30 Facts About Tom McCall

Thomas Lawson McCall was an American statesman, politician and journalist in the state of Oregon.

Tom McCall made an unsuccessful bid for Congress in 1954, losing in the general election to Edith Green.

In 1964, Tom McCall won his first political office, Oregon Secretary of State, followed by two terms as governor, where he worked towards environmental cleanup, the bottle bill, and public ownership of beaches on the coast among others.

Tom McCall then moved northeast to the Palouse of north central Idaho in February 1937, to the university town of Moscow.

Tom McCall wrote for the News-Review, and following a merger, the Daily Idahonian.

Tom McCall traveled back to Oregon to look for work in Portland, whose economy was booming due to World War II.

Tom McCall was told by the military that he was not eligible for enlistment and journalists, still primarily men, were in short supply.

Tom McCall was quickly offered a job at The Oregonian at nearly triple his wages.

Tom McCall worked at KGW radio until 1949, when he became administrative assistant to Oregon Gov.

In 1952 Tom McCall returned to KGW radio, where he served as a newscaster and political commentator until 1955, when he jumped from radio to television and KGW to KPTV.

Tom McCall was a newscaster and commentator at KPTV, Oregon's first TV station, for about a year and a half.

In November 1962, Tom McCall produced and hosted an ambitious KGW-TV documentary which graphically portrayed the poor condition of the Willamette River and air quality throughout Oregon.

Tom McCall hosted a show on KGW called Viewpoint, which dealt with political issues of the day.

Tom McCall appears briefly in the 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in a cameo role as a late-night newscaster, based on his experience at KGW.

Tom McCall lost in the general election to Edith Green, who went on to hold the seat for the next ten terms.

Tom McCall won a second term in 1970, again defeating Straub.

Tom McCall became nationally-known in 1971 for a comment he made in an interview with CBS News' Terry Drinkwater in January, in which he said:.

In July 1971, Tom McCall went on a fishing trip on a portion of the Snake River that acts as border between Idaho and Oregon.

When Tom McCall's group camped for the night on the Idaho side, Oregon Senate President Johns Burns, a Democrat, became acting governor.

State Senator Vic Atiyeh won the Republican nomination, but lost the general election to Straub, who Tom McCall had endorsed in the election.

Tom McCall returned to journalism, writing a newspaper column and serving as commentator for Portland television station KATU.

Polls showed Tom McCall leading the race, but Atiyeh in a close second.

In 1970 Tom McCall was faced with a potential riot in Portland.

Measure 6 went on the ballot for the 1982 election and Tom McCall vowed to fight it to the end.

Tom McCall was dying of cancer and used the final months of his life making sure that Measure 6 did not pass.

Tom McCall was admitted to Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland just over a month after the election.

Tom McCall died of prostate cancer at age 69 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland on.

In 1968, Governor Tom McCall created the Harbor Drive Task Force to come up with proposals to replace the riverfront highway with a public space.

Tom McCall was a leading figure in passing the Oregon Beach Bill to declare Oregon shores public land in 1967.

In 1998 Tom McCall was inducted into the Hall of Achievement at University of Oregon's School of Journalism.