Martha Beall Mitchell
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Martha Elizabeth Beall Mitchell (2 September 1918 – 31 May 1976) was the wife of John Mitchell, United States Attorney General under President Richard Nixon.
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, she graduated from Pine Bluff High School in 1936, then attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. After World War II, she worked at the Pine Bluff Arsenal. She had a brief first marriage to Clyde Jennings (October 5 1946) which produced a son, Jay (b. 2 November 1947).
Later, she moved to Washington, D.C., where she met John Mitchell. They married on 30 December 1957. They had a daughter, Martha Elizabeth (nicknamed Marty) on 10 January 1961.
Dubbed "The Mouth of the South," she began contacting reporters when her husband's role in the Watergate scandal became known. At one time, Martha insisted she was held against her will in a California hotel room and sedated to keep her from making her controversial phone calls to the news media. However, because of this, she was discredited and even abandoned by most of her family, except her son Jay. Nixon aides even leaked to the press that she had a "drinking problem." The "Martha Mitchell effect," when a psychiatrist mistakenly diagnoses someone's belief as a delusion, is named after her.
The Mitchells separated in 1973. Three years later, in advanced stages of myeloma, Martha slipped into a coma and died in Washington at age 57.
Ms. Mitchell is portrayed in the 1995 film Nixon by actress Madeline Kahn.
In 2004 a 3-Act Play entitled "This is Martha Speaking..." by Thomas Doran premiered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The play starred Lee Anne Moore as Martha Mitchell, and Michael Childers as John Mitchell.
The character of Martha Logan, first lady to President Charles Logan in 24 (TV series), is based on her.
References
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