James Roosevelt James Roosevelt II ( December 23 , 1907 – August 13 , 1991 ) was the oldest son of U . S . President Franklin D . Roosevelt . He was a United States Congressman , an officer in the United States Marine Corps , an aide to his father , the official Secretary to the President , a Democratic Party activist , and a businessman with varied interests . Early life . Roosevelt was born in New York City at 125 East 36th Street . He attended the Potomac School and the National Cathedral School in Washington , D . C . , and the Groton School in Massachusetts . At Groton , he rowed and played football , as well as serving as a prefect in his senior year . After graduation in 1926 , he attended Harvard University , where he rowed with the freshman and junior varsity crews . At Harvard , he followed some family traditions , joining the Signet Society and Hasty Pudding Club , of which both his father , President Franklin D . Roosevelt , and his cousin , President Theodore Roosevelt , had been members , as well as the Fly Club , which his father had joined , and Institute of the 1770 . He graduated from Harvard University in 1930 and was elected permanent treasurer of his class . After graduation , Roosevelt enrolled in the Boston University School of Law . He also took a sales job with Boston insurance agent Victor De Gerard . Roosevelt was so successful that within a year , he abandoned his law studies . In 1932 he started his own insurance agency , Roosevelt and Sargent , in partnership with John A . Sargent . As president of Roosevelt & Sargent , he made a substantial fortune ( about $ 500 , 000 ) . He resigned from the firm in 1937 , when he officially went to work in the White House , but retained his half ownership . Politics and the White House . Roosevelt had attended the 1924 Democratic National Convention where he served , in his words , as his father ' s " page and prop " . In 1928 , he and some Harvard classmates campaigned for Democratic Presidential nominee Al Smith . In 1932 , he headed FDR ' s Massachusetts campaign ; he made about two hundred campaign speeches that year . Though FDR lost the Massachusetts Democratic primary to Al Smith , FDR easily carried Massachusetts in the November election . James Roosevelt was viewed as his father ' s political deputy in Massachusetts , allocating patronage in alliance with Boston mayor James Curley . He was also a delegate from Massachusetts to the Constitutional Convention for the repeal of Prohibition in 1933 . James Roosevelt was a close protege of Joseph P . Kennedy , Sr . . In 1934 , the two journeyed to England to obtain the market in post - prohibition whisky imports . Many of James ' s controversial business ventures were aided by Joe , including his maritime insurance interests , and the National Grain Yeast Corp . affair ( 1933 - 5 ) . Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau , Jr . threatened to resign unless FDR forced James to leave the latter company , suspected of being a front for bootlegging . James was instrumental in securing Joe Kennedy ' s appointment as ambassador to the Court of St . James . In April 1936 , Presidential Secretary Louis Howe died . James Roosevelt unofficially took over some of Howe ' s duties . In November 1936 , just after the 1936 election James Roosevelt was given a direct commission as a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps , which caused public controversy . He accompanied his father to the Inter - American Conference at Buenos Aires in December as a military aide . On January 6 , 1937 , he was officially appointed " administrative assistant to the President " ; on July 1 , 1937 , he was appointed Secretary to the President . He became White House coordinator for eighteen federal agencies in October 1937 . James Roosevelt was considered among his father ' s most important counselors . " Time " magazine suggested he might be considered " Assistant President of the United States " . In July 1938 , there were allegations that James Roosevelt had used his political position to steer lucrative business to his insurance firm . He had to publish his income tax returns and denied these allegations in an NBC broadcast and an interview in " Collier ' s " magazine . This became known as the " Jimmy ' s Got It " affair after Alva Johnston ' s reportage in the " Saturday Evening Post " . Roosevelt resigned from his White House position in November 1938 . Hollywood . After leaving the White House , Roosevelt moved to Hollywood , California , where he first accepted a job as a $ 750 / week administrative assistant for motion picture producer Samuel Goldwyn . He was on Goldwyn ' s payroll until November 1940 . In 1939 he set up " Globe Productions " , a company to produce short films for penny arcades , but the company was liquidated in 1944 while James was on active duty with the Marine Corps . Roosevelt also produced the film " Pot o ' Gold " and distributed the British film " Pastor Hall " . During his Hollywood period , James Roosevelt became closely involved with Joseph Schenck , the movie mogul who funnelled mob money to the Democratic Party . Schenck also lent James money for his movie . When Schenck went to jail , James interceded with his father to pardon him , but again Henry Morgenthau , Jr . vetoed the plan . James later wrote that " Stories appeared that I was mixed up with Mafia mobsters . " Military career . In October 1939 , after World War II broke out in Europe , Roosevelt resigned the lieutenant colonel ' s commission he had been given in 1936 , and was instead commissioned as a captain in the Marine Corps Reserve . In November 1940 , he went on active duty . In April 1941 , President Roosevelt sent his son on a secret , world - circling diplomatic mission to assure numerous governments that the United States would soon be in the war . James met , among others , Chiang Kai - shek , King Farouk of Egypt , and King George of Greece . During this trip , James came under German air attack in both Crete and in Iraq . In the African / Middle Eastern portion of the mission , he travelled with Britain ' s Lord Mountbatten as far as Bathurst in the Gambia . They reported on trans - African air ferry conditions , an important concern of FDR and Winston Churchill at the time . In August 1941 , he joined the staff of William J . Donovan , Coordinator of Information , with the job of working out the exchange of information with other