View source for Walter Annenberg

{{Short description|American businessman (1908–2002)}}
{{Use American English|date = September 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2012}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[Excellency|His Excellency]]
| name                = Walter Annenberg
| image               = Walter Annenberg 1981.jpg
| caption             = Annenberg in 1982
| ambassador_from     = United States
| country             = the United Kingdom
| president           = [[Richard Nixon]]<br />[[Gerald Ford]]
| term_start          = April 29, 1969
| term_end            = October 30, 1974
| predecessor         = [[David K. E. Bruce]]
| successor           = [[Elliot Richardson]]
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1908|3|13}}
| birth_place         = [[Milwaukee]], Wisconsin, U.S.
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|2002|10|1|1908|3|13}}
| death_place         = [[Wynnewood, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| restingplace        = [[Sunnylands]], Rancho Mirage, California<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Colacello |first1=Bob |title=Inside Sunnylands, the Haute-Moderne Annenberg Haunt of Ronald Reagan and Prince Charles |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2012/04/sunnylands-ronald-reagan-prince-charles-annenberg |access-date=6 January 2021 |magazine=Vanity Fair |language=en-us}}</ref>
| restingplacecoordinates = {{Coord|33.776|-116.412|region:US-CA_type:landmark}}
| parents             = {{Unbulleted list
 | [[Moses Annenberg]]
 | Sadie Freedman
}}
| spouse              = {{Unbulleted list
 | {{Marriage|Veronica Dunkelman|1938|1950|reason=divorced}}
 | {{Marriage|[[Leonore Annenberg|Leonore Cohn]]|1951}}
 }}
| relatives           = {{Unbulleted list
 | [[Janet Annenberg Hooker]] (sister)
 | [[Enid A. Haupt|Enid Haupt]] (sister)
 | [[Lauren Bon]] (granddaughter)
 }}
| blank1              = Awards
| data1               = [[File:Legion Honneur Officier ribbon.svg|60px]]&nbsp;Officier of [[Legion of Honour]]<br />[[File:Presidential Medal of Freedom (ribbon).svg|60px]]&nbsp;[[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] (1986)<br />[[File:Order of the British Empire (Civil) Ribbon.png|60px]]&nbsp;Knight Commander of the [[Order of the British Empire]] (1976)<br />[[File:Order of St. Gregory the Great.png|60px]]&nbsp;Knight of [[Order of St. Gregory the Great]]<br />[[Eisenhower Fellowships#The Eisenhower Medal for Leadership and Service|Eisenhower Medal for Leadership and Service]] (1988)<br />Linus Pauling Medal for Humanitarianism
| children            = 2, including [[Wallis Annenberg|Wallis]]
| website             = {{URL|https://annenberg.org/}}
| education           = [[University of Pennsylvania]]
| honorific_suffix    = [[Knight of St. Gregory|KSG]] [[Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire|KBE]]
}}

'''Walter Hubert Annenberg''' {{post-nominals|list=[[Order of St. Gregory the Great|KSG]] [[Order of the British Empire|KBE]]}} (March 13, 1908&nbsp;– October 1, 2002) was an American businessman, investor, philanthropist, and diplomat. Annenberg owned and operated [[Triangle Publications]], which included ownership of ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'', ''[[TV Guide]]'', the ''[[Daily Racing Form]]'' and ''[[Seventeen (American magazine)|Seventeen]]'' magazine. He was appointed by President [[Richard Nixon]] as [[List of ambassadors of the United States to the United Kingdom|United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom]], where he served from 1969 to 1974.

During his tenure as U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, he developed a close friendship with [[Queen Elizabeth II]] and other members of the royal family. After initial perceived missteps,<ref>Which ones? Other than [https://www.nytimes.com/1974/10/15/archives/annenberg-leaving-london-with-critics-mellowed-money-goodwill.html what the NYT reported]? ("...at the [[credentialing]] ceremony, seen by millions as part of the British television program on the royal family, Mr. Annenberg used what the British press called “preposterous circumlocutions.” )</ref> he came to be admired for his dedicated work ethic, his wife's lavish entertaining, and personal gifts to support patriotic British causes, such as the restoration of [[St. Paul's Cathedral]] in London. He also paid for the renovation of [[Winfield House]], the American ambassador's residence.

