This has been bothering me for a few days. I thought I'd add it here so it might bother you for a few days too!
Ask anybody over 50 years of age if they remember Dorothy Kilgallen. They'll say, "Sure." Her initial claim to fame was that she was a serious newspaper reporter. This was long before TV news. She was born in 1913 in Chicago. She moved to New York in the 30's, spent a year at my mother's Alma Mater, College of New Rochelle and wrote for the NY Journal American. This is not why we remember her. In 1940 she married. In 1945, she and her husband began a morning show on WOR Radio. It was called "Breakfast With Dorothy & Dick." The show was on from 8:15 AM - 8:55 AM. They spoke mostly about show biz and the contemporary culture surrounding life in New York City. My parents listened to the show - religiously. I hated the show. If you lived in the New York metropolitan area between 1945 and 1964 you would be familiar with the program. But, again, the radio show was not her claim to fame. She was on TV. "What's My Line?" was an extremely popular TV show on Sunday evenings. It was on after Ed Sullivan and Candid Camera. Well, Dorothy Kilgallen was a regular panelist on "What's My Line" and she would try to guess the guest's job. Not too complicated, right? America was fascinated with the show! It was done live, every Sunday night.
So what's bothering me about Dorothy Kilgallen? I hated her radio show, I was too young to stay up to watch "What's My Line?," I didn't read her gossip column. So what is it about Dorothy Kilgallen? I'll tell you what it is. She died under unusual circumstances and nobody seemed to be concerned enough to investigate.
I should back up a bit. Remember when I mentioned that she was a newspaper reporter. Well, in 1964 she went to Dallas to interview Jack Ruby. She was the only reporter to conduct a private interview with Ruby. She returns to New York and tells friends that she has info that will blow the lid off the Kennedy Assassination investigation. Dorothy was having some money problems. Her radio show had been cancelled, her newspaper was doing poorly and her husband became a lot better at spending money than he was at making money. Dorothy decided to write a book. A book would pay a lot more than dumping her Jack Ruby tell-all in her newspaper column! Up until now I've been mentioning fact. The following is speculation on my part and on the part of others. The wrong people heard that Kilgallen was to write about the Assassination. Long story short - Dorothy is found dead in her bed on a Monday morning. Alcohol and barbituates. But, she is found in a bedroom that she hadn't slept in - in years. In bed with her was a book that she had finished reading weeks before. Her reading glasses were not in the room. She had not removed her makeup. She was dressed in clothing that, according to friends, she would never wear to bed. Sound suspicious, yet?
Like I said, I never really cared for the woman - a little too hoitty acting for me. It may have been an act, I don't care. What's important is that she was trying to do her job. Trying to tell us a story - the truth.
Like I said, this has been bothering me for a few days. I don't think the lady committed suicide. I think it was a hit. This is really a double mystery. First her death, second, the lack of answers from any kind of an investigation.
Anybody know anybody at "Dateline NBC" or "20-20" or "48 Hours?" Just wondering.
