# Radio host and TV star G. Gordon Liddy dead at 90 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [March 31, 2021, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-host-and-tv-star-g-gordon-liddy-dead-at-90/939065 "2021-03-31T03:56:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-host-and-tv-star-g-gordon-liddy-dead-at-90/939065/1 "2021-03-31T03:56:13Z")
I used to listen to his radio show occasionally. He was an evil reptile. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-host-and-tv-star-g-gordon-liddy-dead-at-90/939065/2 "2021-03-31T04:04:41Z")
I thought he died long ago. Or maybe I just wished he did. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-host-and-tv-star-g-gordon-liddy-dead-at-90/939065/3 "2021-03-31T04:38:52Z")
# [Radio host and TV star G. Gordon Liddy dead at 90](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-host-and-tv-star-g-gordon-liddy-dead-at-90/939065) 1976 me would be dumbfounded by this headline. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-host-and-tv-star-g-gordon-liddy-dead-at-90/939065/4 "2021-03-31T04:43:54Z")
Here’s an article about his death. > **[G. Gordon Liddy, convicted Watergate conspirator, dies at 90 | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/30/politics/g-gordon-liddy-dead/index.html)** > > G. Gordon Liddy -- a former FBI agent, organizer of the Watergate break-in and radio show host -- has died at age 90, his son confirmed to CNN. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-host-and-tv-star-g-gordon-liddy-dead-at-90/939065/5 "2021-03-31T04:48:55Z")
It’s funny. I was thinking about Liddy just a couple of days ago. (I was in a used book store and saw one of his books.) ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-host-and-tv-star-g-gordon-liddy-dead-at-90/939065/6 "2021-03-31T05:05:45Z")
The prototype for the “tough guy” Republican. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-host-and-tv-star-g-gordon-liddy-dead-at-90/939065/7 "2021-03-31T05:07:12Z")
So would I (even though I was 11 at the time). Now, especially after the previous four years, Liddy actually seems less vile. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-host-and-tv-star-g-gordon-liddy-dead-at-90/939065/8 "2021-03-31T05:32:44Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Now, especially after the previous four years, Liddy actually seems less vile. Once I heard him calmly describe on his radio show how they had discussed murdering an American journalist and making it look like an accident. He thought (at the time of the discussion and the time of the radio show) it was a justifiable action because the US was at war at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-host-and-tv-star-g-gordon-liddy-dead-at-90/939065/9 "2021-03-31T06:01:53Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > 1976 me would be dumbfounded by this headline. How about “President Ronald Reagan, former co-star of _Bedtime for Bonzo_”? As for Liddy, leader of Nixon’s “White House Plumbers”, neo-fascist, and occasional 'Eighties television show guest star, I hope he died in the agony he so frequently wished upon others. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-host-and-tv-star-g-gordon-liddy-dead-at-90/939065/10 "2021-03-31T12:03:35Z")
I always think of SCTV when I hear about G. Gordon Liddy. G. Gordon Liddy reads “Goldilocks” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4Hmeo6LAoV0/hqdefault.jpg "SCTV - Mrs. Falbo's Tiny Town - G. GORDON LIDDY") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Hmeo6LAoV0) ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-host-and-tv-star-g-gordon-liddy-dead-at-90/939065/11 "2021-03-31T12:22:57Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > 1976 me would be dumbfounded by this headline. No shit. I’m pretty sure that there is something else that belongs on his resume. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-host-and-tv-star-g-gordon-liddy-dead-at-90/939065/12 "2021-03-31T12:33:15Z")
Thank you- I was scrambling to see if there was another G. Gordon Liddy I wasn’t aware of. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-host-and-tv-star-g-gordon-liddy-dead-at-90/939065/13 "2021-03-31T12:47:16Z")
I met him in the 80s at a “debate” (performance really) with Liddy and Timothy Leary. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-host-and-tv-star-g-gordon-liddy-dead-at-90/939065/14 "2021-03-31T12:47:36Z")
I met and had dinner with him once, many years ago, when he was doing a college speaking tour. Superficially charming, utterly amoral, and more than a tad smug. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-host-and-tv-star-g-gordon-liddy-dead-at-90/939065/15 "2021-03-31T12:57:36Z")
The world is a slightly better place now. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-host-and-tv-star-g-gordon-liddy-dead-at-90/939065/16 "2021-03-31T13:48:59Z")
In my misguided youth, I briefly admired him. Through a police officer friend, I got to meet him when he came to speak in my hometown. He was (as Gyrate puts it) superficially charming. If I closed my eyes and listened to him talk, I always pictured a tougher, slightly less bumbling Maxwell Smart. I gradually realized what a putz he was: he bragged in his book about his affinity for the Nazis and nefarious exploits in Hoover’s FBI (where the only two rules were “do get the job done, but don’t bring disgrace on the bureau”). And then, as soon as Clinton became president, started slamming his former fellow federal law enforcement agents as “jack-booted thugs”. In the late 1980s, Clive James interviewed him on his UK talk show. After letting Liddy chew the scenery with his Nietzschean superman act, James closed the piece, “that was G. Gordon Liddy, a man capable of accomplishing anything… except, breaking into a hotel room”. Perfect epitaph. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-host-and-tv-star-g-gordon-liddy-dead-at-90/939065/17 "2021-03-31T14:21:39Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > t’s funny. I was thinking about Liddy just a couple of days ago. ( **I was in a used book store and saw one of his books**.) [bolding mine] Proving that, when it comes to books, there is a substantive difference between ‘used’ and ‘read.’ ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-host-and-tv-star-g-gordon-liddy-dead-at-90/939065/18 "2021-03-31T14:22:50Z")
Roy Cohn is complaining to Satan about his new roommate. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-host-and-tv-star-g-gordon-liddy-dead-at-90/939065/19 "2021-03-31T14:58:32Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > Proving that, when it comes to books, there is a substantive difference between ‘used’ and ‘read.’ He actually was a competent novelist. I won’t say he was great but he wrote two action thrillers that I enjoyed. A terrible human being though. As far as I know, he never offered a moral justification for his CREEP activities. He would argue that he was justified in the crimes he committed against foreign powers because he was defending America. Or that he was justified in the crimes he committed against criminals because he was getting law breakers arrested (although the idea that you’re justified in breaking the law against people who broke the law is obviously flawed). But he could never offer a justification for the Watergate break-in. That was a crime designed to interfere with an American election. There was no reason to say one candidate was supposed to win and people were justified in committing crimes to make that happen. That was just people breaking the law to benefit themselves; no different than any other criminal. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-host-and-tv-star-g-gordon-liddy-dead-at-90/939065/20 "2021-03-31T15:48:02Z")
He offered a klutzy blanket excuse for any misdeeds: _since some people on the left had called for violence against the government, we were at war. So laws don’t apply._ He was fond of quoting, as evidence of this state of war, fragments from the speeches of far-left firebrands. Of course, this logic didn’t apply unless his side was running the government. Nor did he use it to justify declaring war on white supremacists in the south who were saying pretty much the same things the leftists were. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-host-and-tv-star-g-gordon-liddy-dead-at-90/939065.md?page=2)