Mark K. Updegrove

Mark K. Updegrove (born August 25, 1961) is an American author, historian, journalist, and Presidential Historian for ABC News. He is the president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation in Austin, Texas.[1] Previously, he served as the director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum for eight years.[2]

Mark K. Updegrove
Born (1961-08-25) August 25, 1961
Abington, Pennsylvania, U.S.
OccupationAuthor, Historian, Journalist, Television Commentator, Presidential Library Director
NationalityAmerican
EducationEconomics
Alma materUniversity of Maryland, College Park
SubjectUnited States Presidency
Notable worksIncomparable Grace: JFK in the Presidency
SpouseAmy Banner Updegrove

He is the author of five books including his latest, The Last Republicans: Inside the Extraordinary Relationship Between George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush,[3] published in 2017. His latest book, Incomparable Grace: JFK in the Presidency, was published by Dutton in April 2022. He is also the executive producer of the 2022 CNN original series "LBJ: Triumph and Tragedy," and the host of the forthcoming PBS show "Live From the LBJ Library."

Background

Updegrove was born outside Philadelphia in Abington, PA, on Aug. 25, 1961. He attended high school at the George School, which honored him with its Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2015.[4] In 1984, he graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Career

In December 2017, Updegrove was named the president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation in Austin, Texas. From 2009 to 2017, he was the fourth director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas.

L-R: Updegrove with former President Barack Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama, and Andrew Young tour The Great Hall at the LBJ Presidential Library, April 10, 2014
Former President George W. Bush arrives at the LBJ Presidential Library with Updegrove for the Civil Rights Summit, April 10, 2014

As director of the LBJ Library, in 2014, Updegrove hosted the Civil Rights Summit, an historic three-day conference around the fiftieth anniversary of the Civil Rights Act,[5] which included a keynote address by then President Barack Obama and programs with former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter, as well as programs with many civil rights activists including Julian Bond, John Lewis, and Andrew Young. The summit garnered international news coverage, including the New York Times profile on Updegrove titled, "Chronicler of Presidents Brings Four Together." Rocha, Alana (March 13, 2014). "Chronicler of Presidents Is Bringing Four Together (Published 2014)" – via NYTimes.com.</ref>

In April 2016, Updegrove hosted the Vietnam War Summit, a three-day conference, featuring a keynote address by then Secretary of State John Kerry.[6] Among the additional participants were Henry Kissinger, Ken Burns, Tom Hayden and Bob Kerrey.

Early in his tenure at the library, Updegrove oversaw the $11 million renovation of the library's core exhibit on Lyndon Johnson and his administration, which opened in December 2012.[7][8]

Updegrove has conducted exclusive interviews with seven U.S. Presidents: Joe Biden ,[9] Barack Obama, George W. Bush,[10] Bill Clinton,[11] George H. W. Bush, Jimmy Carter,[12] and Gerald R. Ford.

He has also interviewed First Ladies Laura Bush,[13] Hillary Clinton, Barbara Bush,[13] Nancy Reagan, and Rosalynn Carter;[14] Vice Presidents Dick Cheney, and Walter Mondale; Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O’Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg,[15] and Neil Gorsuch;[16] Cabinet secretaries Henry Kissinger,[17] James Baker, Madeleine Albright,[18] Condoleezza Rice, Robert Gates,[19] Eric Holder,[20] and John Kerry; and others including: Mikhail Gorbachev,[21] Nancy Pelosi,[22] John Lewis, John Glenn,[23] Dr. Anthony Fauci,[24] Andrew Young,[25] Julian Bond,[26] Doris Kearns Goodwin,[27] Dan Rather,[28] Hank Aaron,[29] Ken Burns,[30] Bryan Cranston,[31] Woody Harrelson,[32] Rob Reiner, Willie Nelson, Robert Redford, and Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.[33]

In 2024, PBS will launch "Live from the LBJ Library" hosted by Updegrove.

Updegrove spent much of his early career in magazine publishing, including serving the publisher of Newsweek in New York, president of Time Canada, Time magazine's separate Canadian edition and operation, and Time magazine's Los Angeles manager.

He is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations and the Philosophical Society of Texas.

