Ray Price (speechwriter)

Raymond Kissam Price Jr. (May 6, 1930 – February 13, 2019) was an American writer who was the chief speechwriter for U.S. President Richard Nixon, working on both inaugural addresses, his resignation speech, and Gerald Ford's pardon speech. During Nixon's presidential campaign of 1968, the candidate made use of the contrasting style of two speechwriters (the other being Pat Buchanan) with Price becoming known to colleagues as Mr Outside because his work was aimed at broadening Nixon's appeal.

A native of New York City, Price graduated from Yale University in 1951. There, he was a member of the Conservative Party of the Yale Political Union and also belonged to Skull and Bones.

Price wrote a retrospective on the presidency titled With Nixon and assisted Nixon in the writing of several books. John Dean mentioned Price as one person suspected (falsely) of having been Deep Throat. For 19 years, Price was a member of the Economic Club of New York.

Career

 * Collier's magazine, New York City, assistant to editor, 1955–1957
 * Life magazine, New York City, reporter, 1957
 * New York Herald Tribune, New York City, member of editorial staff, 1957–1964, editor of editorial page, 1964–1966
 * assistant to Richard M. Nixon, 1967–1969, special assistant, 1969–1973, special consultant, 1973–1974, 1980. Writer. Chief speechwriter for President Nixon
 * Fellow at John F. Kennedy Institute of Politics, Harvard University, 1977
 * visiting fellow at American Enterprise Institute, 1977
 * Nixon Professor at Whittier College, Whittier, California, 1978.

Other memberships

 * Aurelian Honor Society
 * Economic Club of New York
 * Federal City Club
 * Metropolitan Club
 * Overseas Press Club of America
 * Skull and Bones
 * Yale Club of New York City