Quoted By:
[Scene: Ford’s Theatre. The play “Our American Cousin” is underway. The audience is laughing. Cut to the presidential box.]
Jim Ross:
“It’s a calm night here at Ford’s Theatre—President Lincoln enjoying a well-earned evening out. But wait a minute—WHAT THE HELL?! WHO IS THAT?!”
[Gunshot rings out.]
JR:
“BAH GAWD, HE SHOT HIM! HE SHOT THE PRESIDENT! JOHN WILKES BOOTH JUST SHOT ABRAHAM LINCOLN!”
Jerry Lawler:
“WHAT?! Did that really just happen, JR?! That lunatic just pulled a pistol and shot the President in the head!”
JR:
“This is a national tragedy unfolding right before our eyes, King! The leader of the free world just got gunned down in a theater box—IN FRONT OF THE ENTIRE COUNTRY!”
[Booth leaps to the stage with a knife in hand.]
JR:
“GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY, HE’S GOT A KNIFE TOO! THAT DERANGED MANIAC JUST JUMPED FROM THE BALCONY! AND HE’S SCREAMING—WHAT IS HE—‘SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS?!’ IS THIS REAL LIFE?!”
King:
“He’s making a run for it! He’s trying to escape! That’s a coward, JR—an absolute coward!”
JR:
“He broke his damn leg on the landing but he’s still hobbling away! Somebody tackle that bastard! Where’s security?! WHERE IS ANYONE?!”
[Panic spreads through the theater. Doctors rush to Lincoln’s side.]
King (in disbelief):
“JR… the President’s not moving…”
JR (somber):
“My God… President Lincoln is down. This is… this is beyond anything we’ve ever seen, King. I can’t even process it.”
King:
“This isn’t just history… this is horror, JR. It’s like watching the soul of a nation shatter in real time.”
JR:
“Folks, I wish we were calling a wrestling match right now. I wish this was a story angle. But it’s not. This is real. This is raw. Abraham Lincoln—the Great Emancipator—has just been struck down in cold blood.”
[Silence. Chaos. People screaming in the background.]
