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In memoriam Jack Valenti The Hungarian Ambassador András Simonyi is deeply saddened by the passing away of his good friend and personal hero Jack Valenti. Jack Valenti was a great friend of Hungary, Hungarian arts, he and the ambassador have frequently spoken about the importance of building the strongest cultural ties between the United States and Europe. He was a great proponent of free speech but also advocated the responsibility of artist in society.
As a sign of his friendship, last year Jack Valenti joined the Ambassador’s band “The Coalition of the Willing” with Jeff “Skunk” Baxter on stage at the 9.30 Club in Washington, DC. The event was devoted to support the Pulmonary Hypertension Association. On stage Jack praised the Ambassador’s band which really meant a tribute to rock and roll and its contribution to the common European-American heritage in the arts as his appreciation for the efforts by later generations. Recently he also remembered the importance of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution against Communism and Soviet occupation as one of the events which had deeply influenced him.
The Hungarian Ambassador, Hungarians have lost a great American and a good friend. We will miss him. (Footage by Shauna Lawhorne and Sonja Simonyi of the 9.30 Club speech can be obtained through Zoltán Fehér, Press Attaché of the Embassy of Hungary – telephone: 202-364-4180 or e-mail: zfeher@kum.hu.)
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