Infamous and Notorious
Let's face it: most of us are biography addicts. Our appetite for the “Lives of the Rich and Famous” is all but insatiable. Like you, I too am utterly fascinated by the lives of men and women who became famous for their writing or acting, their power, their creations – even their sins. Over the years, I have read literally hundreds – perhaps thousands – of biographies. I am happy to share with you lectures on those whom I refer to as the “Infamous and Notorious.”
Erich Von Stroheim (1885-1957): Hollywood's first made genius. During the Great War, he played the perfect Hun. Trouble was, he was the son of a Jewish hat maker.
Meyer Lansky (1902-1983): Many believe that if he had not been a gangster, he probably would have wound up running General Motors. Oh really?
Mordecai Manuel Noah (1785-1851): A journalist with a flair for politics and diplomacy Noah tried to create a Jewish homeland on Grand Island in the Niagara River.
William d'Alton Mann (1839-1920): A ‘larger-than-life protean scoundrel' and America's first gossip columnist, Mann capped of an unbelievably colorful career by ‘robbing the Robber Barons.”
Mark Twain (1835-1910): America's favorite writer, bar none. Who else but Twain could begin a tale with the immortal words “My father was a St. Bernard, my mother was a collie, but I am a Presbyterian.”
August Belmont (1816-1890): Originally the Rothschild family's “man in America,” Belmont became both the arbiter of good taste and chair of the Democratic National Committee.
Ignatius Donnelly (1831-1901): The “Apostle of Protest,” Donnelly served in Congress, wrote best-selling novels, and turned the world's attention to the “Lost Continent of Atlantis.” Indeed, he was America's answer to Nostrodamus.
Florence Prag Kahn (1866-1948): The first Jewish woman to serve in Congress, Kahn was often referred to by J. Edgar Hoover as “The Mother of the F.B.I.”
Hughie Long (1893-1935): Known as “the Kingfish,” Long blazed a meteoric path across the American political horizon. Equal parts genius and demagogue, Long's career, was cut short by an assassin's bullet.
Bernard Baruch (1870-1965): A legendary financier who became the most trusted and long-lived presidential advisor in American history.
Frances Marion (1888 - 1973): Hollywood's most respected and successful screenwriter, Marion wrote starring vehicles for everyone from Mary Pickford and Lillian Gish to Wallace Berry and Spencer Tracy.
H.L. Mencken (1880-1956): A Baltimore-based newspaperman, Mencken was once hailed as “. . . the most powerful personal influence on this whole generation of educated people.”
Belle Linder Moskowitz (1877-1933): Governor Al Smith's closest political advisor, Moskowitz was a major force in creating the social welfare programs of the New Deal.
Cora Crane (1868-1910): Raised in a proper Boston family, Cora defied convention by doing whatever she pleased – from becoming a war correspondent to carrying on a public affair with writer Stephen Crane.
Louis Dembitz Brandeis (1856-1941): “The People's Lawyer,” Brandeis became the first Jew appointed to the United States Supreme Court.
Edna Ferber (1887-1968): Hailing from Kalamazoo, Michigan, Ferber became, arguably, America's most popular and successful female writer, penning such classics as Show Boat , Dinner at Eight , So Big¸ and The Ice House.
Ayn Rand (1905-1983): The exotic creation of “objectivism,” which rejects altruism and exalts wealth, was, in reality, a Russian-born émigré named Alissa Rosenbaum.
Averell Harriman (1891- 1986): One of the richest men in America, Harriman spent the first half of his life as a playboy. Who could have predicted that he would become one of America's greatest diplomats?
Emma Goldman (1869-1940): The ‘most dangerous woman in America,' “Red Emma” was jailed for conspiracy to assassinate President William McKinley, and then deported to Russia just in time to participate in the revolution.
Damon Runyon (1880-1946): The quintessential New York, the man who put the “guy” into Guys and Dolls , was actually born in Kansas and was a good friend of Bat Masterson
Adolph Zukor (1873-1976): More than anyone, Zukor can claim title to being the real father of the motion picture industry.
Samuel Dickstein (1885-1954): The “Father” of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, Dickstein was, in truth, on the payroll of the KGB. His Soviet handlers nicknamed him “Crook.”
“Diamond Jim” Brady (1856-1917): Robber Baron, bon vivant, world-class trencherman and companion of Lillian Russell, Brady was truly larger than life.
Meyer London (1871-1926): Elected to Congress as a Socialist, London was the have-nots best friend in America
Lewis Charles Levin (1808-1860): The original “Know-Nothing,” Levin's fiery political rhetoric caused riots wherever he went. Levin argued in favor of prayer in the public schools and against immigration in the 1840s.
Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911): The true father of “Yellow Journalism,” and one of America's most brilliant eccentrics, Pulitzer built a state-of-the-art skyscraper for his New York-based newspaper empire, and only entered it twice.
Samuel F.B. Morse (1791-1872): Yes, he invented the telegraph and Morse Code. But he was also a celebrated artist, right-wing politician and first-rate curmudgeon
Oliver Wendell Holmes (1841-1935): Variously called “The Great Dissenter” and “The Justice From Beacon Hill,” Holmes was the quintessential Boston Brahmin. His life and career are the stuff of legend.
Lillian Gish (1893-1993): The “Queen of Silents,” Miss Gish's career on the Silver Screen lasted an incredible 75 years.
Ben Hecht (1893-1964): A gritty reporter from Chicago, Hecht went on to write “. . . about half of all the entertaining films [ever] produced in Hollywood,” including His Girl Friday, Some Like it Hot, and Strangers on a Train.
Mabel Normand (1892-1930): The “Queen of Silent Comedy” and Hollywood's first “I don't care girl,” Normand's epitaph could easily have read “She jazzed herself into oblivion.”
Al Smith (1873-1944): It's a long, long way from the Fulton Street Fish Market to the Governor's mansion in Albany.
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