In his later years, Annenberg became one of the most prominent philanthropists in the United States.<ref>[https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/walter-annenberg-leaves-fortune-to-family-art-museum-and-charity "Walter Annenberg Leaves Fortune to Family, Art Museum, and Charity"], ''Philanthropy News Digest'', October 8, 2002</ref> He established the [[Annenberg Foundation]] in 1989, and gave over $2 billion to educational establishments and art galleries, including both the [[Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania]] and [[USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism]] in Los Angeles. At [[Sunnylands]], his {{convert|220|acre|ha|adj=on}} estate near [[Palm Springs, California]], he entertained royalty, presidents and other celebrities; it is now a museum and retreat center dedicated to furthering the Annenbergs' legacies.

==Early life==
Walter Annenberg was born to a Jewish family in [[Milwaukee]], Wisconsin, on March 13, 1908. He was the only son of Sadie Cecelia ({{nee}} Friedman; 1879–1965) and [[Moses Annenberg]], who published the ''[[Daily Racing Form]]'' and purchased ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'' in 1936.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.broadcastpioneers.com/inquirerhistory.html|title=The History of the Philadelphia Inquirer|access-date=November 24, 2007|last=Wilkinson|first=Gerry|website=Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia}}</ref> Annenberg was a [[Stuttering|stutterer]] since childhood.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/02/arts/walter-annenberg-94-dies-philanthropist-and-publisher.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |title=Walter Annenberg, 94, Dies; Philanthropist and Publisher|newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 2, 2002 |access-date=October 16, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Annenberg__Walter.htm |title=Annenberg, Walter H.|website=pabook.libraries.psu.edu |access-date=3 February 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131016133658/http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Annenberg__Walter.htm |archive-date=October 16, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n0SujCRdh4gC&q=walter+annenberg+stutter&pg=PA66 |title=Legacy: A Biography of Moses and Walter Annenberg - Christopher Ogden - Google Books |date= November 29, 2009|isbn=9780316092449 |access-date=October 16, 2013|last1=Ogden |first1=Christopher |publisher=Little, Brown }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20093375 |title=JSTOR: Access Check |jstor=20093375 |access-date=September 17, 2017 |archive-date=April 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418062722/https://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/20093375?uid=3739832&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21102745748801 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.broadcastpioneers.com/walterannenberg.html |title=The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia |website=Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia|access-date=October 16, 2013}}</ref>

He had seven sisters: Diana Annenberg (1900–1905), Esther Annenberg Simon Levee (1901–1992), [[Janet Annenberg Hooker]] (1904–1997), [[Enid A. Haupt|Enid Annenberg Bensinger Haupt]] (1906–2005), Lita Annenberg Hazen (1909–1995), Evelyn Annenberg Jaffe Hall (1911–2005), and Harriet Beatrice Annenberg Ames Aronson (1914–1969).

The Annenberg family moved to [[Long Island]], New York, in 1920.<ref name="mbc">{{cite web|url= http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/A/htmlA/annenbergwa/annenbergwa.htm|title= Walter Annenberg|access-date= November 24, 2007|last= Gunzerath|first= David|website= [[Museum of Broadcast Communications]]|archive-date= March 22, 2009|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090322061112/http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/A/htmlA/annenbergwa/annenbergwa.htm|url-status= dead}}</ref> Walter attended the [[Peddie School]] in [[Hightstown, New Jersey]], where he graduated in 1927.<ref name="mbc"/> He was admitted to the [[Wharton School]]  at the [[University of Pennsylvania]] in [[Philadelphia]], but dropped out without attaining a degree.<ref>Burns, Catherine M. [http://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entry.php?rec=77 "Walter Annenberg."] In ''Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present'', vol. 5, edited by R. Daniel Wadhwani. German Historical Institute. Last modified January 07, 2015.</ref> While in college, he was a member of [[Zeta Beta Tau]], a traditionally Jewish [[Fraternities and sororities|fraternity]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zbt.org/index.php?id=83&page=Notable|title=Zeta Beta Tau Notable Alumni|access-date=August 29, 2010|archive-date=September 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917101834/http://www.zbt.org/index.php?id=83&page=Notable|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Annenberg was greatly affected by the [[tax evasion]] charges and other scandals involving his father in the 1930s. A significant part of his adult life was dedicated to rehabilitating the family's name through philanthropy and public service.

