Joseph C. Keeley (1907–1994) was an American public relations expert who became editor of ''

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

'' magazine (1949-1963) and wrote a biography of

Alfred Kohlberg Alfred Kohlberg (January 27, 1887, San Francisco, California – April 7, 1960, New York City, New York) was an American textile importer. A staunch anti-Communist, he was a member of the pro-Chiang "China lobby", as well as an ally of Wisconsin Se ...

called ''The China Lobby Man'' in 1969.

Background

Joseph Charles Keeley was born on August 10, 1907, in

Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. ...

, Pennsylvania, the son of William T. and Martha C. Keeley; he had two brothers. In 1930, Keeley graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Career

Initially, Keeley went into public relations with clients like

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

, Kellogg,

Union Carbide Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) is an American chemical company headquartered in Seadrift, Texas. It has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company since 2001. Union Carbide produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more f ...

, and National Dairy. In 1944-1945, Keeley served as a

staff sergeant Staff sergeant is a Military rank, rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administr ...

in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

. After the war, he joined the staff of ''

'' magazine, of which he served as editor from 1949 to 1963. He also contributed to the ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...

'', ''

Catholic Digest ''Catholic Digest'' was an American Roman Catholic monthly magazine founded in 1936. By the 1950s ''Catholic Digest'' was publishing articles by such well-known Catholic authors as Fulton J. Sheen, Frank Sheed and Dorothy Day. In 2016 it was re ...

'', ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

'', ''

The American Home ''The American Home'' was a monthly magazine published in the United States from 1928 to 1977. Its subjects included domestic architecture, interior design, landscape design and gardening."American Home", Library of Congress Catalog. History ...

'', and ''

Coronet (magazine) ''Coronet'' was a general interest digest magazine published from October 23, 1936, until at least March 1971 running for 299 issues. ''Coronet'' magazine continued publication under some form and ownership through at least September 1976; actr ...

'' magazines.

Personal life and death

Keeley married Helen Kline; they had two children. Keeley died age 86 on April 1, 1994.

Works

Books: Keeley's work includes a biography of

: * ''They sold themselves; a practical guide to personal achievement'' with Howard Stephenson (1937) * ''Making inventions pay; a practical guide to selling, protecting, manufacturing, and marketing your inventions'' (1950) * ''Taking it easy with your camera'' (1957) * ''The China Lobby Man: The Story of Alfred Kohlberg'' (1969) * ''Left-leaning antenna; political bias in television'' (1971) ''The China Lobby Man'' had extensive appendices, of which Appendix G listed individuals with ties to both IPR and Communism, including:

Solomon Adler Solomon Adler (August 6, 1909 – August 4, 1994) worked as U.S. Treasury representative in China during World War II. Adler was identified by Whittaker Chambers and Elizabeth Bentley as a Soviet spy and resigned from the Treasury Department in 19 ...

, James S. Allen (AKA Sol Auerbach),

Joseph Fels Barnes Joseph Fels Barnes (1907–1970) was an American journalist who also served as executive director of the Institute of Pacific Relations (IPR). Background Barnes was born in 1907. he graduated from Harvard University in 1927, where he was m ...

, T.A. Bisson,

Edward C. Carter Edward Clark Carter (June 9, 1878 – November 9, 1954) worked with the International Y.M.C.A. in India and in France, during World War I, from 1902 to 1918, but was best known for his work with the Institute of Pacific Relations (IPR), of which ...

, Frank Coe,

Lauchlin Currie Lauchlin Bernard Currie (8 October 1902 – 23 December 1993) was a Canadian economist best known for being President Franklin Roosevelt's chief economic advisor during World War II. After Roosevelt's death, he led the first World Bank survey ...

Len De Caux Len De Caux (aka Leonard De Caux) (1899–1991) was a 20th-century labor activist in the United States of America who served as publicity director for the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and worked to stop passage of the Taft-Hartley A ...

Laurence Duggan Laurence Duggan (May 28, 1905 – December 20, 1948), also known as Larry Duggan, was a 20th-century American economist who headed the South American desk at the United States Department of State during World War II, best known for falling to his ...

