Lyn Nofziger, Reagan spokesman, dead at 81

updated 10:48 p.m. ET March 27, 2006

WASHINGTON - Franklyn “Lyn” Nofziger, the rumpled and irreverent conservative who served President Reagan as press secretary and political adviser, died of cancer Monday. He was 81.

Nofziger died at his home in Falls Church, Va., said Eldin Girdner, a family friend.

Former first lady Nancy Reagan said in a statement Monday: “I was deeply saddened this afternoon when I heard of Lyn Nofziger’s death. Lyn was with us from the gubernatorial campaign in 1965 through the early White House days, and Ronnie valued his advice — and good humor — as much as anyone’s. I spoke with him just days ago, and even though he knew the end was near, Lyn was hopeful and still in good spirits.”

Nofziger, who joined Reagan’s ranks early in the political career of the actor-turned-politician, headed the White House political office during the first year of the Reagan presidency and then quit to form a political consulting and lobbying firm.

‘Keeper of the flame’
“He was a great big garrulous guy who was very serious about his politics and very serious about Ronald Reagan,” Michael Deaver, Reagan’s deputy chief of staff, said Monday. “He was sort of the keeper of the flame.”

“He was fun to be around,” Deaver said. “Reagan would light up when he came into the room.”

Conservative columnist George F. Will once described the nonconformist, cigar-chomping Nofziger, as Sancho Panza to Reagan’s Don Quixote.

Asked why he was leaving the White House, Nofziger replied, “I don’t like government, it’s just that simple.” He denied as “99 percent untrue” a report he’d quit because of his exclusion from the president’s innermost circle.

His determined irreverence extended to the Reagans.

“I’m not a social friend of the Reagans,” he told an interviewer. “That’s by their choice and by mine. They don’t drink enough.”

Mickey Mouse neckties and Bombay gin
Bombay gin, outrageous puns and fierce loyalty to Reagan and conservative Republican principles were Nofziger hallmarks. His caustic wit made him a favorite among some reporters who covered Reagan as governor and president and on his various campaigns.

In a town where men wear expensive suits, Nofziger stood out in his rumpled sports coats and slacks. His trademark was a tie with a picture of Mickey Mouse, a visual statement of what he thought about Washington. When Reagan won the White House, Nofziger refused to join other aides in calling their boss “Mr. President.” To him, Reagan was always “Ronnie.”

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