Synopses & Reviews
Review
"The subject of this 681-page biography is forgotten today, except by pre-boomers who spent their childhood tethered to a radio. Nonetheless, Winchell's 'work' remains an element in the history of American popular culture, chiefly as a precursor of The National Enquirer, E!'s Gossip, and Hard Copy. Combining barely criticized factoid, 'insinuendo,' and outright lie, Winchell created myths of celebrity victims and profligates (the latter his enemies) while puffing his friends and protégés. More damagingly, he dabbled in politics as a McCarthyite, and terrorized his readers and listeners with twisted portents of impending disaster. Unsurprisingly, the squalor of Winchell in public mirrored the messiness and shambles of his private life. Gabler deals dispassionately, and readably, with both, though in the end, a kind of poetic justice takes hold, and the reader is hard put to separate the significant from the trivial." Reviewed by Daniel Weiss, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review)
Description
Includes bibliographical references and index (p. [649]-659) and index.