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Mrs. Long was born in Covington in St. Tammany Parish, across Lake Pontchartrain from [[New Orleans]], to Robert H. Revere and the former Beulah Talley. The Reveres were a lower middle class family, and Blanche was a public stenographer at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans. She married Earl Long on August 17, 1932; they had no children. Mrs. Long was protective of her several sisters and her only brother, whom she helped to obtain and maintain state employment in [[Baton Rouge]].​

Mrs. Long was born in Covington in St. Tammany Parish, across Lake Pontchartrain from [[New Orleans]], to Robert H. Revere and the former Beulah Talley. The Reveres were a lower middle class family, and Blanche was a public stenographer at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans. She married Earl Long on August 17, 1932; they had no children. Mrs. Long was protective of her several sisters and her only brother, whom she helped to obtain and maintain state employment in [[Baton Rouge]].​

==Her political persona==​

==Her political persona==

According to former Lieutenant Governor and Superintendent of Education [[Bill Dodd|William J. "Bill" Dodd]], Blanche Revere was "in her young years a true beauty. And she was just as intelligent as she was good-looking. In her political days, her personality came across as either soft and sweet or blue steel and cold, depending not so much on how she felt, but on what the situation demanded."​

According to former Lieutenant Governor and Superintendent of Education [[Bill Dodd|William J. "Bill" Dodd]], Blanche Revere was "in her young years a true beauty. And she was just as intelligent as she was good-looking. In her political days, her personality came across as either soft and sweet or blue steel and cold, depending not so much on how she felt, but on what the situation demanded."​

"She was not highly educated, nor was she a philosophical thinker. She looked at problems as an engineer or a lawyer would, usually solving them correctly, but always in her and Earl's favor. She wasn't solid oak or mahogany, but her veneer was stain smooth, double thick, and never cracked, even under the most extreme stress".​

"She was not highly educated, nor was she a philosophical thinker. She looked at problems as an engineer or a lawyer would, usually solving them correctly, but always in her and Earl's favor. She wasn't solid oak or mahogany, but her veneer was stain smooth, double thick, and never cracked, even under the most extreme stress".​

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==1948 gubernatorial campaign==

==Managing the 1948 gubernatorial campaign==

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In the 1947-1948 Earl Long gubernatorial comeback, when Dodd was seeking the lieutenant governorship, Blanche Long ran the state campaign headquarters from the Higgins Building in New Orleans. Dodd said that she "kept about one hundred volunteer workers happily and effectively working twelve to sixteen hours a day. They got their literature out, arranged for millions of cards and circulars to be printed and mailed, and took care of our speaking dates out in the state and on radio. No business was ever operated more smoothly or effectively than Miss Blanche ran Earl's campaign headquarters. The workers and the public loved her and worked for her."​

In the 1947-1948 Earl Long gubernatorial comeback, when Dodd was seeking the lieutenant governorship, Blanche Long ran the state campaign headquarters from the Higgins Building in New Orleans. Dodd said that she "kept about one hundred volunteer workers happily and effectively working twelve to sixteen hours a day. They got their literature out, arranged for millions of cards and circulars to be printed and mailed, and took care of our speaking dates out in the state and on radio. No business was ever operated more smoothly or effectively than Miss Blanche ran Earl's campaign headquarters. The workers and the public loved her and worked for her."​

Dodd said that he was never on Mrs. Long's "favored list" because he had gubernatorial ambitions of his own, and Earl and Blanche Long did not want another potential governor to come from their own faction. Earl Long felt that he would gain nothing if one of his weaker lieutenants were to be elected governor: he always wanted to head the Long faction, both as governor and as former governor in waiting.​

Dodd said that he was never on Mrs. Long's "favored list" because he had gubernatorial ambitions of his own, and Earl and Blanche Long did not want another potential governor to come from their own faction. Earl Long felt that he would gain nothing if one of his weaker lieutenants were to be elected governor: he always wanted to head the Long faction, both as governor and as former governor in waiting.​

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==The terrible fight with Earl==

==The terrible fight with Earl==

In 1959, Mrs. Long angered her husband, when she purchased land near the little-known Hot Wells resort in western Rapides Parish. Moreover, she built a mansion on Capitol Lake in Baton Rouge right behind the new governor's mansion, which the pair would vacate in 1960 because Earl Long was again term-limited by the Louisiana constitution, a restriction which John McKeithen got changed in 1966 through his "Amendment 1," approved on November 8, 1966. Earl Long was furious that Blanche bought the properties without telling him, and he also feared outrage from some of his supporters who did not know that the Longs were wealthy enough to purchase such properties.​

