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Created page with "{{Infobox person | name=Louis J. Roussel, Jr. (Louisiana business mogul and political kingmaker) | birth_date=July 28, 1906 | birth_place=New Orleans, Louisiana..."
{{Infobox person
| name=Louis J. Roussel, Jr.
(Louisiana business mogul and political kingmaker)
| birth_date=July 28, 1906
| birth_place=[[New Orleans]], [[Louisiana]], [[United States|USA]]
| death_date=October 20, 2001 (aged 95)
| death_place=
| occupation=[[Business]]man
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
| spouse=Lucy Cocchiarra Roussel
| children=Louie "Louie" Roussel, III<br>
Charmaine Roussel Morel
| parents=Louis, Sr., and Bertha Breaux Roussel
| religion=[[Roman Catholic]]}}
'''Louis J. Roussel, Jr.''' (July 28, 1906 – October 20, 2001), was a powerful [[business]]man and political kingmaker from his native [[New Orleans]], [[Louisiana]].
He was known for his long-time financial support to the campaigns of [[Edwin Edwards]], the Louisiana governor from 1972–1980, 1984–1988, and 1992–1996, and [[Bill Dodd]], a former lieutenant governor (1948–1952) and state education superintendent (1964–1972), who failed in determined gubernatorial bids in 1952 and 1959.<ref>[[Bill Dodd]], ''Peapatch Politics: The Earl Long Era in Louisiana Politics'', Baton Rouge: Claitors Publishing Company, 1991</ref>
Roussel contributed a total of $500,000 to Dodd's campaigns and $600,000 alone to Edwards' failed 1987 race against [[Buddy Roemer]], then a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] for Louisiana's 4th congressional district.<ref name=notes/> Dodd's son, William Ford Dodd, was running unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in that same 1987 [[primary]] election.
==Biography==
Roussel (pronounced RUE SELL) was the son of Louis Roussel, Sr. (1876–1964) and the former Bertha Breaux. He married the former Lucy Cocchiara (1909-2002), with whom he had two children, Charmaine Roussel Morel (born October 20, 1934) of Metairie and Louis "Louie" Roussel, III (1946-2015), of Kenner. His brother was Ervin Roussel, and his sister was Lillie Roussel Prejean (1911–2007), wife of Oscar J. Prejean (1909–1995) of Thibodaux in Lafourche Parish.<ref name=obit>Obituary of Louis J. Roussel, Jr., ''The New Orleans Times-Picayune,'' October 21, 2001.</ref>
Roussel entered the job force in the 1930s as a bus driver in New Orleans but thereafter made a fortune in [[petroleum]] and [[banking]].<ref name=schiff>{{cite web|url=http://www.insuranceobserver.com/PDF/2005/031505.pdf|title=Schiff's Insurance Observer|date=March 2005|publisher=insuranceobserver.com|accessdate=October 31, 2010}}</ref> He even owned land in Keene, [[New Hampshire]], which he purchased far below book value before the passage of the Williams Act, named for former [[U.S. Senator]] Harrison Williams, Jr., of [[New Jersey]], placed restrictions on such property transfers.<ref name=schiff/>
In his later years, Roussel supported some [[Republican Party|Republican]] candidates, as the [[Republican Party|GOP]] became more competitive in Louisiana, including the 1990 [[U.S. Senate]] hopeful, then state Senator [[Ben Bagert]] of New Orleans, who withdrew from the race against [[David Duke]] and [[J. Bennett Johnston, Jr.]], a contest ultimately won by Johnston, the Democratic nominee, and a former intra-party rival to Edwards in the 1971 gubernatorial runoff contest.
