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Janet Langhart

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Janet Langhart
Janet Langhart in New York City, 2006
Janet Langhart inNew York City,2006
BornJanet Leola Floyd
(1941-12-22)December 22, 1941(age 82)[1]
Indianapolis, Indiana,U.S.
OccupationWriter, journalist
NationalityAmerican
Spouse
Melvin Anthony Langhart
​
​
(m.1968;div.1969)​
​
​
(m.1978;div.1989)​
​
(m.1996)​

Janet Leola Langhart Cohen(née Floyd; born December 22, 1941)[2]is an American television journalist and anchor, and author. Beginning her career as a model, she started in television reporting the weather.

She serves as president andCEOof Langhart Communication. She is the spouse of formerDefense SecretaryWilliam Cohen.She has written two memoirs, one with her husband. In June 2009, her one-act playAnne and Emmett,inspired by the lives ofAnne FrankandEmmett Till,premiered at theUnited States Holocaust Museum.

Early life and education

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She was born asJanet Leola FloydinIndianapolis,Indianain 1941.[3]She and her mother Mary Floyd lived in an Indianapolis housing project; her mother worked as a maid and hospital ward secretary.[4]Both her parents wereAfrican-American;they also hadEuropeanandNative Americanancestry.[5]Her mother, Mary, and her father, Sewell Bridges, had formed a relationship at a young age but they never married. Bridges served inWorld War IIand abandoned hisfamilyafter the war.[6][7]Her mother married a Baptist preacher, but they ultimately divorced. Janet and her brother and sister were raised by their mother.[8]

In 1959, Janet Floyd earned her high school diploma fromCrispus Attucks High Schoolin Indianapolis. She was a member of the band and debate team. From 1960 until 1962, she attendedButler University.[9]But after attending Butler for her freshman year, her scholarship money expired, and she was unable to continue; she then took some extension courses at Indiana University, before going to work full-time.[10]

Marriages and family

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Floyd married Melvin Anthony Langhart in 1968;[11]but the marriage was brief, lasting only three months.[10]Her second marriage was to Dr.Robert Kistner,aHarvard Medical Schoolprofessor who specialized in the treatment ofendometriosis.[12]The two were married in 1978,[11]and Langhart filed for divorce a decade later.[13]She married Senator William Cohen in 1996.[14]

Media career

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In 1962, Langhart began her career in Chicago as amodel,where she worked forMarshall Field'sand theEbony Fashion Fair.She won the title of MissChicagolandin 1967.[15]At the age of 29, Langhart became the first black "weathergirl"forWBBM-TVin 1970, having previously been the "weather gal" at channel 26, WCIU.[16]Around this time, she also began hosting an early morning interview program for women on WISH-TV in Indianapolis; it was called "Indy Today."[17]Doing both shows made it necessary for her to commute between Indianapolis and Chicago.[18]

Langhart became a well-known black television journalist at numerous stations. She joined Boston'sWCVB-TVfor the first time in September 1973,[19]where she co-hosted the morning programGood Day!(originally titledGood Morning!).[20]She would leave and return several times between 1973 and 1987. By 1976,Good Daywas being syndicated to 75 television stations across the United States.[21]She became known for her interviews with celebrities and news-makers. Among the famous people with whom she spoke were contraltoMarian Anderson,jazz starLouis Armstrong,and popular singerTony Bennett,[22]as well asRosa ParksandDavid Duke.She became friends with comedian Dick Gregory,Muhammad AliandF. Lee Bailey,and she has said her mentors include civil rights leadersMelnea CassandMartin Luther King Jr.[23]

