George Plimpton | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Plimpton in 1977 | |
| Born | George Ames Plimpton (1927-03-18)March 18, 1927 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | September 25, 2003(2003-09-25) (aged 76) New York City, U.S. |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) King's College, Cambridge (BA) |
| Occupations |
|
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 |
George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 – September 25, 2003) was an American writer. He is known for hissports writing and for helping to foundThe Paris Review, as well as his patrician demeanor andaccent. He was known for "participatory journalism," including accounts of his active involvement in professional sporting events, acting in aWestern, performing a comedy act atCaesars Palace in Las Vegas, and playing with theNew York Philharmonic Orchestra[1] and then recording the experience from the point of view of an amateur.
According toThe New York Times, his "exploits in editing and writing seesawed between belles lettres and the witty accounts he wrote of his various madcap attempts to slip into other people's high-profile careers ... a lanky, urbane man possessed of boundless energy and perpetual bonhomie, became, in 1953, the first and only editor of The Paris Review. A ubiquitous presence at book parties and other gala social events, he was tireless in his commitment to the serious, contemporary fiction the magazine publishes ... All of this contributed to the charm of reading about Mr. Plimpton's frequently hapless adventures as 'professional' athlete, stand-up comedian, movie bad guy or circus performer; which he chronicled in witty, elegant prose in nearly three dozen books."[2]
Plimpton[2] was born in New York City on March 18, 1927, and spent his childhood there, attendingSt. Bernard's School and growing up in an apartment duplex on Manhattan'sUpper East Side located at 1165Fifth Avenue.[3] During the summers, he lived in thehamlet ofWest Hills, Huntington, Suffolk County onLong Island.[3]
He was the son ofFrancis T. P. Plimpton[4] and the grandson of Frances Taylor Pearsons andGeorge Arthur Plimpton.[5][6][7][8][9][10] His father was a successful corporate lawyer and name partner of the law firmDebevoise and Plimpton; he was appointed by PresidentJohn F. Kennedy as U.S. deputy ambassador to theUnited Nations, serving from 1961 to 1965.[11]
His mother was Pauline Ames,[12] the daughter of botanistOakes Ames (1874–1950) and artistBlanche Ames. Both of Plimpton's maternal grandparents were born with the surname Ames; his mother was the granddaughter ofMedal of Honor recipientAdelbert Ames (1835–1933), an American sailor, soldier, and politician, andOliver Ames, a US political figure and the35thGovernor of Massachusetts (1887–1890). She was also the great-granddaughter on her father's side ofOakes Ames (1804–1873), an industrialist and congressman who was implicated in theCrédit Mobilier railroad scandal of 1872; and Governor-General of New OrleansBenjamin Franklin Butler, anAmerican lawyer andpolitician who representedMassachusetts in theUnited States House of Representatives and later served as the33rdGovernor of Massachusetts.[13]
Plimpton's son described him as aWhite Anglo-Saxon Protestant and wrote that both of Plimpton's parents were descended fromMayflower passengers.[14]
George had three siblings: Francis Taylor Pearsons Plimpton Jr., Oakes Ames Plimpton,[15] and Sarah Gay Plimpton.
