Billy Carter | |
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Born | William Alton Carter March 29, 1937 Plains, Georgia, U.S. |
Died | September 25, 1988 Plains, Georgia, U.S. | (aged 51)
Alma mater | Emory University |
Occupation(s) | Farmer, businessman, politician |
Spouse |
Sybil Spires (m. 1955) |
Children | 6 |
Parents |
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Relatives |
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William Alton Carter (March 29, 1937 – September 25, 1988)[2] was an American farmer, businessman, brewer, and politician. The younger brother of U.S. President Jimmy Carter, he promoted Billy Beer and Peanut Lolita; and he was a candidate for mayor of Plains, Georgia.
William Alton Carter was the fourth and youngest child of Lillian and James Earl Carter.[3] Billy Carter attended Emory University,[4] served in the United States Marine Corps, and later worked in the Carter family's peanut business.[5]
In 1970 Billy Carter was managing partner and 15% owner of the Carter family's peanut business.[3] By 1976 Billy had increased revenues to $5 million per year.[3]
In 1972, Carter purchased a gas and service station in Plains. He owned and operated it for most of the decade.[6] At its peak he sold 2,000 cases of beer a month and more than 40,000 gallons of gas.[5] In 2009, the station became the Billy Carter Service Station Museum,[7] via the University of Georgia.[5]
Carter ran for mayor of Plains in 1976 but lost the election, 97 to 71 votes, to A.L. Blanton,[8] an Albany airport[9] air traffic controller.[10]
In the 1970s Billy Carter was the official spokesperson for Peanut Lolita liqueur.[11]
In 1977, although a Pabst Blue Ribbon drinker,[5] he endorsed Billy Beer, introduced by the Falls City Brewing Company, who wished to capitalize upon his colorful image as a beer-drinking Southern good ol' boy.[12] Billy Carter's name was occasionally used as a gag answer for a Washington, D.C. trouble-maker on 1970s episodes of Match Game.[citation needed] He was known for his outlandish public behavior;[13] he once urinated on an airport runway in full view of the press and dignitaries.[14]
By 1979 he drank half a gallon of vodka and whiskey a day.[15] In February 1979 Carter was admitted to seven weeks of rehabilitation at the Long Beach, California Navy Hospital alcohol treatment facility where Betty Ford went for nearly four weeks.[16][17] He later became sober and reportedly extended support to other addicts in their own recovery.[15]
In late 1978 and early 1979, Billy Carter visited Libya three times with a contingent from Georgia. He eventually registered as a foreign agent of the Libyan government and received a $220,000 loan of which, The New York Times speculated,[18] only $1,000 was repaid.[19] However, Edwin P. Wilson claimed he had seen a telegram showing that Libya paid Billy Carter $2 million.[20] This led to a Senate hearing on alleged influence peddling which the press named Billygate.[21] A Senate sub-committee was called To Investigate Activities of Individuals Representing Interests of Foreign Governments (Billy Carter—Libya Investigation).[22]
"I am deeply concerned that Billy has received funds from Libya and that he may be under obligation to Libya. These facts will govern my relationship with Billy as long as I am president. Billy has had no influence on U.S. policy or actions concerning Libya in the past, and he will have no influence in the future."
— Jimmy Carter, August 4, 1980[23]
In 1981 he was forced to sell his Plains properties to pay taxes and debts and moved to Haleyville, Alabama selling for Tidwell Industries.[24] In 1985 he became Vice President of Scott Housing Systems.[24]
Carter was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the fall of 1987 and received unsuccessful treatments for the disease.[26] He died in Plains the following year at age 51,[27] five years after the death of his sister, Ruth Carter Stapleton, who also died of pancreatic cancer at age 54.[18] Their father, James Earl Carter Sr., also died of the disease at the age of 58.