Ron Nessen
Ronald Harold Nessen (born May 25, 1934) is an American government official who served as White House Press Secretary for President Gerald Ford from 1974 to 1977. He replaced Jerald terHorst, who resigned in the wake of President Ford's pardon of former president Richard Nixon. His Secret Service codename was Clam Chowder.[1]
Prior to joining the Ford administration, Nessen served as a Washington, D.C. correspondent for NBC News. On the day of Ford's succession to the presidency, August 9, 1974, he provided commentary for the inauguration. He also covered the President in a report broadcast that evening on NBC Nightly News. In that piece, Nessen reported on the appointment of terHorst, the man whom he himself would succeed one month later.
Nessen, who also served NBC News as a war correspondent during the Vietnam War, was seriously wounded by grenade fragments while on patrol outside Pleiku in the Central Highlands in July 1966. He was with cameraman Peter Boultwood when he was wounded.[2][3]
He was a member of the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors from 1996 to 2003, and served as Chair in 2003.[4]
Quotes
"Nobody believes the official spokesman but everybody trusts an unidentified source."
Works
- Nessen, Ron. It Sure Looks Different on the Inside. Playboy Press, 1979. (ISBN 0-87223-500-9)
- Nessen, Ron. The First Lady
- Nessen, Ron. The Hour
- Nessen, Ron and Neuman, Johanna. Death with Honors
- Nessen, Ron and Neuman, Johanna. Press Corpse
- Nessen, Ron and Neuman, Johanna. Knight and Day
Saturday Night Live
Nessen was the first political figure to host Saturday Night Live. His episode is also known for having Gerald Ford open the show with the "Live from New York, it's Saturday night!" tagline.[5][3]
On a previous episode, Ron Nessen had been portrayed by Buck Henry.
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ books.google.com
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "NBC's Ron Nessen woulnded while on patrol with Charlie Company of 101st Airborne", nbcuniversalarchives.com. Retrieved 2015-08-06.
- ↑ peabodyawards.com.
- ↑ tv.com.
External links
- Ron Nessen at the Ford Presidential Library
- Brookings Institution press release on Nessen's becoming VP of Communications there
- Ron Nessen on Saturday Night Live
- Appearances on C-SPAN
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | White House Press Secretary 1974 – 1977 |
Succeeded by Jody Powell |