==Business career==
[[File:Queen Elizabeth and prince Phillip visit Sunnylands.jpg|thumb|The Annenbergs with [[Queen Elizabeth II]] and [[Prince Philip]] at their home, [[Sunnylands]], in [[Rancho Mirage, California]], in 1983]]
[[File:President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan with Leonore Annenberg and Walter Annenberg.jpg|thumb|[[Leonore Annenberg|Leonore]] and Walter Annenberg with President [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[Nancy Reagan|Mrs. Reagan]] in 1988]]
After his father's death in 1942, Annenberg took over the family businesses, making successes out of some that had been failing. He bought additional print media as well as radio and television stations, resulting in great success. One of his most prominent successes was the creation of ''[[TV Guide]]'' in 1952, which he started against the advice of his financial advisors. He also created [[Seventeen (American magazine)|''Seventeen'']] magazine. During the 1970s, ''TV Guide'' was making profits in the range of $600,000 to $1,000,000 per week.

While Annenberg ran his publishing empire as a business, he was not afraid to use it for his political purposes. One of his publications, ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'', was influential in ridding [[Philadelphia]] of its largely corrupt city government in 1949. It campaigned for the [[Marshall Plan]] following World War II<ref name="Annenberg">{{cite book |last=Ogden |first=Christopher |year=1999 |title=Legacy: A Biography of Moses and Walter Annenberg |url=https://archive.org/details/legacybiographyo00ogde |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |location=New York |isbn=0-316-63379-8 |url-access=registration}}</ref> and attacked [[McCarthyism]] in the 1950s.<ref name="New York Times 1999-07-25">{{cite news |first=Richard Norton |last=Smith |title=From Paperboy to Philanthropist |date=July 25, 1999 |url =https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/99/07/25/reviews/990725.25smit.html |department=Books |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=January 22, 2008}}</ref>

In 1966, Annenberg used the ''Inquirer'' to cast doubt on the candidacy of Democrat [[Milton Shapp]] for [[governor of Pennsylvania]]. Shapp was highly critical of the proposed merger of the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] with the [[New York Central Railroad]] and was pushing the US [[Interstate Commerce Commission]] to prevent it from occurring. Annenberg, who was the biggest individual stockholder of the Pennsylvania Railroad, wanted to see the merger succeed (which it did) and he was frustrated with Shapp's opposition.<ref>
{{Cite news |last=Glueck |first=Grace |date=October 2, 2002 |title=Walter Annenberg, 94, Dies; Philanthropist and Publisher |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/02/arts/walter-annenberg-94-dies-philanthropist-and-publisher.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=12 January 2022}}</ref> During a press conference, an ''Inquirer'' reporter asked Shapp if he had ever been a patient in a mental hospital. Never having been in one, Shapp simply said "no." The next day, a five-column front page ''Inquirer'' headline read, "Shapp Denies Mental Institution Stay". Shapp and others have attributed his loss of the election to Annenberg's newspaper.<ref name="Annenberg"/><ref>{{Cite news |first=Jack |last=Shafer |date=October 2, 2002 |title=Citizen Annenberg: So Long You Rotten Bastard |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/press_box/2002/10/citizen_annenberg.html |format=obituary |department=Press Box (column) |periodical=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |access-date=12 January 2022}}</ref>

At a time when Annenberg was seeking appointment as U.S. ambassador to Great Britain, a ''TV Guide'' "special editorial" of April 14, 1969, suddenly reversed what had been the publication's support of the [[Smothers Brothers]] in the duo's content fight with their network, CBS. The editorial, "Smothers Out: A Wise Decision," praised the network cancellation of [[The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour]], rhetorically asking "Where does satire end -- and sacrilege begin?" Annenberg received the ambassadorship from President Richard Nixon, who at the time was a frequent target of Smothers Brothers on-air barbs and was pressing for more control over television network content.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bianculli |first=David |title=Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour |publisher=Touchstone |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4391-0116-2 |location=New York |pages=314–315}}</ref>

