Changes

Weill graduated in 1955 from [[Louisiana State University]] in the state capital of [[Baton Rouge]]. He then completed the [[United States Army]] Counter Intelligence School as  a special agent. He was first lieutenant of the Counter Intelligence Corps in [[Frankfurt]], [[Germany]]. He was discharged from the military in 1957.<ref name=amuseum/>

Weill graduated in 1955 from [[Louisiana State University]] in the state capital of [[Baton Rouge]]. He then completed the [[United States Army]] Counter Intelligence School as  a special agent. He was first lieutenant of the Counter Intelligence Corps in [[Frankfurt]], [[Germany]]. He was discharged from the military in 1957.<ref name=amuseum/>

   

   

In 1958, Weill he established the first advertising/public relations firm in Baton Rouge. In 1963, he was introduced to Louisiana Public Service Commissioner [[John J. McKeithen]] by Judge Edmund Reggie and soon took over the management of McKeithen's successful gubernatorial campaign. From 1964 to 1968, he served as executive secretary to McKeithen in the latter's first term as governor. Considered the "father of modern political public relations in Louisiana," Weill also handled campaigns for three other Louisiana governors, McKeithen's predecessor and successor, [[Jimmie Davis]] and [[Edwin Edwards]], and Edwards' successor and second predecessor, [[David C. Treen]]. He trained the [[Democratic]] strategist [[James Carville]], a mastermind of the election in 1992 of [[Bill Clinton]] as U.S. president.<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=http://www.lpb.org/programs/legends/weill.html|title=About Gus Weill|publisher=lpb.org|accessdate=August 21, 2012}}</ref> He also groomed other public relations specialists, who became his competitors, such as Raymond Strother, manager of the [[Gary Hart]] presidential campaign, and Roy Fletcher, affiliated with [[Patrick J. Buchanan]].<ref name=amuseum/> In all, Weill managed some 350 campaigns. He was involved in the political promotion of the Louisiana Superdome in [[New Orleans]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sos.la.gov/tabid/227/Default.aspx|title=Oral Histories: Gus Weill|publisher=sos.la.gov|accessdate=August 21, 2012}}</ref> Weill also convinced McKeithen to implement the state agency CODOFIL, the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, an idea originally proposed by [[U.S. Representative]] James Domengeaux.<ref name=amuseum/>

In 1958, Weill he established the first advertising/public relations firm in Baton Rouge. In 1963, he was introduced to Louisiana Public Service Commissioner [[John J. McKeithen]] by Judge Edmund Reggie and soon took over the management of McKeithen's successful gubernatorial campaign. From 1964 to 1968, he served as executive secretary to McKeithen in the latter's first term as governor. Considered the "father of modern political public relations in Louisiana," Weill also handled campaigns for three other Louisiana governors, McKeithen's predecessor and successor, [[Jimmie Davis]] and [[Edwin Edwards]], and Edwards' successor and second predecessor, [[David C. Treen]]. He trained the [[Democratic]] strategist [[James Carville]], a mastermind of the election in 1992 of [[Bill Clinton]] as U.S. president.<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=http://www.lpb.org/programs/legends/weill.html|title=About Gus Weill|publisher=lpb.org|accessdate=August 21, 2012}}</ref>  

 

Weill also groomed other public relations specialists, who became his competitors, such as Raymond Strother, manager of the [[Gary Hart]] presidential campaign, and Roy Fletcher, affiliated with [[Patrick J. Buchanan]].<ref name=amuseum/> In all, Weill managed some 350 campaigns. He was involved in the political promotion of the Louisiana Superdome in [[New Orleans]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sos.la.gov/tabid/227/Default.aspx|title=Oral Histories: Gus Weill|publisher=sos.la.gov|accessdate=August 21, 2012}}</ref> Weill also convinced McKeithen to implement the state agency CODOFIL, the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, an idea originally proposed by [[U.S. Representative]] James Domengeaux.<ref name=amuseum/>

