Holy Mackerel! Reporter Who Broadcast Oswald's Murder Dead at 75

Ike Pappas was working as a newsman for CBS' radio operations on November 24, 1963, when he was sent to the basement of Dallas Police Department HQ to cover the transfer of Lee Harvey Oswald. The shooting of Oswald by Jack Ruby was captured on film, of course, but Pappas'...

By Robert Wilonsky

September 2, 2008

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Ike Pappas was working as a newsman for CBS' radio operations on November 24, 1963, when he was sent to the basement of Dallas Police Department HQ to cover the transfer of Lee Harvey Oswald. The shooting of Oswald by Jack Ruby was captured on film, of course, but Pappas' audio remains equally famous for two reasons: Pappas asked Oswald for a comment the split second before Ruby shot him ("You have anything to say in your defense?"), and moments later he uttered a breathless "Holy mackerel!" Noted this morning because Pappas died in a Virgina hospital yesterday from heart disease at the age of 75. --Robert Wilonsky

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