Even while an active businessman, Annenberg had an interest in public service. In 1953 he became one of the founding trustees of [[Eisenhower Fellowships]]. After [[Richard M. Nixon]] was elected president, he appointed Annenberg as ambassador to the [[Court of St James's]] in the UK. In 1969, under pressure after the Shapp controversy, Annenberg sold ''The Inquirer'' and the ''[[Philadelphia Daily News]]'', which he bought in 1957, to [[Knight Ridder|Knight Newspapers]] for $55 million. After being appointed as ambassador, he became quite popular{{clarify|date=November 2020}} in Britain, being made an Honorary Bencher of the [[Middle Temple]] on 26 November 1969<ref>Arnold, J. (1982). ''The Middle Temple Bench Book''. Vol. 2, p.109.</ref> and an honorary Knight Commander of the [[Order of the British Empire]] (KBE) in 1976.<ref name="times59740">{{Cite newspaper The Times|title=British Awards for Bob Hope and Mr Rusk|department=Official Appointments and Notices| date=26 June 1976|page=5|issue=59740|column=A}}</ref>

Annenberg led a lavish lifestyle. His [[Sunnylands]] winter estate in [[Rancho Mirage, California|Rancho Mirage]], California (near [[Palm Springs, California|Palm Springs]]), hosted gatherings with such people as President [[Ronald Reagan]] and First Lady [[Nancy Reagan]], Queen [[Elizabeth II]], [[Frank Sinatra]], [[Bob Hope]], [[Bing Crosby]], [[Charles, Prince of Wales]], and the family of [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]]. Annenberg introduced President Reagan to British Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]], and the Reagans often celebrated New Year's Eve with the Annenbergs. President Ronald Reagan named Leonore Annenberg the [[United States Department of State|State Department]]'s [[Chief of Protocol of the United States|Chief of Protocol]] in early 1981.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nomination of Leonore Annenberg To Have the Rank of Ambassador While Serving as Chief of Protocol for the White House|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=43365|website=The American Presidency Project|access-date=July 13, 2015|archive-date=August 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831072050/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=43365|url-status=dead}}</ref> Sunnylands covers {{convert|400|acre|km2|1}}, guard-gated on a {{convert|650|acre|km2|1|adj=on}} parcel surrounded by a stucco wall at the northwest corner of Frank Sinatra Drive and Bob Hope Drive; the property includes a golf course.<ref>{{cite news |first=Andrew |last=Rosenthal|title=Citizen Reagan Won't Be a Retiree|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE1D91338F931A35752C0A96F948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 2, 1989|access-date=November 24, 2007}}</ref> The estate continues to be used for meetings and retreats by prominent people.

Annenberg served on the advisory board of [[U.S. English (organization)|U.S. English]], an organization that supports making English the official language of the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|date=March 11, 2022|title=(tweet thread)|url=https://twitter.com/SethCotlar/status/1502378989976899584|access-date=March 11, 2022|author=Seth Cotlar}}</ref> He became a champion of [[public television]], receiving many awards, including the Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]] in 1985,<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#public-service}}</ref> the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] from President Reagan in 1986,<ref name="NNDB"/> the Linus Pauling Medal for Humanitarianism,<ref>
[https://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/findingaids/index.php?p=collections/findingaid&id=3185#id701630 Linus Paulding Institute of Science and Medicine Records, 1901-2010]. Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives.</ref> the 1988 Eisenhower Medal for Leadership and Service,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.efworld.org/about-us/eisenhower-medal |title=Eisenhower Fellows|publisher=The Eisenhower Fellowships|access-date=February 10, 2014}}</ref> was made a Knight of the [[Order of St. Gregory the Great]] in 1998,<ref name="NNDB">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nndb.com/people/632/000024560|title=Walter Annenberg profile at|publisher=NNDB|access-date=February 10, 2014}}</ref> and was named an Officer of the French [[Legion of Honor]].<ref>''Who's Who in the World'', 1978–1979</ref><ref>[https://www.nndb.com/honors/139/000048992/ French Legion of Honor]</ref> He was elected a member of the [[American Philosophical Society]] in 1990<ref>{{Cite web |title=APS Member History |url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Walter+H.+Annenberg&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced |access-date=2022-04-14 |website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref> and a Fellow of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 1995.<ref name=AAAS>{{cite web|title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter A|url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterA.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060618085753/http://amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterA.pdf |archive-date=2006-06-18 |url-status=live|publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences|access-date=April 19, 2011}}</ref>

Annenberg sold [[Triangle Publications]] (''TV Guide'', ''Daily Racing Form'' and a few other publications) to Australian publishing magnate [[Rupert Murdoch]] in 1988 for $3 billion (a record media price at the time), announcing that he would devote his life to philanthropy.

