Obituaries - Dec. 18, 1987

Will R. Sparks, Speech Writer for LBJ

Will R. Sparks, 63, a former speech writer for President Lyndon B. Johnson and producer of TV films and documentaries. Sparks, who retired in 1984 as public affairs director for Citicorp, had been executive speech writer and public affairs adviser to Johnson. He also worked for Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara, Citicorp Chairman Walter B. Wriston and Harold T. Geneen, chairman of International Telephone & Telegraph Corp. After leaving the White House, he wrote the books “Who Spoke to the President Last?” and “Power and Policy: America’s Role in World Affairs,” a collaboration with Sen. Clairborne Pell (D-R.I.). In the 1950s, Sparks wrote, directed and produced 152 films and live documentaries for “Wide Wide World,” an NBC program. In Long Island on Wednesday of a brain tumor.