"Jerry Litton: The Tragedy and The Victory" from KCTV5 (Kansas City CBS affiliate) - August 1976

This footage comes from the archives at the State Historical Society of Missouri (SHSMO). It was digitized from its original format with support from the Jerry Litton Memorial Family Foundation. You can support the digitization efforts of the Society by becoming a member at https://shsmo.org/join

This video is raw footage copied from the format in which it was originally received. It may include dead air, test patterns, slate boards, and audio tones. The quality varies and it may include video/audio drop outs, artifacts, and other playback distortions.

This news coverage from August 1976 was broadcast by KCTV5 (Kansas City CBS affiliate) and details Jerry Litton, his life and career, and the plane crash that took his life and the lives of his family.

In the 1970s, Jerry L. Litton was a political rising star from Missouri. He ran for U.S. Congress for Missouri's 6th district in 1972 and won. He was reelected in 1974 with overwhelming support. In 1976, he began a run to be a U.S. senator from Missouri. On the night of his primary win–August 3, 1976–Litton and his family perished in an airplane accident.

The original film and digitized files (DVD 50) are held as part of the Jerry L. Litton Papers (C3730) collection at the State Historical Society of Missouri: https://collections.shsmo.org/manuscr...

From 1974-1976, Litton hosted a popular television show, "Dialogue with Litton," which was broadcast statewide. He invited prominent political guests to speak to audience members about their concerns with government. Twenty-nine guests appeared on the show, including Georgia governor and future U.S. president Jimmy Carter, Missouri senator Thomas Eagleton, and the first African American congresswoman, Shirley Chisholm, of New York.

Learn more about Litton in his Historic Missourian biography at https://historicmissourians.shsmo.org...