By Greg Hazley
William Greener, a former White House press secretary and Pentagon spokesman during the 1960s and '70s, died Jan. 11 from congestive heart failure at a Virginia hospital. He was 87.
Greener |
The retired Air Force lieutenant colonel flew combat missions in World War II and was recalled to active duty during the Korean conflict. He then worked public affairs in Vietnam in 1968 before moving to the Pentagon. He later was an assistant press secretary for President Gerald Ford – and chief of communications for Ford’ presidential bid -- after PA stints at the Internal Revenue Service and Dept. of Housing and Urban Development.
Greener was one of four prominent PR execs who reportedly met with CIA director Bill Casey in the 1980s and gave him 25 ideas to win public support for the Contras in Nicaragua, counsel which raised an ethics debate in the PR industry. Greener headed public affairs and was chief spokesman at the time for pharmaceuticals company G.D. Searle, which was led by CEO Donald Rumsfeld.
A native of Memphis, he earned degrees from the Univ. of Missouri and Boston Univ.
Greener retired in 1990 and consulted for Searle successor Monsanto and Fleishman-Hillard.
He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Charlene McPheeters Greener, five children, 15 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. |