A Lifetime of Memories
A Videoconference with Jack Valenti
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The small white-haired gentleman wearing a pink shirt who sat facing Steve Scully in the latest C-Span broadcast did not seem like a former leading political speaker or head of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) at first glance. But then he opened his mouth and any doubts of the man's former prestige or prominence vanished.
A Texan born in Houston, Jack Valenti was a Catholic descendent of Sicilian immigrants. His political career began after he met Lyndon B. Johnson. Valenti remembered living in the White House with Johnson for two months. |
"I don't recommend living with a president who only sleeps 4-5 hours a night. He called every morning at 5:30, saying come on down!" As Johnson's Special Assistant to President Johnson, Valenti was one of three who wrote a 52-word statement aboard Air Force One after President Kennedy's death.
Valenti was in office for notable American changes including the Civil Rights Act, MediCare, the Great Society, and the Vietnam war. As a man who never lost interest in the government, Valenti sees several similarities between Vietnam and the war in Iraq today, especially in the lack of intelligence both presidents had.
"There is some slight odor of Vietnam that remains in Iraq today. You can't tell the good guys over the bad guys ."
After several years in the White House, Valenti was hired as the head of the Motion Picture Association of America. "I wasn't going to take it. They came and asked me four times and the last time they simply asked me what I was going to do for the rest of my life. And I agreed that movies and television would be a fun thing to do."
Even more difficult than his decision was Johnson's reaction. "The nicest thing LBJ told me when I left was that I was Benedict Arnold," Valenti said laughing.
As head of the MPAA, Valenti was responsible for instituting the current rating system. "I designed the rating system to free the screen," he said, adding that he fought government intervention throughout his entire career.
"I do not believe it is the role of the government to play the arbitrator of people's morals in the U.S." As the Supreme Court has yet to define terms such as obscenity and indecency, Valenti believes that it is unfair fair to fight such crimes. "You cannot fine people or fight it criminally unless you define the crime!"
Now retired, Valenti says that when he dies he wants to be buried in Texas because "I want to remain active in politics!"