Merrie Spaeth

Merrie Spaeth
Merrie Spaeth while working at the White House in 1984
Born	(1948-08-23) August 23, 1948 (age 68)
Alma mater	Smith College

Merrie Spaeth (born August 23, 1948) is an American political and public relations and communications consultant, and former film actress. Spaeth is the founder and President of Spaeth Communications and specializes in executive training and coaching.

Spaeth attended Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While in high school Spaeth tried out for and won the role of Marian "Gil" Gilbert in The World of Henry Orient (1964). In 1970, Spaeth graduated with honors from Smith College. Later Spaeth earned an MBA from Columbia Business School where she graduated cum laude.

Spaeth is the daughter of Dr. Philip G. Spaeth and Marcia Ryan Spaeth. In 1984, Spaeth married "Tex" Lezar, who was at the time a counselor to the Attorney General. Together they have three children.

As of 1994, Spaeth had taught BLC (business leadership center) seminar classes at the Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business. There, she lectures on "Communication as a Strategic Business Tool," "Influencing Through the Power of Storytelling," and "Humor as a Leadership Tool."

At the age of 15, Spaeth was cast to play Marian "Gil" Gilbert in The World of Henry Orient (1964) alongside Peter Sellers, Angela Lansbury, Paula Prentiss and Tippy Walker. Following the film's release, Spaeth represented the U.S. at the Cannes International Film Festival in France. In honor of the film's 50th anniversary Spaeth returned to Hollywood at the Turner Classic Film Festival where she introduced the film with Paula Prentiss.

In the early 1980s, Spaeth was accepted to the White House Fellows program where she was assigned to work under Federal Bureau of Investigation Director William Webster as his special assistant, after which she worked for two years as director of public affairs for the Federal Trade Commission. In 1983, Spaeth became director of media relations at the White House for President Ronald Reagan, where she was credited with bringing the White House into the ‘Space Age’ through her introduction of satellite interviews to the White House.