In 1997 Roussel published his [[autobiography]], ''Friends, Enemies, and Victims: The Autobiography of Louis J. Roussel, Jr''.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.amazon.com/Friends-Enemies-Victims-Autobiography-Roussel/dp/B00201BOHK|title=Friends, Enemies, and Victims: The Autobiography of Louis J. Roussel, Jr.|publisher=Listed only as "Louisiana," 1997|accessdate=October 31, 2010}}</ref>
==Death==
Roussel, who resided in Metairie in Jefferson Parish, died on October 20, 2001, at the age of ninety-five. Services were held on October 23 at the Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home Chapel. Interment was at Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans.<ref name=obit/> At the time of his death, Roussel had four grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.<ref name=obit />
Roussel is remembered through the Louis J. Roussel Performance Hall at Loyola University in New Orleans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://travel.aol.com/travel-guide/united-states/louisiana/new-orleans/louis-j-roussel-performance-hall-nightlife-detail-371777/|title=Louis J. Roussel Performance Hall|publisher=travel.aol.com|accessdate=October 31, 2010}}</ref> The Louis J. Roussel, Jr. Laser [[Planetarium]] and MegaDome Cinema in Kenner in Jefferson Parish, which seats one hundred, is also named in his honor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goby.com/louis-j-roussel-jr-laser-planetarium-+-kenner-la--near--kenner-la/e-1722459|title=Louis J. Roussel, Jr., Laser Planetarium - Kenner, LA|publisher=goby.com|accessdate=October 31, 2010}}</ref>
His son, Louis Roussell, III, an [[attorney]], owned, with Ronnie Lamarque, Risen Star, the 1988 winner of the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes.<ref name=notes>{{cite web|url=http://www.tulane.edu/~rivgate/notes_ch7anote4.html|title=Notes|publisher=tulane.edu|accessdate=October 31, 2010}}</ref> Risen Star finished third in the [[Kentucky Derby]]. Roussel, III, also owns the [[Kentucky]]-bred son of Risen Star, Star Standard.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nola.com/horseracing/index.ssf/2010/05/no_triple_crown_for_super_save.html|title=Bob Fortus, "Winning the Triple Crown Like Winning an 'Iron-Man Contest'"|publisher=''New Orleans Times-Picayune''|date= May 24, 2010|accessdate=October 31, 2010}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roussel, Jr., Louis}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:Catholics]]
| name=Louis J. Roussel, Jr.
(Louisiana business mogul and political kingmaker)
| birth_date=July 28, 1906
| birth_place=[[New Orleans]], [[Louisiana]], [[United States|USA]]
| death_date=October 20, 2001 (aged 95)
| death_place=
| occupation=[[Business]]man
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
| spouse=Lucy Cocchiarra Roussel
| children=Louie "Louie" Roussel, III<br>
Charmaine Roussel Morel
| parents=Louis, Sr., and Bertha Breaux Roussel
| religion=[[Roman Catholic]]}}
'''Louis J. Roussel, Jr.''' (July 28, 1906 – October 20, 2001), was a powerful [[business]]man and political kingmaker from his native [[New Orleans]], [[Louisiana]].
He was known for his long-time financial support to the campaigns of [[Edwin Edwards]], the Louisiana governor from 1972–1980, 1984–1988, and 1992–1996, and [[Bill Dodd]], a former lieutenant governor (1948–1952) and state education superintendent (1964–1972), who failed in determined gubernatorial bids in 1952 and 1959.<ref>[[Bill Dodd]], ''Peapatch Politics: The Earl Long Era in Louisiana Politics'', Baton Rouge: Claitors Publishing Company, 1991</ref>
Roussel contributed a total of $500,000 to Dodd's campaigns and $600,000 alone to Edwards' failed 1987 race against [[Buddy Roemer]], then a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] for Louisiana's 4th congressional district.<ref name=notes/> Dodd's son, William Ford Dodd, was running unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in that same 1987 [[primary]] election.
