Janet Langhart
Encyclopedia
Janet Langhart Cohen is an American
model, television journalist and author. She serves as President and CEO of Langhart Communications and is the spouse of former Defense Secretary
William Cohen
. In June 2009, her one-act play Anne and Emmett
was premiering at the United States Holocaust Museum
when the museum was attacked by a white supremacist
.
and raised in an Indianapolis housing project by her mother, who worked as a maid and hospital ward secretary. According to her book, Love in Black and White: A Memoir of Race, Religion, and Romance, she is Multiracial
having African, European and Native American heritage. Her unmarried mother, Mary, formed a relationship with her father, Sewell Bridges, an African-American man at a young age. Bridges served in World War II
and abandoned his family
after the war.
In 1959, Floyd earned her high school diploma from Crispus Attucks High School
in Indianapolis. She was a member of the band and debate team. From 1960 until 1962, she attended Butler University
, a private liberal arts
university
in Indianapolis founded by abolitionist and attorney
Ovid Butler
in 1855.
Floyd was married to Melvin Anthony Langhart for one year. Her second of three marriages was to Dr. Robert Kistner
, a Harvard Medical School
professor who specialized in the treatment of endometriosis
. Floyd, now Langhart, was married to Kistner from 1978 to 1989.
, where she worked for Marshall Field's
and the Ebony Fashion Fair, and she was named Miss Chicagoland. At the age of 28, she became the first black "weathergirl
" for WBBM-TV
. She became a noted black television journalist at a variety of outlets, most notably Boston's WCVB-TV
, where she cohosted morning program Good Day! from 1973-78. During her career she interviewed numerous personalities including Rosa Parks
and David Duke
. She became friends with Muhammad Ali
and F. Lee Bailey, and considered Martin Luther King a personal mentor.
Langhart worked on a television show called 9 Broadcast Plaza alongside Richard Bey
. She was fired from Entertainment Tonight
in 1990 after she asked Arnold Schwarzenegger
, apparently violating an agreement he had with producers, about his father Gustav Schwarzenegger
's Nazi background. "I was terminated by The Terminator
", she remarked. Later, she was a commentator on Black Entertainment Television
. She has also worked for the Boston Globe and WCVB-TV
in Boston
., and she has been a spokeswoman for U.S. News and World Report and Avon Cosmetics
.
(R-Maine). She and Cohen first became mutual admirers in 1974 during an interview in Boston, when he was a Congressman
from Maine
, but did not meet in person until she worked for Black Entertainment Television
(BET
) in Washington, D.C.
, and Andrew Young
set up a news interview for her. They remained friends, and after both became single again, they began dating when Langhart asked Cohen to take care of a dog that had turned up at the BET offices. The couple were married in the United States Capitol
on Valentine's Day
1996. Cohen, a moderate Republican
, was chosen to serve as President
Bill Clinton
's Secretary of Defense. Langhart is a Democrat
.
When Langhart-Cohen's husband became Secretary of Defense, she became known as "First Lady of the Pentagon
." This was due to her active and visible public role while Cohen was in office. She spurred several initiatives aimed at morale and well-being of military and civilian employees of the Defense Department, including the Military Family Forum, the Pentagon Pops concert series, the Secretary of Defense Annual Holiday Tour (an entertainment revue), and her own series of interviews on Pentagon TV, Special Assignment. She was given a volunteer position as "First Lady of the USO" and helped recruit celebrities and civilians to work with the United Service Organizations
.
In 1999, she founded the Citizen Patriot Organization (CPO), a non-profit dedicated to recognizing "those who serve, protect, and defend the United States of America". The group periodically presents a CPO Award. The award has been given to Jack Valenti
and John McCain
. The group has also organized events including a Homeland Defense Tour, which brought USO-like appreciation events to first responders at the September 11 attacks sites and other domestic locations, and a Citizen Patriot tour to military locations overseas.
Langhart is also the author of Anne and Emmett
, a play that imagines a conversation between two teens, Nazi victim Anne Frank
and Jim Crow
victim Emmett Till
.
for the premiere of her one-act play, Anne and Emmett
, which had been promoted the week before in the Washington Post and presented in honor of the eightieth anniversary of Anne Frank's birth. Langhart's husband, William Cohen
, was at the museum waiting when 88 year-old James Wenneker von Brunn fatally shot a security guard before being shot himself by the other guards. Langhart and her husband were not injured, and appeared on CNN
that afternoon to describe what they had seen.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
model, television journalist and author. She serves as President and CEO of Langhart Communications and is the spouse of former Defense Secretary
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
William Cohen
William Cohen
William Sebastian Cohen is an author and American politician from the U.S. state of Maine. A Republican, Cohen served as Secretary of Defense under Democratic President Bill Clinton.-Early life and education:...
