McLauglin, a former speechwriter for Republican Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, launched “The McLaughlin Group”, which featured a roundtable discussion of current events among panelists, in 1982. Our hearts are with John’s family, and those looking for details on the memorial can check the Facebook page for updates.
Advertisement
The McLaughlin Group went on the air January 1, 1982 and for the next 26 years was produced at NBC’s WRC in Washington, D.C. Since 2008, it has been produced at CBS affiliate WUSA and airs on many CBS and PBS stations across the country.
In July 1984 McLaughlin began hosting ‘John McLaughlin’s One on One, ‘ an in-depth interview program.
The host was born in Providence in 1927 and devoted much of his early life to religious studies, eventually becoming a teacher at a Jesuit prep school. He was Washington editor and columnist for the National Review from 1981 to 1989. One sketch depicted the Japanese “Arakawa Group”, while another made Frank Sinatra (Phil Hartman) the host of “The Sinatra Group” (with cast members playing “guests” Sinead O’Connor, Billy Idol, Luther Campbell, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme). The 2009 movie Watchmen presented a fictionalized version of the group in which actor Gary Houston portrayed McLaughlin.
Advertisement
In 1970, McLaughlin ran for the United States Senate against the orders of the church, and lost. The most recent episode, which was taped and aired on August 12th, featured the host in voiceover. As McLaughlin himself might have said, on a probability scale from zero to 10 – zero meaning zero probability, 10 meaning metaphysical certitude – in the show’s heyday, the chances that the Washington establishment were faithfully tuning in each week was definitely a 10. No cause of death was mentioned, but an ailing McLaughlin had missed the taping for this past weekend’s show – his first absence in the series’ 34 years. He added that his voice was “weaker than usual”, but “my spirit is strong and my dedication to the show remains absolute!”
