[Deathwatch] Lester Maddox, former Georgia governor, 87

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Former Georgia Gov. Maddox dies
Wednesday, June 25, 2003 Posted: 6:31 AM EDT (1031 GMT)

http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/06/25/maddox.obit.ap/index.html

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- Lester Maddox, the restaurateur who became a
symbol of segregationist defiance and then Georgia governor in a fluke
election, died Wednesday, family members said. He was 87. 

Maddox, who had battled cancer since 1983, cracked two ribs when he
fell about 10 days ago at an assisted living home where he was
recovering from intestinal surgery. He later developed pneumonia and
was placed in an Atlanta hospice where he died, the family said. 

"Gov. Maddox had the unique ability to connect with everyday Georgians
regardless of their background or station in life," Gov. Sonny Perdue
said in a statement. "Georgians have lost more than a former governor.
We have lost a devoted family man, a dedicated public servant and a
prominent citizen who loved this state and her people." 

Maddox became famous in the 1960s when he closed and then sold his
Pickrick fried chicken restaurant in Atlanta rather than serve blacks.
But fears of racial strife during his 1967-71 governorship proved
unfounded when Maddox pursued a policy of relative moderation on race. 


It began with an inaugural vow that "there will be no place in Georgia
during the next four years for those who advocate extremism or
violence." 

Barred from succeeding himself at the end of his four-year term, Maddox
won the state's second-highest office, and from the position as
lieutenant governor battled the man who succeeded him as governor,
President-to-be Jimmy Carter. 

A bid to return to the executive mansion failed in 1974, and Maddox
dabbled at real estate. 

He tried a final comeback in 1990, but his years away from the public
spotlight and a changing electorate left him fifth in a five-person
race with just 3 percent of the vote. 

An irrepressible, flamboyant man, Maddox often seemed more caricature
than flesh. His slick pate and thick glasses were fodder for
cartoonists. He was known for quaint sayings and outrageous gestures
like riding a bicycle backward. 

"How you, chief?" was one customary greeting. Another: "It's great to
be alive. A lot of folks aren't, you know." 

He won the hearts of many by opening the doors of his office and the
governor's mansion to what he called the "little people." Twice a month
he held a kind of people's court to hear the problems of the
rank-and-file and offer advice and help. 

At his final open house at the executive mansion, thousands turned out
to bid Maddox farewell. 

A dropout restauranteur
Maddox was born September 30, 1915, in Atlanta. He was a school dropout
who later took a correspondence course and opened a restaurant. It was
through that restaurant, the Pickrick, that Maddox became nationally
known for his outspoken opposition to integration. 

In one incident, customers armed themselves with pick handles to bar
blacks. Pick handles became his trademark, and later he sold them as
souvenirs. 

Maddox claimed he had nothing against blacks, just forced integration.
In the end, he sold the restaurant rather than comply with the public
accommodations section of the Civil Rights Act. 

"As well as a constitutional human right to associate with whomever you
please, there should be a corresponding right to disassociate if you
please," he once said. 

Wins by a fluke
Maddox ran twice for mayor of Atlanta and once for lieutenant governor
before capturing the state's highest office through a quirk in state
law.

He won the Democratic nomination for governor in 1966 but trailed
Republican Howard H. "Bo" Callaway in the general election. Write-in
votes for other candidates prevented Callaway from receiving a
majority, and the question was thrown to the Democrat-dominated
Legislature, which picked Maddox. 

As governor, Maddox interested himself in prison reform and teacher
pay, and appointed black musician Graham Jackson to the state Board of
Corrections -- a high post for a black man at the time. 

As his term drew to a close, Maddox challenged a constitutional
provision barring governors from succeeding themselves. He failed, but
managed to be elected lieutenant governor. 

It was a classic mismatch: the liberal, polished Carter as governor and
conservative, rough-hewn Maddox in the No. 2 spot. Said Maddox: "It's
all right for a fellow to grow peanuts ... but people ought not to
think like them. I don't know whether the man is sick, or just a plain
fool." 

In 1974, Maddox once again was eligible to run for governor. He lost. 

The ex-governor flirted with national politics in 1976 when his old
nemesis Carter ran successfully for president. As the presidential
nominee of the American Independent Party, Maddox got only a handful of
votes. 

Later, he embarked on a short-lived nightclub comedy career with a
black man he pardoned from jail while he was governor. They billed
themselves as "The Governor and the Dishwasher." 

In defense of marriage
Maddox's wife, the former Virginia Cox, died in 1997. They had been
married for more than 60 years and had two daughters and two sons. 

After she died, Maddox resolved to work to keep other marriages
together, reasoning that if a few thousand dollars' worth of
advertising could save one family, "then it's worth it." 

"DEAR MOMS & DADS. Help Save Lives, Families and U.S.A. STAY MARRIED,"
said an ad that ran in March 1998 in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.