==Author==

==Author==

*''You Are My Sunshine: The Jimmie Davis Story, An Affectionate Biography'' (Baton Rouge: Pelican Publishing Company, 1977), a biography with the title based on Davis' song "You Are My Sunshine", ISBN 0882896601 (0-88289-660-1)</ref>  

*''You Are My Sunshine: The Jimmie Davis Story, An Affectionate Biography'' (Baton Rouge: Pelican Publishing Company, 1977), a biography with the title based on Davis' song "You Are My Sunshine", ISBN 0882896601 (0-88289-660-1)</ref>  

*''The Weill Side of Louisiana Politics: Gus Weill Remembers'' <ref>{{cite web|url=https://secure.lpb.org/shoplpb/Details.cfm?ProdID=20|title=Shop Louisiana Public Broadcasting|publisher=secure.lpb.org|accessdate=August 22, 2012}}</ref>

*''The Weill Side of Louisiana Politics: Gus Weill Remembers'' <ref>{{cite web|url=https://secure.lpb.org/shoplpb/Details.cfm?ProdID=20|title=Shop Louisiana Public Broadcasting|publisher=secure.lpb.org|accessdate=August 22, 2012}}</ref>

==Personal life==

==Personal life==

   

   

Weill and his wife, the former Leanne Svigel, had a son, Gus Weill, Jr. (c. 1962-2004), who was an attorney and public relations specialist in [[New York City]], who suffered from depression and committed suicide at the age of forty-two.<ref name=edelman>{{cite web|url=http://www.edelman.com/speak_up/blog/archives/2004/10/friends_of_gus.html|title=Richard Edelman, Friends of Gus Weill|publisher=edelman.com|accessdate=August 20, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://pop-pr.blogspot.com/2004/10/friends-of-gus-weill.html|title=Friends of Gus Weill|publisher=pop-pr.blogspot.com|accessdate=August 21, 2012}}</ref>

Weill had a son, Gus Weill, Jr. (c. 1962-2004), an attorney and public relations specialist in [[New York City]], who suffered from depression and committed suicide at the age of forty-two.<ref name=edelman>{{cite web|url=http://www.edelman.com/speak_up/blog/archives/2004/10/friends_of_gus.html|title=Richard Edelman, Friends of Gus Weill|publisher=edelman.com|accessdate=August 20, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://pop-pr.blogspot.com/2004/10/friends-of-gus-weill.html|title=Friends of Gus Weill|publisher=pop-pr.blogspot.com|accessdate=August 21, 2012}}</ref>

   

   

The Weills have resided in New York City since December 2002. They have a grandson, Gus Weill, III. Weill is [[Jewish]].<ref name=edelman/><ref name=spanberg>{{cite web|url=http://clclt.com/charlotte/down-on-the-bayou/Content?oid=2355376|title=Erik Spanberg, "Down on the Bayou"|publisher=clclt.com|accessdate=August 20, 2012}}</ref>

Weill has resided in New York City since December 2002. He has a grandson, Gus Weill, III. Weill is [[Jewish]].<ref name=edelman/><ref name=spanberg>{{cite web|url=http://clclt.com/charlotte/down-on-the-bayou/Content?oid=2355376|title=Erik Spanberg, "Down on the Bayou"|publisher=clclt.com|accessdate=August 20, 2012}}</ref>

==Awards==

==Awards==

<blockquote>All his life, Gus Weill has been distracted by a restless mind incapable of sticking to one subject for long. That peripatetic nature led to turns as a political consultant, an advertising executive, a gubernatorial adviser, television and radio host, poet, biographer, and now, at last, full-time novelist.<ref name=spanberg/></blockquote>

<blockquote>All his life, Gus Weill has been distracted by a restless mind incapable of sticking to one subject for long. That peripatetic nature led to turns as a political consultant, an advertising executive, a gubernatorial adviser, television and radio host, poet, biographer, and now, at last, full-time novelist.<ref name=spanberg/></blockquote>

==References==

==References==