Fred Dutton

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Frederick Gary Dutton (June 16, 1923 - June 27, 2005) was a Democratic Party power broker who served as a Special Assistant to President John F. Kennedy, Chief of Staff for California Governor Pat Brown and went on to manage Robert F. Kennedy's fateful campaign in his quest for the Presidency.

Fred Dutton

Between 1960 and 1972 Dutton played a role in every Democrat’s quest for the White House. Among other things, Dutton is credited with first conceiving the idea for Earth Day. Dutton was an affable friend of both politicians and journalists and could be considered as one of the country’s original “spin doctors.”

Born in 1923 in Julesburg, Colorado on June 16, Dutton’s family moved to San Mateo, California, where he attended San Mateo High School and met his first wife, June Klingborg Dutton. The Duttons had three children together between 1950 and 1960 (Christopher, Lisa, and Eve).

Dutton graduated from University of California, Berkeley in 1946 and from Stanford Law School in 1949.

Dutton had two stints of military service in both World War II and the Korean war. Dutton was a prisoner of war and was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.

With the shooting of Robert Kennedy in 1968 Dutton lost much of his passion for politics and subsequently returned to private law practice. Dutton was credited with helping his client Mobil Oil develop its “advertorial” marketing strategy.

Dutton later married attorney Nancy Hogan Dutton and they had two children together (Stacy & Christina). Together the Duttons formed the Dutton and Dutton law practice; this firm went on to be appointed chief U.S. attorney for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, earning Mr. Dutton the often quoted moniker "Dutton of Arabia".

Frederick Gary Dutton died on June 27, 2005 at the age of 82.