Sam Pate Oral History

Back

Videotaped oral history interview with Sam Pate. A broadcaster with Dallas radio station KBOX in 1963, Pate was in a mobile news cruiser on Stemmons Freeway at the time of the Kennedy assassination. He covered the scene at Dealey Plaza and Dallas police headquarters and later covered the Jack Ruby trial. For the 1963 memorial record album, "Four Days That Shocked the World," Pate recorded a re-enactment of his live KBOX bulletins, including the famous remark, "It appears as though something has happened in the motorcade route." Interview conducted at Mr. Pate's home in McKinney, Texas on June 22, 2005 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is one hour and fifty-six minutes long.

Object Details

Object title:

Sam Pate Oral History

Date:

06/22/2005

Medium:

Hi-8 videotape

Dimensions:

Duration: 116 Minutes

Credit line:

Oral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

Object number:

2005.001.0015

Curatorial Note:

As discussed in this oral history, Sam Pate recorded a re-enactment of his live KBOX bulletins for the 1963 memorial record album, Four Days That Shocked the World, produced by Colpix Records with United Press International. His breathless statement, "It appears as though something has happened in the motorcade route," has gone on to become the most famous radio broadcast associated with the Kennedy assassination, even though it is not an authentic recording from November 22, 1963 but an in-studio recreation. Pate (and fellow broadcaster Karl King) were fired by KBOX that weekend, allegedly "due to a cut in personnel," though King later suggested it was because their coverage had not been as good as competitor KLIF. Amazingly, Pate agreed to return to KBOX a few days later - with no additional compensation - to record the now-famous recreation. He also did not receive any royalties from the sale of the Colpix album. The Dallas FBI office questioned Pate about this supposed "live broadcast" in March 1964, at which point Pate was eager to set the record straight. According to a report by special agent Robert Gemberling, "Mr. Pate... stated he wished to make it known that the majority of his portion of this tape is not an authentic one, but is a tape that he was asked to make several days after he was dismissed from KBOX Radio Station" (Warren Commission document 1245). More than sixty years later, Pate's recording continues to be mistaken as an authentic broadcast and is frequently featured in documentaries as well as on film, television, podcasts and other productions. - Stephen Fagin, Curator

Samuel Mack Pate passed away on August 3, 2009. - Stephen Fagin, Curator