agencies . After Japan ' s Attack on Pearl Harbor , Roosevelt requested assignment to combat duty . He transferred to the Marine Raiders , the Marines ' commando force , and became second - in - command of the 2nd Raider Battalion under Evans Carlson whom Roosevelt knew when Carlson commanded the marine detachment at the Warm Springs , Georgia residence of Franklin Roosevelt . His influence helped win presidential backing for the Raiders , who were opposed by Marine traditionalists . Despite occasionally debilitating health problems , Roosevelt served with the 2nd Raiders at Midway , and in the Makin Island raid , where he was awarded the Navy Cross . He was given command of the new 4th Raiders , but was invalided in February 1943 . He served in various staff positions during the rest of the war . In November 1943 , he accompanied Army troops in the invasion of Makin , and was awarded the Silver Star by the Army . He was released from active duty in October 1945 , with rank of colonel . He continued in the Marine Corps Reserve , and retired on October 1 , 1959 as a brigadier general . Roosevelt suffered from flat feet , and while other Marines were required to wear boots , he was allowed to wear sneakers . Decorations . James Roosevelt received several military awards during his USMC career . Here is his ribbon bar : Postwar career . After the war , Roosevelt returned to live in California . He rejoined Roosevelt and Sargent as an executive vice president , and established the company ' s office in Los Angeles . In 1946 he became chairman of the board of Roosevelt and Haines , successor to Roosevelt and Sargent . He later became president of Roosevelt and Company , Inc . On July 21 , 1946 , Roosevelt became chairman of the California State Democratic Central Committee . He also began making daily radio broadcasts of political commentary . Like his brother Elliott , James Roosevelt was prominent in the movement to draft Dwight Eisenhower as the Democratic candidate for President in 1948 . When President Truman was renominated instead , Roosevelt stepped down as state chairman on August 8 . He remained a Democratic National Committeeman until 1952 . In 1950 , Roosevelt was the Democratic candidate for Governor of California , but lost to incumbent Earl Warren by almost 30 percentage points . In 1954 , Roosevelt was elected U . S . Representative from California ' s 26th congressional district , a " safe " Democratic district . James won despite a concurrent scandal surrounding his divorce from his second wife , Romelle Schneider . He was forced to admit numerous extramarital affairs that his wife had used to blackmail him , dating back to his father ' s presidency . James was re - elected to five additional terms and served from 1955 to 1965 , resigning during his sixth term . Roosevelt was one of the first politicians to denounce the tactics of Senator Joseph McCarthy . He was also the only Representative to vote against appropriating funds for the House Un - American Activities Committee . In April 1965 , Roosevelt ran for Mayor of Los Angeles , challenging incumbent Sam Yorty , but lost in the primary . He resigned from Congress in October 1965 , 10 months into his sixth term , when President Lyndon B . Johnson appointed him a delegate to the United Nations Educational , Scientific , and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO ) . Roosevelt resigned from UNESCO in December 1966 , and retired to become an executive of the Investors Overseas Service ( IOS ) in Geneva , Switzerland . James joined IOS despite the overseas firm ' s concurrent investigation by the SEC for numerous irregularities . During the unraveling of IOS , James ' s third wife , Irene Owens , stabbed him " eight times " with his " own Marine combat knife . " When fugitive financier Robert Vesco obtained control of IOS from Bernie Cornfeld and absconded with approximately $ 200 million , James initially stayed on under Vesco . James later wrote that " As soon as I saw the situation for what it was , in 1971 , I resigned my position . " However , this episode resulted in U . S . charges being laid against Roosevelt and several others , and in a Swiss arrest warrant . James returned to California , settling in Newport Beach , and charges were dropped . He became associated with the Nixon Administration in several capacities and remained friendly with Richard Nixon until the latter ' s death . Despite having been a liberal Democrat all of his life , James Roosevelt joined Democrats for Nixon and publicly supported President Nixon ' s re - election in 1972 and also supported Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984 . His writings include " Affectionately , FDR " ( with Sidney Shalett , 1959 ) and " My Parents , a Differing View " ( with Bill Libby , 1976 ) . The latter was written in part as a response to his brother Elliott Roosevelt ' s book " An Untold Story " , which told of FDR ' s marital issues and was fiercely repudiated by the other siblings . He authored the novel " A Family Matter " ( with Sam Toperoff , 1979 ) , and edited " The Liberal Papers " , published 1962 . In the 1980s , a non - profit organization established by Roosevelt , the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare , and its associated political action committee , was investigated by the House Ways and Means Committee for questionable money raising practices , and by the U . S . Post Office for mail fraud . By direct mail , Roosevelt ' s group solicited contributions from elderly persons by claiming that Social Security and Medicare programs were in financial jeopardy . Roosevelt also urged contributors to order their Social Security statements of earnings from his group ( these are free from the government . ) Family and death . Roosevelt ' s first marriage was to Betsey Cushing , daughter of famed surgeon Harvey Williams Cushing . They divorced in 1940 . James married Romelle Schneider , his nurse , the next year . In 1956 he married Irene Owens , his receptionist . He married his fourth wife , Mary Winskill , teacher to his son " Del , " in 1969 . By the end of his life , Roosevelt had had four wives and seven children . Children Roosevelt died in Newport Beach , California in 1991 of complications arising from a stroke and Parkinson ' s disease . He was 83 and was the last surviving child of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt . References . Notes Bibliography