John McLaughlin (host)

John McLaughlin

John McLaughlin (on right) with President Richard Nixon at the White House on May 3, 1974
Born March 29, 1927
Providence, Rhode Island [1]
Other names Dr. McLaughlin
Education Master's degrees in philosophy and English literature
Doctor of Philosophy
Alma mater Weston College (B.A.)
Boston College (M.A.); Columbia University (Ph.D.)
Occupation Creator/executive producer/host
formerly: Jesuit priest, magazine editor, speechwriter for President Richard Nixon
Years active 1970s–present
Known for The McLaughlin Group television show
Notable credit(s) Creator/executive producer/host of The McLaughlin Group and John McLaughlin's One on One
Title Host
Political party
 Republican Party
Religion Catholic
Spouse(s) Ann Dore
(1975–1992)
Cristina Clara Vidal McLaughlin
(1997–2010)
Website
http://www.mclaughlin.com/

John McLaughlin (born March 29, 1927) is an American television personality and political commentator. He created, produces, and hosts the long-running political commentary series The McLaughlin Group as well as John McLaughlin's One On One.

Education and early career

McLaughlin was born in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1927, the son of Eva Philomena (née Turcotte) and Augustus Hugh McLaughlin.[2] He grew up in a Catholic family who were second-generation Irish Americans. He entered Weston College in Weston, Massachusetts, which later became the theological seminary of Boston College, at the age of 18 to prepare for the priesthood.[3]

He entered the Jesuit order of the Catholic Church in 1947, was ordained as a priest in 1959, and went on to earn two master's degrees (philosophy and English literature) from Boston College. After his ordination, McLaughlin spent some years as a high school teacher at Fairfield College Preparatory School, a Jesuit prep school in Connecticut. He took time off from teaching to earn a Ph.D. (philosophy) from Columbia University. He then became a writer and later assistant editor for the Jesuit current affairs publication, America, in New York City. Disagreements with the editor of the magazine led to his departure in 1970 after which he moved back to Providence, Rhode Island.

McLaughlin was originally a supporter of the Democratic Party and opposed the Vietnam War but then became a war supporter and changed his party affiliation to Republican. In 1970 he sought permission from the Jesuit order to run for a seat in the United States Senate, representing Rhode Island. When his superiors refused, McLaughlin defied them but lost to the incumbent four-term Senator John O. Pastore.[2] Through a friendship with Pat Buchanan, McLaughlin then became a speechwriter for U.S. President Richard Nixon. In 1974, after the resignation of President Nixon, he was ordered by his Jesuit superiors to return to Boston. He soon thereafter left the Society of Jesus.[4]

From 1981 to 1989, McLaughlin was Washington editor and author of the monthly political column "From Washington Straight," for National Review.

Leading up to the 2004 presidential election, McLaughlin—though a longtime Republican—announced that he would be voting for Democratic Party candidate John Kerry. His political views in general are diversified and often differ from Republican Party positions depending on the issue in question.

Broadcast career

Main article: The McLaughlin Group

The McLaughlin Group premiered in 1982. The show features four political commentators, usually two conservatives and two liberals, with McLaughlin seated in the middle. The McLaughlin Group is most widely seen on PBS affiliates, and is taped at the studios of WUSA-TV in Washington, D.C.

The show is seen in the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe and worldwide on American Forces Network and Worldnet and is available in low-resolution video podcast form on the show's website and on iTunes. Although the show is broadcast on PBS member stations with no commercials, the podcast edition has commercial messages from the broadcast Sunday mornings on WUSA-TV.

McLaughlin is fond of making witty predictions based on current events, and of asking questions in interesting ways. One of the phrases he often uses is "On a scale of 0 to 10—with 0 representing zero possibility and 10 representing metaphysical certitude—what is the chance of....?" This was referenced in the 2009 superhero movie Watchmen.

His loud and forceful style of presentation has been parodied by comedians and other commentators, most notably Dana Carvey of Saturday Night Live. McLaughlin himself appeared as the Grim Reaper in an SNL sketch that parodied his show.

McLaughlin also hosts John McLaughlin's One On One, first telecast in 1984, and from 1989 through 1994 produced and hosted McLaughlin, a one-hour nightly talk show on CNBC. For a short while in 1999, he hosted an MSNBC show, McLaughlin Special Report. The show was announced on January 22,[5] and its cancellation was announced on February 25.[6]

Personal life

On August 23, 1975, McLaughlin married Ann Dore, his former campaign manager. She served as secretary of labor under Ronald Reagan from 1987 until 1989. The couple divorced in 1992.

On June 22, 1997, McLaughlin married Cristina Clara Vidal McLaughlin.[7] The marriage ended in divorce in 2010.[8]

During the December 26, 2014, year-end awards episode, McLaughlin ended the show saying: "Person of the year: Pope Francis, especially now that he's told that animals can go to heaven. And Oliver is up there waiting for me."[9] Oliver Productions, Inc., is named after McLaughlin's pet dog [10]—a basset hound—and is seen in an animation as part of the brand logo shown at the close of each show. Oliver shared their Watergate apartment during McLaughlin'tenure as speechwriter for President Nixon.[11] Coincidentally, Oliver died on a Friday afternoon before a show was taped. McLaughlin, under dire emotional pain, completed that taping.[12]

In popular culture

McLaughlin has appeared in several films, including Dave, Mission Impossible, Independence Day, and War, Inc.. In the 2009 movie Watchmen, he is portrayed by Gary Houston in an early scene interviewing Pat Buchanan (played by James M. Connor) and Eleanor Clift (played by Mary Ann Burger) about the possibility of nuclear war with the Soviet Union. McLaughlin also hosted a special celebration for the 200th episode of the TV sitcom Cheers.[13]

The host of the show "The Think Tank" in cut-scenes in the video game MechCommander 2 mimics the speech patterns and body language of John McLaughlin.[14]

References

  1. ↑ John McLaughlin at the Notable Names Database
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Biography: John McLaughlin", Turner Classic Movies
  3. ↑ Murray, Michael D. (editor). "Biography: John McLaughlin", Encyclopedia of Television News
  4. ↑ America Magazine, June 23–30, 2014
  5. ↑ Starr, Michael. "McLaughlin Talks His Way to MSNBC Prime Time Lineup, New York Post, January 22, 1999. Retrieved on June 18, 2014.
  6. ↑ Starr, Michael. "A 'Special' Goodbye, New York Post, February 25, 1999. Retrieved on June 18, 2014.
  7. ↑ Cristina Vidal and John McLaughlin. The New York Times, 22 June 1997. Retrieved from http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0DE2D6123EF931A15755C0A961958260.
  8. ↑ Washington post http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2010/04/john_mclaughlin_and_cristina_m.html
  9. ↑ TMG Library Transcripts http://www.mclaughlin.com/transcript.htm?id=1042
  10. ↑ TMG Library Transcripts http://www.mclaughlin.com/transcript.htm?id=689
  11. ↑ People http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20077465,00.html
  12. ↑ The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rose-procopio/the-love-of-my-dog_b_542218.html
  13. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0293031/
  14. ↑ Video on YouTube

External links