Mark K. Updegrove (born August 25, 1961) is an American author, historian, journalist, and Presidential Historian for ABC News. He is the president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation in Austin, Texas.[1] Previously, he served as the director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum for eight years.[2]
He is the author of six books including, The Last Republicans: Inside the Extraordinary Relationship Between George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush,[3] published in 2017. His latest book, Incomparable Grace: JFK in the Presidency, was published by Dutton in April 2022. He also co-edited LBJ's America: The Life and Legacies of Lyndon Baines Johnson, [4] a series of essays on LBJ's legacy, with Mark Lawrence,[5] former LBJ Presidential Library director and Walter Prescott Webb Chair in History and Ideas at the University of Texas at Austin. His forthcoming book, "Make Your Mark: Lessons in Character from Seven Presidents" will be released by HarperCollins in early 2025.
Updegrove is the executive producer of the 2022 CNN original series "LBJ: Triumph and Tragedy," and the host of the PBS show "Live From the LBJ Library with Mark Updegrove."
Background
Possible, but not proven coat of arms Op den Graeff as descendants of Herman op den Graeff (Heraldic representation by Matthias Laurenz Gräff based on the Krefeld Op den Graeff stained glass window from 1630, which may depict the “Lohengrin swan” of the Kleve coat of arms in one window)
Mark K. Updegrove was born outside Philadelphia in Abington, PA, on Aug. 25, 1961. He descends from the Dutch[6] and German Op den Graeff family. He was a direct descendant of Herman op den Graeff, mennonite leader of Krefeld, and his grandson Abraham op den Graeff, one of the founders of Germantown and in 1688 signer of the first protest against slavery in colonial America. Mark Updegrove attended high school at the George School, which honored him with its Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2015.[7] In 1984, he graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Career
In December 2017, Updegrove was named the president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation in Austin, Texas. From 2009 to 2017, he was the fourth director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas.
L-R: Updegrove with former President Barack Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama, and John Lewis tour The Great Hall at the LBJ Presidential Library, April 10, 2014Former President George W. Bush arrives at the LBJ Presidential Library with Updegrove for the Civil Rights Summit, April 10, 2014
As director of the LBJ Library, in 2014, Updegrove hosted the Civil Rights Summit, an historic three-day conference around the fiftieth anniversary of the Civil Rights Act,[8] which included a keynote address by then President Barack Obama and programs with former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter, as well as programs with many civil rights activists including Julian Bond, John Lewis, and Andrew Young. The summit garnered international news coverage, including the New York Times profile on Updegrove titled, "Chronicler of Presidents Brings Four Together."[9]
In April 2016, Updegrove hosted the Vietnam War Summit, a three-day conference, featuring a keynote address by then Secretary of State John Kerry.[10] Among the additional participants were Henry Kissinger, Ken Burns, Tom Hayden and Bob Kerrey.
In July 2024, Updegrove hosted the 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act Commemoration, during which President Biden offered keynote remarks.
Early in his tenure at the library, Updegrove oversaw the $11 million renovation of the library's core exhibit on Lyndon Johnson and his administration, which opened in December 2012.[11][12]
In 2024, PBS launched "Live from the LBJ Library" hosted by Updegrove.
Updegrove spent much of his early career in magazine publishing, including serving the publisher of Newsweek in New York, president of Time Canada, Time magazine's separate Canadian edition and operation, and Time magazine's Los Angeles manager.
He is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations and the Philosophical Society of Texas.
Books
Updegrove's latest book, Incomparable Grace: JFK in the Presidency was published in April 2022. His previous book, The Last Republicans: Inside the Extraordinary Relationship Between George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, was published in November 2017 with exclusive stories featured in the New York Times and on CNN, which reported on the book's revelations about the Bushes’ views on Donald Trump. Through exclusive interviews with Updegrove, the book quotes former President George H.W. Bush as calling Donald Trump "a blowhard," and saying flatly, "I don't like him," while former President George W. Bush is quoted as saying, "Wow, this guy doesn't know what it means to be president."[38] When asked for his reaction to the Bushes' comments, President Trump, en route to Tokyo for a thirteen-day tour of Asia, said, "I'll comment after we come back. I don't want to make headlines. I don't want to make their move successful."[39] The book was addressed by Stephen Colbert in his monologue on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Updegrove is the author of five books:
Second Acts: Presidential Lives and Legacies After the White House (Lyons Press, 2006)[40]
Baptism By Fire: Eight Presidents Who Took Office During Times of Crisis (St. Martins Press, 2009)[41]
The Last Republicans: Inside the Extraordinary Relationship Between George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush (HarperCollins, November 2017),[3] which includes material from exclusive interviews with both Bush presidents
Incomparable Grace: JFK in the Presidency (Dutton, 2022)
Journalism
Updegrove has written for The Daily Beast,[43]The Hill,[44]The Nation,[45]National Geographic, The New York Times,[46]Parade,[47]Politico,[48]Texas Monthly,[49]Time,[50] and USA Today, and his books have been excerpted in American Heritage, Parade, Politico,and Texas Monthly.
Updegrove's December 2014 Politico article, What 'Selma' Gets Wrong,[51] ignited a controversy over the portrayal of Lyndon Johnson as an obstructionist on voting rights in the film Selma, touching off a debate about the importance of accuracy in films based on historic events. In January 2015, Updegrove addressed the issue on CBS' Face the Nation.[52]
Television Commentator
Updegrove is the presidential historian for ABC News and a consultant for CNN. He also appears regularly on CNN and MSNBC, has contributed to CBS Sunday Morning, and has been a guest on all major news outlets including The CBS Evening News, Face the Nation, Morning Joe, NBC Nightly News, NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered, PBS NewsHour. He has also been on The Daily Show and played himself in the Epix series Graves.
Additionally, Updegrove has also appeared in numerous documentaries and original series including PBS’ The White House: The Inside Story; CNN's The Bush Years, and Race for the White House; MSNBC's Betrayal: The Plot that Won the White House; NFL Films' Sigma Chi and the Mayflower Move / the Baltimore Colts; and History TV's Presidents at War, The Ultimate Guide to the Presidents, and What the Hell's the Presidency For? He is featured in CNN's 2022 original series, LBJ: Triumph and Tragedy, for which he served as executive producer.
Adjunct Professor/Lecturer
Along with Mark Lawrence, Updegrove co-taught "The Johnson Years," a course for Liberal Arts Honors students at UT Austin.
Updegrove has lectured at numerous colleges and universities, including Harvard, Rice, the University of Virginia, and the University of Pennsylvania. He gave the commencement address for Texas State University in 2019. He has also spoken at the Library of Congress, the National Archives, and the White House Historical Association.
Personal life
Updegrove is married to Amy Banner Updegrove, an artist who formerly served as publisher of Texas Monthly and president of Los Angeles Magazine. Both have two children from previous marriages. They live in Austin, TX.
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