George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 September 25, 2003) was an American writer. It includes clear pronunciation of each and every consonant cluster. A similar phenomenon can be noted in the use, well into the 1980s, of the recorded sound of teletype machines in the background of newscasts, a sound still faintly evoked by the bip-bip-bip patterns of music that often introduces news broadcasts, even though teletype machines are long gone The subconscious association of this pattern of sound with news is fading fast with the passing of the years and will undoubtedly disappear entirely in the coming decade as surely as the over-enunciated style of radio speech of the 30s disappeared within a generation of its no longer being needed. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review. Isnt that what they call it. But it didnt define him, much the way he refused to be defined by the stiff, upper-crust world from which hed come. O ne afternoon this summer, I sat in George Plimpton's study waiting for the gentleman editor, participatory journalist, and beloved gadfly of American letters to arrive. I want you to go [to the shop] pull out the biggest firework you have and go out and light it up, because you just won the firework contest in Monaco!, I was so stunned, all I could think to say was, I dont think I can get a permit that fast!, Alice Quinn, director of the Poetry Society of America, poetry editor, The New Yorker:When I was an adviser at Columbia Magazine [a journal run out of Columbia University], we were scraping barrel, with no money in the bank, and I said to the students we should have a benefit auction. **Mid-Atlantic. Vault. On one website, I read about a Choate alumn saying one can still hear the LL (see above thread) accent on campus. What fine manners he had! . I thought they were terrific. Could it be fairly said that Plimptom had it? The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. George Plimpton gives an auction winner a star-studded walk through the legendary NYC eatery Elaine's. Plimpton was a writer-raconteur and dilettante in the best sense of the word: He co-founded an important literary magazine, the Paris Review, and tried his hand at everything from quarterbacking for the Detroit Lions (which he wrote about in Paper Lion), boxing with light-heavyweight champ Archie Moore (which became Shadow Box), and becoming New Yorks unofficial official fireworks commissioner. His exploits were such that at one point, The New Yorker ran a cartoon in which a patient eyed a surgeon with misgiving and said, But how do I know youre not George Plimpton?, But perhaps foremost among his accomplishments was his elevation of the interview to a literary form, both in the Paris Review and in his two superb works of oral history, Truman Capote: In Which Various Friends, Enemies, Acquaintances and Detractors Recall His Turbulent Career, and Edie, a biography of Edie Sedgwick, which he and Jean Stein compiled. George Plimpton writer, publisher, amateur lion tamer died in 2003 after 50 years as the founding editor of The Paris Review. tweedy demeanor and Oxford accent. By George Plimpton. The Curious Case Of Sidd Finch. Old money, would never say the word spanky, and certainly had more money than God could count. Firstly, then-managing director of SI, Mark Mulvoy, gave Plimpton the liberty to create a hoax.Secondly, SI photographer Lane Stewart recruited his friend, Joe Berton to play the part of Sidd Finch. Yes he is gone. Archie Moore, after all, had broken his nose. You can. Thats a common name for such an accent. Consider his duties as host of Mousterpiece Theatre (my first intro to my father as celebrity), a childrens TV show in which he debated the adventures and psyches of Donald Duck and Goofy in that marvelously serious voice: Is Donald Duck really a strident existentialist and a hero? How wonderfulwhat fun!to have a constant reminder emerging from your lips that life was absurd, and identity, too; all of it a great game to be played at, enjoyed. He once said that, in writing Paper Lion, he wanted to reveal the "humor and grace" of football. Call me back.. But the average person never talked that way. He also appeared in a featurette about Edie Sedgwick found on the Ciao! He was one of her original supporters and had published an article about her work in The Paris Review. During my fight, my nose got badly broken in the second round, but I did last all four scheduled rounds, though I lost. It took the form of a statement: I dont know writers who write about sex better than you. I rose to the bait and answered saying, Thank you. $ 4.19 - $ 17.92. Just in time for the Sixties, with all their other pressures towards some kind of anti-Eisenhower authenticity. He did these jobs, and many others, as an amateur.. As an old film buff, I am used to this voice, though it figures unevenly in old movies. For his grandfather, the publisher and philanthropist, see, Calvin Gay Plimpton and Priscilla G. Lewis were the parents of, He was widely reviled for years after the war by Southern whites, who gave him the nickname "Beast Butler." Plimpton played Tom Hanks's antagonistic father in Volunteers. What will you be mad about ten years after youre gone?). And I felt such love for my sweet old excited dad at that moment that I thought I would do him the favor of not telling him so, of leaving it unsaid. Harvard (where he edited the Lampoon), Kings College, After the technology improved the need to speak so histrionically went away, and so did "announcer English.". Jay McInerney, author:Arriving in Manhattan as a young writer, nothing was more thrilling or daunting than attending my first Paris Review party at Georges townhouse on East 72nd in the fall of 1984. [citation needed], In the movie Plimpton! Powered by Discourse, best viewed with JavaScript enabled. So think of Margaret Anderson or Amanda and you can place George. All the good guys have got to go. Starring George Plimpton as Himself, which documents his life, adventures, and work as participatory journalist and editor of the Paris Review, my dad will be playing himself one more time. The