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Vic Gold
Vic Gold was a writer and Republican operative who worked as a speechwriter and spokesman for a number of GOP presidents and candidates, including Barry Goldwater, Spiro Agnew, and George H.W. Bush. His file, simultaneously released in the FBI Records Vault, consists primarily of background checks for those positions.
New York Times obit: Vic Gold, Hard-Charging G.O.P. Spokesman and Campaigner, Dies at 88
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Lois Wheeler Snow
Lois Wheeler Snow was an actress and writer who, through her marriage to journalist Edgar Snow, became a prominent figure in China. Although she visited China frequently between 1970 and 1989, her FBI file consists of a single report of a 1975 visit described in the press.
New York Times obit: Lois Wheeler Snow, Critic of Human Rights Abuses in China, Dies at 97
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Philip George
Philip George was a designer responsible for both the celebrated interiors of several prominent Manhattan restaurants and for project managing the construction of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, the site of the 1959 "Kitchen Debate" between Nixon and Kruschev. His FBI file consists of a 1948 background check preceding his work with the Marshall Plan producing a display to promote Americanism, as well as 1963 interviews with FBI agents about his communications with Soviets while in Moscow.
New York Times obit: Philip George, Designer of Elegant Restaurants, Dies at 94
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Elbert Howard
Elbert Howard, widely known as "Big Man," was a founder of and spokesman for the Black Panther Party through the late 1960s and early 1970s. The portion of his FBI file covered in this release documents his international travel and public speaking events, focusing on a trip to Japan. Muckrock has published an extensive write-up of these pages.
New York Times obit: Elbert Howard, a Founder of the Black Panthers, Dies at 80
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Jacqueline Berrien
Jacqueline Berrien chaired the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under President Obama. Her FBI file consists of a background check related to that appointment.
New York Times obit: Jacqueline Berrien, Head of E.E.O.C., Is Dead at 53
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Concepcion Picciotto
Concepción Picciotto was a peace activist who held a continuous vigil across the street from the White House from 1981 until ten days before her death in 2016. Her FBI file includes documentation of several complaints to the FBI, including self-published pamphlets.
New York Times obit: Concepcion Picciotto, Who Kept Vigil by White House for Three Decades, Dies
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Fred Thompson
Fred Thompson was an actor, a Tennessee senator from 1994 to 2003, and a 2008 presidential candidate. His FBI file involves investigations of threatening calls and letters received by Thompson's Senate office, and a background check for clearance to classified information as special counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee.
New York Times obit: Fred Thompson, Former Senator, Actor and Presidential Candidate, Dies at 73
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Robert Parry
Robert Parry was an investigative journalist best known for his groundbreaking coverage of the Iran–Contra Affair while at the Associated Press. His short FBI file documents an investigation into a Students for Democratic Society chapter he founded at his alma mater.
New York Times obit: Robert Parry, Investigative Reporter in Washington, Dies at 68
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Cathleen Morawetz
Cathleen Morawetz was a mathematician and NYU professor whose research on the motion of fluids and waves was relevant to supersonic aircraft wing design. Her file describes a monthlong visit to the Soviet Union in 1963 as part of an Exchange Agreement, as well as FBI efforts to interview her (and apparently share technical information with her) without alerting her to the identity of a particular Bureau informant.
New York Times obit: Cathleen Morawetz, Mathematician With Real-World Impact, Dies at 94
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Drue Heinz
Drue Heinz was a patron of the arts, publisher of The Paris Review, and—for a brief stretch in 1950—an actress. Her FBI file, which mostly refers to her as Doreen Mary Maher, consists of a background check conducted in 1948, apparently in connection to employment with the Voice of America.
New York Times obit: Drue Heinz, a Philanthropist of Literature, Dies at 103
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Fats Domino
Fats Domino was a pianist, singer, and songwriter who made a name as one of the biggest stars of the early rock-and-roll era. His file consists of a 1965 inquiry into one of his Cadillacs, apparently spotted during an FBI stakeout of a Philadelphia hotel that Martin Luther King was believed to be staying at.
New York Times obit: Fats Domino, Early Rock ’n’ Roller With a Boogie-Woogie Piano, Is Dead at 89
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C. Weston Houck
Judge C. Weston Houck presided over a lawsuit brought by Shannon Faulkner against South Carolina's public military college, The Citadel. His ruling in that case ended the Citadel's 152-year-old male-only admissions policy. His FBI file primarily addresses an incident wherein a man upset by that case engaged in behavior that could have been construed as a threat.
New York Times obit: C. Weston Houck, Judge Who Ended Citadel’s Male-Only Policy, Dies at 84