. In June 2009, her one-act play Anne and Emmett
Anne and Emmett
Anne and Emmett is a play by Janet Langhart Cohen. The play details an imaginary conversation between Emmett Till and Anne Frank which takes place in Memory a non-specific afterlife or alternate dimension...
was premiering at the United States Holocaust Museum
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history...
when the museum was attacked by a white supremacist
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum shooting
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum shooting was a shooting at that nation's memorial to The Holocaust in Washington, D.C. on June 10, 2009, at 12:50 p.m. Security guard Stephen Tyrone Johns, 39, was shot, and later died from his injuries. Suspect James Wenneker von Brunn, 88, was charged...
.
Early life
She was born as Janet Leola Floyd in IndianapolisIndianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
and raised in an Indianapolis housing project by her mother, who worked as a maid and hospital ward secretary. According to her book, Love in Black and White: A Memoir of Race, Religion, and Romance, she is Multiracial
Multiracial
The terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races. Unlike the term biracial, which often is only used to refer to having parents or grandparents of two different races, the term multiracial may encompass biracial people but can also include people with...
having African, European and Native American heritage. Her unmarried mother, Mary, formed a relationship with her father, Sewell Bridges, an African-American man at a young age. Bridges served in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and abandoned his family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
after the war.
In 1959, Floyd earned her high school diploma from Crispus Attucks High School
Crispus Attucks High School
Crispus Attucks High School of Indianapolis Public Schools in Indianapolis, Indiana is named for Crispus Attucks , a black laborer killed at the Boston Massacre whom many regarded as a revolutionary leader...
in Indianapolis. She was a member of the band and debate team. From 1960 until 1962, she attended Butler University
Butler University
Butler University is a private university located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university offers 60 degree programs to 4,400 students through six colleges: business, communication, education, liberal Arts and sciences, pharmacy and health...
, a private liberal arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
in Indianapolis founded by abolitionist and attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
Ovid Butler
Ovid Butler
Ovid Butler was an attorney, newspaper publisher, and university founder from the state of Indiana, United States.-Personal life:...
in 1855.
Floyd was married to Melvin Anthony Langhart for one year. Her second of three marriages was to Dr. Robert Kistner
Robert Kistner
Robert William Kistner , was a well-known gynecologist who specialized in the treatment of endometriosis and was involved in the early development of the birth control pill....
, a Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
professor who specialized in the treatment of endometriosis
Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a gynecological medical condition in which cells from the lining of the uterus appear and flourish outside the uterine cavity, most commonly on the ovaries. The uterine cavity is lined by endometrial cells, which are under the influence of female hormones...
. Floyd, now Langhart, was married to Kistner from 1978 to 1989.
Media career
In 1962, Langhart began her career in Chicago as a modelModel (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
, where she worked for Marshall Field's
Marshall Field's
Marshall Field & Company was a department store in Chicago, Illinois that grew to become a major chain before being acquired by Macy's Inc...
and the Ebony Fashion Fair, and she was named Miss Chicagoland. At the age of 28, she became the first black "weathergirl
Weather forecasting
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century...
" for WBBM-TV
WBBM-TV
WBBM-TV, virtual channel 2 , is the CBS owned-and-operated television station in Chicago, Illinois. WBBM-TV's main studios and offices are located in The Loop section of Chicago, as part of the development at Block 37, and its transmitter is atop the Willis Tower.-History:WBBM-TV traces its history...
. She became a noted black television journalist at a variety of outlets, most notably Boston's WCVB-TV
WCVB-TV
WCVB-TV, channel 5, is a television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by Hearst Television and affiliated with the ABC Television Network. WCVB-TV's studios and transmitter are co-located in Needham, Massachusetts. WCVB is also one of six Boston television stations seen in Canada by...
, where she cohosted morning program Good Day! from 1973-78. During her career she interviewed numerous personalities including Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....
and David Duke
David Duke
David Ernest Duke is a former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan an American activist and writer, and former Republican Louisiana State Representative. He was also a former candidate in the Republican presidential primaries in 1992, and in the Democratic presidential primaries in...
. She became friends with Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
and F. Lee Bailey, and considered Martin Luther King a personal mentor.
Langhart worked on a television show called 9 Broadcast Plaza alongside Richard Bey
Richard Bey
Richard Wayne Bey is an American talk show host. He was popular in the 1990s as host of The Richard Bey Show, a daytime talk show containing ordinary people's personal stories incorporated into entertaining competitive games....
. She was fired from Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
in 1990 after she asked Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
, apparently violating an agreement he had with producers, about his father Gustav Schwarzenegger
Gustav Schwarzenegger
Gustav Schwarzenegger was an Austrian police chief , postal inspector, a senior non-commissioned military police officer, who later became notable as the father of bodybuilder Hollywood star and Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger.- Biography :Gustav Schwarzenegger, the father of Arnold...
's Nazi background. "I was terminated by The Terminator
The Terminator
The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, co-written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr., and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, and Linda Hamilton. The film was produced by Hemdale Film Corporation and distributed by Orion Pictures, and filmed in Los...
