Winchell

Walter Winchell escaped New York-immigrant poverty via the vaudeville stage, his massive insecurity and ambition driving him on. But it was as a young newspaperman that he found his real calling. In 1925, at a time when most newspaper editors were reluctant to publish even the notice of an impending birth for fear of crossing the boundaries of good taste, Winchell brought unabashed and undisguised gossip into the public press. He understood the bitter subtext of gossip: how invading the lives of the famous and revealing their secrets empowered both purveyor and audience. His columns revealed…