Jack Valenti
Jack Joseph Valenti (September 5, 1921 – April 26, 2007) was an American political advisor and lobbyist who served as a Special Assistant to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson.Valenti flew 51 combat missions as the pilot-commander of a B-25 medium bomber and received four decorations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal.After earning an M.B.A. from Harvard University in 1948, Valenti worked for Humble Oil in its advertising department, where he helped the company's Texas gas stations jump from fifth to first in sales through a "cleanest restrooms" campaign.[3] In 1964, Johnson gave Valenti the responsibility to handle relations with the Republican Congressional leadership, particularly Gerald Ford and Charles Halleck from the House of Representatives, and the Senate's Everett Dirksen."[7] In 1966, Valenti, at the insistence of Universal Studios chief Lew Wasserman and with Johnson's consent, resigned his White House commission and became president of the Motion Picture Association of America.William F. Patry, a copyright attorney for the Bill Clinton administration, who observed Valenti firsthand says: His personal passion and extreme comfort around politicians gave him credibility that others ... would lack.[He] was a great actor working on the stage of Washington DC (and sometimes globally) on behalf of an industry that appreciated his craft, but that never let him forget that the message was theirs and not his.[10] During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Valenti became notorious for his flamboyant attacks on the Sony Betamax Video Cassette Recorder (VCR), which the MPAA feared would devastate the movie industry.The Coalition of Independent Filmmakers' Jeff Levy-Hinte, IFP/Los Angeles executive director Dawn Hudson and IFP/New York executive director Michelle Byrd said in a joint statement, "By obtaining a court order to force the MPAA to lift the screener ban last December, the Coalition enabled individual distributors to determine when and in what manner to distribute promotional screeners."After retiring from the MPAA in 2004, Valenti became the first President of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, an organization founded by philanthropists Edward W. Scott and Adam Waldman.episode "The Chip", where he helped recount the origin of the titular hero; he also lectured about movie ratings using stickers of a family, and made frequent references to his cheeks.
Motion Picture Association of AmericaEric JohnstonDan GlickmanWhite House Chief of StaffLyndon B. JohnsonBill MoyersW. Marvin WatsonKenneth O'DonnellHoustonWashington, D.C.Arlington National CemeteryUniversity of HoustonHarvard UniversityMPAA film rating systemcopyrightlobbyistsSam Houston High SchoolWorld War IIfirst lieutenantUnited States Army Air ForceB-25 medium bomberDistinguished Flying CrossAir MedalThe Daily CougarHumble OilConocoAlbert ThomasAir Force OneJohn F. KennedyDallasassassination of President KennedyWhite HouseGerald FordCharles HalleckHouse of RepresentativesSenateEverett DirksenAmerican Advertising FederationOliver StoneUniversal StudiosLew WassermanWilliam F. PatryBill Clinton administrationMidnight CowboyA Clockwork OrangeSteven SpielbergBetamaxVideo Cassette Recorder (VCR)congressionalBoston stranglerhome videoDigital Millennium Copyright Actcopyright infringementscreenerinjunctionAntidote Int'l Films IncantitrustJeff Levy-HinteArmy Air ForceSecond World WarBronze MedallionLégion d'HonneurYale School of ManagementNational JournalAlfalfa ClubCongressmanSecretary of AgricultureJoan GravesEdward W. ScottGlobal Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and MalariaWarner Bros.Nancy Clark ReynoldsFederal Bureau of InvestigationFreakazoid!JackieJacqueline Kennedy OnassisKennedy's assassinationMax CasellaMartin ScorseseThe New York TimesNew York TimesHouston ChronicleC-SPANWhite House chiefs of staffSteelmanPersonsO'DonnellJenkinsMoyersM. WatsonHaldemanRumsfeldCheneyJordanJ. WatsonJ. BakerH. BakerDubersteinSununuSkinnerMcLartyPanettaBowlesPodestaBoltenEmanuelMcDonoughPriebusMulvaneyMeadowsZientsProducers Guild of America Milestone AwardTerry SemelBob DalyKirk DouglasRobert WiseWarren BeattyJeffrey KatzenbergClint EastwoodRonald MeyerAlan F. HornBrian GrazerRon HowardMichael LyntonAmy PascalJames Cameron