Warren Burroughs, the Popcorn Man

[T Weier]

Seems to be so little info on the incident of Warren Burrough who claimed he sold Lee Oswald popcorn at the theater at around the same time Tippet was shot.  I gather its all been forgotten as case of mistaken identity.  A few questions...

Did he ever change his original story?
Was it case of making it up to get in the newspapers?
Did the police investigation match up another customer that could have been Mr. Burrough's popcorn buying "Oswald"?
Not likely, but is he still alive? 

 
 

 

[Joe Bauer]

Totally disbelieve the claim.

If Oswald wouldn't stop and pay his theater entrance fee, either to avoid having another eyewitness who could identify him or simply because he was too cheap to do so, either reason would stand for his not buying popcorn there as well.

This is one case where I think the claimant was seeking publicity.

I always wondered about the fact that nowhere has it ever been stated or written that Oswald went to the bathroom between 12:PM 11,22,1963 and up until his arrest and first interrogations at the Dallas PD building.

Supposedly Oswald rushed into his boarding house at North Beckley, walk straight and quickly into his rented room, stayed a few minutes and then just as quickly walked out and into the street.

His landlady Roberts was there just feet away the entire time Oswald came into her area. She never saw him use the commonly shared bathroom outside of his room.

Were there any people in the Texas Theater who claimed to have seen him go to the theater bathroom?

 

Edited December 12, 2023 by Joe Bauer

[Sean Coleman]

1 hour ago, T Weier said:

Seems to be so little info on the incident of Warren Burrough who claimed he sold Lee Oswald popcorn at the theater at around the same time Tippet was shot.  I gather its all been forgotten as case of mistaken identity.  A few questions...

Did he ever change his original story?
Was it case of making it up to get in the newspapers?
Did the police investigation match up another customer that could have been Mr. Burrough's popcorn buying "Oswald"?
Not likely, but is he still alive? 

 
 

 

BB revealed this gem to Jim Marrs in 1987 and James Douglass in 2007.

When you read his testimony you get the feeling he is…..special? and only answers what he is asked-often offering nothing beyond a one word answer.

I’m not sure he’d have the wherewithal to fabricate for glory, in itself a dangerous game to play. 
Possibly a candidate for “…I never told ‘cause no one asked…” (till JM & JD came along).

Edited December 12, 2023 by Sean Coleman
Sausage fingers

[Greg Doudna]

I believe the claim. That it didn’t come out in his Warren Commission testimony I don’t think is too significant, given the WC staff counsels’ “prosecutors’ case” with skill in questioning witnesses for the record (after pre-interviews off the record to help know what questions to ask on the record and how they will be answered, to move the case forward).

Julia Postal’s WC testimony has one little glitch I noticed where she starts to say Butch Burroughs had claimed to Julia that he had seen Oswald— which Julia cuts off in mid-thought and says she told Butch, “Now, Butch…” as if Butch was confused (without it being very clear what that was about).

Also, Jack Davis is a credible witness. Just see and listen to his Sixth Floor oral history interview. His account of Oswald’s moving around in the main seating area, sitting down for brief moments next to people, next to himself, then I think next to Gibson in the corner, then (Davis telling) Oswald went OUT the back of the far aisle into the popcorn concession area (according to DAVIS) before coming BACK IN a different aisle… although little-remarked I regard that as somewhat striking corroboration, independent corroboration, of Burroughs’s account of Oswald’s movement. The only thing missing is Davis doesn’t have Oswald buying popcorn when he is back there, but that would be because Davis had no way of seeing or noticing that from where Davis was sitting. But the credible Davis places Oswald back where he could buy popcorn from Burroughs there, in the same “opening credits” time frame as Burroughs had Oswald buying popcorn, and I interpret Davis as supporting the credibility of Burroughs on that.

Which definitely is a different timing and version of Oswald in the Theatre from the Tippit killer running past Brewer’s store and Julia Postal into the theater balcony well after the movie had started, raising the question of whether Brewer was correct or mistaken in his identification of the man he saw through the glass doors of his store as Oswald. 

[T Weier]

Very peculiar, to me anyway, the interactions with Julia Postal.  



More here:

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=48700#relPageId=6&search=burroughs

Unfortunately, no more questions for Julia as she passed in 1995.   She even looks a little like Marina...weird.

Edited December 13, 2023 by T Weier

[T Weier]

2 hours ago, Greg Doudna said:

Also, Jack Davis is a credible witness. Just see and listen to his Sixth Floor oral history interview.

Thanks....I will definitely check it out.

As an aside, if Oswald had been killed in the theater, the autopsy could have verified he had eaten the popcorn and likely around the time of Tippit's murder.  A Quincy MD/Columbo moment!  Of course, the powers that be could care less as they got their man Henry Wade style and saved the day!

Edited December 13, 2023 by T Weier

[T Weier]

Anyone interested, here is the jack davis interview:

https://emuseum.jfk.org/objects/21494/jack-davis-oral-history?ctx=e8763525cd7e0f4ac6afd77f9c0ca7ff1cdc9547&idx=0

Thanks again, Greg, for the tip.

[Ron Bulman]

Ball never came close to asking Burroughs, Did you see Oswald at any time in the theater before he was brought out through the lobby by police?

Testimony Of Warren H. (Butch) Burroughs (kenrahn.com)

IF Butch was asked such by the DPD or FBI at the time and he mentioned popcorn, or, Oswald's twin brother being taken from down the back stairs of the balcony to the back door, he was likely told, No you didn't.  Forget that, don't mention it to anyone else, for your own health.  But, the hobby store owner two doors down saw somebody taken out the back door in handcuff's, put in a police car and taken off.

Jim Marrs was a reporter at the Fort Worth Star Telegram, graduated from North Texas State in Denton 30 miles North of D/FW, had been to the Carousel before the assassination, taught a course for years on the assassination at the University of Texas at Arlington and was a consultant on the film JFK, based in a small part on Crossfire.

I have no proof, but I'd guess Jim heard the story of popcorn and Burroughs over the years as a local researcher in the area and then sought out Burroughs for an interview.  Reproduced in part in his book.  Including Burrough's seeing a man, if not Oswald, his twin brother taken from the far side of the lobby down the far aisle and out the back door.

I should re-read the part in Unspeakable before I comment on it but Mr. Douglass work stands on it's own, as well.  Here are a few comments on this.

 

 

[Bill Brown]

 

Butch Burroughs testified that he told the police inside the theater that he hadn't seen the guy.

But hey, why believe what he said in 1964 over what he said to Jim Marrs and to The Men Who Killed Kennedy almost twenty-five years later?

 

 

[Bill Brown]

 

Re: Jack Davis and Oswald sitting beside himself and another guy, consider the possibility that Oswald wanted to appear to be part of a small group of patrons versus a man sitting by himself.  Just sayin'.

 

[Bill Brown]

8 hours ago, Greg Doudna said:

I believe the claim. That it didn’t come out in his Warren Commission testimony I don’t think is too significant, given the WC staff counsels’ “prosecutors’ case” with skill in questioning witnesses for the record (after pre-interviews off the record to help know what questions to ask on the record and how they will be answered, to move the case forward).

Julia Postal’s WC testimony has one little glitch I noticed where she starts to say Butch Burroughs had claimed to Julia that he had seen Oswald— which Julia cuts off in mid-thought and says she told Butch, “Now, Butch…” as if Butch was confused (without it being very clear what that was about).

Also, Jack Davis is a credible witness. Just see and listen to his Sixth Floor oral history interview. His account of Oswald’s moving around in the main seating area, sitting down for brief moments next to people, next to himself, then I think next to Gibson in the corner, then (Davis telling) Oswald went OUT the back of the far aisle into the popcorn concession area (according to DAVIS) before coming BACK IN a different aisle… although little-remarked I regard that as somewhat striking corroboration, independent corroboration, of Burroughs’s account of Oswald’s movement. The only thing missing is Davis doesn’t have Oswald buying popcorn when he is back there, but that would be because Davis had no way of seeing or noticing that from where Davis was sitting. But the credible Davis places Oswald back where he could buy popcorn from Burroughs there, in the same “opening credits” time frame as Burroughs had Oswald buying popcorn, and I interpret Davis as supporting the credibility of Burroughs on that.

Which definitely is a different timing and version of Oswald in the Theatre from the Tippit killer running past Brewer’s store and Julia Postal into the theater balcony well after the movie had started, raising the question of whether Brewer was correct or mistaken in his identification of the man he saw through the glass doors of his store as Oswald. 