AfterSt. Bernard's School, Plimpton attendedPhillips Exeter Academy (from which he was expelled just shy of graduation), andDaytona Beach High School, where he received his high school diploma,[16] before enteringHarvard College in July 1944. He wrote for theHarvard Lampoon, was a member of theHasty Pudding Club, Pi Eta, the Signet Society, and thePorcellian Club and majored in English. Plimpton entered Harvard as a member of the Class of 1948, but did not graduate until 1950 due to intervening military service. He was also an accomplishedbirdwatcher.[citation needed][17]
Plimpton's studies at Harvard were interrupted by military service from 1945 to 1948, during which time he served in Italy as anArmy tank driver. After finishing at Harvard in 1950, he attendedKing's College, Cambridge, from 1950 to 1952, and graduated with third class honors in English.[18]
In 1952, Plimpton was recruited byPeter Matthiessen to join the literary journalThe Paris Review, founded by Matthiessen,Thomas H. Guinzburg, andHarold L. Humes.[19] This periodical has carried great weight in the literary world, but has never been financially strong; for its first half-century, it was allegedly largely financed by its publishers and by Plimpton. Matthiessen took the magazine over from Humes and ousted him as editor, replacing him with Plimpton, using it as his cover for Matthiessen'sCIA activities.Jean Stein became Plimpton's co-editor. Plimpton was associated with the Paris literary magazineMerlin, which folded because the State Department withdrew its support.[why?] FuturePoet LaureateDonald Hall, who had met Plimpton at Exeter, was Poetry Editor. One of the magazine's most notable discoveries was author and screenwriterTerry Southern, who was living in Paris at the time and formed a lifelong friendship with Plimpton, along with writerAlexander Trocchi and future classical and jazz pioneerDavid Amram.[citation needed] In 1958, he published an influential article aboutVali Myers.[20] That same year, Plimpton interviewedErnest Hemingway for theReview.[21]
 | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(October 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Plimpton was famous for competing in professional sporting events and then recording the experience from the point of view of an amateur. PerThe New York Times, "As a 'participatory journalist,' Mr. Plimpton believed that it was not enough for writers of nonfiction to simply observe; they needed to immerse themselves in whatever they were covering to understand fully what was involved. For example, he believed that football huddles and conversations on the bench constituted a 'secret world, and if you're a voyeur, you want to be down there, getting it firsthand'."[2] He was influenced byPaul Gallico, about whom he said: "What Gallico did was to climb down out of the press box."[2] In 1958, prior to a post-season exhibition game at Yankee Stadium between teams managed byWillie Mays (National League) andMickey Mantle (American League), Plimpton pitched against theNational League. This experience was captured inOut of My League (1961). (He intended to face both line-ups, but tired badly and was relieved byRalph Houk.) Plimpton sparred for three rounds with boxing greatsArchie Moore andSugar Ray Robinson while on assignment forSports Illustrated.[2] Hemingway praisedOut of My League as "beautifully observed and incredibly conceived, his account of a self-imposed ordeal that has the chilling quality of a true nightmare ... It is the dark side of the moon ofWalter Mitty."[2]
In 1963, Plimpton attended preseason training with theDetroit Lions of theNational Football League as a backupquarterback, and he ran a few plays in an intrasquad scrimmage. These events were recalled in his best-known book,Paper Lion (1966), which was adapted asa 1968 film starringAlan Alda. Plimpton revisited pro football in 1971,[22] this time joining the defendingSuper Bowl championBaltimore Colts and seeing action in an exhibition game against his previous team, the Lions. These experiences served as the basis ofMad Ducks and Bears (1973), although much of the book dealt with the off-field escapades and observations of football friendsAlex Karras ("Mad Duck") andJohn Gordy ("Bear").[23]
Plimpton'sThe Bogey Man (1968) chronicles his attempt to play professional golf on thePGA Tour during theNicklaus andPalmer era of the 1960s. Among other challenges forSports Illustrated, he attempted to play top-levelbridge, and spent some time as ahigh-wire circus performer.[2] Some of these events, such as his stint with the Colts, and an attempt at stand-up comedy, were presented on theABC television network as a series of specials.Open Net (1985) saw him train as anice hockey goalie with theBoston Bruins, even playing part of aNational Hockey League preseason game.[2]
Among other adventures, he attempted "acrobatics as an aerialist for the Clyde Beatty-Cole Brothers Circus—he failed miserably". More happily, he tried "his hand as a percussionist with theNew York Philharmonic (where a miss-hit on the gong earned him the immediate applause of conductorLeonard Bernstein)."[24]
In the April 1, 1985, issue ofSports Illustrated, Plimpton pulled off a widely reportedApril Fools' Day prank. With the help of theNew York Mets organization and several Mets players, Plimpton wrote an account of an unknown pitcher in the Mets spring training camp,Siddhartha Finch, who threw a baseball over 160 mph, wore a hiking boot on one foot, and was a practicingBuddhist who had studiedyoga inTibet. The article had many clues that the story was a prank, starting with the subheading: "He's a pitcher, part yogi and part recluse. Impressively liberated from our opulent life-style, Sidd's deciding about yoga—and his future in baseball." This is anacrostic reading "Happy April Fools' Day—a(h) fib".[25] The article was so convincing that many readers believed it, and the popularity of the prank led to Plimpton expanding on Sidd's story inThe Curious Case of Sidd Finch (1987).
