I saw it on UM yesterday. Any thoughts? Do you think the doctor killed him or was it an accidental shooting by Long's bodyguards? I'm thinking it was the bodyguards.

http://www.pichut.org/up/RS-04-19-06---sal-the-stockbroker-in-monkey-mask_7793.jpg

Put down one more "cross fire from the body guards" vote.

I too think it was the bodygaurd.

Me three!

I would say that the bodygaurds played a part, albeit accidentally. Apparently, those were the days when security was not as efficient as it is today with the technology and training.

Just my thoughts.

Tough call. Might belong in that 50/50 thread although not by the opinions so far.

The UM version makes it difficult not to tilt toward the bodyguard angle, since you see Big Huey wobbling after a shot to the back.

The online accounts are inconsistent. Some have the bullet ricocheting before hitting Huey. That starts to edge toward difficult to believe and certainly less likely than a straight shot.

Would the bodyguards really unload 30-60 shots, depending on what number you believe, into Weiss solely based on a punch to Huey's mouth? I'm not saying they would not. The conspiracy accounts require that scenario: a punch followed by flurry of bullets.

If you accept the bullet caliber evidence then it was the bodyguards.

I saw this quote attributed to Huey, while he was being treated: "Don't let me die. I have so much more to do."

I saw this quote attributed to Huey, while he was being treated: "Don't let me die. I have so much more to do."

And by all accounts I've read, he shouldn't have died. Apparently the injuries caused by the bullets were pretty minor, but the surgeon really EFF'd him up and botched the procedure.

UM said that it was an undiagnosed problem with his kidneys...but everything else says the surgeon failed at suturing correctly.

I have just seen it on the Strange Legends set and think it was the Bodyguards although I would question whether it was an accident or one of them took the chance to kill him-he came across as being totally obnoxious and seemed to make powerful enemies everywhere

Tough to say exactly who did it, but I wouldn't be suprised if it was done on purpose. I heard somebody say one time that if Huey Long would have become President (which many believed would have eventually happened) that he would have become the closest thing we would have had to a dictator. Please don't take that in the wrong context, I'm not stating my own political beliefs, I would never do that here, I'm just reciting what others had said about him.

Bodyguards. No doubt in my mind

I don't really know. I do look at Weiss as a Lee Harvey Oswald patsy type. I too have always wondered why Long's bodyguards shot him 652 times, regardless of if he shot Huey or punched him. It just seems a bit extreme.

Weiss punched Huey Long in the face. I don't see how it's possible that he could have pulled his revolver and shot him without any of the bodyguards subduing him before he fired the gun. The bodyguards would have been on him quick as soon as he threw the punch. Weiss was not a violent man, only carried a gun with him for protection (apparently back in the 30's, it was common for doctors to be robbed for their medicines they carried), and there is no evidence that when Weiss went to the capitol building, his intent was to murder Long. Weiss also approached Long three different times before he was shot, but Long rebuffed/ignored him each time. If Weiss was deadset on killing Long over rumors, he had ample opportunities to shoot him as he passed him by, and also had the opportunity when Long's back was turned to him when he was standing in the governer's doorway.

Well, the Ken Burns series currently running on PBS, The Roosevelts, states that Huey Long was assassinated, although many sources dispute this. http://www.louisiana101.com/ideashuey_story1.html They also definitively stated that Franklin Roosevelt had polio, although that has been disputed. http://io9.com/5958933/franklin-delano-roosevelt-probably-didnt-have-polio-after-all

well, the official version of the JFK assassination is the fatal bullet to the head came from the back but anyone who watches that video can clearly see it came from the front but anywaysssss lol...that being said, just because something on PBS says it was Weiss doesn't mean it was.

It's kind of odd, but back in the late 60's to early 90's it was a hotly contested debate as to whether or not Weiss was responsible for Long's death. It seems like since then it has been universally accepted that Weiss was the assassin.

