Lou Gordon (journalist)
| Lou Gordon | |
|---|---|
Lou Gordon
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| Born |
May 17, 1917 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | May 24, 1977 (aged 60) Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, U.S. |
| Show | The Lou Gordon Program |
| Station(s) | WKBD-TV Detroit |
| Network | Syndicated through Kaiser Broadcasting |
| Country | United States |
| Spouse(s) | Jacqueline "Jackie" Gordon |
| Children | A. Scott Gordon, Ruth Gordon Howard, Jon L. Gordon, Deborah L. Gordon, Carol Braitman |
Lou Gordon (May 17, 1917 – May 24, 1977) was a television commentator and talk show host, newspaper columnist, radio host, and influential political reporter, based in Detroit, Michigan. Gordon was known as a flamboyant, irreverent, and controversial interviewer. He is notable as host of The Lou Gordon Program, a twice-weekly, 90-minute television show, that was seen Saturday and Sunday nights on WKBD-TV. Produced from 1966 to 1977,The Lou Gordon Program was also syndicated across most of the larger media markets in the United States to the Kaiser Broadcasting group of stations, as well as several non-Kaiser stations. Three 90-minute television shows were taped per week - two for telecast only on WKBD, the other for nationwide broadcast.
The show's theme song was MacArthur Park, composed by Jimmy Webb and performed by Richard Harris; the portion of the song used for the show's theme was the long, jazzy climactic orchestral break approximately 3/4 way through the recording.
The show was co-hosted by Lou's wife, Jackie Gordon (born 1932), who would read questions sent by viewers to Lou. Lou would then give his opinions on the viewer's question.
In addition to his television program, Gordon also wrote a bi-weekly column for The Detroit News, which was usually a reflection on, or an elaboration of, topics recently featured on his television program.
During the 1967–68 Detroit newspaper strike, Gordon published Scope Magazine in order to fill the news-hole made by a lack of daily newspapers in Detroit. Lou Gordon was the president of Scope Publishing, as well as a writer, and published the weekly until the Detroit newspaper strike ended. Scope Magazine also featured his wife, Jackie, as advice columnist.
People interviewed by Gordon included three-term Michigan Governor George W. Romney, whom he interviewed on August 31, 1967. Boston Globe reporter Neil Swidey said that "for more than a year, Romney had been talked about as the Republicans' best chance for winning the White House in 1968. So, during that August interview, when [Romney] was asked by Lou to explain his inconsistent position on the [Vietnam] war, Romney replied, 'Well you know Lou, when I came back from Vietnam, I had just had the greatest brainwashing that anybody can get.' One word, brainwashing, [emphasis added] and his presidential campaign would never recover. Worse, that single, politically-charged word became not just the shorthand for his aborted White House run, but as well the bumper sticker for his entire life's work." The controversial interview with Romney landed Gordon and his Lou Gordon Program on the front page of newspapers across the country, as well as Time magazine.
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