Pete Hamill
Pete Hamill | |
---|---|
Born | William Peter Hamill June 24, 1935 Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. |
Died | August 5, 2020 Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. | (aged 85)
Occupation | Writer |
Spouses | Ramona Negron
(m. 1962; div. 1970)Fukiko Aoki (m. 1987) |
Website | petehamill |
William Peter Hamill (June 24, 1935 – August 5, 2020) was an American journalist, novelist, essayist and editor. During his career as a New York City journalist, he was described as "the author of columns that sought to capture the particular flavors of New York City's politics and sports and the particular pathos of its crime."[1] Hamill was a columnist and editor for the New York Post and the New York Daily News.
Early life and education
The eldest of seven children of Catholic immigrants from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Hamill was born in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn.[2] His father, Billy Hamill, lost a leg as the result of an injury during a semi-professional soccer game in Brooklyn.[3] Hamill's mother, Anne Devlin Hamill, a high school graduate, arrived in New York on the day the stock market crashed in 1929.[4] Billy Hamill was introduced to Anne Devlin in 1933 and they married the following year.
Hamill attended Holy Name of Jesus grammar school
Career
Journalism
In 1958, while serving as the art director for a Greek-language newspaper the
For more than four decades, he worked at the New York Post, the New York Daily News, the
Hamill wrote about the New York underclass and racial division, most notably in an essay for Esquire magazine, "Breaking the Silence".
Two collections of his selected journalism have been published: Irrational Ravings and Piecework (1996).
Fiction
Hamill also wrote fiction, producing ten novels and two collections of short stories. His first novel, a thriller called A Killing for Christ, about a plot to assassinate the
His 1971 column Going Home, about a released prisoner on his way home by bus, inspired the smash 1973 hit song Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree.
Hamill published more than 100 short stories in newspapers, including those that were part of a series called The Eight Million in the New York Post; in the Daily News, his stories ran under the title Tales of New York. He published two volumes of short stories: The Invisible City: A New York Sketchbook (1980) and Tokyo Sketches (1992).[23]
Nonfiction
Hamill's 1994 memoir, A Drinking Life, chronicled his journey from childhood into his thirties, his embrace of drinking and the decision to abandon it.[26] According to Hamill, Frank McCourt was inspired by the book to complete his own memoir, Angela's Ashes.[2] Hamill's memoir Downtown: My Manhattan includes his reporting for the New York Daily News on the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, at which he was present.[27]
Hamill's book on the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera was inspired by time spent in Mexico City in 1957 and his presence at Rivera's funeral.[28] In Tools as Art (1995), Hamill surveys the Hechinger Collection and the incorporation of utilitarian objects for aesthetic ends.[29] His biographical essay on the artist was featured in Underground Together: The Art and Life of Harvey Dinnerstein (2008), whose work, like Hamill's, often focuses on the people and cultural life of Brooklyn.[30]
Hamill's interest in photography informed his later essays in nonfiction. New York: City of Islands (2007), celebrates the photography of Jake Rajs.[31] New York Exposed: Photographs from the Daily News (2001) contains an extended essay about the New York Daily News and its role in American photojournalism.[32][33] In his introduction to Mexico: The Revolution and Beyond (2003), Hamill writes about Agustin Victor Casasola, whose photographs recorded the Revolution of 1910–1920.[34] In his introduction to A Living Lens: Photographs of Jewish Life from the Pages of the Forward (2007), Hamill evokes the heyday of American Yiddish journalism.[35] His text for The Times Square Gym (1996) enhances John Goodman's photographs of prizefighters,[36] while his introduction to Garden of Dreams: Madison Square Garden (2004) offers a context for the sports photography of George Kalinski.[37] Hamill's Irish heritage informs the text for The Irish Face in America (2004), as seen by the photographer Jim Smith.[38]
Hamill also wrote about comic strips, of which he was a collector.
Television and film
Hamill penned a handful of teleplays and screenplays, including adaptations of his own novels, and had a few minor film roles, usually playing a generic "reporter," or himself.
Personal life
Hamill married his first wife, Ramona Negron, in 1962. Together, they had two daughters, Adrienne and Deirdre. They divorced in 1970. Seventeen years later, he married Fukiko Aoki, a fellow journalist from Japan. His work meant that he resided for long periods of time in Spain, Ireland, Saigon, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Rome, Los Angeles, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.[23][45]
A friend of
Hamill died on August 5, 2020, at
Honors
Hamill received the
Hamill was a Distinguished Writer in Residence at the
Hamill and Jimmy Breslin were interviewed for the 2019 HBO documentary Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists, which details both the friendship and competition between New York City's two most read columnists of their era.[53]
A stretch of Seventh Avenue between 11th Street and 12th Street in
Bibliography
Fiction
- A Killing for Christ (1968) ISBN 978-1617755781[23]
- The Gift (1973) ISBN 978-0316011891[23]
- Dirty Laundry (1978) ISBN 978-0553114157[55]
- Flesh and Blood (1977) ISBN 978-0553118971[56]
- The Deadly Piece (1979) ISBN 978-0553120738[55]
- The Guns of Heaven (1984) ISBN 978-0843955958[55]
- Loving Women (1989) ISBN 978-0394575285[57]
- Tokyo Sketches : Short Stories (1992) ISBN 978-4770016973[23]
- Snow in August (1998) ISBN 978-0316242820[23]
- Forever (2003) ISBN 978-0316735698[23]
- North River (2007) ISBN 978-0316007993[23]
- Tabloid City (2011) ISBN 978-0316020763[23]
- The Christmas Kid And Other Brooklyn Stories (2012) ISBN 978-0316232739[58]
Non-fiction
- Irrational Ravings (1971) LCCN 77163410[23]
- The Invisible City : Short Stories (1980) ISBN 978-0394503776[23]- though subtitled "Short Stories" it is a collection of magazine journalism
- A Drinking Life : A Memoir (1995) ISBN 978-0316341028[23]
- Piecework (1996) ISBN 978-0316340984[23]
- News is a Verb (1998) ISBN 978-0739402795[25]
- Why Sinatra Matters (1999) ISBN 978-0316347174[23]
- Diego Rivera (1999) ISBN 978-3836568975[23]
- Downtown : My Manhattan (2004) ISBN 978-0316734516[23]
- News is a Verb: Journalism at the End of the Twentieth Century (2011)[59]
- They Are Us: A Plea for Common Sense about Immigration (2011)[60]
References
- ^ "Pete Hamill, a City Voice, To Head The Daily News". The New York Times. November 27, 1996.