It's kind of odd, but back in the late 60's to early 90's it was a hotly contested debate as to whether or not Weiss was responsible for Long's death. It seems like since then it has been universally accepted that Weiss was the assassin.

I don't know that it has always been so much a mystery. Granted, I don't know a ton about this, but according to wikki (last time I checked) there were witnesses who reported that Weiss did shoot Long, and that the alternate theories fly in the face of eyewitness testimony.

To play devil's advocate though, there are people who claim that a second gunman unloaded on RFK, yet, in an extremely and tightly packed room, no one saw that occur.

I used to have a book I bought in Washington DC over 20 years ago that had psychological profiles of several assassins and would-be assassins. The author was a psychologist and he broke them down in to categories based on what he thought they suffered from, or what their motives were.

The only two he couldn't "profile" were James Earl Ray and Carl Weiss. But, there has always been a lot of doubt about whether they were guilty anyway.

Well the problem with history in certain cases is the accused goes down in history as the assassin as if he were tried and convicted. Lee Harvey Oswald never got a trial and neither did the man who killed him. Any they really had no evidence that would hold any water in a court of law to convict someone of murder. I'm by no means a "conspiracy theorist" in general but I will always believe he was a patsy. Also, the family of Martin Luther won a wrongful death civil suit again the US government in 1999. So, back to the whole Weiss/Long, the problem is Weiss never got a trial as he was killed too. To me, unless its proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a trial that is open to the public (not behind closed doors), its not fair for anyone to go down as the assassin period. Could Weiss have done it? Yes, but it really doesn't make sense that he went there to kill him intentionally. I confrontation could've got out of hand. Who knows but like I said I have a problem when the accused dies at the incident or just after and never gets their day in court.

Sorry about the spelling errors, it was on my phone lol

It reminds of that Harvey Milk assassination.

I don't know that it has always been so much a mystery. Granted, I don't know a ton about this, but according to wikki (last time I checked) there were witnesses who reported that Weiss did shoot Long, and that the alternate theories fly in the face of eyewitness testimony.

This was even contested shortly after Long was shot. An insurance investigator looking into Long's death concluded (despite testimony from bodyguards of Long) that Long's death was accidental, and the result of his trigger happy bodyguards. That was pretty telling considering this investigation was the most thorough at the time (Long pretty much controlled the state, so it wouldn't be that hard for there to be some sort of coverup).

I used to have a book I bought in Washington DC over 20 years ago that had psychological profiles of several assassins and would-be assassins. The author was a psychologist and he broke them down in to categories based on what he thought they suffered from, or what their motives were.

I've read two Huey Long assassination books (one was a staunch defender of Weiss the other was more balanced in terms of whether or not Weiss was guilty), and both reference the fact that Weiss had made plans on installing a floor heater later in the week as well as phoning a patient of his approximately 20 minutes before he left for the capitol building to make sure their appointment for the next day was still on. This doesn't strike me as an enraged man bent on assassination. It seems like Weiss had every intention of returning to his home after he left for the capitol building.

Cars, I agree with you. Also, it would've been a disadvantage to the insurance company to find it as an accident anyways (as there was a double indemnity clause, so they had to pay double if it was ruled an accident.)

In all probability Weiss went to talk to Long on behalf of his father in law. Given the security that night, I double he brought his gun with him rather left it in the car. Also, he was wearing a white suit, not very good at concealing a weapon. Long, who was known as abrasive and obnoxious, probably said something nasty or insulting to Weiss at some point and a physical confrontation occurred. Weiss maybe getting the better of Long and the bodyguards (untrained) started recklessly shooting at Weiss. Long was hit. His doctors missed a critical wound and he died.

I sincerely doubt Weiss ever went there with the intention to kill Long. 1) He would've also had to be suicidal given the security measures. 2)Nothing points to him not planning on resuming his life the next day. If anything if was a fight that got out of hand (most likely bc of the bodyguards)

It was a bodyguard. The gun being found with a used she'll that did not match the gun tells me the investigators tampered with the evidence.

