Washington D.C. during the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s

Then - An Oral Memoir of a Writer's Life

In this episode, Warren Adler talks to his son David and talks about life in Washington D.C. during the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. To raise his family, Adler put his novel writing career on hold and earned his living selling his talent for writing. He got his foot in the door as the PR chief for the Jewish War Veterans of America and then later as an entrepreneur of one of Washington’s premier Advertising and PR agencies, Warren Adler LTD.

From his shock at seeing the realities of segregation to protesting against the American Nazi Party at the base of the Washington Monument, Adler’s riveting cautionary tale.

Instead of writing novels, he was creating stories in the form of marketing campaigns to sell real estate communities in Washington, Virginia, and Maryland. He even named iconic Washington buildings including the “Watergate” that became the symbol of corruption in Washington and The Foxhall on Massachusetts Avenue.

Adler jumped into Washington life by attending the inaugurals of Dwight Eisenhower and describes what the custom of the procession were attendees at the balls grabbed arms and promenaded in front of the presented themselves to the President. He also spoke of how he and his wife sat in the box near the family at the Kennedy inaugural and witnessed the pride of President Kennedy’s father Joe watching his entire clan marking the highlight of his life.

As an ad agency entrepreneur, Adler explains how he launched the Georgetown Inn Hotel. He explained the strategy of creating the highest level of luxury to accommodate the elite community who were planning on protesting development in their neighborhood. The ultra opening included all of Washington society and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

From the Georgetown Inn success, Adler meets Lyndon Johnson’s Fixer Bobby Baker who was entering the hospitality business who was launching the Carousel Motel in Ocean City Maryland and hired Adler to orchestrated the opening event which included a caravan of Washington celebrities and Vice President Johnson. The event worked so well it also turned Baker into a suspicious celebrity, leading to his downfall and prison.