John McLaughlin Biography

John McLaughlin (March 29, 1927 – August 16, 2016) was an American television personality and political commentator. He created, produced, and hosted the political commentary series The McLaughlin Group. He also hosted and produced John McLaughlin's One On One which ran from 1984 to 2013.

Education and early career

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

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 wrote his thesis on the Anglo-Catholic poet Gerard Manley Hopkins. 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. They had given permission to fellow Jesuit Father Robert Drinan who ran successfully for the House of Representatives in Massachusetts. When they refused, McLaughlin ran anyway but lost to the incumbent four-term Senator John O. Pastore. 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.

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.

Broadcast career

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 high-resolution at the The McLaughlin Group YouTube channel, low-resolution video podcast form on the show's website and on iTunes.

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 hosted the interview show John McLaughlin's One on One, first telecast in 1984, and ended in 2013. Also from 1989 through 1994, he 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, and its cancellation was announced on February 25.

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. The marriage ended in divorce in 2010.

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." Oliver Productions, Inc., is named after McLaughlin's pet dog"?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's tenure as speechwriter for President Nixon.

McLaughlin was an avid kite flyer and entered several kite flying competitions between 2006 and 2013.

Death

After missing his first broadcast in 34 years, McLaughlin died on August 16, 2016 at his home in Washington D.C of prostate cancer.

In popular culture

McLaughlin 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 NBC -TV sitcom Cheers.