Books

Updegrove's latest book, Incomparable Grace: JFK in the Presidency was published in April 2022. His previous book, The Last Republicans: Inside the Extraordinary Relationship Between George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, was published in November 2017 with exclusive stories featured in the New York Times and on CNN, which reported on the book's revelations about the Bushes’ views on Donald Trump. Through exclusive interviews with Updegrove, the book quotes former President George H.W. Bush as calling Donald Trump "a blowhard," and saying flatly, "I don't like him," while former President George W. Bush is quoted as saying, "Wow, this guy doesn't know what it means to be president."[34] When asked for his reaction to the Bushes' comments, President Trump, en route to Tokyo for a thirteen-day tour of Asia, said, "I'll comment after we come back. I don't want to make headlines. I don't want to make their move successful."[35] The book was addressed by Stephen Colbert in his monologue on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Updegrove is the author of five books:

  • Second Acts: Presidential Lives and Legacies After the White House (Lyons Press, 2006)[36]
  • Baptism By Fire: Eight Presidents Who Took Office During Times of Crisis (St. Martins Press, 2009)[37]
  • Indomitable Will: LBJ in the Presidency (Crown Publishers, 2012)[38]
  • The Last Republicans: Inside the Extraordinary Relationship Between George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush (HarperCollins, November 2017),[3] which includes material from exclusive interviews with both Bush presidents
  • Incomparable Grace: JFK in the Presidency (Dutton, 2022)

Journalism

Updegrove has written for The Daily Beast,[39] The Hill,[40] The Nation,[41] National Geographic, The New York Times,[42] Parade,[43] Politico,[44] Texas Monthly,[45] Time,[46] and USA Today, and his books have been excerpted in American Heritage, Parade, Politico,and Texas Monthly.

Updegrove's December 2014 Politico article, What 'Selma' Gets Wrong,[47] ignited a controversy over the portrayal of Lyndon Johnson as an obstructionist on voting rights in the film Selma, touching off a debate about the importance of accuracy in films based on historic events. In January 2015, Updegrove addressed the issue on CBS' Face the Nation.[48]

Television Commentator

Updegrove is the presidential historian for ABC News and a consultant for CNN. He also appears regularly on CNN and MSNBC, has contributed to CBS Sunday Morning, and has been a guest on all major news outlets including The CBS Evening News, Face the Nation, Morning Joe, NBC Nightly News, NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered, PBS NewsHour. He has also been on The Daily Show and played himself in the Epix series Graves.

Additionally, Updegrove has also appeared in numerous documentaries and original series including PBS’ The White House: The Inside Story; CNN's The Bush Years, and Race for the White House; MSNBC's Betrayal: The Plot that Won the White House; NFL Films' Sigma Chi and the Mayflower Move / the Baltimore Colts; and History TV's Presidents at War, The Ultimate Guide to the Presidents, and What the Hell's the Presidency For? He is featured in CNN's 2022 original series, LBJ: Triumph and Tragedy, for which he served as executive producer.

Adjunct Professor/Lecturer

Along with LBJ Presidential Library director and former University of Texas associate professor, Mark Lawrence, Updegrove co-teaches "The Johnson Years," a course for Liberal Arts Honors students at the University of Texas at Austin.

Updegrove has lectured at numerous colleges and universities, including Harvard, Rice, the University of Virginia, and the University of Pennsylvania. He gave the commencement address for Texas State University in 2019. He has also spoken at the Library of Congress, the National Archives, and the White House Historical Association.

Personal life

Updegrove is married to Amy Banner Updegrove, an artist who formerly served as publisher of Texas Monthly and president of Los Angeles Magazine. Both have two children from previous marriages. They live in Austin, TX.