When they did the autopsy on Weiss in the 90's, there was a bullet hole to the head that had white cloth in it. They surmised that as Weiss was being shot by Long's bodyguards, he reached his arm up in a defensive position and the bullet shot through his arm and into his head, which is where the cloth came from. If Weiss was armed, why would he feel the need to put his arm up into a defensive position instead of unloading his gun at the bodyguards?

When they did the autopsy on Weiss in the 90's, there was a bullet hole to the head that had white cloth in it. They surmised that as Weiss was being shot by Long's bodyguards, he reached his arm up in a defensive position and the bullet shot through his arm and into his head, which is where the cloth came from. If Weiss was armed, why would he feel the need to put his arm up into a defensive position instead of unloading his gun at the bodyguards?
Good info. Exactly. I feel bad for his family. No one wants to be the widow or kids of an assassin. But, to be viewed as that and it not be true to begin with is horrible!

There was a documentary that came out about 3 years ago called "61 Bullets". I can't seem to find an actual release of this or where it's for sale anywhere. But the trailer is up on the forbidden site and it looks really interesting.

I always thought this one was unintentionally funny. Clearly Huey Long was a raging megalomaniac and tyrant. His entourage seemed like they were on constant edge around him, so when Weiss finally snapped at this pile, this unstable group of scared yesmen reacted in that mode. I will say the cinomentography in this episode is amongst the best however.

I will say the cinomentography in this episode is amongst the best however.

Agreed. Also think it's one of the best acted segments.

I don't consider this to be a regular conspiracy theory unlike JFK, RFK, etc. Based on the hard evidence and circumstances, I am convinced Dr. Weiss was set up and Long was killed in the crossfire by his own security guards.

I don't consider this to be a regular conspiracy theory unlike JFK, RFK, etc. Based on the hard evidence and circumstances, I am convinced Dr. Weiss was set up and Long was killed in the crossfire by his own security guards.

I agree.

The HL UM segment was interesting. Didn't know much about this politician prior to this, but based on all accounts he sounded like a real scum-bag. It's good he didn't become president.

Note that back in 2006, an interesting film came out called All the King's Men, starring Sean Penn as a politician in Louisiana during the 1930's; I remember seeing this theatrically. The film was obviously based on HL's life - though the names/situations were changed to some extent.

There's also an earlier 1949 film of the same name, which I haven't seen yet.

This was even contested shortly after Long was shot. An insurance investigator looking into Long's death concluded (despite testimony from bodyguards of Long) that Long's death was accidental, and the result of his trigger happy bodyguards. That was pretty telling considering this investigation was the most thorough at the time (Long pretty much controlled the state, so it wouldn't be that hard for there to be some sort of coverup).

I've read two Huey Long assassination books (one was a staunch defender of Weiss the other was more balanced in terms of whether or not Weiss was guilty), and both reference the fact that Weiss had made plans on installing a floor heater later in the week as well as phoning a patient of his approximately 20 minutes before he left for the capitol building to make sure their appointment for the next day was still on. This doesn't strike me as an enraged man bent on assassination. It seems like Weiss had every intention of returning to his home after he left for the capitol building.

Long, who was known as abrasive and obnoxious, probably said something nasty or insulting to Weiss at some point and a physical confrontation occurred. Weiss maybe getting the better of Long and the bodyguards (untrained) started recklessly shooting at Weiss. Long was hit. His doctors missed a critical wound and he died.

I sincerely doubt Weiss ever went there with the intention to kill Long. 1) He would've also had to be suicidal given the security measures. 2)Nothing points to him not planning on resuming his life the next day. If anything if was a fight that got out of hand (most likely bc of the bodyguards)

Yes. After seeing the segment & doing some research on the case, I don't believe that Weiss went to the capitol building to kill HL - and I don't think he even attempted to do this. As was depicted in the segment - I think HL may have hit him, Weiss hit him back in retaliation - and, the bodyguards killed Weiss & mistakenly shot HL in the ensuing melee.

The rest was just a cover-up to make Weiss look like the guilty party.