(1)
John
McAdams,
Beverly Oliver:
Babushka Babe? Or Bamboozling the Buffs? (2002)
One of the enigmatic
figures in Dealey Plaza in the moments when John Kennedy was murdered
was "The Babushka Lady," so named because she wore a
scarf much like a Russian grandmother would wear.
She appears
to be filming the motorcade, perhaps with an amateur movie camera,
but she did not identify herself to law enforcement on the day
of the assassination. And in the days and weeks following the
assassination, no person turned up claiming to be her, and no
film shot from her position was discovered.
In 1970
a woman named Beverly Oliver came forward, and in interviews with
researcher J. Gary Shaw, claimed to have been the Babushka Lady.
She was a dancer and singer (although apparently not a stripper)
at the Colony Club, a strip joint that competed with Jack Ruby's
Carousel Club. She claims to have spent considerable time in the
Carousel Club, and to have known Jack Ruby well. Over the years,
her story has been elaborated to include many elements which,
if true, imply a conspiracy to murder Kennedy.
(2)
Ian Griggs, Where
Were You When the President Was Shot, Beverly?
(May, 1999)
One of the most
frequently asked questions regarding witnesses to the Kennedy
assassination concerns a mysterious young woman who became known
as The Babushka Lady. She can be seen clearly on the Zapruder
film and also on various other movie films and still photographs
taken in Dealey Plaza on 22nd November 1963. She was one of the
few witnesses who was not immediately identified - thus the rather
odd nickname which she acquired due to the 'babushka' or triangular
headscarf which she was wearing that day.
The question
which The Babushka Lady provokes has become much more than just:
"Who is she?" It has become much more positive: "Are
The Babushka Lady and Beverly Oliver one and the same person?"
Undoubtedly, the most important aspect of The Babushka Lady is
the fact that she appears to be filming the motorcade. Her position
on the south side of Elm Street close to eyewitnesses Charles
Brehm, Jean Hill, Mary Moorman, etc. means that her film would
almost certainly be a mirror image of the Z-Film. Perhaps more
important than the presidential limousine itself would be what
could be seen behind it. The background to The Babushka Lady's
film would inevitably include the Texas School Book Depository
(perhaps including the so-called sniper's nest window) and the
grassy knoll.
The question
of The Babushka Lady's identity remained a total mystery following
the death of the President. Nobody came forward to claim that
they were the mysterious eyewitness and furthermore, nobody could
suggest who the lady may have been. There it remained, and perhaps
would have continued to remain, were it not for a chance meeting
between renowned assassination researcher J Gary Shaw and a young
lady called Beverly McGann shortly after a church service at the
First Baptist Church of Joshua (a small Texas town 20 miles south
of Fort Worth) in November 1970.
The aftermath
of this meeting is widely known and has been well-documented in
many books. Beverly McGann (nee Oliver) related to Gary Shaw how
she had filmed the motorcade and the assassination from a point
on the south side of Elm Street. As anybody who knows Gary would
be aware, he did not just accept this stranger's story without
question. No - being aware that she had not had an opportunity
to see the Zapruder film (and The Babushka Lady), he took her
to Dealey Plaza and asked her to indicate exactly where she had
been standing on the fateful day. To Gary's amazement, she did
not hesitate but went straight to the point where The Babushka
Lady can be seen on the Z-Film.
The controversy
over Beverly Oliver's claim to be The Babushka Lady has raged
unabated from that day to this - and remains one of the most vehemently
debated aspects of the Kennedy assassination mystery. Whilst there
are parts of Beverly's account which I find difficult to understand,
I firmly believe that Beverly Oliver and The Babushka Lady are
one and the same person. Like many researchers of my acquaintance,
on both sides of the Atlantic, I have frequently become involved
in heated discussions (arguments?) concerning this question. I
am delighted to report that no matter how involved some of these
discussions have become, I have not yet ended up exchanging blows
with anybody.
I have
something of an advantage over many researchers, particularly
those outside the United States, in that I have had the pleasure
and privilege to meet Beverly Oliver and her husband Charles Massegee
on several occasions. I like to think that we trust and respect
one another and I am proud to call Beverly Oliver my friend. Perhaps
it may be thought that this tends to colour my opinion that Beverly
was The Babushka Lady. I would refute that and stress that by
speaking with Beverly regularly over the past couple of years
I have come to know someone who is, in my opinion, one of the
most open and honest people I have ever encountered.
(3)
Beverly Oliver, testimony (18th November, 1994)
I was a 17-year-old
girl that was at Dealey Plaza that day taking pictures of the
President when he was assassinated. I never wanted to become a
public figure over this. I never intended to. Until my name was
accidentally leaked to the press in 1972, I was not a public figure.
It has caused me great grief. It has caused me a lot of concern
in my life.
I have
been called a liar as recently as today. I have been called a
hoax. I am neither a liar nor am I a hoax. I am who I say I am.
I was down there that day standing between 20 and 30 feet from
the President when he was shot. I was taking a movie film which
on the 25th of November was confiscated by a man who identified
himself as an FBI agent.
I have
never until recently started trying to inquire about my film because
I am extremely patriotic, did not see that there was any reason
to because I had assumed all these years that it was locked up
until the year 2029 as evidence, and I am still not sure that
there is anything sinister about it, and that is why I am here.
I would just like an explanation as to what happened to my film
and where it is, and that is the only reason that I am here.
