---
product_id: 53406833
title: "The Reporter Who Knew Too Much: The Mysterious Death of What's My Line TV Star and Media Icon Dorothy Kilgallen"
price: "¥6173"
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url: https://www.desertcart.jp/products/53406833-the-reporter-who-knew-too-much-the-mysterious-death-whats
store_origin: JP
region: Japan
---
# The Reporter Who Knew Too Much: The Mysterious Death of What's My Line TV Star and Media Icon Dorothy Kilgallen
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- **What is this?** The Reporter Who Knew Too Much: The Mysterious Death of What's My Line TV Star and Media Icon Dorothy Kilgallen
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## Description
Was What’s My Line TV Star, media icon, and crack investigative reporter and journalist Dorothy Kilgallen murdered for writing a tell-all book about the JFK assassination? If so, is the main suspect in her death still at large? These questions and more are answered in former CNN , ESPN , and USA Today legal analyst Mark Shaw’s 25th book, The Reporter Who Knew Too Much . Through discovery of never-before-seen videotaped eyewitness interviews with those closest to Kilgallen and secret government documents, Shaw unfolds a “whodunit” murder mystery featuring suspects including Frank Sinatra, J. Edgar Hoover, Mafia Don Carlos Marcello and a "Mystery Man" who may have silenced Kilgallen. All while by presenting through Kilgallen's eyes the most compelling evidence about the JFK assassinations since the House Select Committee on Assassination’s investigation in the 1970s. Called by the New York Post, “the most powerful female voice in America,” and by acclaimed author Mark Lane the “the only serious journalist in America who was concerned with who killed John Kennedy and getting all of the facts about the assassination,” Kilgallen’s official cause of death reported as an overdose of barbiturates combined with alcohol, has always been suspect since no investigation occurred despite the death scene having been staged. Shaw proves Kilgallen, a remarkable woman who broke the "glass ceiling" before the term became fashionable, was denied the justice she deserved, that is until now. More about the book may be learned at thereporterwhoknewtoomuch.com or thedorothykilgallenstory.org.
Review: Mark Shaw presents a conspiracy theory that doesn't seem too far out to me! - This review of The Reporter Who Knew Too Much: The Mysterious Death of What’s My Line TV Star and Media Icon Dorothy Kilgallen must begin with a disclaimer (and add another one later). The reviewer is too quick to see conspiracy by tying the slimmest of threads together. Although finding myself less skeptical than I once was about the assassinations of the Kennedys, there is still a great deal of discomfort in my mind about the inadequacies of the Warren Commission Report and the belated release of certain papers related to JFK’s final hours. The Reporter Who Knew Too Much both feeds on that discomfort and adds a new mystery to the mix—the strange circumstances surrounding the death of Dorothy Kilgallen, television star and newspaper columnist/reporter. And, if nothing else, it answers some of the questions my younger self used to have as to why this woman in the fancy clothes was always on the What’s My Line game show and why she was so good at playing the game. Shaw uses his own interviews and those performed earlier by investigative journalists (cynics would call them sensationalists) to weave a plausible case for, most likely, a hit ordered by famed Mafia boss Carlos Marcello. Of course, I wouldn’t spoil that if it weren’t more complicated than that and Shaw only offered that possibility. It’s just that it makes the most sense to me out of all the scenarios. [DISCLAIMER: I once interviewed a novelist who lived in Marcello’s mob domain. The novelist is now dead so I can reveal what he shared with me “off the record.” There was a distinctive character in most of this novelist’s work (a recurring antagonist who sometimes acted as a patron). I asked him if said character was modeled on anyone in particular. “Off the record,” he told me that it could be fatal if he told me. Later, after he was assured I wasn’t going to print it, he said it was the New Orleans mob boss. So, I have to admit that my mind has a pre-disposed fertile receptivity to suggestions that Marcello may have ordered the death of Kilgallen as part of a JFK conspiracy cover-up. BTW, said author died of natural causes which even I have been unable to package into a conspiracy. (chuckle)] Even if one doesn’t buy into any of the nefarious possibilities presented by Shaw, the research points to a definitely botched toxicology report with pretty convincing (deliberate) incompetence and negligence in the investigation of the famous reporter’s death. The conspiracy comes in because Kilgallen had never been satisfied with the Warren Commission’s report, had leaked confidential material (the interview with Jack Ruby), had talked to