The Only Major Actors Still Alive From All The President's Men
On June 17, 1972, thieves acting on behalf of Richard Nixon's presidential campaign broke into the Watergate Hotel in Washington DC, the location of the Democratic National Committee headquarters. The group was looking for papers and secrets that would have given Nixon an unfair advantage in the election. Nixon was bafflingly still elected during this kerfuffle and served as president for two more years before enough details about the break-in emerged to warrant his infamous resignation from office. The many, many details of the Watergate scandal have been recorded in innumerable books, documentaries, and Hollywood dramas in the ensuing decades, and Watergate shows are being made to this day; the miniseries "Gaslit" aired in 2022 and "White House Plumbers" in 2023.
The Watergate scandal represented a loss of American innocence for many. It was positive proof that the Republican party was openly corrupt. The scandal was bad enough, but then Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon of all his recorded, very public wrongdoings, and the country's soul was lost. Talk to anyone alive at the time, and they'll reveal their massive disappointment.
Into the middle of the scandal came, in a shockingly timely fashion, Alan J. Pakula's "All the President's Men," a drama about journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the investigative reporters at the Washington Post who ultimately broke the story. They found a network of robberies and dirty money connected to President Nixon, and made contact with a mysterious inside man only calling himself Deep Throat, so named after the popular adult feature film. In 2005, a man named W. Mark Felt admitted that he was Deep Throat.
The film is still a stirring thriller, and several members of its main cast are still with us. Let's take a look.
Robert Redford (Bob Woodward)
Now 87, Robert Redford has been a giant in the industry for decades and his filmography is so extensive and well-known it feels churlish listing it here. Redford has starred in over 50 films, from light 1960s comedies like "Barefoot in the Park" to modern ultra-blockbusters like "Avengers: Endgame." He appeared in the celebrated neo-Western "Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid" — he played the Sundance Kid opposite Paul Newman — and his character's name was lent to his independent film initiative the Sundance Institute. The Sundance Film Festival has been running annually ever since its founding in 1981. Redford has long been a champion of indie films and constantly works hard to ensure new voices are heard.
Redford also has a notable career directing movies, and his first feature, 1980's "Ordinary People" won Best Picture at the Academy Awards. He also helmed films like "The Milagro Beanfield War," "Quiz Show," and "Lions for Lambs."
Redford has always been very open about his left-wing politics, and many of his films espouse his political philosophy. He objects to government corruption and sees war as the ultimate policy failing. This author's favorite Redford film is probably the 1992 heist thriller "Sneakers," a classic par excellence. It may be dated, but it's a good double feature with "All the President's Men."
Dustin Hoffman (Carl Bernstein)
Like Redford, it seems churlish to list the filmography of Dustin Hoffman, also a giant in Hollywood since the 1960s. Hoffman, in contrast to Redford, more typically played darker, more intense characters throughout his career. Redford had the leading man's advantage of being devastatingly handsome. Hoffman still played the leading man, but because of his charisma and talent, not his square jaw. Hoffman, now 86, is still working, and will appear in Francis Ford Coppola's 2024 film "Megalopolis."
Hoffman's big break in the film world came with the release of "The Graduate" in 1967, and he has been an unquenchable star ever since. He appeared in Oscar-ready dramas like "Kramer vs. Kramer," "Tootsie," and "Rain Man." His famed fiasco "Ishtar" is still talked about to this day, and he wasn't above playing bizarro fantasy characters like Mumbles in "Dick Tracy" and Captain Hook in "Hook." He was excellent in "Wag the Dog" and in "Moonlight Mile." There are 60 other credits I could name.
Hoffman has won two Best Actor Oscars, and was nominated for five others. You know who he is.
Jane Alexander (The Bookkeeper)
Most of the actors who played publishers and editors at the Washington Post have sadly passed. Jason Robards, Hal Holbrook, Jack Warden, and Martin Balsam are no longer with us.
One of the shadowy conspirators in "All the President's Men," a character only credited as The Bookkeeper, was played by actress Jane Alexander, another prolific activist with a long filmography. Notably, Alexander served as the chair of the National Endowment of the Arts from 1993 to 1997, and she continued to act after her service. Alexander was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in "All the President's Men," an honor she could place next to her nominations for "The Great White Hope," "Kramer vs. Kramer," and, later, 1983's "Testament." Alexander was nominated for eight Emmys, winning two, and has a Tony for her work in the stage version of "The Great White Hope." She is as powerful an actress as any of the "President's" men.