His collection of French [[impressionism|impressionist art]] was valued at approximately US$1 billion in 1991 and was donated to the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] in New York City upon his death in 2002. In 1990, he donated $50 million to the [[United Negro College Fund]] which was the largest amount ever contributed to the organization.<ref>[http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/african/2000/1990.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100211134655/http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/african/2000/1990.htm|date=February 11, 2010}}</ref> He was also a member of the Founding Council of the [[Rothermere American Institute]] at [[Oxford University]], helping to raise funds for the institute's building and library.<ref>{{cite web|title=Founding Council, The Rothermere American Institute|url=http://www.rai.ox.ac.uk/about/history/foundingcouncil|publisher=Rothermere American Institute|access-date=2012-11-22|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121117021312/http://www.rai.ox.ac.uk/about/history/foundingcouncil|archive-date=November 17, 2012|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Annenberg was named [[Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia]]'s Person of the Year in 1983 and was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame in 1992.<ref>{{cite web |title=Broadcast Pioneer Hall of Fame |url=http://www.broadcastpioneers.com/p-hall.html |website=www.broadcastpioneers.com |access-date=6 January 2021}}</ref>

In 1995, he received the S. Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen, one of the [[Jefferson Awards for Public Service]], given out annually by the [[American Institute for Public Service]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jeffersonawards.org/pastwinners/national|title=National Winners &#124; public service awards|publisher=Jefferson Awards.org|access-date=2013-10-16|archive-date=November 24, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124043935/http://jeffersonawards.org/pastwinners/national|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Philanthropy==
During his lifetime, it is estimated that Annenberg donated over $2 billion. He once said that "education... holds civilization together".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usc.edu/dept/pubrel/trojan_family/winter02/annenberg.html|title=Winter 2002 – Trojan Family Magazine|publisher=Usc.edu|access-date=2013-10-16|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819074839/http://www.usc.edu/dept/pubrel/trojan_family/winter02/annenberg.html|archive-date=August 19, 2014|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Many school buildings, libraries, theaters, hospitals, and museums across the United States now bear his name.

Annenberg established the [[Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania]] and the [[USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism|Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism]] at the [[University of Southern California]]. In 1993, he donated $100 million to the [[Peddie School]], the largest donation ever to a school when accounting for inflation.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sontag |first1=Deborah |title=Publisher Gives $365 Million to 4 schools |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/20/us/publisher-gives-365-million-to-4-schools.html |access-date=21 February 2019 |agency=New Tork Times |date=20 June 1993}}</ref>

In the early 1980s, Annenberg founded the Annenberg Center for Health Sciences at Eisenhower in Rancho Mirage, California. In the mid-1980s, he established the Annenberg Fellowship to [[Eton College]], a one-year fellowship for one US graduating college senior (chosen from a rotating list of US universities including Duke, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, Yale, and others) to spend a year teaching and serving as a cultural ambassador to the famous British boys' school.<ref>[http://www.yale.edu/yalecollege/academics/fellowships/competitions/list/documents/AnnenbergFellowship2008.pdf Annenberg Fellowship 2008] {{Archive url|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904095512/http://www.yale.edu/yalecollege/academics/fellowships/competitions/list/documents/AnnenbergFellowship2008.pdf|date=2015-09-04}}</ref> In 1989, he established the [[Annenberg Foundation]], and 1993, created the Annenberg Challenge, a US$500 million, five-year reform effort and the largest single gift ever made to American public education.

==Personal life==
In 1939, Annenberg married Bernice Veronica Dunkelman. Bernice was raised in a Jewish family in Canada, the daughter of Canadian businessman David Dunkelman who was known for mass-producing low-cost suits and selling them at a single price of $14 at his chain of 65 retail stores.<ref>Ogden, Christopher (1999). [https://books.google.com/books?id=n0SujCRdh4gC&q=dunkelman&pg=PA308 ''Legacy: A Biography of Moses and Walter Annenberg'']. p. 263.</ref> They divorced in 1950 after eleven years together. While married, Dunkelman and Annenberg had two children: a daughter, [[Wallis Annenberg|Wallis]], and son, Roger. Roger died by [[suicide]] in 1962; to commemorate his death, [[Harvard University]], where Roger was a student at the time, now has a Roger Annenberg Hall named in his honor.

