MPAA Long-time President
Jack Valenti
Notes from Evan Smith
"Like
a exquisitely tailored cat, today's guest has had something
approaching nine lives -- and every one of them has put him
at the center of some crucial aspect of our lives. Jack Valenti,
who turns TK in TK, was the youngest high school graduate in
his native Houston. More than 50 combat missions for the Army
Air Corps during World War II earned him the Distinguished Flying
Cross and other honors, and upon his discharge, he earned an
undergraduate degree from the University of Houston and a master's
degree in business from Harvard. In 1952 he co-founded an advertising and political consulting
firm, which he ran until that fateful day in 1963. Valenti has
known and befriended Lyndon Johnson, who asked him to ride in
the motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas. Within an hour
of JFK's assassination, Valenti was the newly christened special
assistant to President Johnson, and there began two-and-a-half
years at the white-hot core of American politics. In June of 1966, he resigned his position at the White House
to lead the Motion Picture Assocation of America, stepping down
as chairman and CEO only last year, though in no way severing
his ties to his beloved movie industry -- just ask him. Ask
him as well about his opinions on everything from the Hollywood
ratings
system to violence on the big screen and he'll happily offer
his opinion, as you're about to find out." - Evan Smith, Texas Monthly Talks, Broadcast 5.26.05
