The "umbrella man", identified by the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1978 as Louie Steven Witt, is a name given to a figure who appears in the Zapruder film, and several other films and photographs, near the Stemmons Freeway sign within Dealey Plaza during the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy. Witt is the subject of a 2011 documentary short, The Umbrella Man, by Errol Morris for The New York Times. Speculation A person popularly dubbed the "umbrella man" has been the object of much speculation, as he was the only person seen carrying, and opening, an umbrella on that sunny day. He was also one of the closest bystanders to President John F. Kennedy when Kennedy was first struck by a bullet. As Kennedy's limousine approached, the man opened up and lifted the umbrella high above his head, then spun or panned the umbrella from east to west (clockwise) as the president passed by him. In the aftermath of the assassination, the "umbrella man" sat down on the sidewalk next to another man ("Dark Complected Man") before getting up and walking towards the Texas School Book Depository. The fact that both men sat there so calmly after the shooting has raised suspicion. Early speculation came from assassination researchers Josiah Thompson and Richard Sprague who noticed the open umbrella in a series of photographs. Thompson and Sprague suggested that the "umbrella man" may have been acting as a signaler of some kind, opening his umbrella to signal "go ahead" and then raising it to communicate "fire a second round" to other gunmen. The "umbrella man" is depicted as performing such a role in Oliver Stone's film JFK and The X-Files episode "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man." Another theory proposed by conspiracy theorist Robert B. Cutler and endorsed by Colonel L. Fletcher Prouty is that the umbrella may have been used to fire a dart with a paralyzing agent at Kennedy to immobilize his muscles and make him a "sitting duck" for an assassination. Journalist Penn Jones Jr was approached by someone who mentioned the name of Louie Steven Witt. When he was tracked down he barely wanted to interact with journalists but offered to testify before the HSCA. His statement of only holding up the umbrella did not reflect what he actually did at that moment as he was moving the umbrella during the