Alexander, now 84, also continues to act, and most recently appeared in the sci-fi TV series "Tales from the Loop." She has been acting professionally since 1968. Well done.
Meredith Baxter (Deborah Murray Sloane)
Meredith Baxter has only appeared in 14 feature films, having lived out the bulk of her sizeable career on television. She started out in 1970, appearing in an episode of "The Partridge Family" before landing one of the title roles in "Bridget Loves Bernie." She continued to appear in single episodes of many hit TV shows of the day before landing another leading role on the 1976 drama "Family." She appeared in 45 of the show's 86 episodes. Her highest-profile role was playing the hippie matriarch Elyse Keaton on the 1982 sitcom "Family Ties," a series that ran for 176 episodes.
Baxter hasn't stopped working since, going back to guest spots in just about every TV series imaginable. Most recently, she was in a TV movie, a cooking game show, and the medical drama "Code Black," all in 2016. She's been nominated for four Emmys. In 2009, Baxter came out as a lesbian, which, she said went a long way to explain why her three marriages to men didn't work out. She's currently married to her wife Nancy Locke.
Lindsay Crouse (Kay Eddy)
Kay Eddy was one of Woodward and Bernstein's co-workers at the post, and a sharp eye will recognize her as being played by Lindsay Crouse.
"All the President's Men" was Crouse's first film, and she went on to appear in several dozen pictures. In 1977, she married celebrated writer David Mamet, and she appeared in his films "The Verdict" and "House of Games." Crouse also appeared in genre films like "Krull" (she played a voice role) and the alien abduction thriller "Communion." She pops up on high-profile Hollywood films regularly, having appeared in "Places in the Heart," "Being Human," "Prefontaine," and "Mr. Brooks." Like Baxter, she also floated through numerous notable TV shows and TV movies, working pretty steadily for many years.
Now 76, Crouse's last film was "Something Slow" in 2013. She still appears on stage. She has been nominated for an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Grammy.
Robert Walden (Donald Segretti)
In "All the President's Men," Robert Walden played Donald Segretti, one of the shady lawyers working for the Nixon administration. One might credit Segretti for coining the slang term "ratf***ing" to refer to political dirty work.
Walden is one of those hardworking supporting players that film audiences will instantly recognize, even if they cannot necessarily recall his name. Walden, however, is a talented and celebrated actor known for his Emmy-nominated work in the 1977 drama "Lou Grant," which ran for 114 episodes. It, like "President's," was a newsroom drama. He also appeared in 115 episodes of the 1984 sitcom "Brothers," which racked up Walden a few CableACE nominations. Later in his career, in 2011, he appeared in 34 episodes of the series "Happily Divorced." Walden is clearly pliable and dedicated.
Walden's film career is also nothing to sneeze at. He appeared in a small part in the 1970 film "The Out-of-Towners," as well as in "The Hospital," "Capricorn One," and "Blue Sunshine." After his TV days, he returned to films with "The Radioland Murders" and "Heist." Walden is now 80. His most recent credit was for the 2020 show "Surviving L.A."
F. Murray Abraham (Sargeant Paul Leeper)
He only has a small role in "All the President's Men," but F. Murray Abraham plays one of the cops seen lurking about the film.
Abraham, like most of the actors above, is one of the more celebrated performers of his generation, and also one of the more awarded. He began acting in the 1971 Sherlock Holmes comedy "They Might Be Giants," and appeared in character roles throughout the '70s and '80s. He was in "Serpico" in 1973 and "Scarface" in 1983. In 1984, his legacy was cemented with his excellent performance in the fictionalized Mozart biopic "Amadeus" in which he played a jealous version of composer Antonio Salieri. The role won him an Academy Award.
Abraham's filmography is far too extensive to list here, but I will say that he was in a National Lampoon movie, a "Star Trek" movie, and a Wes Anderson movie. The man has range. He works to this day, having just appeared on the hit show "The White Lotus," as well as the aforementioned "White House Plumbers."
Abraham has two Obies, a Golden Globe, and a SAG Award. He has been nominated for a Grammy and many other awards besides, but did unfortunately have to be removed from "Mythic Quest" following allegations of misconduct.