References
  1. "Mark K. Updegrove to return to LBJ Foundation as president and chief executive officer". lbj.utexas.edu. Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  2. King, Michael. "LBJ Library Director Steps Down". www.austinchronicle.com. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  3. Updegrove, Mark K. "The Last Republicans - Mark K. Updegrove - Hardcover". HarperCollins US. Retrieved 2017-09-16.
  4. "Alumni Award Recipient 2015 - George School". Archived from the original on 2016-10-10. Retrieved 2016-08-15.
  5. Zezima, Katie. "Obama: Doors 'swung open for me' because of LBJ's legacy". The Washington Post. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  6. "The Vietnam War Summit: Secretary of State John Kerry [Day 2]". www.youtube.com. TheLBJLibrary. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  7. "LBJ library in Austin to unveil $10 million update Dec. 22". www.dallasnews.com. Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  8. Baskas, Harriet. "Oval Office audio tapes highlight redesigned LBJ Presidential Library". NBC News. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  9. "The Tom Johnson Lectureship Series presents Joe Biden". www.lbjlibrary.org. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  10. "An Interview With George W. Bush (Transcript)". Texas Monthly. January 21, 2013.
  11. America, Good Morning. "'Dear Bill': Clinton reads heartfelt letter from President George H.W. Bush". Good Morning America.
  12. "LBJ Library Civil Rights Summit - Day 1 - Evening Panel (6:00-7:30 pm CDT)". www.youtube.com. TheLBJLibrary. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  13. "An Evening with Barbara Bush and Laura Bush, 11/15/12". www.youtube.com. TheLBJLibrary. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  14. Wheeler, Anne. "The Parade Interview: Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter". cms.lbjlibrary.org. The LBJ Foundation. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  15. "LBJ Foundation Honors U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg". www.lbjlibrary.org. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  16. "THE TOM JOHNSON LECTURESHIP PRESENTS JUSTICE NEIL GORSUCH". www.lbjlibrary.org. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  17. "The Vietnam War Summit: An Evening with Henry Kissinger [Day 1]". www.youtube.com. TheLBJLibrary. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  18. "A Conversation with Madeleine Albright | The Summit on Race in America". lbjsummitonrace.org.
  19. "THE TOM JOHNSON LECTURESHIP PRESENTS DR. ROBERT M. GATES". www.lbjlibrary.org. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  20. "An Evening with Eric Holder". www.youtube.com. TheLBJLibrary. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  21. "Harry Middleton Lectureship with Mikhail Gorbachev". www.youtube.com. TheLBJLibrary. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  22. "Speaker Nancy Pelosi | LBJ Liberty & Justice for All Award". www.lbjaward.org.
  23. "An Evening with John Glenn, 10/31/12". www.youtube.com. TheLBJLibrary. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  24. "An Evening with Dr. Anthony Fauci". www.lbjlibrary.org. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  25. "Tom Johnson Lecture: Andrew Young". www.youtube.com. TheLBJLibrary. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  26. "An Evening with Julian Bond, Celebrating Freedom Riders". www.youtube.com. TheLBJLibrary. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  27. "AN EVENING WITH DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN". www.lbjlibrary.org. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  28. "Video - 2016 LBJ Library Interview | Dan Rather". danratherjournalist.org.
  29. "TOM JOHNSON LECTURE SERIES: HANK AARON". www.lbjlibrary.org. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  30. "2017 LADY BIRD JOHNSON ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD". www.lbjlibrary.org. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  31. "Bryan Cranston and Robert Schenkkan". www.youtube.com. TheLBJLibrary. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  32. "SCREENING AND DISCUSSION OF "LBJ"". www.lbjlibrary.org. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  33. "The Legacy of All the President's Men". www.youtube.com. TheLBJLibrary. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  34. "George W Bush just took down Trump". The Independent. November 4, 2017.
  35. Javier De Diego and Jamie Gangel. "Bush 41 calls Trump a 'blowhard'; WH hits back". CNN.
  36. "Second Acts: Presidential Lives and Legacies After the White House". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  37. Heilbrunn, Jacob. "Crisis Management". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
  38. Ealy, Charles. "'Indomitable Will' seeks to give LBJ due credit". www.statesman.com. Austin American - Statesman. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  39. "Mark K. Updegrove". The Daily Beast.
  40. Manchester, Julia (April 11, 2019). "Historian on Trump: 'If you're closing the border, you don't understand that immigrants built this country'". TheHill.
  41. Updegrove, Mark (September 26, 2006). "Get Me Rewrite" – via www.thenation.com.
  42. Baker, Peter (November 4, 2017). "Both Bush Presidents Worry Trump Is Blowing Up the G.O.P. (Published 2017)" – via NYTimes.com.
  43. "Mark K. Updegrove". Parade: Entertainment, Recipes, Health, Life, Holidays.
  44. Updegrove, Mark K. "'I Want This for George'". POLITICO Magazine.
  45. "Mark Updegrove, Author at Texas Monthly". Texas Monthly.
  46. Updegrove, Mark. "Biden Should Run for Re-Election for the Same Reasons that LBJ Did Not". time.com.
  47. Updegrove, Mark. "What 'Selma' Gets Wrong". www.politico.com. Politico. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  48. "Does the film "Selma" portray LBJ unfairly?". www.youtube.com. Face the Nation. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
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