Larry Speakes
Larry Melvin Speakes (September 13, 1939 – January 10, 2014) was an American journalist and spokesperson who acted as White House Press Secretary under President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1987. He assumed the role after Press Secretary James Brady was shot on March 30, 1981.
Larry Speakes | |
|---|---|
| White House Press Secretary | |
Acting | |
| In office March 30, 1981 – February 1, 1987 | |
| President | Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | James Brady |
| Succeeded by | Marlin Fitzwater (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Larry Melvin Speakes September 13, 1939 Cleveland, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | January 10, 2014 (aged 74) Cleveland, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic (before 1974) Republican (1974–2014) |
| Spouse(s) | Laura Crawford Betty Robinson Aleta Sindelar |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | University of Mississippi (BA) |
Speakes was a native of northwest Mississippi and attended the University of Mississippi. He worked as a journalist in the 1960s until he became press secretary for Democratic Senator James Eastland in 1968. In this position he also worked as the spokesman for the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
In 1974, he became a Staff Assistant for President Richard Nixon and soon became the Press Secretary to the Special Counsel to the President at the height of the Watergate scandal. Upon Nixon's resignation, President Gerald Ford appointed Speakes to be Assistant Press Secretary to the President. Speakes served as Bob Dole's press secretary during his unsuccessful vice-presidential run with Ford. He worked for the international public relations firm of Hill & Knowlton until joining the Reagan administration.