Ron Nessen | |
---|---|
15th White House Press Secretary | |
In office September 9, 1974 –January 20, 1977 | |
President | Gerald Ford |
Preceded by | Jerald terHorst |
Succeeded by | Jody Powell |
Personal details | |
Born | Ronald Harold Nessen May 25,1934 Washington,D.C.,U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Education | Shepherd University American University (BA) |
Ronald Harold Nessen (born May 25,1934) is an American government official who served as the 15th White House Press Secretary for President Gerald Ford from 1974 to 1977. He replaced Jerald terHorst,who resigned in the wake of President Ford's pardon of former president Richard Nixon.
Prior to joining the Ford administration,Nessen served as a Washington,D.C. correspondent for NBC News. On the day of Ford's succession to the presidency,August 9,1974,he provided commentary. That evening he was on the NBC Nightly News ;in that piece,Nessen reported on the appointment of Jerald terHorst,the man whom he would succeed one month later.
Nessen,who also served NBC News as a war correspondent during the Vietnam War,was seriously wounded by grenade fragments while on patrol outside Pleiku in the Central Highlands in July 1966. He was with cameraman Peter Boultwood when he was wounded. [1] [2]
Nessen was a member of the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors from 1996 to 2003,and served as Chair in 2003. [3]
On April 17, 1976, Nessen was the first political figure to host Saturday Night Live. His episode is also known for having Gerald Ford open the show with the "Live from New York, it's Saturday night!" tagline. [4] [2]
On a previous episode, Ron Nessen had been portrayed by Buck Henry.
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Saturday Night Live (SNL) is an American late-night live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The show's premiere was hosted by George Carlin on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title NBC's Saturday Night. The show's comedy sketches, which often parody contemporary American culture and politics, are performed by a large and varying cast of repertory and newer cast members. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers the opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, with featured performances by a musical guest. An episode normally begins with a cold open sketch that is usually based on political events and ends with someone breaking character and proclaiming, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!", properly beginning the show.
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Proclamation 4311 was a presidential proclamation issued by President of the United States Gerald Ford on September 8, 1974, granting a full and unconditional pardon to Richard Nixon, his predecessor, for any crimes that he might have committed against the United States as president. In particular, the pardon covered Nixon's actions during the Watergate scandal. In a televised broadcast to the nation, Ford, who had succeeded to the presidency upon Nixon's resignation, explained that he felt the pardon was in the best interests of the country and that the Nixon family's situation was "a tragedy in which we all have played a part. It could go on and on and on, or someone must write the end to it. I have concluded that only I can do that, and if I can, I must."
The following is a timeline of the presidency of Gerald Ford from August 9, 1974, when Ford became the 38th president of the United States, upon the resignation of Richard Nixon, to December 31, 1974.