Of the first three documents among the list of those JFK Assassination records still withheld is:
178-10004-10394 McIlvain Tape 75' Rock (Duplicate) that refers to TV reporter Judd McIlvain, who attended the University of Missouri School of Journalism and Columbia, served in the US Army Reserves, specialized in Central American stories, was known as the "Troubleshooter," and recently passed away.
Here are some tributes to him from the Hollywood Reporter, LA Times and UM, that may give some insight into what he could of known and said during his interview with the Rockefeller Commission concerning the assassination of President Kennedy that is so sensitive that it must still be kept secret from the public.
Judd McIlvain, Former Consumer Advocate for KCBS-TV,
Dies at 73
He was known for his popular
"Troubleshooter" reports, which came to the aid of the underdog.
Judd McIlvain, the investigative reporter and
consumer advocate for KCBS-TV known for his "Troubleshooter" reports,
died March 9 at his home in Woodland Hills, his family announced. He was 73.
McIlvain worked at the Los Angeles station for 10
years starting in 1988. Concurrently, he worked on the network’s 48 Hours news
program with Dan Rather and later reported for ABC's 20/20.
He came up with the Troubleshooter brand at Fox’s
network news division, where he started in 1986.
Earlier, the broadcast journalist worked for KHOU-TV
in Houston as an assignment editor and general reporter and created the
investigative series "The McIlvain Files."
At age 12, McIlvain wrote, produced and hosted Children's
Digest, a kids' talk show for a local TV station in Bloomington, Ill. Three
years later, he served as a radio disc jockey in Columbia, Mo., and went on
produce a show,TV Dance Party, in Jefferson City, Mo.
After earning a journalism degree at Columbia
University in New York, he traveled independently to Central America, where he
sent war stories back to the U.S. for ABC News and United Press International.
His honors included two local Emmys, eight Golden
Mikes, four Los Angeles Press Club honors and Texas’ top prize for
investigative reporting, the Headliners Award. After leaving CBS, he continued
to help consumers through an Internet TV show.
Survivors include his wife of 47 years, Herlinda,
children Marisol, Aaron and Sean, brother Gary and
sister Carolyne.
A memorial service will be held from 6-9 p.m. on
Wednesday at Malinow Silverman Chapel, 7366 Osage Ave., Los Angeles. Donations for the purpose of continuing his fight
against elder abuse can be made payable to The Troubleshooter Foundation and
sent to 23448 Bessemer St., Woodland Hills, CA 91367.
JUDD MCILVAIN LA Times
February 3, 1942 - March 9, 2015 Judd McIlvain,
distinguished CBS and Fox News journalist and investigative reporter,
champion of truth and advocate for the underdog, passed away at his home in
Woodland Hills, California. He was 73 years old.
To the millions of followers over his storied
career, he'll always be remembered as TroubleShooter Judd. Judd was half of the
dynamic Herlinda and Judd team whose marriage spanned 47 years. They met in
Moline, Illinois, and in 1967 moved to Houston, Texas, where they raised their
two sons and daughter. He often spoke with touching pride and love about his
wife's support that enabled him to be out in the world, fulfilling his purpose
here on earth.
He adored his family. Judd's first experience in
television was in Bloomington, Illinois, when, at age 12, he convinced the
local TV station that a kids' TV talk show would be a big hit. He wrote,
produced, and hosted Children's Digest and sold it to the sponsors. His family
didn't even own a TV in 1954 and had to buy one just to watch Judd on his first
show. His first radio appearance came at age 15, when he served as a disk
jockey on broadcasts from KBIA and KFRU radio stations in Columbia, Missouri.
At 17, while producing his TV Dance Party in Jefferson City, he bucked the Ku
Klux Klan and local officials who tried to prevent him from hosting African
American youths on a white dance show in the 1950s. Judd prevailed.
He joined the National Guard after high school and
went on active duty with the U.S. Army. serving as a military police
officer and becoming one of the youngest to reach the rank of sergeant. He
served four more years in reserves while working part-time in radio and TV news
and earned his bachelor of journalism degree at Columbia University. A reporter
in search of stories, he traveled independently to Central America where he
wired war stories back to the U.S. ABC News signed him, as did United Press
International (UPI).