==Biography==
Roussel (pronounced RUE SELL) was the son of Louis Roussel, Sr. (1876–1964) and the former Bertha Breaux. He married the former Lucy Cocchiara (1909-2002), with whom he had two children, Charmaine Roussel Morel (born October 20, 1934) of Metairie and Louis "Louie" Roussel, III (1946-2015), of Kenner. His brother was Ervin Roussel, and his sister was Lillie Roussel Prejean (1911–2007), wife of Oscar J. Prejean (1909–1995) of Thibodaux in Lafourche Parish.<ref name=obit>Obituary of Louis J. Roussel, Jr., ''The New Orleans Times-Picayune,'' October 21, 2001.</ref>
Roussel entered the job force in the 1930s as a bus driver in New Orleans but thereafter made a fortune in [[petroleum]] and [[banking]].<ref name=schiff>{{cite web|url=http://www.insuranceobserver.com/PDF/2005/031505.pdf|title=Schiff's Insurance Observer|date=March 2005|publisher=insuranceobserver.com|accessdate=October 31, 2010}}</ref> He even owned land in Keene, [[New Hampshire]], which he purchased far below book value before the passage of the Williams Act, named for former [[U.S. Senator]] Harrison Williams, Jr., of [[New Jersey]], placed restrictions on such property transfers.<ref name=schiff/>
In his later years, Roussel supported some [[Republican Party|Republican]] candidates, as the [[Republican Party|GOP]] became more competitive in Louisiana, including the 1990 [[U.S. Senate]] hopeful, then state Senator [[Ben Bagert]] of New Orleans, who withdrew from the race against [[David Duke]] and [[J. Bennett Johnston, Jr.]], a contest ultimately won by Johnston, the Democratic nominee, and a former intra-party rival to Edwards in the 1971 gubernatorial runoff contest.
In 1997 Roussel published his [[autobiography]], ''Friends, Enemies, and Victims: The Autobiography of Louis J. Roussel, Jr''.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.amazon.com/Friends-Enemies-Victims-Autobiography-Roussel/dp/B00201BOHK|title=Friends, Enemies, and Victims: The Autobiography of Louis J. Roussel, Jr.|publisher=Listed only as "Louisiana," 1997|accessdate=October 31, 2010}}</ref>
==Death==
Roussel, who resided in Metairie in Jefferson Parish, died on October 20, 2001, at the age of ninety-five. Services were held on October 23 at the Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home Chapel. Interment was at Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans.<ref name=obit/> At the time of his death, Roussel had four grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.<ref name=obit />
Roussel is remembered through the Louis J. Roussel Performance Hall at Loyola University in New Orleans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://travel.aol.com/travel-guide/united-states/louisiana/new-orleans/louis-j-roussel-performance-hall-nightlife-detail-371777/|title=Louis J. Roussel Performance Hall|publisher=travel.aol.com|accessdate=October 31, 2010}}</ref> The Louis J. Roussel, Jr. Laser [[Planetarium]] and MegaDome Cinema in Kenner in Jefferson Parish, which seats one hundred, is also named in his honor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goby.com/louis-j-roussel-jr-laser-planetarium-+-kenner-la--near--kenner-la/e-1722459|title=Louis J. Roussel, Jr., Laser Planetarium - Kenner, LA|publisher=goby.com|accessdate=October 31, 2010}}</ref>
His son, Louis Roussell, III, an [[attorney]], owned, with Ronnie Lamarque, Risen Star, the 1988 winner of the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes.<ref name=notes>{{cite web|url=http://www.tulane.edu/~rivgate/notes_ch7anote4.html|title=Notes|publisher=tulane.edu|accessdate=October 31, 2010}}</ref> Risen Star finished third in the [[Kentucky Derby]]. Roussel, III, also owns the [[Kentucky]]-bred son of Risen Star, Star Standard.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nola.com/horseracing/index.ssf/2010/05/no_triple_crown_for_super_save.html|title=Bob Fortus, "Winning the Triple Crown Like Winning an 'Iron-Man Contest'"|publisher=''New Orleans Times-Picayune''|date= May 24, 2010|accessdate=October 31, 2010}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roussel, Jr., Louis}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:Business People]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:Catholics]]