The testimony of Harry N. Olsen was taken at 2:50 p.m., on August
6, 1964, at the U.S. Post Office Building, 312 North Spring Street,
Los Angeles, Calif., by Mr. Arlen Specter, assistant counsel of the
President’s Commission.
Mr. SPECTER. May the record show that this deposition proceeding of the
President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy is
being held at the U.S. Post Office Building, 312 North Spring Street,
Los Angeles, Calif., in room 644, which is the room customarily used
for the grand jury proceedings.
May the record further show that it is now 2:50 p.m. Pacific daylight
time on Thursday, August 6, 1964. Present is Mr. Harry Olsen, who
has appeared in response to a letter notification to appear for this
deposition.
Mr. Olsen, did you receive a letter from the President’s Commission
with an insertion of the Executive order creating the Commission and
the rules and regulations for taking of depositions?
Mr. OLSEN. Yes.
Mr. SPECTER. And when did you receive that letter?
Mr. OLSEN. Five or six days ago.
Mr. SPECTER. Did you notice that there was a provision in the rules and
regulations that you could have counsel with you if you so desired at
the present time?
Mr. OLSEN. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Do you wish to have counsel with you?
Mr. OLSEN. I don’t think it’s necessary.
Mr. SPECTER. Fine. The Commission has asked you to appear, Mr. Olsen,
in order to testify about any knowledge which you have concerning
Mr. Jack Ruby and the shooting of Mr. Lee Harvey Oswald and the
assassination of President Kennedy. With that preliminary statement of
purpose, I would like you to stand up and raise your right hand, if you
would.
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you shall give in this
deposition proceeding before the President’s Commission shall be the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mr. OLSEN. Yes.
Mr. SPECTER. Would you state your full name for the record, please?
Mr. OLSEN. Harry N. Olsen.
Mr. SPECTER. What is your address at the present time, Mr. Olsen?
Mr. OLSEN. 315 Obispo in Long Beach.
Mr. SPECTER. What is your date of birth?
Mr. OLSEN. February the 16, 1934.
Mr. SPECTER. Where were you born?
Mr. OLSEN. Wichita Falls, Tex.
Mr. SPECTER. Outline briefly your educational background.
Mr. OLSEN. Four years of high school, two and a half years of college.
Mr. SPECTER. What college did you attend?
Mr. OLSEN. Midwestern University.
Mr. SPECTER. And when did you leave Midwestern University?
Mr. OLSEN. 1954.
Mr. SPECTER. What were your activities after leaving Midwestern
University, by way of subsequent employment?
Mr. OLSEN. The Army, 1954 to 1956, and working for my Dad.
Mr. SPECTER. For how long did you work for your Dad?
Mr. OLSEN. Oh, since I was 16.
Mr. SPECTER. Well, from 1956 on how long did you work for him?
Mr. OLSEN. About a year.
Mr. SPECTER. What type of work was that?
Mr. OLSEN. Leather goods.
Mr. SPECTER. Was that in Wichita Falls, Tex.?
Mr. OLSEN. That was in Henrietta, Tex.
Mr. SPECTER. What did you do after terminating your employment with
your father in about 1957 then?
Mr. OLSEN. I went to Dallas.
Mr. SPECTER. And what was your occupation in Dallas?
Mr. OLSEN. A claims investigator for an insurance company.
Mr. SPECTER. How long were you so employed?
Mr. OLSEN. Oh, 7 or 8 months.
Mr. SPECTER. What did you next do for a living?
Mr. OLSEN. I worked for a finance company.
Mr. SPECTER. How long were you employed by the finance company?
Mr. OLSEN. About 8 months.
Mr. SPECTER. And what was your next occupation?
Mr. OLSEN. Dallas Police Department.
Mr. SPECTER. What was your rank in the police department?
Mr. OLSEN. Patrolman.
Mr. SPECTER. And how long were you employed by the Dallas Police
Department?
Mr. OLSEN. Five and a half years.
Mr. SPECTER. When did you end your employment with the Dallas Police
Department?
Mr. OLSEN. In the latter part of December, 1963.
Mr. SPECTER. And how were you employed after December of 1963?
Mr. OLSEN. I left Dallas and came to California and am working for a
collection agency.
Mr. SPECTER. Have you held that same job from the time you first
arrived here in Los Angeles until the present time?
Mr. OLSEN. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Are you married or single, Mr. Olsen?
Mr. OLSEN. Married.
Mr. SPECTER. And what is the name of your wife?
Mr. OLSEN. Kay.
Mr. SPECTER. And what was her name prior to her marriage to you?
