Tucker Carlson announces the death of his famous father

Tucker Carlson has lost his father, Richard ‘Dick’ Warner Carlson, who he called “the toughest human being.”

The conservative voice shared the sad news on X, confirming that his father passed away on Monday after a six-week illness at their home in Boca Grande, Florida.

Passed away holding the hands of his children

Dick Carlson was no ordinary man, not just the father of Tucker Carlson, but a respected award-winning figure with his own distinguished career.

Like his son, Dick Carlson started as a reporter before stepping into roles within conservative administrations. He served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Seychelles during the early 1990s under President George H. W. Bush and had previously worked as the Director of Voice of America under President Ronald Reagan.

According to an obituary shared by Carlson, his father spent the last 25 years of his life involved in work that ”was never completely clear to his family, but that was clearly interesting.”

Wikipedia Commons / VOA

Despite the mystery surrounding his professional life, he remained close to his sons, speaking with them daily and having lunch with them once a week at the Metropolitan Club in Washington for thirty years, always starting with a dice game.

”Throughout his life, he fervently loved dogs,” the obituary added. After a six-week illness, Dick Carlson ”refused all painkillers to the end and left this world with dignity and clarity, holding the hands of his children with his dogs at his feet,” Carlson wrote.

Placed in a Boston orphanage

Richard Carlson was born on February 10, 1941, to a 15-year-old Swedish-speaking mother who placed him in a Boston orphanage. After spending years in foster homes, he was adopted by a family in Norwood, Massachusetts.

At 12, Carlson lost his adoptive father, a tannery manager, which led him down a troubled path. By 17, he was arrested and jailed for car theft. However, he turned his life around, enlisting in the Marine Corps, working as a merchant seaman, and eventually forging a career in journalism, as shared by his son, Tucker Carlson.

Dick Carlson began his distinguished career as a copy boy at the Los Angeles Times before becoming a well-known investigative reporter for KABC, where he gained recognition among Los Angeles TV viewers.

And Tucker Carlson’s childhood in Southern California was far from typical, though it was marked by privilege. Raised by his journalist father, and his stepmother, Tucker’s upbringing was unconventional but still upscale.

Took his children to a murder scene

Tucker has often spoken about how his bond with his father shaped who he became. In the biography Tucker by Chadwick Moore, it’s noted that Dick was determined to expose his children to the gritty realities of his work from a young age. Carlson was known to be an engaged father with a clear philosophy on raising his sons.

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He once said, ”I want them to be self-disciplined to the degree that I think is necessary to find satisfaction…you measure a person on how far they go, on how far they’ve sprung. My parents, the Carlsons, they instilled a modesty in me that, at times, gets in my way…I know it’s immodest of me to say it, but it’s difficult sometimes when you want to beat your own drum and say what you really think.”

One striking example included taking his children to a murder investigation, where they saw the victim’s body splattered on the sidewalk.

The biography reveals, “As soon as they could walk, he dragged them along to dinners, restaurants, work events, and reporting gigs to ensure, as he says, that they ‘became well-informed and early gourmands.’”

Dick Carlson, who lived to be 84 years old, is survived by his two sons and five grandchildren.