Lawrence O'Donnell
Full Name and Common Aliases
Lawrence O'Donnell Jr.
Birth and Death Dates
Born: November 7, 1951 (age 71)
Still active in his career and public life.
Nationality and Profession(s)
American Television Host, Producer, Political Commentator, Former Staffer for US Senators
Early Life and Background
Lawrence O'Donnell Jr. was born on November 7, 1951, in Boston, Massachusetts. He grew up in a traditional Irish-American family with his parents, Lawrence Sr. and Rosemary (née Finnegan) O'Donnell, and younger brother, Michael. His father worked as an engineer for the city's transportation system.
O'Donnell attended St. Sebastian's School, a private Catholic high school, before enrolling at Harvard University in 1969. During his time at Harvard, he became involved with politics through volunteer work on various campaigns, including Ted Kennedy's presidential bid in 1972 and George McGovern's 1972 campaign for president.
Major Accomplishments
O'Donnell served as a Senate staffer under several high-profile politicians:
Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan: O'Donnell worked as the chief speechwriter from 1981 to 1986.
Senator Christopher Dodd: He later served as executive director of the National People's Action, an advocacy organization focused on economic and social policy issues.
O'Donnell has had a distinguished career in television news, hosting and producing several notable programs:
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell: This flagship show airs nightly on MSNBC, offering in-depth analysis of current events.
Politics Nation with Al Sharpton: He briefly hosted this weekend program on MSNBC before transitioning to his own show.
Notable Works or Actions
Some notable works and actions by O'Donnell include:
The Breaking Points: This 1997 memoir chronicles his time working in Washington, D.C., offering a glimpse into the inner workings of politics.
Postmortem: In this 2001 documentary series, O'Donnell explored the lives of politicians who have died under tragic circumstances.
Impact and Legacy
Throughout his career, Lawrence O'Donnell has made significant contributions to public discourse. His work as a commentator and producer continues to shape the national conversation on politics and policy.
Quotes by Lawrence O'Donnell
Every single television product has the ambition to chase ratings, every one of them. Many have other ambitions, for many, ratings are not #1. But my experience on TV, and on the entertainment side, has been entirely ratings-based. When I look at TV I look at ratings. And I never second guess ratings. Never.
I've often wondered what it would have been like if we'd had cable news during the Vietnam War and Watergate.
I have no broadcasting training. No one's ever said to me, 'This is how you read a Teleprompter.' They just pointed to it and said, 'It's over there.'
In the summer of 2007, I was in New York for some meetings and... I rented a car and just drove to Staten Island to take a glance and remind myself about it. I ended up staying a couple of days there in a hotel and I've been all over the island several times since.
Staten Island is set off completely by itself in its own world, and that's one of the fascinating things about it, dramatically.
When you get off to an African country like Malawi - which is pretty removed from everything and pretty seriously off the grid - and you see the struggle of life that goes on there, it's a completely different thing than what happens here.
The great thing about going to Malawi is I have no contact for at least a week with anything that's happening back in Washington.
If in the script there is an argument about gun control, the most precious document you could produce at 'The West Wing' that week is a passionate, intelligent case against gun control. We know how to do the other one.
If a reader comes across a story that makes them cry, you can be sure that the writer felt every single thing that makes the reader cry.