Paul Beck, 52, Former Aide to Reagan, Dies
- Share via
Paul Beck, former press secretary to then-Gov. Ronald Reagan and most recently the senior vice president of the Los Angeles County Medical Assn., died Wednesday night of cancer in the Hospital of the Good Samaritan.
Beck was 52 and had gone to the medical association after working as a public relations consultant and as press aide and campaign coordinator for state Controller Houston I. Flournoy in his unsuccessful 1974 campaign for governor.
Beck earlier had been a government and political reporter for The Times and was part of the team of newsmen awarded a 1966 Pulitzer Prize for this newspaper’s coverage of the Watts riots.
He left The Times in 1966 to go to work for Reagan in Sacramento, moving to Flournoy’s staff in 1972.
Funeral services were private. His survivors include his wife Doris, two sons and a daughter.
In lieu of flowers, donations are being asked in his name to the Los Angeles County Medical Assn.’s Foundation for Community Service, which supports the association’s Regional Poison Information Center.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
