Killing the Kingfish

The Huey Long Assassination

Jack B. McGuire

• Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
• Year: 2026
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• eBook ISBN:
  9781496861368
• Subtopic: Political Biographies
• Index: Politics & International Relations

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.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• 1. The Kingfish
• 2. Hatred of Huey and His Regime
• 3. The Bodyguards
• 4. Confrontations and Altercations
• 5. The Square Deal Revolt
• 6. Dictator Laws
• 7. The Desoto Hotel Conference
• 8. The Pavy-Long Battle in St. Landry Parish
• 9. The Gerrymander
• 10. Carl’s Hatred of Huey
• 11. The Racial Slur
• 12. The Shooting
• 13. The Inquest
• 14. The Bodyguards Defend Themselves
• 15. Justice Fournet’s Stories About the Shooting
• 16. The Death of the Kingfish, by Richard Briley (1960)
• 17. The Huey Long Murder Case, by Herman Deutsch (1963)
• 18. The Day Huey Long Was Shot, by David Zinman (1963)
• 19. Dr. T. Harry Williams Reviews Deutsch and Zinman (1965)
• 20. Requiem for a Kingfish: The Strange and Unexplained Death of Huey Long, by Ed Reed (1986)
• 21. The Mortician’s Tale
• 22. Ed Reed’s Conclusions
• 23. The FBI and the Shooting
• 24. Russell Long Meets with the Doctors Weiss
• 25. The Exhumation, Gun, and Guerre Papers
• 26. The Louisiana State Police Final Investigative Report (1992)
• 28. The Guerre Papers and Murder Plots
• 27. The Huey P. Long Assassination Collection at the State Archives
• 29. Guerre’s Investigative Files from the McGuire Collection
• 30. Huey At 100: Centennial Essays on Huey Long (1995)
• 31. The Grevemberg Affidavit (1993)
• 32. Accident and Deception: The Huey Long Shooting, by Dr. Donald A. Pavy (1999)
• 33. A Voice for the Dead, by Dr. James Starrs (2005)
• 34. The Huey Long Symposium (2010)
• 35. The Debate Over What Happened Has Continued
• 36. The Author’s Conclusions
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Author