Autographed pictures from Shaquille O’Neal, Walt Frazier, Presidents George Bush, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford are among the donated items Gus Weill presented to the State Archives.
More than 100 people crammed into the State Archives building Thursday as the “Gus Weill — A Louisiana Legend” exhibit opened. The exhibit holds memorabilia accumulated throughout Weill’s career.
“There are few people in Louisiana who know as many prominent political and historical figures as Gus Weill,” said Secretary of State W. Fox McKeithen, who oversees Louisiana’s museums. “His collection of memorabilia is an excellent source of information when it comes to understanding the great figures of Louisiana’s past.”
Weill is thought of by many as the father of modern political public relations in Louisiana.
He has served as a political adviser to several Louisiana governors and was an executive secretary to former Gov. John McKeithen.
Weill, a 1955 LSU graduate, decided to donate the memorabilia because he knew McKeithen would take good care of items and display them prominently around the state, Weill said.
“This gave me the opportunity to give something back to a state which has given me so much,” Weill said.
The exhibit “demonstrates the incredible variety of the endeavors he did,” said Gus Weill, Jr.
Writing is another facet of Weill’s life that is displayed in the exhibit. He wrote the official biography of former Gov. Jimmie Davis titled “You Are My Sunshine,” and also has written several plays. Many of his plays have been produced in New York, including “To Bury a Cousin,” which was on Broadway.
Weill’s career expands beyond just politics and writing. He founded the Weill Agency, Louisiana’s oldest advertising and public relations firm.
Weill won the 1986 Goldsby Award from the Advertising Federation of Greater Baton Rouge. The award is given to the person who has made the largest contribution to the advertising profession.
“He is a legend,” said Doug Welborn, clerk of court in East Baton Rouge Parish. Weill has run Welborn’s campaign for the past 20 years, Welborn said.
He also is a Hall of Fame member at the LSU School of Journalism and a member of LSU’s Alumni Hall of Fame Distinction.
Dale Ducote, a 1950 LSU graduate and a Reveille distributor in the late 1940s, thinks the exhibit is great. Weill “is a Louisiana legend, and it makes me proud of Louisiana,” he said.
Director of Archives Florent Hardy thinks this memorabilia is a Louisiana treasure and hopes other political leaders will follow suit and donate some of their items.
Weill said he has an incredible love for Louisiana and its residents. “We’ve got great heart, we are great people and we have every right to stand tall.”