", she remarked. Later, she was a commentator on Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
. She has also worked for the Boston Globe and WCVB-TV
WCVB-TV
WCVB-TV, channel 5, is a television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by Hearst Television and affiliated with the ABC Television Network. WCVB-TV's studios and transmitter are co-located in Needham, Massachusetts. WCVB is also one of six Boston television stations seen in Canada by...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
., and she has been a spokeswoman for U.S. News and World Report and Avon Cosmetics
Avon Products
Avon Products, Inc. is a US cosmetics, perfume and toy seller with markets in over 140 countries across the world and sales of $9.9 billion worldwide as of 2007.-Business Model:...
.
Marriage to Cohen and Pentagon life
On February 14, 1996, Langhart married United States Senator William CohenWilliam Cohen
William Sebastian Cohen is an author and American politician from the U.S. state of Maine. A Republican, Cohen served as Secretary of Defense under Democratic President Bill Clinton.-Early life and education:...
(R-Maine). She and Cohen first became mutual admirers in 1974 during an interview in Boston, when he was a Congressman
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, but did not meet in person until she worked for Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
(BET
Bet
Bet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...
) in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and Andrew Young
Andrew Young
Andrew Jackson Young is an American politician, diplomat, activist and pastor from Georgia. He has served as Mayor of Atlanta, a Congressman from the 5th district, and United States Ambassador to the United Nations...
set up a news interview for her. They remained friends, and after both became single again, they began dating when Langhart asked Cohen to take care of a dog that had turned up at the BET offices. The couple were married in the United States Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
on Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
1996. Cohen, a moderate Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, was chosen to serve as President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
's Secretary of Defense. Langhart is a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
.
When Langhart-Cohen's husband became Secretary of Defense, she became known as "First Lady of the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
." This was due to her active and visible public role while Cohen was in office. She spurred several initiatives aimed at morale and well-being of military and civilian employees of the Defense Department, including the Military Family Forum, the Pentagon Pops concert series, the Secretary of Defense Annual Holiday Tour (an entertainment revue), and her own series of interviews on Pentagon TV, Special Assignment. She was given a volunteer position as "First Lady of the USO" and helped recruit celebrities and civilians to work with the United Service Organizations
United Service Organizations
The United Service Organizations Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the U.S. military, with programs in 160 centers worldwide. Since 1941, it has worked in partnership with the Department of Defense , and has provided support and...
.
In 1999, she founded the Citizen Patriot Organization (CPO), a non-profit dedicated to recognizing "those who serve, protect, and defend the United States of America". The group periodically presents a CPO Award. The award has been given to Jack Valenti
Jack Valenti
Jack Joseph Valenti was a long-time president of the Motion Picture Association of America. During his 38-year tenure in the MPAA, he created the MPAA film rating system, and he was generally regarded as one of the most influential pro-copyright lobbyists in the world...
and John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
. The group has also organized events including a Homeland Defense Tour, which brought USO-like appreciation events to first responders at the September 11 attacks sites and other domestic locations, and a Citizen Patriot tour to military locations overseas.
Writing
Langhart is the author of a memoir, My Life in Two Americas; From Rage to Reason. In February 2007 she and her husband William Cohen released Love in Black and White. It is a memoir about race, religion, and the bonds that Langhart and Cohen share over similar life circumstances and backgrounds.Langhart is also the author of Anne and Emmett
Anne and Emmett
Anne and Emmett is a play by Janet Langhart Cohen. The play details an imaginary conversation between Emmett Till and Anne Frank which takes place in Memory a non-specific afterlife or alternate dimension...
, a play that imagines a conversation between two teens, Nazi victim Anne Frank
Anne Frank
Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary has become one of the world's most widely read books, and has been the basis for several plays and films.Born in the city of Frankfurt...
and Jim Crow
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans...
victim Emmett Till
Emmett Till
Emmett Louis "Bobo" Till was an African-American boy who was murdered in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly flirting with a white woman. Till was from Chicago, Illinois visiting his relatives in the Mississippi Delta region when he spoke to 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, the married...
.
Holocaust Museum shooting
On the afternoon of June 10, 2009, Langhart was on her way to the United States Holocaust Memorial MuseumUnited States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history...
for the premiere of her one-act play, Anne and Emmett
Anne and Emmett
Anne and Emmett is a play by Janet Langhart Cohen. The play details an imaginary conversation between Emmett Till and Anne Frank which takes place in Memory a non-specific afterlife or alternate dimension...
, which had been promoted the week before in the Washington Post and presented in honor of the eightieth anniversary of Anne Frank's birth. Langhart's husband, William Cohen
William Cohen
William Sebastian Cohen is an author and American politician from the U.S. state of Maine. A Republican, Cohen served as Secretary of Defense under Democratic President Bill Clinton.-Early life and education:...
, was at the museum waiting when 88 year-old James Wenneker von Brunn fatally shot a security guard before being shot himself by the other guards. Langhart and her husband were not injured, and appeared on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
that afternoon to describe what they had seen.
External links
- Langhart Communications biography
- Citizen Patriot organization, founded by Janet Langhart
- Anne and Emmett homepage of the one act play