Jack in confidence about the killing of Oswald, and had just met and was planning to meet again a secret source in New Orleans that would, in her own words, break the JFK story wide open. She died before that second meeting. Her death was ruled either suicide or accidental death by overdose. The timing was an inconvenient coincidence concerning what she was about to do during the week she died and the combination of barbiturates (two for which she was not prescribed of which one of those two would be fatal if mixed with her prescribed Seconal). Conspiracies loom concerning the thick JFK assassination file she carried around with her which was conspicuously missing and has never been found. And, it was strange that she was found dead in a bed in which she hadn’t slept for years on a floor of her Manhattan townhouse where she hadn’t slept for years. Plus, there was the “mystery man” with which she was seen only an hour or so before her death. And what I have shared here is merely the tip of the iceberg, the carefully qualified iceberg in which Shaw carefully paints a canvas of possibility, maybe even probability, without going over the line of false accusation or libel. Think the mafia is the only suspect? Consider Shaw’s presentation of the CIA (not chartered to spy on its own citizens) with a 20-page dossier on Kilgallen (having contacted more than 50 CIA offices in its compilation—p. 165) or the ever more villainous (the more one reads about him) J. Edgar Hoover not only detested but obsessed on Kilgallen. However, he doesn’t look like a good suspect to this reviewer since the bureau was still seeking the illusive JFK file that had disappeared in 1975, twenty years after her death (p. 178). The Reporter Who Knew Too Much: The Mysterious Death of What’s My Line TV Star and Media Icon Dorothy Kilgallen is as exciting (and cynics would argue as fanciful) as a fictional thriller novel. As in all conspiracy books, there are times that it seems like the author is pushing on a string of evidence to make his case. At other times, he seems to bend over backwards to be fair (perhaps, on attorney’s advice, but being a former attorney himself…). This book will be stimulating to anyone who is interested in those events of November, 1963 and any potential aftermath within the next couple of years. It is the perfect book for an aging baby-boomer like myself who will never forget that incredible image of the guy in the hat sliding between two policemen to shoot Lee Harvey Oswald point-blank.
Review: A “MUST READ” for Kilgallen fans; of JFK’s murder; the cover-ups, and HER search for the truth. - A fascinating biographical portrait of the greatest woman reporter of the 20th century who arrived at the pinnacle of her career with her coverage of the Jack Ruby trial for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald for supposedly killing Jack Kennedy on November 22, 1963. She was friends with Kennedy and instinctually “knew” something was not right from the beginning. When Oswald was shot, it was confirmed in her mind and lead her to cover the trial of Ruby and on into her determined odyssey to ferret out information and to solve this massive case with all its cover-ups and lies and denial of justice. Fascinating and an absolute page turner of course but better for it speaks the truth. Over a period of 18 months Kilgallen poured herself tirelessly into investigation and gathering information on everybody involved directly and indirectly involved. The more she discovered the more she realized how many heads she was turning and what great danger she was in. This reads like a murder mystery (and of course it really is) but it is the Truth in spades. On the morning of November 8, 1965 she was found sitting up in bed, dead, by her hairdresser, poisoned, with basically incomplete leads as to who had killed her and how many were behind it. The greatest woman reporter was gone, as well as the most well regarded Hollywood and theater columnist and of course the most brilliant panelist from the “What’s My Line?” gameshow. Shaw is an excellent author and as this book is so relevant to us who lived through this time, this book is a great and informative read deserving all 5 Stars and more. I most highly recommend this book to you. Note: I read this when it first came out but had not reviewed it until now. Shaw’s new release “Denial of Justice” has just come out and I have just finished reading it and will review it shortly. Incidentally it also rates 5 Stars!
## Technical Specifications
| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #61,742 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #77 in Television Performer Biographies #233 in Rich & Famous Biographies #344 in Women in History |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 3,176 Reviews |
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## Customer Reviews
### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Mark Shaw presents a conspiracy theory that doesn't seem too far out to me!