responses fall into interesting categories: linguistic descriptions of this accent; sociological and ethnic explanations for its rise and fall; possible technological factors in its prominence and disappearance; explanations rooted in the movie industry; nominees for who might have been the last American to talk this way; and suggestions that a few rare specimens still exist. Brown & Co. Re-issued George Plimpton Sports Books, 2016. If you say, I pahked my cah in Hahvahd Yahd, like some vaudeville version of a Boston accent, you are non-rhotic. (This is not to belittle Lowell Thomas, but to recognize the artifice that served him so well in his career). He was a Wasp (both of his parents came from old New England families, and had ancestors on the Mayflower). He did not appear last year, or the year before, and we feared he was done with us. So it was that George Plimptons accent could not be imitated. Besides, third is a very respectable showing! **. Its our anniversary. That he died in his sleep was impressive. I remember the Lowell Thomas documentary films of the 50s where Mr. Thomas' mellifluous tones and distinct radio-style pronunciation gave him a respectability that a similar huckster could hardly hope to replicate today by the mere application of such an artifice. I only wish I could not tell him again, just one more time. That phony-baloney feigned British pronunciation thing. George Plimpton. If you are in the big league, God help us all. He died on September 26, 2003 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. They spoke in this manner, and it seemed perfectly natural, evocative of a background spent among the gentry of the northeast.. George Plimpton (1927-2003) was a journalist and the first editor-in-chief of The Paris Review. We made $15,000-20,000. That is, until I saw the documentarythe assassination of his dear friend Bobby Kennedy. The Paris Review was a testimony to his literary taste and his sense of glamour. Back in the 1960s and '70s, I would nightly sit alone in front of a TV set in a darkened room in the Midwest munching on potato chips watching late night talk shows out of New York CityJohnny Carson and Dick Cavett in particularand Plimpton was a regular on those shows. After St. Bernard's School, Plimpton attended Phillips Exeter Academy (from which he was expelled just shy of graduation), and Daytona Beach High School, where he received his high school diploma,[16] before entering Harvard College in July 1944. The Wikipedia entry for it is quite detailed. Never heard of this decidedly imprecise term. In fact, my dads farewells seemed loquacious in comparison to his mothers. And being good at losing was one of Georges many gifts. And so it seemed only fitting to commemorate his death with the form he made his own.Meghan ORourke. In the "I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can" episode of The Simpsons, he hosts the "Spellympics" and attempts to bribe Lisa Simpson to lose with the offer of a scholarship at a Seven Sisters College and a hot plate; "it's perfect for soup! Ive always heard it referred to as a patrician accent. In that vein, here is an oral biography of George Plimpton. Starring George Plimpton as Himself, the writer James Salter said of Plimpton that "he was writing in a genre that really doesn't permit greatness. Hed ask what was new in fireworks business and doodle around the facility with my dad, and he would always leave with a package of fireworks, to put on his own show. A little before my time, but Kennedy certainly didnt, even if his vernacular was more formal than Brandos. I can understand your frustration, but celebrities die every day. On Sept. 26, George Plimpton died in his sleep, at the age of 76. **Thats a common name for such an accent. (Newsreels ran in movie theaters, of course: what better critique of the high newsreel style than the new movies that jarred against it?). And so fuck was definitely out of the question, but what about I love you? He was also known for "participatory journalism," including accounts of his active involvement in professional sporting events, acting in a Western, performing a comedy act at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and playing with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra[1] and then recording the experience from the point of view of an amateur. 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". He was so open to life and all its new and unexpected situations. The clipped, non-rhotic English accents of George Plimpton and William F. Buckley Jr. were vestigial examples. Vault. *Originally posted by bordelond * Was it him? Would you like Mike to run for you, George? the coach asked. George Plimpton was a literary man about town who did it all, from co-founding The Paris Review to boxing (and dribbling and quarterbacking) with the pros. Read more. If you say, I parked my car in Harvard Yard, you are being rhotic. Norman Mailer, author:George had a rare gift. Jonathan Ames, author:Back in the fall of 1999, in preparation for my one and only boxing match, I read George Plimptons great book, Shadow Box, where he recounted his foray into the world of boxing and his famous encounter with Archie Moore. [30] Plimpton later wrote the book Fireworks, and hosted an A&E Home Video with the same name featuring his many fireworks adventures with the Gruccis of New York in Monte Carlo and for the 1983 Brooklyn Bridge Centennial. Plimpton's The Bogey Man chronicles his attempt to play professional golf on the PGA Tour during the Nicklaus and Palmer era of the 1960s. What stood in our way? If you were making a speech in a large hall, or speaking on the radio, you needed to enunciate very clearly and use a lot of emphases to be sure your audience could understand what you were saying. So it went in late 1960 at one of George Plimpton's legendary soirees at 541 E. 72nd St., New York. At least, not to me, nor even to my sister, a fact she mentions in the movie. They all gathered there. On Sept. 26, George Plimpton died in his sleep, at the age of 76. George Plimpton was a literary man about town who did it all, from co-founding