George Plimpton | |
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George Plimpton in 1993
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Born |
George Ames Plimpton March 18, 1927 New York City, New York, U.S. |
Died | September 25, 2003 New York City, New York, U.S. |
(aged 76)
Education |
St. Bernard's School Phillips Exeter Academy Daytona Beach High School Harvard University University of Cambridge |
Occupation | Journalist, writer, literary editor, actor |
Notable credit(s) | The Paris Review |
Spouse(s) | Freddy Medora Espy (1968–1988) Sarah Whitehead Dudley (1991–2003 (his death)) |
Children | 4 |
George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 – September 25, 2003) was an American journalist, writer, literary editor, actor and occasional amateur sportsman. 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 also famous for "participatory journalism" which included competing 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 and then recording the experience from the point of view of an amateur.
Plimpton was born in New York City on March 18, 1927, and spent his childhood there, attending St. Bernard's School and growing up in an apartment duplex on Manhattan's Upper East Side located at 1165 Fifth Avenue. During the summers, he lived in the hamlet of West Hills, Huntington, Suffolk County on Long Island.
He was the son of Francis T. P. Plimpton, and the grandson of Frances Taylor Pearsons and George Arthur Plimpton. His grandfather was the founder of the Ginn publishing company and a philanthropist. His father was a successful corporate lawyer and partner of the law firm Debevoise and Plimpton who was appointed by President John F. Kennedy as U.S. deputy ambassador to the United Nations, serving from 1961 to 1965.