Valenti soon became known, and for a time mocked, for his unfailing loyalty to Johnson, if not outright idolatry of him. 22, 1963, and he watched as Johnson was sworn in beside Jacqueline Kennedy aboard Air Force One. He also remained a starry-eyed fan, cherishing his friendships with Kirk Douglas, Sidney Poitier and Frank Sinatra, falling speechless before Sophia Loren and savoring his seconds in the spotlight as a regular presenter at the Academy Awards.Īs a Houston political consultant, he was in the motorcade when President John F. He devised the film-rating system precisely to avoid censorship by local review boards. And he fended off lawmakers’ recurring campaigns to curb violence and sex on the screen, arguing for free expression.
He lobbied Congress to protect filmmakers’ intellectual property from piracy and to ease trade barriers overseas. Valenti was the public face of the movie and television production industry and one of its fiercest advocates. The cause was complications of a recent stroke, his family said.For 38 years, Mr. Johnson and then a Hollywood institution, leading the Motion Picture Association of America and conceiving of a voluntary film-rating system that gave new meaning to letters like G, R and X, died today in his home in Washington. Jack Valenti, who became a confidant of President Lyndon B.
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