Ron Nessen

Nessen at the Peabody Awards luncheon in 2004

Ronald Harold Nessen (born May 25, 1934) is an American government official who served as 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. His Secret Service codename was Clam Chowder.[1]

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 for the inauguration. He also covered the President in a report broadcast that evening on NBC Nightly News. In that piece, Nessen reported on the appointment of terHorst, the man whom he himself 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.[2][3]

He was a member of the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors from 1996 to 2003, and served as Chair in 2003.[4]

Quotes

"Nobody believes the official spokesman but everybody trusts an unidentified source."

Works

Saturday Night Live

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.[5][3]

On a previous episode, Ron Nessen had been portrayed by Buck Henry.

References

  1. ↑ "NNDB List of Secret Service Codenames". Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  2. ↑ Steinman, Ron, Inside Television's First War: A Saigon Journal (University of Missouri Press, 2002), via books.google.com. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
  3. 1 2 "NBC's Ron Nessen wounded while on patrol with Charlie Company of 101st Airborne", nbcuniversalarchives.com. Retrieved 2015-08-06.
  4. ↑ "July 1, 1996 – June 30, 1997 ... July 1, 2003 – June 30, 2004 Peabody Board Members", peabodyawards.com. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
  5. ↑ "Saturday Night Live Season 1 Episode 17: Ron Nessen ...", tv.com. Retrieved 2016-01-14.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ron Nessen.
Political offices
Preceded by
Jerald terHorst		 White House Press Secretary
1974 – 1977 		Succeeded by
Jody Powell
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