In 1959, Mrs. Long angered her husband, when she purchased land near the little-known Hot Wells resort in western Rapides Parish. Moreover, she built a mansion on Capitol Lake in Baton Rouge right behind the new governor's mansion, which the pair would vacate in 1960 because Earl Long was again term-limited by the Louisiana constitution, a restriction which John McKeithen got changed in 1966 through his "Amendment 1," approved on November 8, 1966. Earl Long was furious that Blanche bought the properties without telling him, and he also feared outrage from some of his supporters who did not know that the Longs were wealthy enough to purchase such properties.​

Later that year, Long gave a speech defending the right of blacks to register to vote. Coincidentally, at that time, Mrs. Long had her husband committed to the John Sealy Mental Hospital in [[Galveston, Texas|Galveston]], [[Texas]], for an alleged mental breakdown. Perhaps, she feared that Earl would have harmed her when he was in an agitated state. Dodd says that Blanche "conspired" with Senator [[Russell Long]], Earl's nephew, and Dr. Arthur Long, a cousin, to have Earl Long committed. Television cameras showed Long being taken to the institution amid his hurling of profanities. He was quickly released because there was deemed no mental breakdown but sensational political actions on the part of the governor. ''Time'' magazine reported that to obtain his release, Earl Long promised Blanche that he "would submit to psychiatric treatment in New Orleans, actually the state mental hospital in Mandeville. When Jesse Bankston, the director of the Department of Hospitals, refused to release Long from the Mandeville facility, Long had Bankston, a loyal member of the administration, dismissed. Bankston and Mrs. Long professed concern about Long's loss of weight and feared for his weak heart, for he had a major heart attack in late 1950. ​

Later that year, Long gave a speech defending the right of blacks to register to vote. Coincidentally, at that time, Mrs. Long had her husband committed to the John Sealy Mental Hospital in [[Galveston, Texas|Galveston]], [[Texas]], for an alleged mental breakdown. Perhaps, she feared that Earl would have harmed her when he was in an agitated state. Dodd says that Blanche "conspired" with Senator [[Russell Long]], Earl's nephew, and Dr. Arthur Long, a cousin, to have Earl Long committed. Television cameras showed Long being taken to the institution amid his hurling of profanities. He was quickly released because there was deemed no mental breakdown but sensational political actions on the part of the governor. ''Time'' magazine reported that to obtain his release, Earl Long promised Blanche that he "would submit to psychiatric treatment in New Orleans, actually the state mental hospital in Mandeville. When [[Jesse Bankston]], the director of the Department of Hospitals, refused to release Long from the Mandeville facility, Long had Bankston, a loyal member of the administration, dismissed. Bankston and Mrs. Long professed concern about Long's loss of weight and feared for his weak heart, for he had a major heart attack in late 1950. ​

Earl and Blanche Long separated after the mental hospital incident, and there was no reconciliation prior to his sudden death in September 1960.​

Earl and Blanche Long separated after the mental hospital incident, and there was no reconciliation prior to his sudden death in September 1960.​

In May 1960, outgoing Governor Long attended the inauguration of his successor, [[Jimmie Davis]], in the company of a 23-year-old stripper and burlesque dancer named Blaze Starr, whom he had first met in 1958. Apparently, Mrs. Long believed that the mental hospital confinement would compel Earl to recognize his troubles and cause him to end his affair with Starr. Dodd, however, discounts the importance of Starr in Long's last months of life and was particularly critical of the 1989 film ''Blaze,'' which he dismissed as "fiction."​

In May 1960, outgoing Governor Long attended the inauguration of his successor, [[Jimmie Davis]], in the company of a 23-year-old stripper and burlesque dancer named Blaze Starr, whom he had first met in 1958. Apparently, Mrs. Long believed that the mental hospital confinement would compel Earl to recognize his troubles and cause him to end his affair with Starr. Dodd, however, discounts the importance of Starr in Long's last months of life and was particularly critical of the 1989 film ''Blaze,'' which he dismissed as "fiction."​

