American film director and executive who was appointed president of the Motion Picture Association of America in April 1966, following a post as special assistant to U.S. President Lyndon Johnson from 1963-1966. He is perhaps best known for establishing a morality rating system for U.S. films. Valenti has been a wartime bomber pilot, an advertising agency founder, and author of, among other books, a political novel, “Protect and Defend,” published in 1992.
Born in Houston, Texas, he was the grandson of Italian immigrants from Sicily who came to Texas in the 1880s. Valenti’s father was a city clerk. At age 15, he was the youngest high school graduate in the city, and began work as an office boy with the Humble Oil Company (later Exxon). During World War II, Valenti flew 51 combat missions over Italy and was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with four clusters, the Distinguished Unit Citation with one cluster, and the European Theatre Ribbon with four battle stars.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Houston in 1946, doing class work at night while working during the day. He also received an MBA from Harvard University.
After graduating, Valenti co-founded the advertising and political consulting agency of Weekly and Valenti in 1952. In 1955, he met then Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson. Valenti’s agency was in charge of political advertising for the Kennedy/Johnson ticket in Texas during the fateful visit of President Kennedy and VP Johnson to Dallas on 22 November 1963. Within hours following the murder of President Kennedy, Valenti was the newly-hired special assistant to President Johnson, a post he filled until 1966.
On 1 June 1966, he resigned his White House position to become only the third person in history to lead the Motion Picture Association of America.
Valenti has written four books, three non-fiction, including “The Bitter Taste of Glory,” “A Very Human President,” “Speak up With Confidence” and a novel, “Protect and Defend.”
He and his wife, Mary Margaret, live in Washington, D.C. They have three children: Courtenay, John and Alexandra.
He has been awarded the “Legion d’Honneur” by France.
Reportedly in an effort to curb piracy, the 82-year-old head of the Motion Picture Association of America decided to ban sending free DVDs out to Oscar voters, a practice that many independent studios have engaged in to bring their pictures to the attention of the Academy Award members. The decision caused an uproar, primarily from independent movie studios and such celebrities as Robert Redford, Jodi Foster and Martin Scorsese who printed an open letter to Valenti, criticizing the decision. The heated arguments resulted in Valenti’s calling Oscar voters “lazy” since most live within 75 miles of New York or Los Angeles where most screenings are held. While independent studio bosses strived for compromise in time for the 2004 Academy Award ceremony, Valenti seemed uncompromising in his stance. A few weeks later he released a less restrictive ban, but on November 24, 2003, the independent movie studios nevertheless filed a suit against the Motion Picture Association of America to lift the ban altogether.
In spring 2004, he announced that he’s stepping down from his post as CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America.
Valenti died on 26 April 2007 at his home in Washington DC from complications of a stroke he suffered in March. He was 85 years old. Hospitalized since the stroke he had been sent home just two days prior to his death. His memoir “This Time, This Place: My Life in War, the White House, and Hollywood” is about to be released, and he was scheduled to begin a book-signing tour in June.
Link to Wikipedia biography