''Ruby and Oswald'' is a 1978 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

about the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy. It stars Michael Lerner and

Frederic Forrest Frederic Fenimore Forrest Jr. (born December 23, 1936) is an American actor. Forrest came to public attention for his performance in ''When the Legends Die'' (1972), which earned him a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising N ...

Overview

Jack Ruby Jack Leon Ruby (born Jacob Leon Rubenstein; April 25, 1911January 3, 1967) was an American nightclub owner and alleged associate of the Chicago Outfit who murdered Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, two days after Oswald was accused of th ...

(Michael Lerner) is a warm-hearted but hot-tempered and patriotic nightclub owner, who loves President Kennedy.

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 fo ...

(Frederic Forrest), a troubled loner with a speckled past is looking to merely acquire fame. On November 22, Oswald kills the president. On the 24th, Ruby kills Oswald, being motivated exclusively by his love for the president.

Cast

* Michael Lerner as

Lou Frizzell Lou Frizzell (June 10, 1919 – June 17, 1979) was an American actor and music director who worked on Broadway productions, television shows and films. He was perhaps best known for playing Dusty Rhodes in the American western television seri ...

as Captain J. Will Fritz *

Doris Roberts Doris May Roberts ( Green; November 4, 1925 – April 17, 2016) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades of television and film. She received five Emmy Awards and a Screen Actors Guild award during her acting career, which bega ...

as Eva *

Lanna Saunders Svetlana Nikolaevna "Lanna" Saunders (December 22, 1941 – March 10, 2007) was an American actress, best known for her role as Marie Horton on the television soap opera '' Days of Our Lives'', on which she appeared from 197985. She also pla ...

Marina Oswald Marina Nikolayevna Oswald Porter ( Prusakova; russian: Марина Николаевна Прусакова; born July 17, 1941) is the Russian-American widow of Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of US President John F. Kennedy. Early life Porte ...

* Bruce French as Robert Oswald *

Sandy McPeak Sandy McPeak (February 21, 1936 – December 31, 1997) was an American actor best known for such films and television series as ''Winnetka Road'', ''L.A. Law'', ''Centennial'', ''Ode to Billy Joe'', ''Patton'', '' The Osterman Weekend'', ''Kelly' ...

Henry Wade Henry Menasco Wade (November 11, 1914 – March 1, 2001) was an American lawyer who served as district attorney of Dallas County from 1951 to 1987. He participated in two notable U.S. court cases of the 20th century: the prosecution of Jack Rub ...

Sandy Ward Sandy Brown (July 12, 1926 – March 6, 2005) was an American film and television actor. He was perhaps best known for playing the recurring role of "Logger Pete" on 11 episodes of the American sitcom television series ''Malcolm in the Middle''. ...

as Jesse Curry *

Brian Dennehy Brian Manion Dennehy (; July 9, 1938 – April 15, 2020) was an American actor of stage, television, and film. He won two Tony Awards, an Olivier Award, and a Golden Globe, and received six Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Dennehy had roles in ...

as George Paulsen *

Michael Pataki Michael Pataki (January 16, 1938 – April 15, 2010) was an American actor. Early life Pataki was born in Youngstown, Ohio. His parents were Hungarians. He was the youngest of three children - one older brother and one older sister. He atten ...

as Ike Pappas * Richard Sanders as Agent Kelley *

Gordon Jump Alexander Gordon Jump (April 1, 1932 – September 22, 2003) was an American actor best known as the clueless, yet occasionally wise, radio station manager Arthur "Big Guy" Carlson in the TV series ''WKRP in Cincinnati'' and the incompetent Ch ...

as Clyde Gaydosh * Gwynne Gilford as Little Lyn * Hillel Silverman as Himself *

Jim Leavelle James Robert Leavelle (August 23, 1920 – August 29, 2019) was a Dallas Police Department homicide detective who, on November 24, 1963, was escorting John F. Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald through the basement of Dallas Police headquarters ...

as Himself

Reviews

Journalist Jeremiah O'Leary witnessed Ruby's shooting of Oswald in the basement of Dallas Police headquarters on November 24, 1963. In a review for ''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...

'', O'Leary wrote: "The actors and the director succeeded only in making a bore of a weekend that was as exciting as it was horrible."

References

External links

* 1978 television films 1978 films Films about the assassination of John F. Kennedy Films set in the 1960s Cultural depictions of Lee Harvey Oswald Cultural depictions of Jack Ruby CBS network films Films directed by Mel Stuart 1970s American films {{US-tv-drama-film-stub