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Ted Sorensen

Theodore Chaikin Sorensen (May 8, 1928 – October 31, 2010) was an American lawyer, writer, and presidential adviser. He was a speechwriter for President John F. Kennedy, as well as one of his closest advisers. President Kennedy once called him his "intellectual blood bank".[1] Notably, though it was a collaborative effort with Kennedy, Sorensen was generally regarded as the author of the majority of the final text of Profiles in Courage, and stated in his memoir that he helped write the book. Profiles in Courage won Kennedy the 1957 Pulitzer Prize for Biography. Sorensen helped draft Kennedy's inaugural address and was also the primary author of Kennedy's 1962 "We choose to go to the Moon" speech.

For the Australian politician, see Ted Sorensen (politician).

Ted Sorensen

John F. Kennedy
Lyndon Johnson

David Kendall

Mike Feldman

Theodore Chaikin Sorensen

(1928-05-08)May 8, 1928
Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.

October 31, 2010(2010-10-31) (aged 82)
New York City, New York, U.S.

Democratic

Camilla Palmer (1949, divorced)
Sara Elbery (1964, divorced)
Gillian Martin (1969)

4, including Juliet

Christian A. Sorensen (father)
Philip C. Sorensen (brother)

University of Nebraska, Lincoln (BA, LLB)

Early life and education[edit]

Sorensen was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, the son of Christian A. Sorensen (1890–1959), who served as Nebraska attorney general (1929–1933),[2][3] and Annis (Chaikin) Sorensen. His father was Danish American and his mother was of Russian Jewish descent.[4] His younger brother, Philip C. Sorensen, later became the lieutenant governor of Nebraska. He graduated from Lincoln High School during 1945. He earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and attended University of Nebraska College of Law, graduating first in his class.[1]


During January 1953, the 24-year-old Sorensen became the new chief legislative aide to Senator John F. Kennedy. He wrote many of Kennedy's articles and speeches.[5] In his 2008 autobiography Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History, Sorensen said he wrote "a first draft of most of the chapters" of John F. Kennedy's 1956 book Profiles in Courage and "helped choose the words of many of its sentences."[6][7]

. Harper & Row. 1965. ISBN 978-1-56852-035-3.

Kennedy

. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 1969. ISBN 978-0-297-00026-6.

The Kennedy Legacy: A Peaceful Revolution For The Seventies

Watchmen in the Night: Presidential Accountability after Watergate. Cambridge, Mass.: M.I.T. Press. 1976.  978-0-262-69055-3. (with James MacGregor Burns){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)

ISBN

(1st ed.). New York: Harper & Row. 1984. ISBN 978-0-06-039032-7.

A Different Kind of Presidency: A Proposal for Breaking the Political Deadlock

'Let the Word Go Forth': The Speeches, Statements, and Writings of John F. Kennedy, 1947–1963 (Reprint ed.). New York: Laurel. 1991.  978-0-440-50406-1. (Introduction by Sorensen.){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)

ISBN

(1st ed.). New York: Henry Holt. 1996. ISBN 978-0-8050-4414-0.

Why I Am a Democrat

Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History. New York, NY: HarperPerennial. 2009.  978-0-06-079872-7.

ISBN

The 1974 TV film , by Clifford David

The Missiles of October

The 1998 HBO mini-series , by Jack Gilpin

From the Earth to the Moon

The 2000 film , by Tim Kelleher; although, in an interview after the film's release, Robert McNamara stated that the lead role of Kenneth O'Donnell (played by Kevin Costner) was modeled after Sorensen: "It was not Kenny O'Donnell who pulled us all together—it was Ted Sorensen."[25]

Thirteen Days

The 2016 film , by Brent Bailey

LBJ

The 2018 film , by Taylor Nichols

Chappaquiddick

Sorensen has been portrayed as a character in the following films and miniseries:

""

Ich bin ein Berliner

American University speech

Profiles in Courage (1964 TV series)

Sorensen, Theodore (2015). Let the Word Go Forth (paperback ed.). St Louis: Laurel–Dell.

ABC News online, 2008-02-08. Passing the Torch: Kennedy's Touch on Obama's Words

Clarke, Thurston. 2005. Ask Not: The Inauguration of John F. Kennedy and the Speech That Changed America. Macmillan, 304 pp. (Originally published 2004 by Henry Holt and Co., 272 pp.)

Marcus, Jacob Rader. 1981. The American Jewish Woman, 1654–1980. KTAV Publishing House. 231 pp

The New York Times, 1983-04-21. New York Day by Day; Gary Hart Opens Campaign Headquarters

The New York Times, Sunday Book Review, 18 May 2008, review of Ted Sorensen's Counselor.

Sorensen, Ted (as Theodore C.) The New Vision. Washington Monthly, July/August 2007.

Sorensen, Ted. 2008-07-23. Heir Time: Is Barack Obama The Next JFK? The New Republic

Sorensen, Ted (as Theodore). 2007-07-25. Barack Obama: the new JFK. Guardian (London, UK)

on YouTube.

Sorensen, Ted. Ted Sorensen on Barack Obama

Wall Street Journal, 9 May 2008, p. W3, review of Ted Sorensen's Counselor.

John F. Kennedy Library and Museum: Inventory of personal papers

As a ghostwriter for Kennedy

Lincoln High School Distinguished Alumni Profile

Sorensen's Acceptance Address Prepared for the 2008 Democratic Presidential Nominee

Sorensen speaks at MIT Symposium

by Thorsten Overgaard with Ted Sorensen in Stockholm on Obama and Kennedy

An February 2009 interview

on C-SPAN

Appearances