She was hired by NBC in mid-1978, and relocated to New York to host a daily talk and interview show calledPeople to People.[24]But the new show was soon renamedAmerica Alive,and Langhart became a roving correspondent and co-host, along with Bruce Jenner and Pat Mitchell, rather than doing her own program.[25]A few critics thought the program had potential,[26]but most of the critics thought it was unwatchable; one called it "superficial" and "tacky",[27]and another said it was a "dud" that deserved to "get the gong."[28]Viewers did not embrace the show either, resulting inAmerica Alivegetting canceled after only six months.[29]After that, Langhart worked on a television show atWOR-TVin New York City called9 Broadcast PlazaalongsideRichard Bey.She returned to Boston television, producing some special programming for WNEV-TV (channel 7).[30]She then briefly rejoined WCVB-TV (Channel 5), making some appearances onGood Day.[31]In 1989, she began doing segments forEntertainment Tonightand by early 1990, the show named her its New York correspondent.[32]But Langhart was later fired fromEntertainment Tonight,which she believed was because she askedArnold Schwarzenegger,about his fatherGustav Schwarzenegger'sNazibackground, apparently violating an agreement he had with producers.[33]"I was terminated byThe Terminator",she remarked. Later, she was a commentator onBlack Entertainment Television(BET). She has also worked as a correspondent for theBoston Herald,[34]and theBoston Globe.She has been a spokeswoman forU.S. News & World ReportandAvon Cosmetics.[35]Politically, she says she identifies as a liberalDemocrat.[35]

Marriage to Cohen and Pentagon life

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Langhart metWilliam Cohenduring a long-distance interview when she was based in Boston and he was aCongressmanfromMaine.They did not meet in person until she worked for BET inWashington, D.C.;Andrew Youngset up an interview for her with Cohen. They remained friends. They began dating after each divorced. The couple married in theUnited States CapitolonValentine's Day1996.[14]Cohen, a moderateRepublican,was appointed byPresidentBill Clintonas his Secretary of Defense.[35]

When William Cohen became Secretary of Defense, Langhart-Cohen became known as "First Lady of thePentagon."[35]She had a visible public role while Cohen was in office. She spurred several initiatives to support the morale and well-being of military and civilian employees of the Defense Department, including the Military Family Forum, the Pentagon Pops concert series, the Secretary of Defense Annual Holiday Tour (an entertainment revue), and her series of interviews on Pentagon TV,Special Assignment.She was given a volunteer position as "First Lady of theUSO"and helped recruit celebrities and civilians to work with theUnited Service Organizations.[35]

In 1999, Langhart-Cohen founded the Citizen Patriot Organization (CPO), a non-profit dedicated to recognizing "those who serve, protect, and defend the United States of America".[citation needed]The group periodically presents a CPO Award. The award has been given toJack ValentiandJohn McCain.The group has also organized events including a Homeland Defense Tour. This brought appreciation events tofirst respondersat theSeptember 11 attackssites and other domestic locations, and a Citizen Patriot tour to military locations overseas.[citation needed]

Writing

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Langhart is the author of a memoir,My Life in Two Americas; From Rage to Reason(2004). She and her husband William together wrote a joint memoir,Love in Black and White(2007). It explores race, religion, and the bonds that Langhart and Cohen share through similar life circumstances and backgrounds.[36]

Langhart wroteAnne and Emmett,a one-act play that imagines a conversation betweenAnne Frank,a German Jew who died in aNaziconcentration camp, andEmmett Till,an African American from Chicago who was lynched in a small town in theMississippi Delta.They were both young teenagers at their deaths. It premiered in 2009.

Holocaust Museum shooting

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Main article:United States Holocaust Memorial Museum shooting

On the afternoon of June 10, 2009, Langhart was on her way to theUnited States Holocaust Memorial Museumfor the premiere of her play,Anne and Emmett.[37]It was to be presented in honor of the 80th anniversary of Anne Frank's birth. Her husbandWilliam Cohenwas waiting for her at the museum.

The premiere was cancelled after 88-year-oldJames Wenneker von Brunnfatally shot a security guard.[38]Langhart and her husband appeared onCNNthat afternoon to describe what they had seen.