Israel Epstein Israel Epstein (; 20 April 1915 – 26 May 2005) was a Polish-born Chinese journalist and author. He was one of the few foreign-born Chinese citizens of non-Chinese origin to become a member of the Chinese Communist Party. Early life and educ ...

John K. Fairbank John King Fairbank (May 24, 1907September 14, 1991) was an American historian of China and United States–China relations. He taught at Harvard University from 1936 until his retirement in 1977. He is credited with building the field of China s ...

, Frederick V. Field,

Alger Hiss Alger Hiss (November 11, 1904 – November 15, 1996) was an American government official who was accused of espionage in 1948 for the Soviet Union in the 1930s. The statute of limitations had expired for espionage, but he was convicted of perjur ...

, Philip Jaffe,

Corliss Lamont Corliss Lamont (March 28, 1902 – April 26, 1995) was an American socialist and humanist philosopher and advocate of various left-wing and civil liberties causes. As a part of his political activities, he was the Chairman of National Council o ...

Owen Lattimore Owen Lattimore (July 29, 1900 – May 31, 1989) was an American Orientalist and writer. He was an influential scholar of China and Central Asia, especially Mongolia. Although he never earned a college degree, in the 1930s he was editor of '' Pac ...

, William Marx Mandel,

Hotsumi Ozaki was a Japanese journalist working for the ''Asahi Shimbun'' newspaper, communist, Soviet intelligence agent, and advisor to Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe. The only Japanese person to be hanged for treason (under the provisions of the Peace Pre ...

Lee Pressman Lee Pressman (July 1, 1906 – November 20, 1969) was a labor attorney and earlier a US government functionary, publicly alleged in 1948 to have been a spy for Soviet intelligence during the mid-1930s (as a member of the Ware Group), following h ...

Andrew Roth Andrew Roth (23 April 1919 – 12 August 2010) was a biographer and journalist known for his compilation of ''Parliamentary Profiles'', a directory of biographies of British Members of Parliament, a small sample of which is available online ...

, John S. Service,

Agnes Smedley Agnes Smedley (February 23, 1892 – May 6, 1950) was an American journalist, writer and activist who supported the Indian Independence Movement and the Chinese Communist Revolution. Raised in a poverty-stricken miner's family in Missouri and Col ...

Edgar Snow Edgar Parks Snow (July 19, 1905 – February 15, 1972) was an American journalist known for his books and articles on communism in China and the Chinese Communist Revolution. He was the first Western journalist to give an account of the history of ...

, Guenther Stein,

Anna Louise Strong Anna Louise Strong (November 24, 1885 – March 29, 1970) was an American journalist and activist, best known for her reporting on and support for Communism, communist movements in the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China.Archives Wes ...

Mary Van Kleeck Mary Abby van Kleeck (June 26, 1883June 8, 1972) was an American social scientist of the 20th century. She was a notable figure in the American labor movement as well as a proponent of scientific management and a planned economy. Of Dutch descen ...

John Carter Vincent John Carter Vincent (August 19, 1900 – December 3, 1972) was an American diplomat, Foreign Service Officer, and China Hand. He was forced to resign after accusations that he was a communist. Early life Born in Seneca, Kansas, Vincent gra ...

Harry Dexter White Harry Dexter White (October 29, 1892 – August 16, 1948) was an American government official in the United States Department of the Treasury. Working closely with the secretary of the treasury Henry Morgenthau Jr., he helped set American financia ...

, and

Ella Winter Ella Winter Stewart (17 March 1898 – 5 August 1980) was an Australian-British journalist and activist, and champion of migrant farm workers. She was married to Hollywood screenwriter Donald Ogden Stewart. Early life Ella was born Eleanora S ...

. Articles:
Articles in ''American Legion'' magazine
* "Myths About Secret Inventions," ''Coronet'' magazine (1953)

Legacy

Keeley's papers, archived at the

Hoover Institution The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace and formerly The Hoover Institute and Library on War, Revolution, and Peace) is an American public policy think tank which promotes personal and economic ...

, include "letters, memoranda, and circulated material, prepared by Alfred Kohlberg, 1944, relating to alleged communist influence in the Institute of Pacific Relations."

References

External links

Overview of the Joseph C. Keeley miscellaneous papers
1907 births 1994 deaths Columbia University alumni {{US-writer-stub