Orville Nix

Orville Orhel Nix (April 16, 1911 – January 17, 1972) was a witness to the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. His filming of the event, capturing only the last few seconds of the drama, is considered nearly as important as the Abraham Zapruder film.

Background

Nix was born in Texas, the son of Myrtle (née Mabra) and James Allan Nix. He was reported to have only a fourth grade education and later worked as an air conditioning engineer working for the General Services Administration in Dallas. He was married to Ella Louise Robison in 1938 with whom he had one son, Orville, Jr.

JFK assassination

On November 22, 1963, Nix walked from his office in the Terminal Annex building located on the south side of Dealey Plaza to the northwest corner of the intersection of Main Street and Houston Street with a Keystone Auto-Zoom Model K-810 8 mm movie camera. Nix filmed the presidential limousine and motorcade as it entered the Plaza, then quickly moved 20 to 60 feet west of Houston Street to the south curb of Main Street where he captured the last part of the assassination and the grassy knoll in the background. Shortly after the motorcade had left Dealey Plaza, he filmed people running from Main Street to Elm Street.