16 Facts About Orville Nix

Orville Orhel Nix was a witness to the assassination of United States President John F Kennedy in Dallas, Texas on November 22,1963.

Orville Nix's filming of the shooting, which only captured the last few seconds of it, but shows the grassy knoll in its entirety, is considered to be nearly as important as the film by Abraham Zapruder.

Orville Nix was reported to have had a fourth grade education and later worked as an air conditioning engineer for the General Services Administration in Dallas.

Orville Nix was married to Ella Louise Robison in 1938 with whom he had one son, Orville Jr.

On November 22,1963, Orville Nix walked from his office in the Terminal Annex building on the south side of Dealey Plaza to the northwest corner of the intersection of Main Street and Houston Street with his Keystone Auto-Zoom Model K-810 8 mm movie camera.

Orville 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.

Orville Nix's film is much darker than the other films shot that day, as he used Type A film, specifically designed for indoor use, and did not have the proper filter to correct this.

The Orville Nix film was obtained as a result of a notice that the FBI gave to film processing plants in the Dallas area, that the FBI would be interested in obtaining or knowing about any film they processed relating to the assassination.

When Orville Nix heard about this from his processor, he delivered the film to the FBI office in Dallas on December 1,1963.

In 2002, the Orville Nix family assigned the film's copyright to the Dallas County Historical Foundation, which operates the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza.

Orville Nix was interviewed in 1966 by investigator Mark Lane for his documentary Rush to Judgment.

Orville Nix told Lane that at the time of the assassination, he believed that the shots had come from behind the stockade fence on the grassy knoll, but was later told that conclusive proof existed that shots only came from the Texas School Book Depository and that he was convinced by this.

Orville Nix was interviewed by CBS News in 1967 for a television documentary on the Kennedy assassination.

Orville Nix's descendants intend to have the original closely re-examined using AI and other new tech developments, if it is returned intact.

On January 17,1972, Orville Nix died from a heart attack in Dallas at the age of 60.

Orville Nix is buried in Edgewood Cemetery in Lancaster, Texas.