Although most of the show’s almost 2,000 episodes-which aired weekly, usually on PBS-started out calmly enough, with McLaughlin firing questions at his panelists and friends in his clipped New England tone, discussions often escalated into arguments and shouting matches between the four guests. John McLaughlin died Tuesday, he was 89 years old.
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McLaughlin died Tuesday morning, according to an announcement on the Facebook page of The McLaughlin Group series.
In 1988 a former office manager at “The McLaughlin Group” filed a lawsuit claiming she was sacked for resisting McLaughlin’s sexual advances.
In his 2000 book, Sound and Fury: The Making of the Punditocracy, Eric Alterman snarked that The McLaughlin Group panelists “always seemed to have just gotten off the phone with the guy in charge”. The page said it would post information about memorial services when it becomes available.
John McLaughlin, the USA talk-show host whose rowdy panel discussions on political issues entertained television viewers for more than 30 years and drew comparisons to professional wrestling, has died.
The host job was left in the hands of Tom Rogan for that show. A note from McLaughlin informed viewers, “I am under the weather”.
The news of McLaughlin’s death was conveyed through the show’s Facebook page.
Through his White House connections McLaughlin found the funding to start The McLaughlin Group. The early episodes exposed the faux outrage of its critics, who characterized the talk show as barbaric and its host as an insult thrower with no class.
Another Republican president, Ronald Reagan, was a fan, once describing “The McLaughlin Group” as “the most tasteful programming alternative to professional wrestling”.
McLaughlin hosted a panel discussion with the cast of Cheers in November 1990 after their 200th show aired, and he appeared on such TV shows as ALF and Murphy Brown and in the films Dave (1993), Independence Day (1996), Mission: Impossible (1996) and War Inc.
The longtime political commentator created, produced, and hosted The McLaughlin Group. We lost John McLaughlin this morning. We will miss his contagious spirit & tireless dedication.. He held two master’s degrees from Boston College, and a doctorate in philosophy from Columbia University.
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McLaughlin’s style was often parodied, notably by comedian Dana Carvey on Saturday Night Live.