Dodd also relates in his memoirs that Mrs. Long hired the prominent Baton Rouge attorney Theodore  F. "Theo" Cangelosi to represent her in a separation suit against Earl Long. Cangelosi was a state legislator from 1940 to 1944, having served with Dodd in the Louisiana House. "He [Earl Long] cussed Theo and then bragged on how smart and slick Theo was and how he could suck up $100 bills like an anteater takes his dinner. He even accused his wife of having an affair with Theo and then said he didn't mean it, for she could do better and besides that the long-footed (He had very long feet.) Cangelosi had fifteen or twenty children, and Miss Blanche didn't like children. And Earl raved and talked bad for a few minutes, he got sweet again and signed off by wishing Miss Blanche well and promising to beat the hell out of Harold McSween [in the pending congressional campaign]."​

Dodd also relates in his memoirs that Mrs. Long hired the prominent Baton Rouge attorney [[Theo Cangelosi]] to represent her in a separation suit against Earl Long. Cangelosi was a state legislator from 1940 to 1944, having served with Dodd in the Louisiana House. "He [Earl Long] cussed Theo and then bragged on how smart and slick Theo was and how he could suck up $100 bills like an anteater takes his dinner. He even accused his wife of having an affair with Theo and then said he didn't mean it, for she could do better and besides that the long-footed (Cangelosi had very long feet.) Cangelosi had fifteen or twenty children, and Miss Blanche didn't like children. And Earl raved and talked bad for a few minutes, he got sweet again and signed off by wishing Miss Blanche well and promising to beat the hell out of Harold McSween."​

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Cangelosi in fact tried to get Earl and Blanche reconciled, but the clock ran out on Earl Long. Dodd viewed Cangelosi "one of the finest gentlemen and ablest lawyers in Louisiana."​

Cangelosi in fact tried to get Earl and Blanche reconciled, but the clock ran out on Earl Long. Dodd viewed Cangelosi "one of the finest gentlemen and ablest lawyers in Louisiana."​

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==1960 congressional race==

==1960 congressional race==

After he left the governorship in 1960, Earl Long decided to challenge freshman [[U.S. Representative]] Harold Barrett McSween of [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]] for renomination. In a hard-fought runoff election, Long defeated McSween though he had trailed him in the first primary. There had been a third primary candidate, former State Representative Ben F. Holt of Rapides Parish, considered a [[conservative]] Democrat. Long scored a pyrrhic victory, for he was dead a few days later, and the Democratic State Central Committee returned McSween to the ballot as the unopposed Democratic nominee in the [[general election]]. In a way, one may say that the committee nullified the results of Long's last campaign.

After he left the governorship in 1960, Earl Long decided to challenge freshman [[U.S. Representative]] Harold Barrett McSween of [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]] for renomination. In a hard-fought runoff election, Long defeated McSween though he had trailed him in the first primary. There had been a third primary candidate, former State Representative Ben F. Holt (1925-1995) of Rapides Parish, considered a [[conservative]] Democrat. Long scored a pyrrhic victory, for he was dead a few days later, and the Democratic State Central Committee returned McSween to the ballot as the unopposed Democratic nominee in the [[general election]]. In a way, one may say that the committee nullified the results of Long's last campaign.

Dodd was the only one of Earl Long's former lieutenants who came into the 8th District to help him to campaign. He was deserted by both Russell Long and AFL-CIO President [[Victor Bussie]]. Dodd said that he came to Earl's pleas for aid despite the wishes of Mrs. Dodd and Dodd's law partners. Moreover, Dodd himself was challenging incumbent Merle Welsh for the Baton Rouge-based 6th congressional district seat on the Louisiana Board of Education in that same primary. Dodd said that he called Mrs. Long to inform her of his intentions to assist Earl, and she thanked him for helping her husband. Dodd said that Earl Long was fighting the "banking interests, the corporations, the normal anti-Long people, and all the big news media, fighting with hardly any money and no statewide politicians to help him." Dodd was also able to demonstrate to Long that he was loyal, whereas "disloyal" Earl Long had opposed Dodd's two bids for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination—1952 and 1959. ​

Dodd was the only one of Earl Long's former lieutenants who came into the 8th District to help him to campaign. He was deserted by both Russell Long and AFL-CIO President [[Victor Bussie]]. Dodd said that he came to Earl's pleas for aid despite the wishes of Mrs. Dodd and Dodd's law partners. Moreover, Dodd himself was challenging incumbent Merle Welsh for the Baton Rouge-based 6th congressional district seat on the Louisiana Board of Education in that same primary. Dodd said that he called Mrs. Long to inform her of his intentions to assist Earl, and she thanked him for helping her husband. Dodd said that Earl Long was fighting the "banking interests, the corporations, the normal anti-Long people, and all the big news media, fighting with hardly any money and no statewide politicians to help him." Dodd was also able to demonstrate to Long that he was loyal, whereas "disloyal" Earl Long had opposed Dodd's two bids for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination—1952 and 1959. ​

