Umbrella man (JFK assassination)
Person seen in the Zapruder film
The "umbrella man", later identified as Louie Steven Witt (October 20, 1924 – November 17, 2014), is a figure who appears in several films and photographs of the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy. He was one of the closest bystanders when the President was first struck by a bullet near the Stemmons Freeway sign within Dealey Plaza. The figure's behavior raised suspicion among investigators due to his maneuvering of an umbrella as Kennedy was passing him despite clear skies.
Louie Steven Witt came forward to the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1978, identifying himself as the "umbrella man" in the footage. Witt said that he brought the umbrella that day to heckle Kennedy as an indirect reference to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.'s support of Neville Chamberlain.
Speculation
A person popularly dubbed the "umbrella man" has been the object of much speculation, as he was the only person seen carrying, and opening, an umbrella on that sunny day. He was also one of the closest bystanders to President John F. Kennedy when Kennedy was first struck by a bullet. As Kennedy's limousine approached, the man opened up and lifted the umbrella high above his head, then spun or panned the umbrella from east to west (clockwise) as the president passed by him.
In the aftermath of the assassination, the "umbrella man" sat down on the sidewalk next to another man ("Dark Complected Man") before getting up and walking towards the Texas School Book Depository. The fact that both of the men sat there so calmly after the shooting has raised suspicion.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Umbrella man (JFK assassination)” is person seen in the Zapruder film. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Umbrella, assassination and Person, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
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Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q11682576. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1924, 2014 and 1978.
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This entry incorporates text from “Umbrella man (JFK assassination)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.