Raymond Siller (born April 8, 1939) is an American television writer and political consultant. He was nominated for four Emmy Awards as long-time head writer on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...

''. He has written for four U.S. presidents and contributed articles to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'',''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'',''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American Conservatism, conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on Politics of the United States, national politics. Its broadsheet daily edit ...

'' and ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

''. He lives in New York City.

Early

Siller was born and raised in the

Bay Ridge Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by Sunset Park to the north, Dyker Heights to the east, the Narrows and the Belt Parkway to the west, and Fort Hamilton Army Base an ...

section of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York. He attended Brooklyn Prep and

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

, wrote for the student newspaper, ''The Fordham Ram'', and was a chief announcer on Fordham's FM station,

WFUV WFUV (90.7 FM) is a non–commercial radio station licensed to New York, New York. The station is owned by Fordham University, with studios on its Bronx campus and its antenna atop the nearby Montefiore Medical Center. WFUV first went on the ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1960.

Career

His professional career began in New York as an ABC Television Network page, and he was later employed as a radio director at ABC's flagship rock station, WABC. He subsequently gained a staff director position at the ABC Radio Network, working with Charles Osgood, Ted Koppel, Peter Jennings, and Howard Cosell. Siller moved over to ABC-TV in 1968 as an associate director on ''

The Dick Cavett Show ''The Dick Cavett Show'' is the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks, including: * ABC daytime, (March 4, 1968 – January 24, 1969) originally titled ''This Morning'' * ABC prime time, Tuesday ...

'' where he transitioned to Cavett's writing staff. During the 1970 congressional elections, President

Richard M. Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th vice president under P ...

invited Siller to be a consultant at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

. He assumed that post and at the same time consulted for Vice President

Spiro Agnew Spiro Theodore Agnew (; November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the 39th vice president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1973. He is the second of two vice presidents to resign, the first being John C. ...

.971-1973 estrictedseries 3.14 box 2 folder 66"> On the wedding day of Nixon's daughter, Tricia, attended by both Agnew and comedian

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

, Agnew appeared in Los Angeles at an Army Ball honoring Hope. In his introduction to Hope, Agnew peppered his speech with many of Siller's one-liners. They included jokes about the wedding. Hope, following Agnew on the dais, had to cross out from his own monologue the topical references that Agnew had just delivered. Hope asked his nephew, Peter Malatesta, at the time Agnew's aide, “Who the hell wrote those jokes?” When Malatesta informed him it was Ray Siller, Hope said, “Tell him he’s hired”. The following year, Siller relocated to California to begin a three-year stint at NBC Burbank on Hope's writing staff for The Bob Hope Specials. In 1972, he accompanied Hope on his final Christmas tour to Vietnam. In 1974, Siller left Hope to write for another

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

program, ''

''. He remained with Carson for fifteen years, the last twelve of those as Carson's head writer. Siller has consulted for four presidents: Richard M Nixon,

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

, and

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

. This included writing Gridiron, Alfalfa Club, Radio-TV Correspondents, White House Correspondents, and

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was the 42nd governor of New York, serving from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1923 to 1928. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party's presidential nominee in the 1 ...

dinners. He contributed material for campaigns and televised debates. He has written for Vice President Agnew, 1996 Presidential nominee, Senator Bob Dole, and California Governor George Deukmejian. He consulted for New York Governor, and later Vice President,

Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich "Rocky" Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979) was the 41st vice president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford. He was also the 49th governor of New York, serving from 1959 to 197 ...

Television credits

* the Dick Cavett Show * Bob Hope Specials * The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson * Laverne and Shirley * Welcome Back, Kotter

Emmy nominations

* 1980-81: head writer, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program) * 1985-86: head writer, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Program) * 1987: head writer, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Program) * 1988: head writer, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Program)

Honors

1977-78: Academy of Television Arts and Sciences honors Ray Siller, Head Writer, for contributions to the Emmy Award-winning program, ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''. Special Classification of Outstanding Program Achievement. 1972: The Department of Defense Certificate of Esteem for Patriotic Service in providing Entertainment to Members of the Armed Forces in the Pacific. 1972: Eighth Air Force Certificate of Appreciation In Special Recognition for the Outstanding Contribution to the Morale and Holiday Spirit of Military Personnel at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam as a Member of ''The 1972 Bob Hope Christmas Show.'' 1968-1969 The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Honors Raymond Siller for contributions to the Television Academy Award-winning program ''"The Dick Cavett Show"'' Chosen for Outstanding Achievement In Daytime Programming.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siller, Raymond American television writers American male television writers American political consultants American speechwriters Fordham University alumni American comedy writers People from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn 1939 births Living people Screenwriters from New York (state) Brooklyn Preparatory School alumni WFUV people