Patrick Frawley, R.I.P.

Human Events, Jan 1, 1999 by Gizzi, John

Patrick J. Frawley, Jr., a longtime HUMAN EVENTS subscriber and generous donor to conservative causes and candidates, died recently in Santa Monica, Calif. following lung surgery. Nicaraguan-born, a high-school dropout, and a veteran of the British Royal Canadian Air Force, Frawley became an American citizen in 1958. Starting in the import-export business after World War II, he first bought a ballpoint pen manufacturing company that had defaulted on its debts. Under Frawley's leadership, the company thrived as Paper Mate and was sold to Gillette in 1955 for $15.5 million. The driven, charismatic entrepreneur later became chairman of Schick Safety Razor and Technicolor companies almost concurrently from the late 1950s until 1970.

Frawley became politically active and conservative after Castro took over Cuba in 1959 and nationalized the Schick plant there. From that point on, he was a generous donor to anti-Communist causes and conservative candidates in California such as Ronald Reagan, GOP Sen. (1964-70) George Murphy (R.-Calif.), and 1992 GOP Senate hopeful Bruce Herschensohn.

In 1968, he organized a private meeting of fellow Golden State conservatives to sound out a primary challenger to liberal Senate GOP Whip (1953-68) Thomas Kuchel. After discussing such prospective opponents as actor Chuck Connors and retired U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Curtis LeMay, the Frawley group backed then-State Superintendent of Public Instruction Max Rafferty, who unseated Kuchel in the primary but lost the fall race to Democrat Alan Cranston.

In later years, Frawley admitted alcoholism, conquered it, and devoted his life and much of his fortune to finding cures for alcohol and drug addiction. The 75-year-old Frawley left his wife Geraldine, two sons, five daughters, and 20 grandchildren. Two other daughters preceded him in death.