One of his favorite stories was about his escape
from a Venezuela jail after being arrested for photographing the secret police
beating demonstrators at the dictator Peres Jimenez's trial. For 18 years, Judd
worked for KHOU-TV in Houston as the assignment editor, general reporter, and
investigative reporter, later creating the investigative series The McIlvain
Files. In 1986 Rupert Murdoch brought him to the Fox network news division in
Los Angeles, where he developed The Troubleshooter. In 1988 Judd moved The
Troubleshooter to CBS-2 for 10 years and while there developed The
Troubleshooter Show. Concurrently, he worked on the CBS 48 Hours program with
Dan Rather and later with Geraldo Rivera on ABC's 20/20. He set legal precedent
in a landmark Texas Supreme Court case, McIlvain vs. Jacobs, which established
the definition of "substantial truth" in libel law for many years.
During his "retirement" he continued to dedicate himself to helping
victims of crime and fraud through his web TV show.
TroubleShooterJudd.com was viewed by millions all over the
world, and he got calls for help from the Caribbean islands, Canada, Mexico,
Europe, Africa, and across the United States. Judd never missed an opportunity
to advocate for the needy and abused, appear at charity events, or counsel a
student. His style was so congenial that almost everyone he contacted
cooperated with him. Judd never gave up. His journalistic awards include two
Emmys, eight Golden Mikes, four Los Angeles Press Club awards, and Texas'
highest award for investigative reporting, the Headliners Award.
Judd is survived by his wife, Herlinda; daughter
Marisol McIlvain Sagheb; sons Aaron and Sean McIlvain; brother Gary McIlvain,
wife Val, and daughters Morgan and Felicia; and sister Carolyne Culotti and her
daughter Christi and husband Hal. He is also survived by his beloved
parents-in-law, Dolores and Fidencio Barajas. Judd was predeceased by his
parents, Gaylord and Martha McIlvain. He also has many aunts, uncles, cousins,
and other extended family who celebrate his life and is survived by thousands
of colleagues, fans, and friends who have had their lives enriched in one way
or another because of knowing him. Memorial service is tentatively scheduled
for Wednesday, March 18, from 6 PM to 9 PM at Malinow Silverman Chapel, 7366
Osage Ave., Los Angeles (800-710-7100). Confirmation will be posted on Judd's
web site at www.TroubleShooterJudd.com and
on Facebook. Donations for the purpose of continuing Judd's fight against elder
abuse can be made payable to The Troubleshooter Foundation and sent to 23448
Bessemer St., Woodland Hills, CA 91367.
Published in the Los Angeles Times from Mar. 13
to Mar. 15, 2015
University of Missouri School of Journalism
JUDD MCILVAIN
Radio, Television, Internet Broadcaster
Degree(s): BJ
'65
Emphasis: Radio-Television
Journalism
Judd McIlvain's award-winning career as a radio and
television journalist spanned five decades before his passing in March 2015. He
was known as a hard-driving investigative reporter for major stations in
Houston and Los Angeles. McIlvain also dedicated his talents to fighting for
consumer rights. The following Profile in Success was first published in 2011.
An Early Start in Broadcasting
Judd McIlvain, BJ ’65, has been in radio and TV for
45 years. He was first on TV when he was 12 years old and hosted a show called
“Children’s Digest.” The show, sponsored by Blue Star Potato Chips of Chicago
was 15 minutes long on WBLN-TV in Bloomington, Ill. McIlvain did radio shows as
a disc jockey in Columbia, Mo., at radio stations KBIA and KFRU when he was 15
and 16 years of age.
Judd McIlvain, BJ ’65, hosts the television show
“Dance Party” on KRCG in Jefferson City, Mo.
At 17, he produced and hosted a television show
called “Dance Party” at the Jefferson City, Mo., KRCG-TV station. Teenagers
from area schools would come to the studios each week and dance to rock ‘n’
roll on television. The show was sponsored by Pepsi Cola and was 90 minutes
long.
