Spiro Theodore Agnew (November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was an American politician who was the 39th Vice President of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1973 under President Richard Nixon. He is the second and so far last Vice President to resign the position, the other being John C. Calhoun in 1832. Unlike Calhoun, however, who resigned over clashing views with President Andrew Jackson, Agnew resigned as a result of a scandal.
Born in Baltimore to an American-born mother and a Greek immigrant father, in 1966 Agnew was elected Governor of Maryland. Just two years later at the 1968 Republican National Convention, Richard Nixon asked Agnew if he could name him as running mate; while Agnew's centrist reputation interested Nixon, the increasing "law and order" stance he had taken in the wake of civil unrest that year appealed to Nixon's aides. While he was viewed as having made a number of gaffes during the campaign,note his rhetoric pleased many Republicans, and when Nixon defeated the Democratic nominee, incumbent Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Agnew may have made the difference in several key states.note As vice president, Agnew was often called upon to attack the administration's enemies while he progressively moved to the right, appealing to conservatives who were suspicious of moderate stances taken by Nixon. In the presidential election of 1972, Agnew was re-elected for a second term after Nixon defeated Senator George McGovern.
In 1973, Agnew was investigated by the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland on suspicion of criminal conspiracy, bribery, extortion and tax fraud: Agnew took kickbacks from contractors during his time as Governor of Maryland (and previously as Baltimore County Executive) and the payments had continued into his time as vice president; they had nothing to do with the Watergate scandal, in which he was not implicated. After months of maintaining his innocence, Agnew pleaded no contest to a single felony charge of tax evasion and resigned from office; Nixon replaced him with House Republican leader Gerald Ford. Agnew spent the remainder of his life quietly, rarely making public appearances, before his death from leukemia in 1996. He wrote a novel and a memoir; both defended his actions.
In Media
Film - Live Action- Played by comedian Herb Voland in Another Nice Mess, which spoofs Agnew and Nixon (played by Rich Little) as a Laurel and Hardy-esque bumbling duo.
Literature
- In Our Gang, Philip Roth's satirical book about the Nixon administration, he's only referred as Vice President What's-his-name. The book also parodies Agnew's use of alliteration, with Vice President What's-his-name's speeches being alliterating lists of the forms of degenerates.
Video Game
- In The New Order Last Days Of Europe Spiro Agnew is the Vice Presidential candidate for Margareth Chase Smith's ticket in case she is choosen as the Presidential candidate for the NPP in 1968.
Western Animation
- In Futurama, in which there's a Running Gag about the heads of famous historical figures being kept preserved in jars, and the head of Richard Nixon is the President of Earth, the Vice President of Earth is the headless body of Agnew instead, which just lumbers around menacingly and makes growling noises a la the Frankenstein's monster. He often carries Nixon's head in a jar around and generally acts as Nixon's sidekick, though he was killed repeatedly over the course of the show (and cloned off screen; it's mentioned at least once Nixon is on his last Agnew clone).
- The Simpsons: In "Team Homer", while reading MAD, Milhouse comments, "Boy! They're really sockin' it to that Spiro Agnew guy again, he must work there or something." In "Mother Simpson" Mona Simpson uses a Spiro Agnew watch
as a timer for the bomb she uses to destroy Mr. Burns' germ warfare lab.
