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Jock Whitney

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The Resume

    (August 27, 1904-February 8, 1982)
    Born in Ellsworth, Maine
    Birth name was John Hay Whitney
    Heir to a $100 million trust fund
    Founded the Venture Capital firm J.H. Whitney & Company (1946)
    Published the New York Herald Tribune (1961-66)
    US ambassador to Great Britain (1957-61)
    Was also a polo player, horse breeder, investor in Broadway shows and movies, art collector and philanthropist

Why he might be annoying:

    Growing up, he charged friends five cents to ride to school in one of the family's four Rolls Royces.
    As an investor in both PanAmerican Airways and RKO Pictures, he insisted on having PanAm planes prominently featured in films like 'Going Down To Rio.'
    Despite being married, he had affairs with a lot of Hollywood starlets.
    He had an affair with Nina Gore Vidal at the same time that his wife Mary was having an affair with Nina's husband Eugene Vidal.

Why he might not be annoying:

    While a member of the crew team at Yale, he allegedly coined the phrase 'crew cut.'
    Clark Gable and Carole Lombard met at a party he hosted.
    During World War II he was an intelligence officer, was captured by the Germans, then escaped from the train taking him to a POW camp.
    As ambassador to Britain, he played a major role in restoring Anglo-American relations, which had been strained by the Suez Crisis (1956).

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 7 Votes: 14.29% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 15 Votes: 93.33% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 5 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 13 Votes: 53.85% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 26 Votes: 57.69% Annoying