Plimpton was a demolitions expert in the post–World War II Army. After returning to New York from Paris, he routinely launchedfireworks at his evening parties.[26] His fireworks fascination flourished, and in 1975, inBellport, Long Island, withFireworks by Grucci, he attempted to break the record for the world's largest firework.[27][28][29] His firework, aRoman candle named "Fat Man",[27][28][29] weighed 720 pounds (330 kg)[27] and was expected to rise to 1,000 feet (300 m)[29] or more[27] and deliver a wide starburst.[28] When lit, the firework remained on the ground and exploded, blasting a crater 35 feet (11 m) wide and 10 feet (3.0 m) deep.[29] A later attempt, fired atCape Canaveral, rose approximately 50 feet (15 m) into the air and broke 700 windows inTitusville, Florida.[26]
WithFelix Grucci, Plimpton competed in the 16th International Fireworks Festival in 1979 inMonte Carlo. After several problems with transporting and preparing the fireworks, Plimpton and Grucci became the first competitors from the United States to win the event.[30] Plimpton was appointed Fireworks Commissioner of New York by MayorJohn Lindsay,[26][30] an unofficial post he held until his death.[2] With the Grucci family, he helped choreograph the fireworks for the 1983Brooklyn Bridge Centennial Celebration and for the second inauguration ofRonald Reagan.[31] Plimpton's passion for pyrotechnics led him to writeFireworks (1984),[32] and he hosted anA&E Home Video on the subject, featuring his many fireworks adventures with the Gruccis.[2]
Plimpton and Jean Stein edited an oral biography ofEdie Sedgwick,Edie: An American Biography (1982).[33] He appeared in a featurette about Sedgwick found on theCiao! Manhattan DVD. He appeared in thePBSAmerican Masters documentary onAndy Warhol and in the closing credits of the 2006 filmFactory Girl. In 1998, Plimpton published an oral biography ofTruman Capote. Between 2000 and 2003, he wrote thelibretto to the operaAnimal Tales, commissioned byFamily Opera Initiative, with music byKitty Brazelton and directed byGrethe Barrett Holby. He wrote, "I suppose in a mild way there is a lesson to be learned for the young, or the young at heart – the gumption to get out and try one's wings". In 2002, Plimpton collaborated with Terry Quinn onZelda, Scott and Ernest, a play based on the correspondence ofF. Scott Fitzgerald,Zelda Fitzgerald and Hemingway.[2]
In 1989, Plimpton appeared in the documentaryThe Tightrope Dancer, about the life and the work of the artist Vali Myers. In 1994, Plimpton appeared in theKen Burns seriesBaseball, sharing personal baseball experiences and commenting on memorable events from the history of the game.[34] In 1996, he appeared in the documentaryWhen We Were Kings, about the "Rumble in the Jungle", the 1974 Ali-Foreman Championship fight. Plimpton creditedMuhammad Ali as a poet who composed the world's shortest poem: "Me? Whee!!"[35]
Plimpton appeared in more than thirty films as an extra or in cameo appearances.[19] He was a Bedouin inLawrence of Arabia (1961), a thief inRio Lobo (1970),Tom Hanks's antagonistic father inVolunteers (1985) and a psychologist inGood Will Hunting (1997).[36][37] Plimpton called himself "the Prince of Cameos."[2] He also appeared in television commercials in the early 1980s, including a memorable campaign forMattel'sIntellivision. In this campaign, Plimpton touted the superiority regarding the graphics and sounds of Intellivision video games over theAtari 2600.[38]
He hostedMouseterpiece Theater, aMasterpiece Theatre spoof featuring Disney cartoon shorts. He had a recurring role as the grandfather ofDr. Carter onER[39] and was a cast member ofNero Wolfe (2001–02). InThe Simpsons episode "I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can", he hosts the "Spellympics" and attempts to bribeLisa to lose with the offer of a scholarship at aSeven Sisters College and a hot plate: "it's perfect for soup!"[40]