In 1951, Annenberg married [[Leonore Annenberg|Leonore "Lee" Cohn]]. Lee was a niece of [[Harry Cohn]], the founder and president of [[Columbia Pictures]]. Although of Jewish ethnicity, she was raised a [[Christian Scientist]] by her uncle's wife. Despite being born to Jewish families, the Annenbergs were not practitioners of Judaism; they regularly celebrated Easter and Christmas with family and friends.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.palmspringslife.com/Palm-Springs-Life/February-2011/Return-to-Sunnylands-First-in-an-eight-part-series/ |title=Walter and Leonore Annenberg's estate in Rancho Mirage - Sunnylands |publisher=Palmspringslife.com |access-date=2013-10-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016165436/http://www.palmspringslife.com/Palm-Springs-Life/February-2011/Return-to-Sunnylands-First-in-an-eight-part-series/ |archive-date=October 16, 2013 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> In 1993 Leonore and Walter Annenberg were awarded the [[National Medal of Arts]].<ref>[http://www.nea.gov/honors/medals/medalists_year.html#93 Lifetime Honors - National Medal of Arts] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826194408/http://www.nea.gov/honors/medals/medalists_year.html#93 |date=August 26, 2013 }}</ref>

==Death==
Annenberg died at his home in [[Wynnewood, Pennsylvania|Wynnewood]], Pennsylvania, on October 1, 2002, from complications of [[pneumonia]]; he was 94 years old.<ref name="lasting legacy">{{cite journal| date = October 8, 2002 | title = A Lasting Legacy | journal = University of Pennsylvania Almanac | volume = 49 | issue = 7 | publisher = University of Pennsylvania | location = Philadelphia| url = http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/v49/n07/death_annenberg.html | access-date = 2007-11-24}}</ref> He was survived by his wife, Leonore (February 20, 1918 – March 12, 2009); his daughter, Wallis; and two sisters, [[Enid A. Haupt]] and Evelyn Hall. Including those by his wife's daughters from her first two marriages (Diane Deshong and Elizabeth Kabler), he left seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.<ref name="lasting legacy"/>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{wikisource|works=or}}
{{Portal|Biography|Politics}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20011004050943/http://www.forbes.com/finance/lists/54/2000/LIR.jhtml?passListId=54&passYear=2000&passListType=Person&uniqueId=9PKR&datatype=Person Walter Annenberg on 2000 Forbes 400 ]
*[http://www.broadcastpioneers.com/walterannenberg.html Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia web page]
*[http://www.annenbergfoundation.org/board-of-directors/walter-annenberg Bio from The Annenberg Foundation]

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{{succession box|title=[[United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom|U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom]]|before=[[David K. E. Bruce]]|after=[[Elliot Richardson]]|years=1969–1974}}
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{{US Ambassadors to the UK}}
{{National Medal of Arts recipients 1990s}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Annenberg, Walter}}
[[Category:1908 births]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American diplomats]]
[[Category:20th-century American newspaper publishers (people)]]
[[Category:20th-century American philanthropists]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:American art collectors]]
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[[Category:American nonprofit businesspeople]]
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[[Category:Annenberg family|Walter]]
[[Category:Businesspeople awarded knighthoods]]
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[[Category:Diplomats from Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences]]
[[Category:Ford administration personnel]]
[[Category:Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Jewish art collectors]]
[[Category:Jews from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Jews from Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Jews from Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Knights of St. Gregory the Great]]
[[Category:Mass media people from Milwaukee]]
[[Category:Mass media people from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Mass media people from Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society]]
[[Category:Members of the Philadelphia Club]]
[[Category:Nixon administration personnel]]
[[Category:Officers of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:Peddie School alumni]]
[[Category:Pennsylvania Republicans]]
[[Category:People associated with the Philadelphia Museum of Art]]
[[Category:People from Rancho Mirage, California]]
[[Category:Philanthropists from California]]
[[Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients]]
[[Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients]]
[[Category:Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania people]]
[[Category:Wisconsin Republicans]]