Jesse Marvin Unruh
| Jesse M. Unruh | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 26th California State Treasurer | |
|
In office January 6, 1975 – August 4, 1987 |
|
| Governor |
Jerry Brown George Deukmejian |
| Preceded by | Ivy Baker Priest |
| Succeeded by | Elizabeth Whitney |
| 54th Speaker of the California State Assembly | |
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In office September 1961 – January 1969 |
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| Preceded by | Ralph M. Brown |
| Succeeded by | Robert T. Monagan |
| Member of the California State Assembly | |
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In office January 1955 – January 1969 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Jesse Marvin Unruh September 30, 1922 Newton, Kansas |
| Died | August 4, 1987 (aged 64) Marina Del Rey, California |
| Cause of death | Prostate cancer |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Virginia June Lemon (1943–1975) Chris Edwards (1986–1987) |
| Children | Linda Lu, Bruce, Bradley, Robert, Randall |
| Alma mater | University of Southern California |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Jesse Marvin Unruh (September 30, 1922 – August 4, 1987), also known as Big Daddy Unruh, was a well-known American Democratic politician and the California State Treasurer.
Born 1922 in Newton, Kansas, Unruh served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war, he enrolled at the University of Southern California, receiving a B.A. in political science and journalism during 1948.
Unruh's political career began as an unsuccessful candidate for the California State Assembly during 1950 and 1952. He was elected as a member of the Assembly on his third attempt during 1954. During 1956, he was an unsuccessful candidate for Presidential elector for California as a Democrat. During 1959, he authored California's Unruh Civil Rights Act, which outlawed discrimination by businesses that offer services to the public and was a model for later reforms enacted nationally during the 1960s and 1970s. Unruh was Speaker of the California State Assembly from 1961 to 1969 and a delegate to Democratic National Convention from California during 1960 and 1968.
As a national official of the Democratic Party, he often feuded with Governor of California Pat Brown (1959–67), a fellow Democrat, and was a case-study of James Q. Wilson's treatise on machine politics, The Amateur Democrat.
Unruh was California campaign manager for John F. Kennedy in 1960 and a close Kennedy associate throughout his Presidency. He was involved in convincing Robert F. Kennedy to enter the 1968 presidential race and managed his California campaign. After helping Kennedy win the California primary election in June, he was next him when an assassin's bullet ended Kennedy's life while leaving his acceptance speech at the Ambassador Hotel. In the confusion that followed, Unruh helped keep suspect Sirhan Sirhan from the reach of angry Kennedy devotees. After an unsuccessful effort, managed by Unruh and Mayor Richard J. Daley of Chicago, to draft Senator Edward M. Kennedy, as Chair of California's delegation committed to the deceased Kennedy he released California delegates to vote their conscience and announced that he would support Eugene McCarthy at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
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