Les Whitten – Tribute
See also: What The Argo Movie Got Wrong About Shredded Documents
I originally posted the text, below on James Grady’s Facebook page the day after Les Whitten died. Jim is a good friend — and former investigative reporting co-conspirator who knew Les even better than I did.
The last time I saw Les was March 30, 1981. I was teaching journalism at UCLA and was the advisor to the Daily Bruin.
I was in DC with a group of student editors attending a conference. I got a bit of free time right after lunch, and went over to the old Victorian house Jack Anderson used for his offices. I was sitting with Les and a group of reporters shooting the shit when a phone call came in for Les.
It was the Hearst Washington Bureau asking if there was anyone there available to cover the assassination attempt on President Reagan which had just happened.
I got the nod and headed over to George Washington Hospital where I bribed the parking lot attendant to let me use his phone (this before cell) to call in updates before heading over to Hearst to write my story. Now wish I had more time to have spent with Les.
Here are some PDF’s of old clips from my Jack Anderson/Les Whitten/Jim Grady era:
