Jack Joseph Valenti was an American political advisor and lobbyist who served as a Special Assistant to US President Lyndon B Johnson.
24 Facts About Jack Valenti
2.
Jack Valenti was the longtime president of the Motion Picture Association of America.
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Jack Valenti flew 51 combat missions as the pilot-commander of a B-25 medium bomber and received four decorations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal.
4.
Jack Valenti graduated from the University of Houston in 1946 with a BBA.
5.
In 1956, Valenti met then Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B Johnson.
6.
In 1960, Jack Valenti's firm assisted in the Kennedy-Johnson presidential campaign.
7.
Valenti served as liaison with the news media during President John F Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon B Johnson's November 22,1963 visit to Dallas, Texas, and Valenti was in the presidential motorcade.
8.
Jack Valenti then became the first "special assistant" to Johnson's White House and lived there for the first two months of Johnson's presidency.
9.
Jack Valenti later called Johnson "the most single dominating human being that I've ever been in contact with" and "the single most intelligent man I've ever known".
10.
Jack Valenti later attacked film director Oliver Stone for the 1991 movie JFK.
11.
Mr Jack Valenti was a consummate salesman, who like all great salesmen.
12.
In 1968, Valenti developed the MPAA film rating system, which initially comprised four distinct ratings: G, M, R and X The M rating was replaced by GP, and changed to PG in 1972.
13.
In 1998, Jack Valenti lobbied for the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act, arguing that copyright infringement via the Internet would severely damage the record and movie industries.
14.
In 2003, Jack Valenti found himself at the center of the so-called screener debate, as the MPAA barred studios and many independent producers from sending screener copies of their films to critics and voters in various awards shows.
15.
Jack Valenti received the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal for his service with the Army Air Force during the Second World War.
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In 1969, Jack Valenti received the Bronze Medallion, New York City's highest civilian honor.
17.
In December 2003, Jack Valenti received the "Legend in Leadership Award" from the Chief Executive Leadership Institute of the Yale School of Management.
18.
Jack Valenti maintained an office on the 8th floor, outside the MPAA's space, until his death.
19.
Jack Valenti was nominated for President of the United States by the Alfalfa Club in 2004.
20.
Jack Valenti remained a supporter of causes linked to his Italian American heritage and was a member of the National Italian American Foundation for more than 20 years.
21.
Jack Valenti remained President of Friends of the Global Fight until his death in 2007.
22.
In 1962, at age 41, Jack Valenti married Mary Margaret Wiley who served on the staff of President Lyndon Johnson.
23.
Jack Valenti died from complications of a stroke at his home in Washington on April 26,2007, at the age of 85.
24.
Jack Valenti is buried at Arlington National Cemetery under a veteran's gravestone, which lists both his war decorations and his years as president of the MPAA.