Jack Valenti
publication date: Friday, July 11, 2025 (part of July 2025)
category: 
Government
clue: This longtime movie-industry bureaucrat opposed VCRs and invented the X and NC-17 ratings, maybe to prevent audiences from seeing any violence as graphic as what he witnessed on November 22, 1963.
explanation: Valenti worked in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, and was present at Kennedy's assassination and Johnson's subsequent swearing-in. He later worked as the head of the Motion Picture Association (then called the Motion Picture Association of America), where he developed the MPAA rating system. He was also known for his outspoken opposition to the VCR, which the film industry considered a lethal threat around the end of the 1970s. more…
intended difficulty: easy
solved by: Russ Wilhelm, Steve West, Samir Mehta, and Richard Slominsky
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