Ray Price (speechwriter)
Raymond Kissam Price Jr. (May 6, 1930 – February 13, 2019) was an American writer who was the chief speechwriter for U.S. President Richard Nixon, working on both inaugural addresses, his resignation speech, and Gerald Ford's pardon speech.[1] During Nixon's presidential campaign of 1968, the candidate made use of the contrasting style of two speechwriters (the other being Pat Buchanan) with Price becoming known to colleagues as Mr Outside because his work was aimed at broadening Nixon's appeal.[2]
Ray Price | |
|---|---|
| White House Director of Speechwriting | |
| In office December 31, 1970 – February 6, 1973 | |
| President | Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | Jim Keogh |
| Succeeded by | David Gergen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Raymond Kissam Price Jr. May 6, 1930 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | February 13, 2019 (aged 88) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | Yale University (BA) |
A native of New York City, Price graduated from Yale University in 1951. There, he was a member of the Conservative Party of the Yale Political Union and also belonged to Skull and Bones.[3]: 173
Price wrote a retrospective on the presidency titled With Nixon[4] and assisted Nixon in the writing of several books. John Dean mentioned Price as one person suspected (falsely) of having been Deep Throat. For 19 years, Price was a member of the Economic Club of New York.[5]
Career edit
- Collier's magazine, New York City, assistant to editor, 1955–1957
- Life magazine, New York City, reporter, 1957
- New York Herald Tribune, New York City, member of editorial staff, 1957–1964, editor of editorial page, 1964–1966
- assistant to Richard M. Nixon, 1967–1969, special assistant, 1969–1973, special consultant, 1973–1974, 1980. Writer. Chief speechwriter for President Nixon
- Fellow at John F. Kennedy Institute of Politics, Harvard University, 1977
- visiting fellow at American Enterprise Institute, 1977
- Nixon Professor at Whittier College, Whittier, California, 1978.
Other memberships edit
Further reading edit
- The New York Times Book Review, November 20, 1977;
- Newsweek, November 28, 1977;
- New York Review of Books, April 6, 1978.
References edit
- ^ Martin, Douglas (February 14, 2019). "Raymond K. Price Jr., a Key Nixon Speechwriter, Is Dead at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
- ^ Schell, Jonathan (June 2, 1975). "The Time of Illusion". The New Yorker. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ Robbins, Alexandra (2002). Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-72091-7.
- ^ New York : Viking Press, 1977. ISBN 0-670-77672-6
- ^ Shapiro, Gary (2007-06-07). "A Century Of Serious Conversation". The New York Sun. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
External links edit
- PBS Biography
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- C-SPAN Q&A interview with Price, December 28, 2008