*by J***N on February 13, 2018*
This review of The Reporter Who Knew Too Much: The Mysterious Death of What’s My Line TV Star and Media Icon Dorothy Kilgallen must begin with a disclaimer (and add another one later). The reviewer is too quick to see conspiracy by tying the slimmest of threads together. Although finding myself less skeptical than I once was about the assassinations of the Kennedys, there is still a great deal of discomfort in my mind about the inadequacies of the Warren Commission Report and the belated release of certain papers related to JFK’s final hours. The Reporter Who Knew Too Much both feeds on that discomfort and adds a new mystery to the mix—the strange circumstances surrounding the death of Dorothy Kilgallen, television star and newspaper columnist/reporter. And, if nothing else, it answers some of the questions my younger self used to have as to why this woman in the fancy clothes was always on the What’s My Line game show and why she was so good at playing the game. Shaw uses his own interviews and those performed earlier by investigative journalists (cynics would call them sensationalists) to weave a plausible case for, most likely, a hit ordered by famed Mafia boss Carlos Marcello. Of course, I wouldn’t spoil that if it weren’t more complicated than that and Shaw only offered that possibility. It’s just that it makes the most sense to me out of all the scenarios. [DISCLAIMER: I once interviewed a novelist who lived in Marcello’s mob domain. The novelist is now dead so I can reveal what he shared with me “off the record.” There was a distinctive character in most of this novelist’s work (a recurring antagonist who sometimes acted as a patron). I asked him if said character was modeled on anyone in particular. “Off the record,” he told me that it could be fatal if he told me. Later, after he was assured I wasn’t going to print it, he said it was the New Orleans mob boss. So, I have to admit that my mind has a pre-disposed fertile receptivity to suggestions that Marcello may have ordered the death of Kilgallen as part of a JFK conspiracy cover-up. BTW, said author died of natural causes which even I have been unable to package into a conspiracy. (chuckle)] Even if one doesn’t buy into any of the nefarious possibilities presented by Shaw, the research points to a definitely botched toxicology report with pretty convincing (deliberate) incompetence and negligence in the investigation of the famous reporter’s death. The conspiracy comes in because Kilgallen had never been satisfied with the Warren Commission’s report, had leaked confidential material (the interview with Jack Ruby), had talked to Jack in confidence about the killing of Oswald, and had just met and was planning to meet again a secret source in New Orleans that would, in her own words, break the JFK story wide open. She died before that second meeting. Her death was ruled either suicide or accidental death by overdose. The timing was an inconvenient coincidence concerning what she was about to do during the week she died and the combination of barbiturates (two for which she was not prescribed of which one of those two would be fatal if mixed with her prescribed Seconal). Conspiracies loom concerning the thick JFK assassination file she carried around with her which was conspicuously missing and has never been found. And, it was strange that she was found dead in a bed in which she hadn’t slept for years on a floor of her Manhattan townhouse where she hadn’t slept for years. Plus, there was the “mystery man” with which she was seen only an hour or so before her death. And what I have shared here is merely the tip of the iceberg, the carefully qualified iceberg in which Shaw carefully paints a canvas of possibility, maybe even probability, without going over the line of false accusation or libel. Think the mafia is the only suspect? Consider Shaw’s presentation of the CIA (not chartered to spy on its own citizens) with a 20-page dossier on Kilgallen (having contacted more than 50 CIA offices in its compilation—p. 165) or the ever more villainous (the more one reads about him) J. Edgar Hoover not only detested but obsessed on Kilgallen. However, he doesn’t look like a good suspect to this reviewer since the bureau was still seeking the illusive JFK file that had disappeared in 1975, twenty years after her death (p. 178). The Reporter Who Knew Too Much: The Mysterious Death of What’s My Line TV Star and Media Icon Dorothy Kilgallen is as exciting (and cynics would argue as fanciful) as a fictional thriller novel. As in all conspiracy books, there are times that it seems like the author is pushing on a string of evidence to make his case. At other times, he seems to bend over backwards to be fair (perhaps, on attorney’s advice, but being a former attorney himself…). This book will be stimulating to anyone who is interested in those events of November, 1963 and any potential aftermath within the next couple of years. It is the perfect book for an aging baby-boomer like myself who will never forget that incredible image of the guy in the hat sliding between two policemen to shoot Lee Harvey Oswald point-blank.
### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A “MUST READ” for Kilgallen fans; of JFK’s murder; the cover-ups, and HER search for the truth.
*by G***R on February 13, 2019*
A fascinating biographical portrait of the greatest woman reporter of the 20th century who arrived at the pinnacle of her career with her coverage of the Jack Ruby trial for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald for supposedly killing Jack Kennedy on November 22, 1963. She was friends with Kennedy and instinctually “knew” something was not right from the beginning. When Oswald was shot, it was confirmed in her mind and lead her to cover the trial of Ruby and on into her determined odyssey to ferret out information and to solve this massive case with all its cover-ups and lies and denial of justice. Fascinating and an absolute page turner of course but better for it speaks the truth. Over a period of 18 months Kilgallen poured herself tirelessly into investigation and gathering information on everybody involved directly and indirectly involved. The more she discovered the more she realized how many heads she was turning and what great danger she was in. This reads like a murder mystery (and of course it really is) but it is the Truth in spades. On the morning of November 8, 1965 she was found sitting up in bed, dead, by her hairdresser, poisoned, with basically incomplete leads as to who had killed her and how many were behind it. The greatest woman reporter was gone, as well as the most well regarded Hollywood and theater columnist and of course the most brilliant panelist from the “What’s My Line?” gameshow. Shaw is an excellent author and as this book is so relevant to us who lived through this time, this book is a great and informative read deserving all 5 Stars and more. I most highly recommend this book to you. Note: I read this when it first came out but had not reviewed it until now. Shaw’s new release “Denial of Justice” has just come out and I have just finished reading it and will review it shortly. Incidentally it also rates 5 Stars!
### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Book good, Amazon messed up.
*by M***K on August 18, 2026*
I ordered paperback, but I received the 2017 version, not the 2025 with cover one picture "includes new material! sticker. I wonder what I will miss. I am a 1/3 through book and enjoying it so far. So far 4 or 5 stars for the material and history, but one star for Amazon.com sending me an older version.
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