John Warner was a government official who had served as Under secretary and then Secretary of the U.S. Navy during the Nixon Administration, 1972-1974, before he was appointed in 1974 to head up the federal government's American Revolution Bicentennial Administration. His marriage to Elizabeth Taylor, the movie legend, gave him enough celebrity clout to propel him to a seat in the U.S. Senate from Virginia. Confounding expectations, Warner turned out to be a fine senator, becoming a specialist in defense issues. His marriage to Liz didn't last, but his seat in the Senate remains secure.