A November 6, 1971, cartoon inThe New Yorker byWhitney Darrow Jr. shows a cleaning lady on her hands and knees scrubbing an office floor while saying to another one: "I'd like to see George Plimpton dothis sometime." In another cartoon inThe New Yorker, a patient looks up at the masked surgeon about to operate on him and asks, "Wait a minute! How do I know you're not George Plimpton?"[41] A feature inMad titled "Some Really Dangerous Jobs for George Plimpton" spotlighted him trying to swim acrossLake Erie, strolling through New York'sTimes Square in the middle of the night, and spending a week withJerry Lewis.[42]
Plimpton was known for his distinctive accent which, by Plimpton's own admission, was often mistaken for an English accent. Plimpton himself described it as a "New England cosmopolitan accent"[43] or "Eastern seaboard cosmopolitan" accent.[44] His son, Taylor, described it as a mixture of "old New England, old New York, tinged with a hint of King's CollegeKing's English."[14]
Plimpton was married twice.[2] His first wife, whom he married in 1968[45] and divorced in 1988, was Freddy Medora Espy, a photographer's assistant. She was the daughter of writersWillard R. Espy[46] and Hilda S. Cole, who had, earlier in her career, been a publicity agent forKate Smith andFred Waring.[47] They had two children: Medora Ames Plimpton and Taylor Ames Plimpton, who has published a memoir entitledNotes from the Night: A Life After Dark.
In 1992, Plimpton married Sarah Whitehead Dudley, a graduate ofColumbia University and a freelance writer.[48] She is the daughter of James Chittenden Dudley,[49] a managing partner of Manhattan-based investment firm Dudley and Company, and geologist Elisabeth Claypool. The Dudleys established the 36-acre (15 ha)Highstead Arboretum inRedding, Connecticut. Plimpton and Dudley were the parents of twin daughters Laura Dudley Plimpton and Olivia Hartley Plimpton.[citation needed]
At Harvard, Plimpton was a classmate and close personal friend ofRobert F. Kennedy. Plimpton, along with formerdecathleteRafer Johnson andAmerican football starRosey Grier, was credited with helping wrestleSirhan Sirhan to the floor when Kennedy wasassassinated following his victory in the 1968 CaliforniaDemocratic primary at the formerAmbassador Hotel inLos Angeles, California. Kennedy died the next day atGood Samaritan Hospital.
Plimpton died on September 25, 2003, in his New York City apartment from a heart attack later determined to have been caused by acatecholamine surge. He was 76.[2][50]
The annual "AmateurBackgammon championships" held in Las Vegas from 1978 onwards were called thePlimpton Cup.
Plimpton was made an officier of the FrenchOrdre des Arts et des Lettres and a chevalier of theLegion of Honour, and was a member of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Letters.[19]
An oral biography,George, Being George was edited byNelson W. Aldrich Jr., and released on October 21, 2008. The book offers memories of Plimpton fromNorman Mailer,William Styron,Gay Talese andGore Vidal among other writers, and was written with the cooperation of both his ex-wife and his widow.[citation needed]
Plimpton was the subject of theAmerican Masters documentaryPlimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself. In it the writerJames Salter said of Plimpton that "he was writing in a genre that really doesn't permit greatness."[51] The film used archival audio and video of Plimpton lecturing and reading to create a posthumous narration.[52]
In 2006, the musicianJonathan Coulton wrote the song entitled "A Talk with George", a part of his 'Thing a Week' series, in tribute to Plimpton's many adventures and approach to life.[53]
Plimpton is the protagonist of the semi-fictionalGeorge Plimpton's Video Falconry, a 1983ColecoVision game postulated by humoristJohn Hodgman and recreated by video game auteur Tom Fulp.[54]
Researcher and writer Samuel Arbesman filed withNASA to name an asteroid after Plimpton; NASA issued the certificate7932 Plimpton in 2009.[55][56]His final interview appeared inThe New York Sports Express of October 2, 2003, by journalist Dave Hollander.
But Fat Man sat heavily on the ground, sizzled, smoked and then exploded, leaving a gaping hole 10 feet deep and 35 feet wide.
