President Lyndon B. Johnson listens to tape sent by Captain Charles Robb from Vietnam July31, 1968. (photo by Jack E. Kightlinger)
Jack Kightlinger, a longtime presidential photographer who worked under five administrations for Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan died Monday at age 77. Kightlinger was killed in a car crash in Henderson, North Carolina, according to local media reports. His wife, Adele, was also involved in the crash and died Tuesday at a hospital. Kightlinger was a photographer for the Army Signal Corps in 1967 when he was invited to compete for a position on the White House photo staff, according to a story in the Henderson Times-News. He got the job and continued working at the White House until 1985, when he retired. He and his wife lived in Flat Rock, North Carolina. Kightlinger’s most recognized photograph is probably a 1981 portrait of Ronald Reagan that was used as the basis for a U.S. postage stamp in 2005, painted by artist Michael J. Deas.
