The Reporter Who Knew Too Much: The Mysterious Death of What's My Line TV Star and Media Icon Dorothy Kilgallen

by Mark Shaw

Junior NYC medical examiner Dr. James Luke, for reasons never explained, decided to perform an autopsy despite no apparent evidence of foul play. To date, the autopsy report and those pages included in the official report as addendums under the title “Report of Death,” have not been published. Obtained by this author from the National Archives, the pages, a combination of typed and handwritten, are most revealing as to the facts gathered and conclusions reached by Dr. Luke concerning the purported cause of the famous reporter’s death.