Deaver, Michael K. 1938–2007

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Deaver, Michael K. 1938–2007

(Michael Keith Deaver)

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born April 11, 1938, in Bakersfield, CA; died of pancreatic cancer, August 18, 2007, in Bethesda, MD. Political advisor, publicist, executive, and author. As deputy chief of staff at the White House from 1981 to 1985, Deaver tirelessly protected President Ronald Reagan from the press and other potential detractors. He was described by some as the former actor's political ‘stage manager.’ As an image consultant, eaver saw it as his primary responsibility to make the president look good, and for many years that is what he did. Deaver began working for Reagan in 1967 after Reagan was first elected governor of California; Deaver stayed with him through every term of office until 1985. During those years Deaver became so close to the Reagans that the president's wife, Nancy, once described him as almost like a son to the couple. This bond of friendship and trust enabled Deaver to exert extraordinary influence over the Reagans, especially in the way they presented themselves to the world. After Deaver left the White House in 1985 to make his fortune as a private consultant and lobbyist, he failed spectacularly. After years of polishing the president's image, he was unable to look after his own. Deaver was indicted for lying to a federal grand jury about his lobbying efforts, convicted of perjury, and publicly ruined. He had maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings, blaming any lapses of memory or judgment on a serious alcohol problem. After successful rehabilitation Deaver eventually joined another public relations firm where he enjoyed some success, but his days of glory were gone forever. His greatest claim to fame had been his ‘Reagan years,’ and he wrote several books about those days: Behind the Scenes: In Which the Author Talks about Ronald and Nancy Reagan … and Himself (1987), A Different Drummer: My 30 Years with Ronald Reagan (2001), and Nancy: A Portrait of My Years with Nancy Rea-gan (2004), an unabashed tribute to a woman he believed had never received the respect she deserved as First Lady and later as ‘first caregiver’ to the man she loved. Deaver's last book is the edited collection Why I Am a Reagan Conservative (2004).