Victor Gold

Early life and education Gold was born in East St. Louis, Illinois, on September 25, 1928, to Jewish immigrants, and grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he attended public schools and graduated in 1945 from the former Alcée Fortier High School in Uptown New Orleans, since superseded by The Willow School.

At Fortier, Gold was a classmate of Dave Treen, the Louisiana Republican lawyer who became the first member of his party in a century to gain election to the United States House of Representatives, in his case Louisiana's 3rd congressional district in 1972, and as governor of Louisiana in 1979. Gold encouraged Republicans in both Alabama and Louisiana as they sought with slow success to overcome the long-term dominance of the Democrats in their states.

He graduated from Tulane University and then worked as a reporter-correspondent for The Birmingham News in Birmingham, Alabama. He then received a law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law in Tuscaloosa. He served in the United States Army during the Korean War.

Career Public relations In 1958, Gold joined the Washington, D.C. public relations firm of Selvage & Lee.

At the Republican National Conventions of 1968 and 1976 he worked with press secretary Lyn Nofziger in support of the presidential candidacy of Ronald W. Reagan, who was at the time governor of California. During the Nixon administration he served as press secretary to Vice President Agnew. He worked with Agnew in the Congressional election campaign of 1970, when Agnew made appearances around the country criticizing incumbent Democratic Senators with epithets such as "nattering nabobs of negativism."

In November 2014, Gold participated in a panel held at The Heritage Foundation on the legacy of Barry Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign. Moderator Lee Edwards introduced him as follows: "Vic Gold is the wizard of wordsmiths, the prince of press secretaries, the man with the shortest temper in Washington routinely called Old Faithful because he blows up at least every 91 minutes, trusted adviser to vice presidents and presidents, a graduate of the University of Alabama Law School who loves to quote Bear Bryant and hoist high the Crimson Tide, indefatigable deputy press secretary for Barry Goldwater in 1964."

Journalism and author Gold was a contributor to Washingtonian magazine, where he was the magazine's national correspondent. He also wrote articles on politics and sports for numerous other U.S. publications, was a speaker for political audiences and on university campuses, and appeared on television shows.

He also was the author of several nonfiction books. I Don't Need You When I'm Right recounted his experience in Washington, D.C. public relations. P-R As In President dealt with the influence of the news media and public relations in U.S. presidential political campaigns. where in March 2016 he publicly announced his withdrawal from the Republican Party.

Personal life He and his wife, Dale, lived in Northern Virginia from 1959 to the time of his death in 2017. He had a son, Stephen, and two daughters, Paige and Jamie.

Recognitions In 1992, Gold received the Distinguished Achievement Award for Political Communication from the University of Alabama.