Author Night at Hubbell Library: Jack B. McGuire

Killing the Kingfish: The Huey Long Assassination

Author Jack B. McGuire corrects the historical record and offers insights into the dangerous political landscape of 1930s Louisiana in this definitive recounting of the assassination of Huey Long.

On September 8, 1935, Huey Long, a United States senator and former Louisiana governor, was fatally shot in a back corridor of the Louisiana state capitol. Although the most widely accepted theory holds that Dr. Carl Weiss, son-in-law of Long’s political opponent Judge Benjamin Henry Pavy, was responsible, the assassination remains one of the most debated events in American political history. In Killing the Kingfish: The Huey Long Assassination, author Jack B. McGuire offers a comprehensive and revelatory examination of what really happened that night.

Killing the Kingfish explores critical incidents leading up to the assassination, including Long’s investigation of a murder plot in early 1935 and his battles with Judge Pavy. These events, often overlooked by other historians, are crucial to understanding the volatile climate that surrounded Long’s leadership. The volume also presents previously undisclosed information, including secret state investigative files that have never been made public—until now. McGuire uncovers secret plots to assassinate Long, some involving local political figures and law enforcement officials. He details planned attempts on Long’s life originating from influential factions in Louisiana. McGuire’s findings suggest that, had Long not been killed when he was, an ambush would likely have occurred within weeks.

McGuire’s scholarship not only corrects the historical record but also offers essential insights into the dangerous political landscape of 1930s Louisiana. Incorporating rare investigative materials, Killing the Kingfish will be an invaluable resource for scholars and readers interested in the true story behind Huey Long’s tragic end.

Jack B. McGuire served as special assistant to the mayor of New Orleans, press secretary to the mayor, and director of public relations from 1964 to 1970 as well as a councilman-at-large for the city of Mandeville from 1984 to 2000. For over forty years he was an officer of Union Savings and Loan Association in New Orleans. He is author of Killing the Kingfish: The Huey Long Assassination and Win the Race or Die Trying: Uncle Earl's Last Hurrah and coauthor (with Walter Greaves Cowan) of Louisiana Governors: Rulers, Rascals, and Reformers, all published by University Press of Mississippi.

Sponsored by Friends of Hubbell Library.

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