Lou Cannon | |
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| Born | Louis Simeon Cannon (1933-06-03)June 3, 1933 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | December 19, 2025(2025-12-19) (aged 92) |
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| Spouse | |
| Children | 4, includingCarl |
Louis Simeon Cannon (June 3, 1933 – December 19, 2025) was an American journalist, non-fiction author, and biographer who was state bureau chief for theSan Jose Mercury News in the late 1960s,[1] and later seniorWhite House correspondent ofThe Washington Post during thepresidency of Ronald Reagan.[2] He was a prolific biographer ofRonald Reagan, having written five books about him. Cannon was a columnist and editorial advisor toState Net Capitol Journal, a weekly publication focused on state legislation and politics.[3]
Louis Simeon Cannon was born on June 3, 1933, inManhattan, New York, and was raised inFallon, Nevada, andReno, Nevada.[4][5] He was educated at theUniversity of Nevada, Reno, before transferring toSan Francisco State College.[4]
After service in theUnited States Army, Cannon began his journalistic career in the late 1950s. In 1961, he joinedThe San Jose Mercury News, where he covered state politics.[4] This began his longstanding coverage ofRonald Reagan, who was elected the state's governor in1966.[5]
Cannon moved toWashington, D.C., in 1969 to joinRidder Publications Inc., and went toThe Washington Post three years later.[4][5] After covering the White House for many years, he, like Reagan, returned to California at the end of the 1980s.[4][5] Cannon retired from thePost in the late 1990s, after which he worked on books and freelance articles.[4][5] From 2005 until 2021, he wrote a column for the SacramentoState Net Capitol Journal.[6]
Cannon married Virginia Oprian in 1953, with whom he had four children, includingCarl M. Cannon, before divorcing in 1983.[4] Two years later, he married Mary Shinkwin.[4]
Cannon died from a stroke at a hospice facility inSanta Barbara, California, on December 19, 2025, at the age of 92.[4]
| External videos | |
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 Part One ofBooknotes interview with Lou Cannon onPresident Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime, May 12, 1991,C-SPAN | |
| Part Two of interview with Cannon, May 19, 1991,C-SPAN |
