Acting
Community Rating
7.4
TMDB estimate
Born
February 15, 1929 (age 97)
Born in
New York City, New York, USA
James Rodney Schlesinger (February 15, 1929 – March 27, 2014) was an American economist and public servant who was best known for serving as Secretary of Defense from 1973 to 1975 under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to becoming Secretary of Defense, he served as Chair of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) from 1971 to 1973, and as CIA Director for a few months in 1973. He became America's first Secretary of Energy under Jimmy Carter in 1977, serving until 1979. While Secretary of Defense, he opposed amnesty for draft resisters and pressed for development of more sophisticated nuclear weapon systems. Additionally, his support for the A-10 and the lightweight fighter program (later the F-16) helped ensure that they were carried to completion.

The Man Nobody Knew: In Search of My Father, CIA Spymaster William Colby
as Self
2011

Henry Kissinger: Secrets of a Superpower
as Self
2008

Ghosts of Abu Ghraib
as Self (archive footage)
2007

U.S. Strategic Nuclear Policy
as Self
2005

The Fall of Saigon
as Self
1995

First Strike
as Self
1979

The Energy War
as Self - US Secretary of Energy
1979

NOVA
as Self (archive footage)
1974

60 Minutes
as Self
1968