Lou Carrol
Louis Leon Carrol (March 28, 1923 – April 3, 2006) was an American businessman who is best known for giving then-U.S. Senator Richard Nixon a puppy in 1952 that was used as the subject of the Checkers speech, which kept Nixon on the Republican ticket as the vice presidential candidate in that year's presidential election.
Carrol was born in
Carrol was senior executive vice president of sales at Lawson Products Inc. in
Contact with Nixon
In 1952, Carrol read a newspaper article that quoted
After reading the article, Carrol went to a nearby
About a week later, Carrol received a letter from Nixon's personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods. The letter, which Carrol kept framed in his den, read in part: "The senator had been planning to buy a puppy for the little girls and they were particularly fond of cocker spaniels. I know therefore they will be delighted to receive this puppy."
Carrol later was a guest on the quiz shows
References
- McLellan, D. (2006, May 18). Lou Carrol, 83: Gave Nixon the Puppy Made Famous in the "Checkers Speech". Los Angeles Times
- Death notice printed in the Chicago Tribune, May 15, 2006