Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965) was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat, who was a member of the Democratic Party.
Raised in Bloomington, Illinois, Stevenson served in numerous positions in the federal government during the 1930s and 1940s, including the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, Federal Alcohol Administration, Department of the Navy, and the State Department. In 1945, he served on the committee that created the United Nations, and he was a member of the initial U.S. delegations to the UN. He was the 31st governor of Illinois from 1949 to 1953.
What he is probably most famous for, however, is winning the Democratic Party's nomination for president in the 1952 and 1956 presidential elections. In both of them, Stevenson was defeated in a landslide by Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower. He unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination for a third time at the 1960 Democratic National Convention, but this time he lost the nomination to John F. Kennedy. After Kennedy was elected president, he appointed Stevenson as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations. Stevenson served from 1961 until his death in 1965 from a heart attack in London, following a United Nations conference in Switzerland.
Not to be confused with his grandfather, Adlai Stevenson I.
In Media
Films — Live-Action- Peter Sellers claimed that his portrayal of President Merkin Muffley in Dr. Strangelove was modeled on Stevenson. (Stevenson, for his part, thought Sellers's performance was hilarious.)
- In John Frankenheimer's 1962 Cold War thriller The Manchurian Candidate, Mrs. Eleanor Iselin (Angela Lansbury) makes a mocking reference to Stevenson in a conversation with her son Raymond (Laurence Harvey): "Mr. Stevenson makes jokes. I do not."
- In Annie Hall, Woody Allen's character tells a stand-up joke about the Stevenson-Eisenhower campaign.
- The dialogue in a courtroom scene in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country was inspired by Stevenson's "Don't wait for the translation" speech to Russian ambassador Valerian Zorin during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- In Wayne's World 2, "Waynestock" is held in an Aurora, Illinois park named for Stevenson.
- Thirteen Days (2000): He's portrayed by Michael Fairman. The "Don't wait for the translation" speech mentioned above is depicted here.
Music
- The Avalanche, an album by Sufjan Stevens, contains a song called "Adlai Stevenson".
Live-Action Television
- One Happy Days episode features the characters reacting to the second Eisenhower-Stevenson election, with Richie's new girlfriend being a passionate Democrat who causes him to learn more about Stevenson and his policies.
- In the Mystery Science Theater 3000's presentation of Manos: The Hands of Fate, a Stevenson lookalike buys a car and one of the MST3K characters comments on it.
- In Murphy Brown, the title character briefly names her newborn son "Adlai Stevenson".
- The Missiles of October (1974 Made-for-TV Movie): He's portrayed by Ralph Bellamy.
Western Animation
- The Simpsons:
- His grave was seen in "Lisa the Iconoclast", where Groundskeeper Willie shoveled dirt on a vigil candle lit for him.
- In "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson", he appeared in a 1952 public information film about the Moon. He said that he had "no objection" to Americans landing on the Moon. He was voiced by Harry Shearer.
