Pappy brought down a president, now the kinfolk are wanting the green.
The family of W. Mark Felt, the former FBI official whose alter-ego “Deep Throat” remained in hiding for 30 years after bringing down a sitting president, appears ready to cash in on his new found fame.
And if money is what they want, Felt’s family stands to reap a financial windfall, according to literary agents, who estimated Wednesday that a book deal could be worth up to $1 million.
“That is assuming he has a compelling story to tell,” said Glen Hartley, president of Writer’s Representatives LLC, based out of New York. “A book could easily be valued in the six figures.”
As news broke that Felt was indeed the secret source who guided two young Washington Post reporters as they uncovered the Watergate scandal, Felt’s family offered to sell family photographs – the first in an apparent flood of moneymaking opportunities.
Felt’s role in the scandal, which forced the resignation of president Richard Nixon, surfaced in an article written for Vanity Fair by a family friend, San Francisco attorney John O’Connor.
He wrote that Felt’s daughter Joan, who persuaded her 91-year-old father to go public as “Deep Throat,” lamented that the Post’s Bob Woodward would get all the credit – and profit – if Felt went to the grave with his secret.
“We could make at least enough money to pay some bills like the debt I’ve run up for the kids’ education,” she told Felt, according to the article. “Let’s do it for the family.”
Grab all the money while you can — you know what they say about fifteen minutes.