SALINGER, Pierre (Emil George) 1925-2004

OBITUARY NOTICE— See index for CA sketch: Born June 14, 1925, in San Francisco, CA; died of heart failure October 16, 2004, in Le Thon, France. Journalist and author. Salinger is best remembered for his service as President John F. Kennedy's press secretary, though he also had a long and distinguished career as a foreign correspondent. Educated at the University of San Francisco, where he earned a B.S. in 1947, his studies were interrupted by two years of service in the U.S. Navy, during which time he was the skipper of a submarine chaser in the Pacific theater. His first job after college was as a reporter and night city editor for the San Francisco Chronicle. At the Chronicle until 1955, Salinger gained a reputation as a gifted investigative reporter, even going to such lengths as to get himself thrown into jail so that he could study prison conditions. He then briefly worked for Collier's magazine, where he continued his investigative work, most notably on stories about labor corruption. Then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy read Salinger's report on the issue and was so impressed that he put Salinger on the U.S. Senate Labor Rackets Committee in 1957 as an investigator. Two years later, President John F. Kennedy hired the reporter to be his press secretary. The debonair Salinger, a cultured man who was a piano prodigy, lent the job a sophisticated air that made him an ideal spokesman for the president in front of the media. But although he was adept at his job, it was a difficult one for the principled Salinger. He found himself spending much of his time hiding information from the press, such as Kennedy's extramarital affairs and, more importantly, facts about the Cuban missile crisis. Although he had no problem keeping the president's personal life private, he was less happy about hiding information about government foreign relations. After Kennedy was assassinated, Salinger worked for President Lyndon Johnson for a time, but he quit the press secretary post in 1964 over disagreements with Johnson. After that, Salinger served a year in the California Senate, filling an opening in that office left after the death of Clair Engle before leaving politics behind for good. From 1965 to 1968, he was vice president of international affairs for Continental Airlines. During the late 1960s, he also worked as a vice president and consultant for National General Corp., a business that managed theaters, as well as president of Fox Overseas Theatres and of the Gramco Development Corporation. In 1973 Salinger returned to his forte of reporting by joining the staff at L'Express in Paris. His journalism experience and government connections made him ideal for the job, and he won the 1981 George Polk award for his investigation into the secret hostage negotiations between America and Iran. He left the newspaper in 1988 to join ABC as a senior editor until he retired in 1993. The next three years were spent as a consultant for Burson-Marsteller, and he also spent time on the lecture circuit. Salinger, who was the recipient of the French Legion of Honor, was the author or coauthor of several books, including With Kennedy (1966), America Held Hostage: The Secret Negotiations (1981), and John F. Kennedy, Commander-in-Chief: A Profile in Leadership (1997). He also published three novels and the autobiography P.S., a Memoir (1995), among other nonfiction titles.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

books

Salinger, Pierre, P.S., a Memoir, St. Martin's Press, 1995.

periodicals

Los Angeles Times, October 17, 2004, p. B14.

New York Times, October 18, 2004, p. A19.

Times (London, England), October 18, 2004, p. 49.

Washington Post, October 17, 2004, p. C10.