BW - EP145—012: November 1963 with Jean Shepherd and JFK—Jean Shepherd Remembers John F Kennedy

Breaking Walls: The Podcast on the History of American Network Radio Broadcasting

On Friday November 22nd, 1963, New York’s Village Voice co-founder Dan Wolf’s office was swarmed with people. Journalist Jerry Tallmer later remembered being there, talking and grieving, when in burst Jean Shepherd, excited and full of fire. Shep said, “Wouldn’t you know! Wouldn’t you know! It was a Fair Play for Cuba guy who did it!” Lee Harvey Oswald had connections with the Fair Play for Cuba group, an organization protesting the U.S.’ treatment of Communist Cuba under Fidel Castro. Although Shepherd was a noted liberal, the idea that Oswald wasn’t some right-wing fascist, but a nutcase of the left excited Shep, and Shep was mad. Commentator Barry Farber remembered that Shep was incensed that he couldn’t get on the air. He said, “for crying out loud, we finally have something to talk about and they took us off the air.” On Monday, November 25th, 1963 at 11:15PM, Jean Shepherd was finally able to sign on for WOR. What follows is a sober, serious commentary on the state of the United States and what John Kennedy meant to Jean Shepherd. This is the full forty-five minute broadcast.