Sir James Gordon Reece (28 September 1929 – 22 September 2001) was a British journalist and television producer who worked as a political strategist for
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
during the
1979 general election, which led to her victory over then prime minister
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005), commonly known as Jim Callaghan, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980. Callaghan is ...
. Reece was credited with softening the tone of Thatcher's voice and improving her stuffy dress sense, to broaden her public appeal, and he also encouraged her to adopt and embrace the title of "The Iron Lady" (first coined by the USSR) to convey the strength of her unwavering political resolve and unbending character.
These were services for which Reece was subsequently knighted. He was to correctly predict that Thatcher would not stand in another General Election following her third (1987) landslide victory.
Early life
Reece was born in 1929 in
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
, and raised in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, the son of James Graham Reece, a motor engineer and businessman, and Beatrice Mary Reece (née Langton), a nurse.
[Cockerell, Michael]
"Reece, Sir (James) Gordon (1929–2001)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2009; online edition, 1 September 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2018
Education
Reece's father was able to send the young Gordon to
Ratcliffe College
Ratcliffe College is a coeducational Catholic independent boarding and day school near the village of Ratcliffe on the Wreake, Leicestershire, approximately from Leicester, England. The college, situated in of parkland on the Fosse Way about ...
, a Roman Catholic boarding school in
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
; a contemporary was Norman St John-Stevas, later
Lord St John of Fawsley
Norman Antony Francis St John-Stevas, Baron St John of Fawsley, ( ; born Norman Panayea St John Stevas; 18 May 1929 – 2 March 2012) was a British Conservative politician, author and barrister. He served as Leader of the House of Commons in th ...
. He read history at
Downing College, Cambridge
Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the olde ...
, and decided on a career in journalism.
[ He then worked for a time with the '']Liverpool Daily Post
The ''Liverpool Post'' was a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The newspaper and its website ceased publication on 19 December 2013.
Until 13 January 2012 it was a daily morning newspaper, with the tit ...
'' and then the ''Sunday Express
The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...
''. In 1960, Reece switched to train as a television producer and went on to work for ITN
Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based television production company. It is made up of two divisions: Broadcast News and ITN Productions. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, N ...
's '' News at Ten'' and produce religious programmes and chat shows.
In the general elections of 1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
, February 1974
The following events occurred in February 1974:
February 1, 1974 (Friday)
* A fire killed 177 people and injured 293 others in the 23-story Joelma Building at São Paulo in Brazil. Another 11 later died of their injuries. The blaze began on ...
and October 1974, Reece came into contact with Margaret Thatcher and helped when she launched her successful bid for the party leadership in February 1975. It was his idea that she should be filmed washing dishes, presenting herself as a housewife. By now he had established a cassette-video company, which was taken over by EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
. He took leave from the company to help Thatcher with her television appearances; it was her decision to make him Director of Publicity in February 1978. One of Reece's first moves was to appoint Saatchi & Saatchi Garland Compton as the Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
's advertising agency in 1978. He worked to soften Thatcher's public image, hiring a voice coach used by Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...
, Kate Fleming. According to the Fleming archive, Thatcher then went on to have lessons from her for the best part of four years, from 1972 to 1976; Fleming died in 1978.
Reece then taught Thatcher to lower and deepen her voice, advised on clothing, accompanied her to her television and radio interviews, and made sure that she avoided combative interviewers who would make her appear strident.
Reece opposed a proposed television debate between Thatcher and Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005), commonly known as Jim Callaghan, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980. Callaghan is ...
in 1979. Callaghan dismissed politicians' interests in television programmes, saying "You have to appeal to ordinary voters, who are not very interested in politics." Thatcher won the 1979 general election.
In 1980 Reece left for Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, to join Armand Hammer
Armand Hammer (May 21, 1898 – December 10, 1990) was an American business manager and owner, most closely associated with Occidental Petroleum, a company he ran from 1957 until his death. Called "Lenin's chosen capitalist" by the press, ...
's Occidental Petroleum Corporation
Occidental Petroleum Corporation (often abbreviated Oxy in reference to its ticker symbol and logo) is an American company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration in the United States, and the Middle East as well as petrochemical manufacturing in the ...
as a vice-president. For five years, he did his best to improve Hammer's public image.
During the 1987 election he was appointed Thatcher's adviser for television, but Reece's ability to assist was limited because of his involvement as a PR consultant for Guinness
Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...
in their take-over battle with Distillers.
Reece continued to act as a troubleshooter for her with the media and colleagues. He was part of her team of advisers when she failed to retain the party leadership in November 1990. Unlike many of her entourage, he reportedly maintained good relations with Thatcher's successor as Prime Minister, John Major
Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...
.
A depiction of Reece in his role in Thatcher's campaign for Conservative Party leadership and her subsequent election as PM is made in the 2012 motion picture '' The Iron Lady'', in which he is portrayed by Roger Allam
Roger William Allam (born 26 October 1953) is a British actor, who has performed on stage, in film, on television and radio.
He played Inspector Javert in the original London production of the stage musical ''Les Misérables'', First Officer D ...
.
Family
In 1957 he married Elizabeth M. Johnson in Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. Their marriage was dissolved in 1977.[ ] The couple had six children.
Knighthood
He was awarded a knighthood
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
in 1986, having refused appointment as CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in 1981 on the grounds it was insufficient to his services.
Death
Reece was diagnosed with cancer, which claimed his life six days before his 72nd birthday in London. He travelled to the United States for treatment and remained there for a considerable period of time until he returned to spend his final days at home in the United Kingdom.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reece, Gordon
1929 births
2001 deaths
Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge
British television producers
British public relations people
British political consultants
Deaths from cancer in England
Journalists from Liverpool
Knights Bachelor
People educated at Ratcliffe College
Businesspeople from London
British Roman Catholics
20th-century English businesspeople