Mr. OLSEN. Kay Coleman.
Mr. SPECTER. What was her occupation prior to being married to you,
that is where was she employed?
Mr. OLSEN. She was employed at the Carousel Club.
Mr. SPECTER. When were you and Mrs. Kay Olsen married?
Mr. OLSEN. I believe it was December. It could have been January.
Mr. SPECTER. December of what year?
Mr. OLSEN. 1963, or January of 1964.
Mr. SPECTER. Do you know Jack Ruby?
Mr. OLSEN. Yes.
Mr. SPECTER. When did you first become acquainted with Mr. Jack Ruby?
Mr. OLSEN. Oh, about 3 years ago.
Mr. SPECTER. What were the circumstances of your making his
acquaintance?
Mr. OLSEN. I was with the police department at the time and I was
working that area where his club was, and it was a routine check of his
place.
Mr. SPECTER. How did you and Jack Ruby get along during the time you
knew him?
Mr. OLSEN. We spoke. And sometimes he would get mad and I would talk to
him and calm him down a little bit.
Mr. SPECTER. How often did you visit Jack Ruby’s club, the Carousel
Club?
Mr. OLSEN. Oh, once a week, I guess. Sometimes more and sometimes less.
Mr. SPECTER. Did you ever have any disputes with Ruby?
Mr. OLSEN. Sometimes.
Mr. SPECTER. What was the cause of the disputes?
Mr. OLSEN. He would get mad with some of his help, some of his
employees mostly, or customers. And he was erratic and hotheaded.
Mr. SPECTER. What specific indications did you observe that he was
erratic or hotheaded?
Mr. OLSEN. Well, sometimes he would get so mad that he would shake.
Mr. SPECTER. What would cause him to get that mad?
Mr. OLSEN. Anything. I mean, he would just fly off the handle about
anything.
Mr. SPECTER. Can you give me a specific illustration of what caused him
on any occasion to become that angry?
Mr. OLSEN. Mostly with his help.
Mr. SPECTER. A moment ago you said that you had disagreements with him
over the way he treated his help. What was it about the way he treated
his help which caused you to have any disagreement with Jack Ruby?
Mr. OLSEN. Well, they would want to quit and he would get upset about
that.
Mr. SPECTER. Was that in relation only to Mrs. Kay Olsen who was an
employee of his, or did that apply to other employees as well?
Mr. OLSEN. Others.
Mr. SPECTER. Why was it that you were concerned about other employees?
Mr. OLSEN. He would talk to me about it and ask me what I thought, and
I would try to tell him to just calm down.
Mr. SPECTER. But as a result of those conversations with Ruby, you had
disagreements with him?
Mr. OLSEN. Not very often. Not very often.
Mr. SPECTER. Can you give me any other information as to what caused
any disagreement between you and Jack Ruby?
Mr. OLSEN. No, I can’t think of anything.
Mr. SPECTER. Where were you living in the fall of 1963, say in
September of 1963?
Mr. OLSEN. On Theatre Lane.
Mr. SPECTER. And where was Mrs. Kay Olsen, who was then not your wife,
living at that time?
Mr. OLSEN. On Ewing.
Mr. SPECTER. What was her specific address, if you recall?
Mr. OLSEN. 325 North Ewing, I believe.
Mr. SPECTER. What was your relationship with Kay in the fall of 1963?
Mr. OLSEN. We were going together.
Mr. SPECTER. Was she unmarried at that time?
Mr. OLSEN. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Had she been married previously?
Mr. OLSEN. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. When was her divorce final, if you know?
Mr. OLSEN. I don’t know.
Mr. SPECTER. Can you give me an approximate date as to when it was
final?
Mr. OLSEN. No, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Can you tell me if it was a few months or a few years
before 1963?
Mr. OLSEN. I just don’t know. She might know.
Mr. SPECTER. Were you married or single in the fall of 1963?
Mr. OLSEN. I was single.
Mr. SPECTER. Had you been married prior to that time?
Mr. OLSEN. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. When was your divorce final?
Mr. OLSEN. October of 1963.
Mr. SPECTER. Were you separated from your wife prior to October of 1963?
Mr. OLSEN. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. When were you first separated from your former wife?
Mr. OLSEN. About 6 months before that.
Mr. SPECTER. Were you going with or steadily dating Kay, then, from
the early fall of 1963 on up until the time that you married her in
December of 1963, or January of 1964?
Mr. OLSEN. Yes, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Where did Mr. Ruby live in the fall of 1963, say September
of 1963, if you know?
Mr. OLSEN. He lived on Ewing.