McIlvain was the first TV producer to fight for
African-American teenagers to dance on a so-called white TV show and win. A
week later, the Ku Klux Klan showed up at the studios and demanded that the
white teenagers not dance on the show if black teenagers were permitted to
dance. It was 1959, and the white kids danced with white kids and the black
kids danced with black kids, but for some members of the community, that was
too much integration. Pepsi did not give in and cancel the show, and it
continued until the end of the 13-week contract. However, McIlvain had to have
one show with black dancers and one show with white dancers. Therefore, on the
black show, he was the first white host of a black dance party TV show. After
the 13-week contract, and many protests from the Klan, the show was not
renewed.
After high school McIlvain joined the National Guard
and immediately went on active duty with the U.S. Army. He graduated as a
military police officer, served out his active duty and then returned to serve
four years active reserve. McIlvain was one of the youngest military police to
reach the rank of sergeant.
He worked part time in radio and TV news reporting
when he went to the University of Missouri School of Journalism. During his
college studies, McIlvain studied a summer semester in Monterrey, Mexico, where
he learned Spanish.
A Career in Television and Radio
After getting his Bachelor of Journalism (BJ) in
1965, McIlvain headed for Central America to be a freelance news reporter. If
there was a riot or a small war, he was there covering it and trying to find
customers in the United States who would take his stories. McIlvain did some
live feeds for ABC News from the riots in Panama City in 1965. He was paid $20
per radio story. While working for United Press International (UPI), McIlvain
was arrested in Venezuela for taking pictures of the secret police beating
demonstrators and of the trial of dictator Perez Jimenez. McIlvain was released
on bond, and UPI’s bureau chief suggested it would be a great idea for him to
flee the country because the penalty he was facing was six years in jail.
McIlvain took the advice and was out of Venezuela the next morning. He has not
been back since.
McIlvain has worked at eight different TV stations
throughout the country.
He worked at the CBS-TV affiliate in Houston for 18
years. He was the assignment editor/ producer, general reporter and
investigative reporter.
In 1986, Rupert Murdoch, the owner of FOX-TV,
brought McIlvain to Los Angeles, Calif., to be the Troubleshooter on the FOX
station, KTTV.
In 1988, he was hired by KCBS-TV in Los Angeles and
moved his Troubleshooter operation to CBS, where he worked for 10 years.
McIlvain has done stories on CBS’ 48 Hours with Dan
Rather, with whom he worked in Houston, Texas, in the late 1960s. McIlvain also
helped produce stories for Geraldo Rivera at ABC’s 20/20. He was often on
Geraldo’s syndicated show until the fighting and chair throwing began.
McIlvain has won two L.A. Emmys, eight Golden Mikes
and four L.A. Press Club awards for outstanding TV reporting. One was for
outstanding reporting during the Los Angeles riots. He also received Texas’
highest award for investigative reporting, the Headliners Award.
McIlvain now has a website,
www.troubleshooterjudd.com, and he also hosts an Internet consumer action radio
talk show on www.adviceradio.com.
McIlvain and his wife Linda have been married for 40
years and have three children, Aaron, Sean and Marisol. They live in Woodland
Hills, Calif.
J-School Reunion Under Gunfire
By Judd McIlvain, BJ ’65
It was one of those cold January mornings in
Columbia, Mo., when you cannot see the sun, and the sky looks like it will be
producing snow at any moment. The temperature was about 38 degrees, and there
was a prediction of possible snow, if a front that was moving on Kansas City
continued on to Columbia.
I was standing outside of Neff Hall on Ninth Street,
saying to myself, “Is that all there is?” I was graduating from the J-School at
midterm in January 1965, and it had just been explained to me that there would
be no ceremony or even a certificate until June. A nice clerk wished me
congratulations saying, “You now have a BJ degree from the University of
Missouri,” and then she quickly took a phone call.
So here I stood on Ninth Street, the strollway in
Columbia, a BJ graduate with no job and no one to tell that I had finally made
it through J-School. I walked across the street to the Heidelberg Inn to get
some hot coffee and think about the fact that I now had a BJ, and I was a
journalist without a job.