- ^ a b c d e [1] Archived May 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Alex Witchel (February 24, 1994). "AT HOME WITH: Pete Hamill; On Background, The New York Times, February 24, 1994". The New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ISBN 9780759512979. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ Beaty, Thalia (August 5, 2020). "Pete Hamill, legendary New York columnist and novelist, dies". Associated Press. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
- ISBN 9780316054539. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ "Legendary journalist Pete Hamill to graduate high school finally after Regis grants degree". New York Daily News. June 25, 2010. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
- ^ "Pete Hamill's Cold, Sober Memoir Of His Drinking Days While working in the Navy Yard". Chicago Tribune. January 23, 1994. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
- ISBN 9780316054539. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ "Pete Hamill's career forged N.Y. tough". Post-gazette.com. Pittsburgh. January 25, 2003. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ Roberts, Sam (September 16, 2016). "After 30 Years, Pete Hamill Returns to Brooklyn". The New York Times. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
- ^ "Biography". Petehamill.com. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
- ^ "Faculty profile, NYU". Journalism.nyu.edu. May 14, 2006. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ Kimball, George (June 4, 2011). "Bright Light, Big City". The Irish Times. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
- ^ "Pete Hamill". WNET. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ^ "NYU". Journalism.nyu.edu. May 14, 2006. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ISBN 9780316054539. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ [2] Archived November 19, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Bruni, Frank (September 5, 1997). "After 8 Months, Pete Hamill Leaves The Daily News". The New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
- ^ "Pete Hamill Named News Editor". New York Daily News. November 27, 1996. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ISBN 9780671682651. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ One On 1: Author, Longtime Newspaperman Pete Hamill NY1 interview, March 8, 2004 Archived October 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s McFadden, Robert D. (August 5, 2020). "Pete Hamill, Quintessential New York Journalist, Dies at 85". The New York Times. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
- ^ Corrigan, Maureen (March 5, 2008). "Liebling Collected in 'World War II Writings'". NPR. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
- ^ ISBN 9780345425287.
- ^ Alex Witchel (February 24, 1994). "AT HOME WITH: Pete Hamill; On Background, The New York Times, February 24, 1994". The New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ "Pete Hamill's career forged N.Y. tough". Post-gazette.com. January 25, 2003. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ "Post-Gazette". Post-gazette.com. January 25, 2003. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ Foote, Timothy (April 1996). "Tools as Art". Smithsonian. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
- ^ "Pete Hamill – Journalist and Writer". La Pietra Dialogues. NYU Florence. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
- ISBN 9780810977648.
- ISBN 9780810943056.
- ^ "New York Exposed". WNYC Studios. November 30, 2001. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
- ISBN 9781931788229.
- ISBN 9780393062694.
- ISBN 9781886212060.
- ISBN 9781584793434.
- ISBN 9780821257463.
- ^ Alex Witchel (February 24, 1994). "New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ISBN 9781600101427.
- ISBN 9781557836762.
- ISBN 9780810977648.
- ^ Stafford, Jeff. "Badge 373". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
- ^ Evans, Greg (August 5, 2020). "Pete Hamill Dies: Acclaimed New York Tabloid Journalist Was 85". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
- ^ "Legendary New York journalist and writer Pete Hamill dies at 85". Los Angeles Times. August 5, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
- ^ Eppridge, Bill. "Pete Hamill Remembers Robert F. Kennedy, NPR". Npr.org. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ McShane, Harry (August 5, 2020). "Legendary journalist and writer Pete Hamill dead at 85 after fall". New York Daily News. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
- ^ "Pete Hamill receives Honorary Doctorate Degree. Columnists.com". Columnists.com. April 18, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ "Distinguished Writer and Novelist Pete Hamill Highlights St. John's 2010 Commencement Ceremonies on Staten Island". May 28, 2010. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
- ^ "One Day, Web Journalists Will Get Real Money. HuffPost, January 22, 2011". Huffingtonpost.com. November 22, 2010. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ Otis, JENNIFER H. CUNNINGHAM, Ginger Adams. "Daily News legend Pete Hamill honored with George Polk Career Award - NY Daily News". Nydailynews.com. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "NYU". As.nyu.edu. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2014.
- ^ HBO: Breslin and Hamill Deadline Artists, January 2019
- ^ Balk, Tim (June 24, 2021). "Park Slope block named for Brooklyn-born Pete Hamill, legendary NYC author and journalist". New York Daily News. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
- ^ a b c Koseluk, Chris; Barnes, Mike (August 5, 2020). "Pete Hamill, Legendary New York Newspaperman, Dies at 85". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
- ISBN 9780553118971.
- ISBN 9780394575285.
- ISBN 978-0316232739.
- ^ Hamill, Pete (January 5, 2011). News Is a Verb: Journalism at the End of the Twentieth Century (1st ed.). Ballantine Books.
- ^ Hamill, Pete. They Are Us: A Plea for Common Sense About Immigration.
External links
- Official website
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Pete Hamill at IMDb