Gus Weill Original Airdate: August 1, 1997

Listeners to Baton Rouge radio may recognize his voice, and regular viewers of Louisiana Legends will know him as this program's usual host. However, the life and achievements of Gus Weill are well known not only to Louisianians, but to followers of politics throughout the nation. A political consultant to four of Louisiana's last six governors, Weill was born in Lafayette and attended Louisiana State University. Upon his graduation in 1955, he underwent special training and rose to the rank of 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps, serving as a Special Agent in Frankfurt, Germany. His 1957 honorable discharge eventually brought him back to the arena in which he is best known, however -- the hotbed of Louisiana's political public relations. From 1964 to 1968 he served as Executive Secretary to the Governor of Louisiana, John J. McKeithen. As a mentor and an example, he has influenced the political careers of many prominent Louisianians, among them James Carville.

In addition, Weill has achieved notable success in the literary and pedagogical realms. A published playwright whose produced works include "To Bury A Cousin," "Geese" and "Parents and Children," he worked for two years under famed American film producer Otto Preminger and also served as a Visiting Professor at LSU in both Playwriting and the Division of Honors and Interdisciplinary Studies. Weill has also published several novels, poems and a biography entitled You Are My Sunshine. Numerous awards, including induction into the Alumni Hall of Distinction of Louisiana State University and Stanley Drama Award from Wagner College, New York, attest to the high standard of his journalistic and creative achievement on both the local and the national level.