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==A $163,000 mistake?==

==A $163,000 mistake?==

Dodd said that Blanche Long erred badly in how she handled two Long supporters, Frank and Ruth Matthews. She forced the couple to "repay" $163,000 to her. This was compensation for funds that Earl Long had left with them for "safekeeping." Dodd took the view that the Matthewses had repaid Earl the money during the congressional campaign but could find no receipt to present to Mrs. Long, held the original "IOU" from the Matthewses. Dodd said that he was convinced that the $163,000 was paid twice.​

Dodd said that Blanche Long erred badly in how she handled two Long supporters, Frank and Ruth Matthews. She forced the couple to "repay" $163,000 to her. This was compensation for funds that Earl Long had left with them for "safekeeping." Dodd took the view that the Matthewses had repaid Earl the money during the congressional campaign but could find no receipt to present to Mrs. Long, held the original "IOU" from the Matthewses. Dodd said that he was convinced that the $163,000 was paid twice.​

 

In a suit heard in 1966 seeking to reclaim the $163,000, Blanche Long claimed that attorney and former state Senator Joe T. Cawthorn of Mansfield,  on or about August 20, 1960, had delivered to Long $6,000 in cash in Marksville in Avoyelles Parish. This was two weeks before Long won his congressional race against Harold  McSween but died before he could claim the seat.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://leagle.com/decision/19661054186So2d868_1926.xml/LONG%20v.%20MATTHEWS|title=Long v. Matthews|date=1966|publisher=leagle.com|accessdate=October 28, 2014}}</ref>​

In a suit heard in 1966 seeking to reclaim the $163,000, Blanche Long claimed that attorney and former state Senator Joe T. Cawthorn of Mansfield,  on or about August 20, 1960, had delivered to Long $6,000 in cash in Marksville in Avoyelles Parish. This was two weeks before Long won his congressional race against Harold  McSween but died before he could claim the seat.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://leagle.com/decision/19661054186So2d868_1926.xml/LONG%20v.%20MATTHEWS|title=Long v. Matthews|date=1966|publisher=leagle.com|accessdate=October 28, 2014}}</ref>​

==Legacy==

==Legacy==

​Mrs. Long was living in Metairie in Jefferson Parish at the time of her death at the age of ninety-five. She was a [[Methodist]], while her husband was baptized into the First [[Baptist]] Church of Baton Rouge when he was sixty years of age. He is buried in the Earl K. Long Memorial in [[Winnfield]]. She is buried in Lake Lawn Cemetery in Metairie.​

​Mrs. Long was living in Metairie in Jefferson Parish at the time of her death at the age of ninety-five. She was a [[Methodist]], while her husband was baptized into the First [[Baptist]] Church of Baton Rouge when he was sixty years of age. He is buried in the Earl K. Long Memorial in Winnfield. She is buried in Lake Lawn Cemetery in Metairie.​

 

Bill Dodd, who was seven years Mrs. Long's junior and died seven years before she did, summed up her career in his memoirs: "What she thought about governmental philosophies or forms, I do not know. But she understood and practiced practical politics better than any man I've ever known, except her husband, Earl Long."<ref>William J. "Bill" Dodd, ''Peapatch Politics: The Earl Long Era in Louisiana Politics'' (Baton Rouge: Claitor's Publishers, 1991), p. 63.</ref>​

Bill Dodd, who was seven years Mrs. Long's junior and died seven years before she did, summed up her career in his memoirs: "What she thought about governmental philosophies or forms, I do not know. But she understood and practiced practical politics better than any man I've ever known, except her husband, Earl Long."<ref>William J. "Bill" Dodd, ''Peapatch Politics: The Earl Long Era in Louisiana Politics'' (Baton Rouge: Claitor's Publishers, 1991), p. 63.</ref>​

 

==References==​

==References==

{{reflist}}

{{reflist}}

The Political Graveyard [http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/LA/methodist.html].

* The Political Graveyard [http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/LA/methodist.html].

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