

Overview (2)

Born in Kowel, Poland, Russian Empire [now Kovel, Volyn Oblast, Ukraine]
Died in Dallas, Texas, USA  (cancer)

Mini Bio (1)

Abraham Zapruder was born on May 15, 1905 in Kowel, Poland, Russian Empire. He is known for his work on Zapruder Film of Kennedy Assassination (1963). He was married to Lillian. He died on August 30, 1970 in Dallas, Texas, USA.

Spouse (1)

Lillian (1933 - 30 August 1970) (his death) (2 children)

Trivia (5)

Abraham Zapruder (accent on the first syllable, "ZA-pru-der") was the president of Jennifer Juniors, a manufacturer of ladies garments. He was also the man who filmed the only known complete footage of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas on 22 November 1963.
The camera Zapruder used in the filming was a mechanical, spring-wound 8 millimeter Bell & Howell Model 414PD Zoomatic Director with a Varamat 9-27mm f1.8 zoom lens, set for full close-up. The film was Kodachrome II color stock running at 18.3 frames per second. The footage runs only 26 seconds, which is remarkable since each winding of the film's mainspring lasts only 30 seconds.
His JFK footage was valued at $16 million (£10 million) by an arbitration panel. The US Government was ordered to pay the amount, the equivalent to $615,384 (£384,615) per second, to the heirs of Abraham Zapruder for taking his footage into the National Archives, where it now resides. It holds the Guinness record of the most expensive reel of film.
Zapruder profited from selling the film of President Kennedy's murder but he was so emotionally shaken by what he had filmed that he did not keep a copy for himself. As a result he often suffered from insomnia and nightmares. He turned down hundreds of offers to discuss the incident.
Is portrayed by Ray LePere in JFK (1991) and Paul Giamatti in Parkland (2013).

Personal Quotes (1)

I was shooting as they were coming along, and Jacqueline and the President were waving, and as {the car] came in line with my camera, I heard a shot. I saw the President lean over to Jacqueline - I didn't realize what had happened, actually - then the second shot came. I saw his head open up, and I started yelling, "They killed him, they killed him!" and I continued shooting until they were under the underpass. (from a 1966 interview)

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