Long-time Hollywood lobbyist suffers stroke

Officials say Jack Valenti suffered a stroke recently and is resting at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Jack Valenti, who served as president of the Motion Picture Association of America for nearly four decades, has suffered a stroke and has been taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, officials said.

Valenti, 85, suffered the stroke "recently," said a woman at the Motion Picture Association of America, which he led for 38 years.

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"He is under a doctor's care; he is resting comfortably," the woman said.

A spokeswoman for Johns Hopkins Medical Center said he is a patient there. "The family doesn't want us to give out any information," said spokeswoman Beth Simpkins.

Valenti was born in Houston, Texas, educated at the University of Houston and Harvard Business School and served as a bomber pilot during World War II, for which he won a number of decorations.

In 1952, he co-founded Weekley & Valenti, an advertising agency.

Valenti's agency handled the press during the Nov. 22, 1963, visit of President Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon Johnson to Dallas; Valenti was in the motorcade six cars behind the president's when Kennedy was assassinated.

Less than an hour later, Johnson had hired Valenti as special assistant to the president and the two men were flying to Washington aboard Air Force One.

Three years later, Valenti resigned to become president and chief executive officer of the Motion Picture Association of America, which he led until 2004, when he resigned.

Valenti is a life member of the Directors Guild of America and a member of the board of trustees of the American Film Institute.

He has been married for more than 40 years to Mary Margaret Valenti. They have three grown children and two grandchildren.

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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.