Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

Ruby’s Call to Lawrence Meyers

After the call with Carlin, Ruby called his sister Eva Grant in a depressed mood, and she suggested he visit a friend. In response, Ruby called Lawrence Meyers, a friend from Chicago he had visited two nights prior. Meyers testified Ruby asked what he thought of the “terrible thing” (the assassination), then criticized his competitors Abe and Barney Weinstein for failing to close their clubs on Saturday night, saying “I’ve got to do something about this.” Meyers initially thought the remark referred to the Weinsteins, but after Oswald was shot, he was unsure if Ruby was referring to his competitors or the assassination, as Ruby had also spoken at length about Mrs. Kennedy, repeatedly saying “those poor people, those poor people.” Meyers declined Ruby’s invitation for coffee but invited him to his motel; when Ruby also declined, the two agreed to meet for dinner the following evening.

Inconsistent Testimony Regarding Evening Activities

Conflicting testimony exists about Ruby’s activities in the 45 minutes after his call with Meyers. Eva Grant testified she did not see Ruby after 8 p.m. that Saturday and denied calling Ralph Paul that night, but phone company records show a call was placed to Ralph Paul’s Bull Pen Drive-In in Arlington, Texas from Grant’s apartment at 10:44 p.m. that night, the only such call from her apartment that weekend. Grant recalled Ruby making a call to Paul that weekend, and Paul testified Ruby called him from Grant’s apartment that night, saying he and his sister were crying. Nineteen-year-old Wanda Helmick, a former waitress at the Bull Pen, reported in June 1964 that she overheard the cashier answer a call for Paul, saying “It is for you. It is Jack.” Helmick claimed she heard Paul mention a gun the caller had and exclaim “Are you crazy?” She said Paul repeated this account to employees the next day after Oswald was shot, identifying Ruby as the caller. Paul denied Helmick’s allegations, and both he and Helmick agreed Paul left for home around 11 p.m.

Ruby’s Late-Night Telephone Calls

Shortly after 11 p.m., Ruby arrived at the Nichols Garage, repaid Huey Reeves, and retrieved the receipt Mrs. Carlin had signed. Outside the Carousel, he greeted Police Officer Harry Olsen and Kay Coleman, whom he had seen late the previous night. He went upstairs to the club and made five brief long-distance calls: the first to the Bull Pen Drive-In at 11:18 p.m. lasting 1 minute, followed by a 3-minute call to Paul’s home in Arlington at 11:21 p.m., a 2-minute call to Paul’s home at 11:36 p.m., a 2-minute call to entertainer Breck Wall in Galveston at 11:44 p.m., and a final 1-minute call to Paul’s home. Ruby has not provided details of these calls to the Commission, but has denied ever indicating to Paul or Wall that he planned to shoot Oswald, saying he did not consider such action until Sunday morning. Paul did not mention the late calls in his November 24, 1963 FBI interview, later testifying Ruby called to say no business was being done. Wall testified Ruby called to ask if the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA) had met regarding a dispute Ruby had with the union over the Weinsteins’ enforcement of AGVA’s ban on striptease contests and amateur performances, and that Ruby was upset the Weinsteins had not closed their clubs out of respect for President Kennedy.

Visit to the Pago Club

After finishing the calls to Paul and Wall at 11:48 p.m., Ruby drove to the Pago Club, a 10-minute trip from the Carousel Club. He took a table near the middle of the club, ordered a Coke, and asked the waitress in a disapproving tone why the club was open. When manager Robert Norton joined him a few minutes later, Ruby expressed concern about whether it was proper to operate the club that evening, noting the Carousel was closed but not criticizing Norton for staying open. Norton brought up President Kennedy’s death, saying no one had the right to take another’s life, and Ruby expressed no strong opinion before saying he was going home because he was tired. Ruby later told the Commission he knew “something was wrong” with him in the mood he was in that night.