Nick Clooney

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Nicholas Clooney (born January 13, 1934) is an American television journalist, anchorman, game show and American Movie Classics host, as well as a politician from the state of Kentucky. He is the brother of singer Rosemary Clooney and the father of actor George Clooney.

Clooney was born in Maysville, Kentucky. After a stint in the Army where he only achieved a non-commissioned rank of corporal, he moved to California for a try at show business. When that didn't work out, Clooney moved to Ohio, where he met his wife, Nina, when she was a contestant in a beauty pageant he was judging.

Clooney had a five-year stint as a news anchor in Lexington, Kentucky, then went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was a television and radio personality. In 1974, he gained his first national fame by hosting the short-lived ABC daytime game show The Money Maze.

He became a regional legend during his years working in Cincinnati television, especially memorable stints as news director and anchor for WKRC-TV, then an ABC affiliate. As a journalist, he is probably best remembered for his hardhitting coverage of the 1977 Beverly Hills Supper Club fire and its aftermath, which stretched for several years. Clooney pursued a hard news focus that was quite different from the sensationalism often seen on local TV.

Clooney entered print media in 1989 with a column in The Cincinnati Post, then in 1994 after a short stint as a local NBC affiliate's news anchor in Buffalo, New York, resurfaced nationally in television as a host and researcher for the cable channel American Movie Classics, where he introduced and presented backgounds of classic movies, along with Bob Dorian. He also worked as a presenter on a Cincinnati oldies radio station, WSAI-AM.

[edit] Run for Congress in 2004

Clooney ran as a Democrat in the 2004 election for a seat in the House of Representatives representing Kentucky's 4th Congressional district. He challenged Republican Geoff Davis for the open seat. Clooney was highly recruited to run by Ken Lucas, the outgoing Democratic congressman who had held onto the conservative district with his moderate views. With his name recognition and well-publicized endorsement from Lucas, Clooney was a big favorite to keep the seat in Democratic hands.

Early in 2004, Davis fought through a (sometimes rough) three-way Republican primary to earn the chance to face off against Clooney. Because of Clooney's standing and name recognition, Clooney was up 16 percentage points to start the race -- and this according to a poll sponsored by Davis himself.

Many observers, citing the star power and funding that Clooney's famous son would be able to draw, rated the race as highly competitive, and it quickly gained a high profile as one of few seriously contested House races. To better understand all of the district, Clooney visited every county and held town-hall-style meetings with voters to hear concerns. After visiting all counties, he said he formed his platform to reflect what voters wanted.

As the race continued, Clooney's support eroded thanks to Davis continuously showing how Clooney's new positions and statements conflicted with views expressed in previous newspaper columns that he had written for the Cincinnati Post. Example: In a previous column, Clooney had said that human life did not begin immediately at conception; in another column, he had written some thoughts about guns and violence that conflicted with his pro-gun stance. It was also reported during the race that he opposed abortion.[1]

The Republican Congressional Committee mailed out fliers to district residents that showed a picture of a quintessential hippie, and had the phrase "Nick Clooney is a loony liberal." Clooney called for Davis to condemn the attacks. Davis said he wished there hadn't been name-calling, but did not condemn the attacks. The publicity surrounding the attacks ads only seemed to hurt Clooney more.

Despite the potential for massive fund raising should his son get involved, George was relatively uninvolved with the race. It's possible that George stayed out of the race to avoid associating his very liberal views with his father. Nonetheless, Clooney did receive political contributions from several big-name Hollywood celebrities. This fact made Clooney seem even more out of touch with voters in the district.

The press began to use the phrase "Heartland vs. Hollywood" to describe the race. In the home stretch, Clooney's lead continued to disappear. He was dealt another blow when both the The Kentucky Enquirer and Community Press newspapers endorsed Davis

Clooney lost the election, gaining 44% of the vote to Davis's 54%. At his concession speech on election day, he said his short career in politics was over. He went back to writing a column for The Cincinnati Post three times a week, covering a wide range of topics.

[edit] External links

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