The time a president was murdered and only one person filmed it
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It was 56 years ago tomorrow that an American president was murdered in public.
Let's consider how much has changed since then by noting that in 1963 there was exactly one video of the killing of President Kennedy in Dallas. One. And it took 12 years before the American people saw it.
Abraham Zapruder gave a copy of his film to Life for safe-keeping. He wanted to respect the Kennedy family by not sensationalizing it.
That, his granddaughter tells CBS News today, is yet another example of how things have changed in 56 years.
“Their interest was actually in protecting the American people and protecting the Kennedys, which in today’s world seems completely unfathomable,” Alexandra Zapruder tells CBS. “Nobody protects anybody. The whole concept of privacy is practically obsolete.”
“It’s the story of how life turns in an instant,” Alexandra said. “You know, here is this beautiful couple riding down the street on a sunny day. And then in a matter of seconds it’s over, and everything is over. Their lives changed, my grandfather’s life changed, the culture changed, the society changed, the political climate, America, the world. Everything changed, and there it is on film.”
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