References

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  1. ^Aged 72 as per guest appearance onC-SPANin 2013.
  2. ^"Cohen, Janet Langhart 1941– (Janet Langhart) | Encyclopedia".encyclopedia.Retrieved2022-03-03.
  3. ^"Janet Langhart".IMDb.Retrieved2022-03-03.
  4. ^"Janet Langhart".Nndb.Retrieved2009-06-12.
  5. ^Janet Langhart Cohen,Love in Black and White: A Memoir of Race, Religion, and Romance
  6. ^Langhart,My Life in Two Americas; From Rage to Reason,p. 43
  7. ^Lisa Frydman (June 9, 2004)."Pretty Powerful".Chicago Sun-Times.Archived fromthe originalon February 18, 2007.Retrieved2007-04-10.
  8. ^Virginia Bohlin. "Janet Langhart: No. 1 TV Hostess."Boston Sunday Herald-Advertiser,November 30, 1975, p. A17.
  9. ^"Name General Chairman for NAACP Tea."Chicago Metro News,March 3, 1973, p. 14
  10. ^abPaul Katzeff. "The Ratings Battle: Langhart vs. Hamlin."Boston Herald,August 4, 1974, pp. M16, M18.
  11. ^abPaul Katzeff. "Proper Bostonian."Boston Herald,January 4, 1981, p. 11.
  12. ^New York TimesobituaryRobert W. Kistner, 72, Gynecologist, Is Dead,10 February 1990
  13. ^John Impemba and Dana Bisbee. "Marriage Ends for Langhart."Boston Herald,July 9, 1988, p. 11.
  14. ^ab"People."Stamford (CT) Daily Advocate,February 8, 1996, p. 2.
  15. ^"Channel 26 to Focus on the Black's View of the News." (Chicago)Southside Bulletin,May 7, 1969, p. 2.
  16. ^Dave Novick. "Places to Go and People to See."Milwaukee Star,June 20, 1970, p. 14.
  17. ^"Name General Chairman for NAACP Tea."Chicago Metro News,March 3, 1973, p. 14.
  18. ^"Commuter."Cleveland Plain Dealer,October 29, 1972, p. 9.
  19. ^Anthony LaCamera, "It's Good Morning on Channel 5."Boston Herald,September 21, 1973, p. 47.
  20. ^Anthony LaCamera. "It's Good Morning on Channel 5."Boston Herald-American,September 21, 1973, p. 47.
  21. ^"A New Coast-to-Coast Phenomenon."Baton Rouge Advocate,April 17, 1977, p. 9E.
  22. ^Paul Katzeff. "The Ratings Battle: Langhart vs. Hamlin."Boston Herald,August 4, 1974, pp. M16, M18, M19.
  23. ^Janet Langhart.From Rage to Reason: My Life in Two Americas.New York: Kensington, 2005, p. 128.
  24. ^Gary Grossman. "Viewers Say Goodbye to Good Day's Janet."Boston Herald-American,June 24, 1978, p. 11.
  25. ^Paul Henniger. "News When It Happens Emphasis of Noon Entry."Le xing ton (KY) Leader,July 21, 1976, p. B6.
  26. ^Victoria Lee Biggers. "America Alive Fills Daytime Void."Rockford (IL) Morning Star,August 6, 1978, p. 19.
  27. ^Rena Pederson. "Tacky But Not Worthless." Dallas Morning News, August 3, 1978, p. 17B
  28. ^"Inside TV: NBC's New America Alive Gets the Gong."Washington (DC) Star,July 26, 1978, p. C3.
  29. ^Gary Grossman. "America Alive is Canceled, Janet Langhart's Fate Unclear."Boston Herald-American,December 1, 1978, p. 19.
  30. ^Norma Nathan. "How Janet Shot from the Lip and Got Fired."Boston Herald,June 28, 1987, p. 11.
  31. ^Norma Nathan. "Unemployment is No Anchor on Ellis and Langhart."Boston Herald,October 9, 1988, p. 11.
  32. ^Dionne Brooks. "Around the Dial."Boston Herald,February 14, 1990, p. 61.
  33. ^Janet Langhart.From Rage to Reason: My Life in Two Americas.New York: Kensington, 2005, p. 211.
  34. ^Janet Langhart. "Janet's People."Boston Herald,December 18, 1988, p. A 10.
  35. ^abcdeLynn Norment (November 2000)."Janet Langhart Cohen: First Lady Of the Pentagon".Ebony magazine.Archived fromthe originalon 2007-02-18.Retrieved2007-04-10.
  36. ^Washington Post,Names & Faces,18 August 2006; p. C03
  37. ^Brevis, Vita."DailyKos".DailyKos.Retrieved2009-06-12.
  38. ^Wilber, Del Quentin(January 7, 2010)."Von Brunn, white supremacist Holocaust museum shooter, dies".The Washington Post.Retrieved2022-07-01.

Sources

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