“I had no idea what else was available, but I knew Life had to have it.”

Richard Stolley poses with a copy of The Day Kennedy Died: 50 Years Later LIFE Remembers the Man and the Moment in his Santa Fe home Nov. 6. Stolley was the reporter who obtained the Zapruder film for Life magazine. Luis Sánchez Saturno/The New Mexican

 

"Stolley was the first reporter to make contact with Zapruder, late on the night of Kennedy’s assassination. Then, facing fierce competition from other members of the press, he outwitted them all to buy the rights to the film for Life magazine, which published 22 frames from it in an issue that appeared on newsstands just three days after the president’s death.

 

The Santa Fe New Mexican has an extensive article detailing how Richard Stoley secured the rights the the recording of John F. Kennedy's assassination.

 

 Photo exhibit

• Exhibit opening of Life Photographers featuring a special selection of photographs of John F. Kennedy

 •Monroe Gallery of Photography, 112 Don Gaspar Ave.

• 5-7 p.m. Nov. 29 Includes book signing with Richard Stolley

Carl Mydans  On the 6:25 from Grand Central to Stamford, CT, November 22, 1963

 ©Time Inc.

Related:

  Former 'LIFE' magazine photographer Bob Gomel is sharing his memories of the president and the day he was laid to rest

  Former senior editor of LIFE magazine, Hal Wingo remembers the afternoon of Nov. 22, 1963 vividly

  The Hartford Courant: JFK Assassination: The Zapruder Film, Life Magazine And A Gentleman's Deal

 

   LIFE photographer Bob Gomel Got Closer Than He Wanted to JFK Funeral

  'Life' photographer calls JFK his most charismatic subject
 

    Save the date: November 29 - Book signing with Richard B. Stolley "The Day Kennedy Died"