The Paris . Think of the accent of Jane Hathaway on the Beverly Hillbillies. A friend of the New England Sedgwick family, Plimpton edited Edie: An American Biography with Jean Stein in 1982. Few could give a toast or tell a story with equal humor. Except at parties. There was love thereactually, his inability to express it sometimes made him positively brim with itbut speak the words, his voice could not. Hemingway on Fiction, Part Two. This was his habit. Actually, thats not far off from how my mom felt when she first met him. [21] The prank was so successful that many readers believed the story, and the ensuing popularity of the joke resulted in Plimpton's writing an entire book on Finch. This speech pattern might be common among US expatriates in the UK, of which Grossman would seem to represent just the most ostentatious example. Plimpton has grown. [3], He was the son of Francis T. P. Plimpton[4] and the grandson of Frances Taylor Pearsons and George Arthur Plimpton. [citation needed]. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007. 2) The Role of Broadway and Hollywood, and the Shift from Jimmy Cagney to Marlon Brando. He knew we were just as good as he was, but in a different field. The s. I dont give a rats ass about informing anyone about the death of Plimpton. As Poling puts it, George was known as an unrivaled raconteur and, in making a film of his life story, it only seemed natural to allow him to tell it.. Bill, who was from the South, kept saying to me, Can you believe Georges not English? Youll get another shot at the big time, trust me. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review, as well as his patrician demeanor and accent. He was equally at home on a bicycle or getting out of a limousine with a Saudi Arabian prince. Shootout at Rio Lobo", "The Smaller the Ball, the Better the Book: A Game Theory of Literature", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_Plimpton&oldid=1137974740, This page was last edited on 7 February 2023, at 10:19. Youll get another shot at the big time, trust me. . At the time, he was getting ready to pitch for the Yankees,and we would throw pitches across 72nd Street in preparation. When George Plimpton Met the Best Bartender in Brooklyn Two New York Legends Collide By Tim Sultan February 26, 2016 The only other person that I had known who possessed a similar charisma to Sunny Balzano's was my first employer in New York: George Plimpton. Hed have that and a scotch on the rocks, his favorite drink. Timothy Seldes, George Plimptons literary agent:Whenever George wanted me to do something for him, he would call me up and say, Hello, Old Tim. One day, I got a call, and heard his voice, and my heart sank. There was intellectual heft in the Plimpton genes too: one Ames was a Professor of Botany, another was Governor of Massachusetts, another relation was a publisher, and yet another a writer-philanthropist fascinated with the subject of how the great figures of the past were educated Young Georges educational path was precisely that of a Its strange to think, but he would have been eighty-five this year: fourteen years older than my mom, fifty years older than me. All rights reserved. Prestigious prep schools and ivy league institutions (though Gore Vidal never went to college). Vault. Its something different, and Ive not encountered that in the mid-Atlantic. "[25] He had a recurring role as the grandfather of Dr. Carter on the NBC series ER. Description above from the Wikipedia article George Plimpton, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of . He's a pitcher, part yogi and part recluse. After returning to New York from Paris, he routinely launched fireworks at his evening parties. **Your transparent jealousy is very unbecoming, Carnac. It was always as if one were setting out with him on a special adventure. During a career that spanned the second half of the 20th century, Plimpton was a quarterback for the Detroit Lions, pitched at Yankee Stadium, sparred with Archie Moore, played the triangle with. He could have been a fight trainer, a fight manager! George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 - September 25, 2003) was an American journalist, writer, literary editor, actor and occasional amateur sportsman. It was as if some old gentlemans code prohibited us from interacting as human beings. Did he have the celebrated Boston Brahmin accent, or was it a psuedo-Brit affectation? Would you admit to there being symbolism in your novels? George Plimpton, journalist extraordinaire, trains with and then performs as Quarterback for the Baltimore Colts. The film used archival audio and video of Plimpton lecturing and reading to create a posthumous narration. Plimpton scowled, and said he was perfectly capable of running for himself. He watched the first pitch sail high for a ball, and then hit a rope into left field. He hosted Disney Channel's Mouseterpiece Theater (a Masterpiece Theatre spoof which featured Disney cartoon shorts). After it was published, all of the baseball people were trying to get in touch with Sidd, but he didnt existit was an April Fools joke! [37] His son, Taylor, described it as a mixture of "old New England, old New York, tinged with a hint of King's College King's English."[14]. George Plimpton, who died last week at his town house, on East Seventy-second Street near the river, was a serious man of serious accomplishments who just happened to have more fun than a van. I knew that between the time Id asked Plimpton to do the auction and the night itself, he had probably received five invitations for a better evening, but he would never have reneged. Famed participatory journalist George Plimpton (1927-2003) was a writer, editor, amateur sportsman, actor, and friend to many. His father co-founded the law firm Debevoise Plimpton. You heard it and it could only be him. The fake English announcer voice lingered on sporadically until the end of the Johnson administration in newsreels, which themselves ceased production around the same time, but Rod Serlings decision sounded the death knell for that accent.
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