I was sitting at the bar that was empty, with the
exception of the bartender who was setting up for the day. In walked another
student who sat on a stool near me. I decided I had to tell someone I had finally
graduated from J-School. So I introduced myself and told this complete stranger
that I was now a grad. He was surprised and said, “You are not going to believe
this, but I just graduated and got my BJ today at midterm.” His name was
Carlos, and he was from Venezuela. We had never met during all our time in
J-School.
I said, “Let me buy you a drink,” so we toasted our
joint graduation from the University of Missouri. He told me he was going home
to Caracas, Venezuela, to work for an English language newspaper there. I told
him I was headed to Central America to start my career as a foreign
correspondent, but I did not have a job yet.
He wished me luck, and I wished
him luck, and I left the Heidelberg to walk to my car.
During that cold walk, I kept thinking of what Dr.
Edward Lambert, the head of the Radio and TV Department at J-School, had told
me. He had counseled me to forget the idea of heading for Central and South
America to work as a foreign correspondent and take a job at a small radio
station in Southern Missouri to get experience. Well, I cashed in a small
insurance policy, took my $500 and headed for Central America by train.
Now, flash forward two-and-a-half months, and I was
working part time for United Press International in Caracas, Venezuela. When I
arrived in Caracas I was broke, and I made the rounds of news operations to see
if I could get a job. Reuters had an opening for a reporter, and since I spoke
both English and Spanish and had a BJ degree, I thought I would have it made.
But the people at Reuters said they only hired reporters who spoke at least
five languages. I didn’t know anyone in the country who spoke five languages.
By the way, they never did find a reporter who spoke five languages, and they
ended up closing the news bureau. Finally I got four hours of work each day at
UPI, translating Spanish news stories into English for the afternoon New York
feed. UPI also used me on photo assignments, and I was paid $25 per picture
that they used on the wire. One morning I was sent to a small demonstration and
possible riot in downtown
Caracas.
Of course, I was hoping it would be a big riot so
that I could get several pictures that UPI would buy for the New York wire and
I would made $25 each. I was extremely poor at the time, and I needed the money
just to eat. (Small sidebar: I found a little hot dog stand near the UPI
bureau, and they sold good hot dogs for 12 cents. This stand was my lunch and
dinner wagon – that is, until a kid told me that the hot dogs were really made
out of dog meat.)
At the small riot, I was right up front in the crowd
to get good pictures of the cops and the protesting people. There was a
construction site on two corners, and the crowd had the cops surrounded. The
rioters started throwing bricks and concrete from the construction sites at the
cops. I was shooting picture after picture until the cops pulled out their guns
and started shooting directly into the crowd where I was standing. It was a
stampede of people. You could hear bullets whistling down the cannons of tall
buildings. There were also the screams of the wounded.
Being a U.S. Military veteran, I was running a
zigzag path trying to keep from being hit. I was looking for quick cover so I
could continue shooting pictures. There was a bobtail truck with a lift on the
tailgate that was raised, so I ducked under it for cover. About a minute later,
another man ducked under the lift, and the bullets were still whizzing by the
truck. I looked at him, and he looked at me with a surprised expression. I
said, “Aren’t you the guy I bought a drink for at the Heidelberg across from
J-School about two months ago?” He said, “Yes, I’m Carlos.” (This was a real
WOW journalism moment!) Thousands of miles from Columbia, Mo., and months since
our toast at the Heidelberg Inn, we were both working journalists and ducked
under the same truck for cover.
Now, who says J-School grads never get together
after they leave Columbia? I never saw Carlos again, and within two weeks I was
arrested by Venezuela’s federal police for taking pictures of another
demonstration. The government cancelled my work permit and charged me with
being an illegal alien working in Venezuela. I was released that evening to
UPI, and the bureau chief suggested I flee the country. I did, with the police
one step behind me.
Those are the facts, Dr. Lambert, just the facts,
and I know this would not have happened in southern Missouri. However, I did
escape from Venezuela. That’s a story for another day, but thank goodness for a
U.S. oil industry family who hid me from the police.
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