Frederick Gary Dutton (June 16, 1923 – June 27, 2005) was a lawyer and Democratic Party power broker who served as campaign manager and Chief of Staff for California Governor

Pat Brown Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown (April 21, 1905 – February 16, 1996) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 32nd governor of California from 1959 to 1967. His first elected office was as district attorney for San Francisco, and he ...

, Special Assistant to U.S. President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

, and went on to manage

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also known as RFK, was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 64th United States attorney general from January 1961 to September 1964, and as a U.S. senator from New Yo ...

's campaign for the

Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

. Between 1960 and 1972 Dutton played a role in every Democrat's quest for the White House. Dutton entertained both politicians and journalists and could be considered one of the country's original "spin doctors." He had a long career as a lobbyist for American oil companies and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, leading to him being referred to as both "Fred of Arabia" and "Dutton of Arabia."

Early life and education

Dutton was born in

Julesburg, Colorado Julesburg is the statutory town that is the county seat of and the most populous municipality in Sedgwick County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,307 at the 2020 United States census. History The original trading post was nam ...

, the son of Lucy and Fredrick Dutton, known as "doc". Fred's mother, father and little brother, Edward, moved to

San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ) is the most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It is part of the San Francisco Bay Area metropolitan region, and is located about south of San Francisco. San Mateo border ...

, where he attended

San Mateo High School San Mateo High School is a National Blue Ribbon comprehensive four-year Public school (government funded), public high school in San Mateo, California, San Mateo, California, United States. It serves grades 9–12 and is one of the seven San Mate ...

and met his first wife, June Klingborg Dutton. The Duttons had three children together between 1950 and 1960 (Christopher, Lisa, and Eve). Dutton graduated from

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

in 1946 and from

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (SLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, Stanford Law had an acceptance rate of 6.28% i ...

in 1949. Dutton had two stints of military service in both

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. During World War II he was a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

and received the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

and the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

. During the Korean War he served as a Judge Advocate in Japan.

Political career

Following his position as assistant counsel with Southern Counties Gas Co., from 1952 to 1956, Dutton became chief assistant attorney general of California, in 1957 and 1958. He was executive secretary to

California Governor The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, th ...

in 1959 and 1960. Governor Brown appointed Dutton to the

Regents of the University of California The Regents of the University of California (also referred to as the Board of Regents to distinguish the board from the corporation it governs of the same name) is the governing board of the University of California (UC), a state university sys ...

in 1962, where he served until 1978. Dutton was the deputy national chairman of Citizens for Kennedy-Johnson in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

. Following the election, he was brought into 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 ...

as a Special Assistant to

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...

in 1961, serving as secretary of the cabinet and special assistant for intergovernmental and interdepartmental relations. He was appointed Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations, from 1961 to 1964. He was also a political adviser and campaign aide to

. Dutton was asked to co-ordinate the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, and oversaw its Oral History Project. Dutton travelled with Kennedy during much of his 1968 presidential campaign from his 1968 presidential election. He was at the Ambassador Hotel in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

when the Senator was shot at the kitchen hotel, and rode in the ambulance with him at Good Samaritan Hospital. Kennedy died the next day. In an interview after he became a lobbyist, he said "After Bobby was shot, the lights went out for me." Dutton was credited with originating the idea for

Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally through earthday.org (formerly Earth Day Network) includin ...

. His early memo was later acknowledged to be inspiration for

Gaylord Nelson Gaylord Anton Nelson (June 4, 1916July 3, 2005) was an American politician from Wisconsin who served as a United States senator and governor. He was a member of the Democratic Party and the founder of Earth Day, which launched a new wave of en ...

who would lead the effort to create

. .

Legal and lobbying career

After the RFK assassination in 1968, Dutton returned to his private law practice in Washington, DC. Dutton was credited with helping his client

Mobil Oil Mobil Oil Corporation, now known as just Mobil, is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil, formerly known as Exxon, which took its current name after it and Mobil merged in 1999. A direct descenda ...

develop its "

advertorial An advertorial is an advertisement in the form of editorial content. The term "advertorial" is a blend word, blend (see portmanteau) of the words "advertisement" and "editorial". Merriam-Webster dates the origin of the word to 1946. In printed pub ...

" marketing strategy. Dutton later married attorney Nancy Hogan Dutton and they had two children together (Stacy & Christina). Nancy had been his secretary when he worked at the Kennedy White House. Together the Duttons formed the Dutton and Dutton law practice; this firm went on to be appointed chief U.S. attorney for the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, earning Mr. Dutton the often quoted moniker "Dutton of Arabia". Dutton & Dutton continued work for Saudi Arabia following Fred's death. Frederick Dutton died on June 27, 2005, aged 82, of undisclosed causes. He was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

, in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

List of works

* * * * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dutton, Fred 1923 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American lawyers American prisoners of war in World War II Burials at Arlington National Cemetery California Democrats California lawyers Military personnel from Colorado People from Sedgwick County, Colorado Stanford Law School alumni United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War II University of California regents University of California, Berkeley alumni World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Kennedy administration personnel San Mateo High School alumni Chiefs of staff to the governor of California