 

Davis seems credible?  Okay.

When does Davis say he saw popcorn in Oswald's hands?

 

[Greg Doudna]

1 hour ago, Bill Brown said:

Re: Jack Davis and Oswald sitting beside himself and another guy, consider the possibility that Oswald wanted to appear to be part of a small group of patrons versus a man sitting by himself.  Just sayin'.

That’s possible Bill. I wondered that too. But against, is he kept moving to different persons, three or four times. And he was sitting directly next to lone strangers in a nearly empty theater, not two or three seats away, and directly next in a nearly empty theater is definite invasion of personal space.

(But suppose he feared someone might find him and shoot at him right there in the theater. Sitting immediately next to someone might deter someone from shooting from a distance, gaining time for Oswald (who was armed) to react?)

John Martino whom Larry Hancock argues had knowledge of the assassination plot in Dallas said Oswald was meeting someone in the theater who unknown to Oswald was going to kill Oswald but the Tippit killing messed things up. The seating directly next to each person, then quick leaving, then repeating the same with another patron several times, in a theater of only 14 tickets in all sold by Julia Postal that day, do seem to weigh in favor that Oswald was looking for a contact. Plus some think a torn dollar bill in DPD inventory with other Oswald materials suggests that was on Oswald in the theater in keeping with a known practice in theaters for meeting contacts. 

[Greg Doudna]

2 hours ago, Bill Brown said:

 

Davis seems credible?  Okay.

When does Davis say he saw popcorn in Oswald's hands?

Davis never said he saw popcorn in Oswald’s hands. The sitting next to Davis was before Oswald moved to sit next to Gibson and then went out the rear to the concession area. The popcorn purchase would happen after Oswald left sitting next to Davis. 

Who would have seen popcorn in his hands would be the pregnant lady that Burroughs says Oswald next sat next to in the theater (she got up and didn’t return to that seat). Then Oswald at some point moved again to where he was when arrested.

[Bill Brown]

3 hours ago, Greg Doudna said:

That’s possible Bill. I wondered that too. But against, is he kept moving to different persons, three or four times. And he was sitting directly next to lone strangers in a nearly empty theater, not two or three seats away, and directly next in a nearly empty theater is definite invasion of personal space.

(But suppose he feared someone might find him and shoot at him right there in the theater. Sitting immediately next to someone might deter someone from shooting from a distance, gaining time for Oswald (who was armed) to react?)

John Martino whom Larry Hancock argues had knowledge of the assassination plot in Dallas said Oswald was meeting someone in the theater who unknown to Oswald was going to kill Oswald but the Tippit killing messed things up. The seating directly next to each person, then quick leaving, then repeating the same with another patron several times, in a theater of only 14 tickets in all sold by Julia Postal that day, do seem to weigh in favor that Oswald was looking for a contact. Plus some think a torn dollar bill in DPD inventory with other Oswald materials suggests that was on Oswald in the theater in keeping with a known practice in theaters for meeting contacts. 

 

"That’s possible Bill. I wondered that too. But against, is he kept moving to different persons, three or four times."

 

Jack Davis, who you agree is credible, has Oswald sitting beside (or almost sitting beside) only TWO people.

 

[Joe Bauer]

In his brief time in the Texas Theater it seems Oswald was constantly nervously running around in the back and/or balcony seating area including plopping down right next to others ( with many open seating areas all around ) and creeping them out to the point of their leaving their seats.

Also running out into the popcorn concession area and maybe/maybe not buying a box of popcorn, making a quick bathroom visit and then darting back again in the darkened theater to continue saddling up right next to other movie goers?

Curious, did any of the heebie-jeebie feeling seat holders perhaps mention Oswald holding up a torn half of a dollar bill he was carrying and asking them some odd question while doing so like "Is it safe?"

Just this Oswald creepy Texas Theater seat hopping, popcorn buying story of intrigue alone deserves a book imo.

"THE POPCORN MAN"

"Lee Harvey Oswald And The Texas Theater Balcony incident!" 

"The Defining Story That Finally Exposes The 'Corn Popping Truth' About The JFKA."

 

 

 

 

Edited December 13, 2023 by Joe Bauer