Walter Winchell
by Michael Herr
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A streamlined hybrid of novel and screenplay, Walter Winchell tells the story of the failed vaudevillian who became this country's most influential gossip columnist and wizard of the vicarious. Brilliant . . . full of punchy dialogue, colorful people and places and period movie devices . . . Herr's hybrid is perfect.--Chicago Tribune.Tags
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Walter Winchell, A Novel by Michael Herr
What he describes as “prose fiction”, Michael Herr, has written a quick paced portrait of Walter Winchell, a unique figure who invented the gossip column to the newspaper business.
Winchell, as a teenager, started his public life as a vaudevillian song and dance man of limited talent who found a niche as a press agent promoting shows. This led to a column in a show business newspaper which evolved into a column of gossip about show business, gangsters and politicians. A strong supporter of FDR Winchell also was early in identifying the menace Hitler posed to the world at large. Following WW II his political interests morphed into an anti-communism and in association with Roy Cohen he became a show more mouthpiece for Joe McCarthy’s “red scare” program. At the height of his success, Winchell’s column was in over 1000 newspapers and his weekly radio show had an audience of 50 million listeners.
Ultimately this is a story of stark ambition, narcissism, name calling, reckless insinuations that ring true in this age of Trump. That both Winchell and Trump became enamored with Roy Cohen solidifies this connection. The story spans the life and times of America from the roaring 20’s to the rise and fall of Richard Nixon.
Herr creates this story in a staccato like fashion, dominated by dialogue, reminiscent of the great work of George V. Higgins who wrote crime fiction made up wholly of dialogue. Herr, famous for his great book about Vietnam, Dispatches, also contributed screen writing credits for both Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now and Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket. His talent for screenwriting is clearly on display in this novel. show less
What he describes as “prose fiction”, Michael Herr, has written a quick paced portrait of Walter Winchell, a unique figure who invented the gossip column to the newspaper business.
Winchell, as a teenager, started his public life as a vaudevillian song and dance man of limited talent who found a niche as a press agent promoting shows. This led to a column in a show business newspaper which evolved into a column of gossip about show business, gangsters and politicians. A strong supporter of FDR Winchell also was early in identifying the menace Hitler posed to the world at large. Following WW II his political interests morphed into an anti-communism and in association with Roy Cohen he became a show more mouthpiece for Joe McCarthy’s “red scare” program. At the height of his success, Winchell’s column was in over 1000 newspapers and his weekly radio show had an audience of 50 million listeners.
Ultimately this is a story of stark ambition, narcissism, name calling, reckless insinuations that ring true in this age of Trump. That both Winchell and Trump became enamored with Roy Cohen solidifies this connection. The story spans the life and times of America from the roaring 20’s to the rise and fall of Richard Nixon.
Herr creates this story in a staccato like fashion, dominated by dialogue, reminiscent of the great work of George V. Higgins who wrote crime fiction made up wholly of dialogue. Herr, famous for his great book about Vietnam, Dispatches, also contributed screen writing credits for both Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now and Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket. His talent for screenwriting is clearly on display in this novel. show less
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10+ Works 4,354 Members
Michael Herr was born in Lexington, Kentucky on April 13, 1940. He attended Syracuse University, but dropped out to travel in Europe and write. He served in the Army Reserve and wrote for publications including The New Leader and Holiday. From 1967-1969, he was a correspondent for Esquire magazine during the Vietnam War. He wrote the article Hell show more Sucks, which put him in the forefront of the journalists who were writing on the war at that time. The piece became part of Dispatches, a memoir of his time in Vietnam, which was published in 1977. He also wrote Walter Winchell: A Novel, an experiment in which he combined a novel and a screenplay to tell the story of one of the country's most influential gossip columnists. He was active in the motion picture industry with writing credits for Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, The Island of Dr. Moreau, Heart of Darkness, and The Rainmaker. In addition, he served as an associate producer of Full Metal Jacket. He died on June 23, 2016 at the age of 76. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- Walter Winchell
- People/Characters
- Walter Winchell
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- English, French, Italian
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