Who in the World Said That in "JFK"? Quiz

Answer: Jack Ruby (played by Brian Doyle-Murray)

Jack Ruby is the nightclub owner with supposed ties to the mafia who, for reasons unknown, murdered JFK's presumed assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, before Oswald could stand trial. Stone's film suggests that others did not want Oswald to talk because he was a loose cannon and part of a larger conspiracy who was likely an unwitting fall guy for the whole operation.

The real truth will never be known. Doyle-Murray, the older brother of actor Bill Murray, has little screen time, but cuts a believable figure as Oswald's killer, Jack Ruby.

The short quote in question is what Ruby cries out just before shooting Oswald. Ironically, JFK, Oswald, and months later, Ruby himself, all died at Dallas' Parkland Hospital.

Answer: President Lyndon Baines Johnson (voiced by John William Galt)

There are few living politicians painted in a positive light in Stone's political thriller. LBJ fares better than some, but still seems to be an opportunistic wheeler and dealer. LBJ is voiced by John William Galt (who is the one who says this line in the film). When LBJ is seen on screen in the movie (without speaking), he is portrayed by Tom Howard.

Answer: David Ferrie (played by Joe Pesci)

David Ferrie is a pilot who may or may not be involved in a conspiracy regarding JFK's assassination and the framing of Oswald for that crime. He, Oswald and others were involved in some activities on behalf of Cuban exiles who wanted to oust Fidel Castro from power. Ferrie is played ably by Joe Pesci. Kevin Costner's portrayal in the film of the dogged prosecutor, Jim Garrison, is thwarted at every turn in trying to uncover the truth about the assassination, and many of his witnesses are killed before they are able to tell their stories, including the character of David Ferrie.

Answer: Lee Harvey Oswald (played by Gary Oldman)

This line is the one said by Oswald right after being caught for having murdered JFK and Officer Tippett. In the two days that he was held in police custody for the murders, Oswald protested his innocence regarding Kennedy's death. Gary Oldman played Oswald for a reduced fee in order to appear in Stone's film. For his research, he met with Oswald's widow and others.

In the film, once Oswald is killed by Ruby while in police custody, Garrison closes his investigation into JFK's murder. It is only after reading the Warren Commission report that Garrison decides to reopen his investigation because of anomalies, omissions and errors that he perceives in the report.

Answer: Louisiana Senator Russell Long (played by Walter Matthau)

The character of Senator Long was a short but juicy one for Walter Matthau, and one that the veteran actor delivered with gusto. In real life, Senator Long was involved in Louisiana politics until 1987. He was the son of infamous Governor Huey Long, no stranger himself to the sordid side of politics.

Answer: D.A. Jim Garrison (played by Kevin Costner)

The central portrayal in Stone's thriller is that of Jim Garrison (played by Kevin Costner). If Costner's Garrison weren't believable, then the whole film would fall on its face. Luckily, Costner's dogged and sincere delivery make it easy for the audience to understand why Garrison would have become obsessed with the case that eluded resolution despite the many investigations.

Answer: Anonymous high-level government official known as "X" (played by Donald Sutherland)

Every conspiracy story needs an anonymous high-level official willing to give out bits of information, but not willing to stand behind them openly and with his/her own name on the line. The most important such figure in Stone's "JFK" is Donald Sutherland's X.

In real life, Garrison did not meet the person on whom X is based until five years after his investigation into the assassination. X turns out to be loosely based (according to "JFK" screenplay notes) on Col. L. Fletcher Prouty USAF (Ret.), Chief of Special Operations with the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Kennedy years.

Answer: Guy Bannister (played by Ed Asner)

The character of Guy Bannister serves to strengthen the conspiracy theory. He was a mercenary who was involved in many schemes against Castro and in support of Cuban exiles in the US. A former employee of the FBI, Bannister was no longer involved with law enforcement at the time of the JFK assiassination.

A staunch anti-Communist who was unabashedly involved in several efforts in Latin America to unseat "unsatisfactory" leaders, Bannister had his hands in more than a few questionable pies. He was a private investigator after leaving the FBI, and he was involved in different schemes with David Ferrie as well as Clay Shaw, the man who Jim Garrison eventually believed to be a mastermind behind the JFK assassination. Shaw was a Louisiana businessman who was the only person prosecuted in connection with JFK's death, and he was eventually acquitted.

Answer: Justice Earl Warren (played by the real life Jim Garrison)

The fact that Jim Garrison himself wanted to play a role in Stone's version of his story lends credence, if not to the veracity of the story itself, at the very least to the sincerity of Garrison himself. The quote in question is said by Warren to Jack Ruby when he asked for police protection and said that he feared for his own life.

Answer: Assistant DA Numa Bertel (played by Wayne Knight)

Some of the most colorful lines in the movie were delivered by the character of Assistant District Attorney, Numa Bertel, played by Wayne Knight (who is perhaps best remembered as Newman on TV's "Seinfeld"). Knight was just one more actor who campaigned to be a part of Oliver Stone's movie.

No matter what you believe, the assassination of JFK was a shock to the US when it happened. It affected everyone who was alive in the country then, and all can remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news. Some of the documentation about the crime has just been declassified in 2016. Other documents will never be released. The actual truth may never be known, but Stone's version is as good a portrayal as any of the turmoil and thirst for an answer that the crime caused.