. A prominent researcher who became interested in the Kennedy assassination in 1964, Lifton was author of the 1981 bestseller, Best Evidence, and writer and executive producer of the companion documentary, Best Evidence: The Research Video (1990). Lifton, the first to publish controversial autopsy photographs of President Kennedy in 1988, continued to research, write and speak on the subject for decades. Interview recorded at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on March 29 and April 1, 2019 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is two hours and forty-five minutes long.
David Lifton Oral History
03/29/2019 - 04/01/2019
Born digital (.m2ts file)
Duration: 165 Minutes
Oral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
2019.001.0041
David Lifton passed away on December 6, 2022. Growing up in Dallas in the 1980s, immersed in the Kennedy assassination, I was familiar with author David Lifton from an early age. The 1988 paperback release of Best Evidence was perhaps the first assassination title that I anticipated prior to publication, knowing that the new edition would include some of the startling and controversial autopsy photographs. I have a vivid memory of getting the book with my mother at a local bookstore right when it was published and my nine-year-old self being both horrified and fascinated. I suppose I still have that type of reaction when confronted with those deeply disturbing images. I remember that my mom and I bought two copies because we were somehow convinced that the book might be recalled or banned. I also recall getting the companion documentary on VHS in 1990 and being fascinated by the interviews, not realizing that I would spend more than twenty years recording similar oral history interviews, including sessions with some of the same people featured in the video. I first encountered David professionally around 2008 when he reached out with an oral history inquiry. We connected via phone and e-mail from time to time, and I always enjoyed hearing from him. Just over ten years after I first mentioned the possibility of recording his oral history, he finally agreed to this lengthy, two-part session in 2019. He took this oral history very seriously, wanting it to be as "definitive" as possible in documenting his interest and long association with the assassination story. And it was my great pleasure to spend that time with him, reflecting back on the emotional impact the images of Best Evidence had on me some thirty years earlier. - Stephen Fagin, Curator
David Lifton Oral History
Videotaped oral history interview with David Lifton. A prominent researcher who became interested in the Kennedy assassination in 1964, Lifton was author of the 1981 bestseller, Best Evidence, and writer and executive producer of the companion documentary, Best Evidence: The Research Video (1990). Lifton, the first to publish controversial autopsy photographs of President Kennedy in 1988, continued to research, write and speak on the subject for decades. Interview recorded at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on March 29 and April 1, 2019 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is two hours and forty-five minutes long.
David Lifton Oral History
03/29/2019 - 04/01/2019
Oral histories
Author
Researchers
Lifton, David
Dallas
Authors, Filmmakers, and Researchers (OHC)
Born digital (.m2ts file)
Duration: 165 Minutes
Oral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
2019.001.0041
David Lifton passed away on December 6, 2022. Growing up in Dallas in the 1980s, immersed in the Kennedy assassination, I was familiar with author David Lifton from an early age. The 1988 paperback release of Best Evidence was perhaps the first assassination title that I anticipated prior to publication, knowing that the new edition would include some of the startling and controversial autopsy photographs. I have a vivid memory of getting the book with my mother at a local bookstore right when it was published and my nine-year-old self being both horrified and fascinated. I suppose I still have that type of reaction when confronted with those deeply disturbing images. I remember that my mom and I bought two copies because we were somehow convinced that the book might be recalled or banned. I also recall getting the companion documentary on VHS in 1990 and being fascinated by the interviews, not realizing that I would spend more than twenty years recording similar oral history interviews, including sessions with some of the same people featured in the video. I first encountered David professionally around 2008 when he reached out with an oral history inquiry. We connected via phone and e-mail from time to time, and I always enjoyed hearing from him. Just over ten years after I first mentioned the possibility of recording his oral history, he finally agreed to this lengthy, two-part session in 2019. He took this oral history very seriously, wanting it to be as "definitive" as possible in documenting his interest and long association with the assassination story. And it was my great pleasure to spend that time with him, reflecting back on the emotional impact the images of Best Evidence had on me some thirty years earlier. - Stephen Fagin, Curator
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