Ron Ziegler
Ron Ziegler | |
---|---|
13th White House Press Secretary | |
In office January 20, 1969 – August 9, 1974 | |
President | Richard Nixon |
Preceded by | George Christian |
Succeeded by | Jerald terHorst |
Personal details | |
Born | Ronald Louis Ziegler May 12, 1939 Covington, Kentucky, U.S. |
Died | February 10, 2003 Coronado, California, U.S. | (aged 63)
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Nancy Plessinger (1961–2003) |
Children | 2 daughters |
Education | Xavier University University of Southern California (BA) |
Ronald Louis Ziegler (May 12, 1939 – February 10, 2003) was the 13th White House Press Secretary, serving during President Richard Nixon's administration.[1]
Early life
Ziegler was born to Louis Daniel Ziegler, a production manager, and Ruby (Parsons) in
Ziegler attended Concordia Lutheran School and graduated from the eighth grade in 1953. He graduated from
.Career
Early work
Ziegler once worked at Disneyland as a skipper on the popular Jungle Cruise attraction in Adventureland.
He later served as a press aide on Nixon's unsuccessful
Nixon administration
In 1969, when he was just 29, Ziegler became the youngest
Ziegler was the White House press secretary during the political scandal known as Watergate. In 1972, he dismissed the first report of the burglary at the Watergate Hotel as a "third-rate burglary attempt", and repeatedly dismissed reports by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in the Washington Post, but within two years, Nixon had resigned under threat of impeachment. Ziegler apologized to The Washington Post for having been so dismissive.[5]
At a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention on August 20, 1973, Nixon was filmed[6] angrily pushing Ziegler toward a crowd of reporters.[7] The president was incensed that Ziegler was not doing enough to keep members of the press away as Nixon entered the convention hall.[8]
In 1974, Ziegler became
Post-Watergate
Unlike many other former aides following President Nixon's resignation in 1974, Ziegler remained very close to him. Ziegler was on the plane that Nixon took to Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, near San Clemente, California, as Gerald Ford was sworn into office.[citation needed]
On November 12, 1999, Ziegler was scheduled to participate by telephone in a
Business activities and achievements
In 1988, Ziegler became president and chief executive of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, living in
Personal life
In 1961, Ziegler married Nancy Plessinger, with whom he had two children, Cindy and Laurie.[citation needed]
Ziegler moved to Coronado Shores in Coronado, California, where he died of a heart attack in 2003 at the age of 63.[1][11][12][13][14][15]
In popular culture
Ziegler appears in the 1976 film All the President's Men as himself in archival news footage. He is portrayed in the 1989 television movie The Final Days by Graham Beckel,[16] and in the 1995 Oliver Stone film Nixon by David Paymer.[17]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f "Ron Ziegler, Press Secretary to Nixon, Is Dead at 63". The New York Times. February 11, 2003. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
- ^ "Ronald L. Ziegler". Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
- ^ "Ron Ziegler, former Nixon press secretary, dies in Coronado". 10 February 2003. Archived from the original on 26 June 2006.
- ^ Liebovich, Louis W. (2003). Richard Nixon, Watergate, and the Press. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press Group.
- ^ Graham, Katharine (January 28, 1997). "The Watergate Watershed: A Turning Point for a Nation and a Newspaper". The Washington Post. p. D01. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
- ^ Nixon shoves Press Secretary Ron Ziegler, retrieved 2023-10-13
- Nashua Telegraph. Nashua, N.H. United Press International. April 6, 1978. p. 40. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
- Nashua Telegraph. Nashua, N.H. United Press International. April 6, 1978. p. 40. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
- ^ "Ronald L. Ziegler". Archived from the original on 14 January 2009.
- ^ Parry, Tim (February 13, 2003). "NATSO Remembers Ziegler". Fleet Owner. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
- ^ Condon, George E. Jr.; Lewis, Finlay (February 10, 2003). "Ron Ziegler, former Nixon press secretary, dies in Coronado". SignonSanDiego.com. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
- ^ Former NACDS President & CEO Ronald L. Ziegler Dies
- ^ Ron Ziegler's Obituary with summary of his years with Nixon
- ^ Ron Ziegler, former Nixon press secretary, dies in Coronado
- ^ Watergate 'Spin Doctor' Dies, BBC News.
- emmy. 11: 46. 1989.)
{{cite journal}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help - ^ Phillip Kolker, Robert (2000). A Cinema of Loneliness Penn, Stone, Kubrick, Scorsese, Spielberg, Altman. Oxford University Press. p. 431.
External links
- Ron Ziegler Washington Post editorial, June 21, 1972, published soon after the burglary.
- Appearances on C-SPAN as Ron Ziegler
- Appearances on C-SPAN as Ronald Ziegler