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Harry Robbins Haldeman (publicly known as H. R. Haldeman, and informally as Bob Haldeman) (October 27, 1926 - November 12, 1993) was a U.S. political aide and businessman, best known for his service as White House Chief of Staff to President Richard Nixon and for his role in events leading to the Watergate burglaries and the Watergate scandal — for which he was found guilty of conspiracy and obstruction of justice. He was imprisoned for 18 months for his crimes. In the popular press, Haldeman was sometimes erroneously identified as "H. Robert Haldeman." In the White House, he was nicknamed "The Brush" for his distinctive flattop haircut. Haldeman was born in Los Angeles, California the son of socially prominent parents. His father, who founded and ran a successful heating and air conditioning supply company, gave time and financial support to local Republican causes, while mother Betty was a longtime volunteer with the Salvation Army and other philanthropic organizations. Young Bob and his siblings Tom and Betsy were raised in the Christian Science faith. Known to his peers as a "straight arrow," he sported his trademark flat-top haircut from his high school years, enjoyed discussions of ethics, and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. He married his highschool girlfriend Jo (Joanne) Horton in 1949. A World War II Naval Reserve veteran, Haldeman attended the University of Redlands, the University of Southern California and graduated from UCLA in 1948, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. It was at UCLA that he met his long time friend and later colleague in the Nixon White House, John Ehrlichman. After graduation, he spent 20 years working for the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency in both Los Angeles and New York City. Nixon and Haldeman first met in the 1950s. Haldeman served as an advance man in Nixon's 1956 Vice Presidential campaign and then as Chief of Advance Men in his unsuccessful 1960 presidential campaign. Haldeman then served as Campaign Manager in Nixon's 1962 California gubernatorial campaign, also unsuccessful. He joined Nixon's successful 1968 presidential campaign underway as Chief of Staff and was credited with presenting a revitalized Richard Nixon to the public, using the experience of his many years in advertising. Nixon named Haldeman as his first White House Chief of Staff. When his appointment to the White House was announced,Robert Rutland, a close personal friend and eminent Presidential scholar,urged Bob Haldeman to start keeping a daily diary recording the major events of each day and Haldeman`s thoughts on them. Bob Haldeman took this suggestion and started keeping and maintaining a daily diary throughout his entire career in the Nixon White House (January 18,1969 to April 30,1973.) The full text of the diaries is almost 750,000 words Together with Ehrlichman they were called "The Berlin Wall" by other White House staffers in a play on their German-American backgrounds and shared penchant for keeping others away from Nixon and serving as his "gatekeepers". They became Nixon's most loyal and trusted aides during his presidency. Both were ruthless in protecting what they regarded as Nixon's best interests. Haldeman once said he was proud to be "Richard Nixon's son of a bitch", as he never shied away from firing staffers in person.
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