supportive of Myerson’s career, 51
violence of, 54, 58
Wayne, Barbara Carol. See Grant, Barra
Wayne, Cathryn, 46, 47, 48, 56, 61
Wayne, Gus, 46, 47, 48
death of, 53–54
Wayne, Leonard, 53, 60, 61
Weaver, Robert, 324
Welles, Orson, 67
Weymouth, Lally, 242
“What Every Woman Wants to Know,” 94
“What’s My Line?,” 63
Wheeler, H. H., 45
White, Henry, 320
Wilentz, David, 71
William Morris Agency, 37, 38
Williamsport Sun-Gazette, 276
Wilson, Earl, 34–35, 67
Wilson, Howard, 247
Wise, Stephen S., 176
Wolf, Dan, 319
Wolfe, Linda, 276
Women for Humphrey, 72
Women Marines, 20
“Women of the Year,” 103
Women’s Army Corps, 20
Woodheath, 85
World War II, 19–20, 27, 51
Wright, Bruce, 258
Wriston, Walter, 157
Wyman, Roz, 321–22
Yeager, Judith, 148, 150, 154, 156, 162–63, 164
Youth Builders, Inc., 42
Zanuck, Darryl, 67
Zimroth, Peter, 255
Acknowledgments
My very special thanks to my agent, Philippa Brophy of Sterling Lord Literistic, who guided me through a difficult process with wit and wisdom. From the beginning, she believed in this book and did not give up until it was published. Along the way, she read parts of the manuscript and offered critical insights. I will always be grateful for her constant support and encouragement. Every author should have such a caring, nurturing literary agent and friend.
Thanks also to my colleagues who offered their generous assistance. I am indebted to Jeanie Kasindorf of New York magazine for teaching me a lot about reporting and writing during the Bess Myerson trial and for helping me with the final chapters of this book. I am particularly grateful to Marcia Kramer, who broke the story of the Bess Myerson scandal in the New York Daily News, and Paul Moses, who covered the trial for New York Newsday, for steering me to documents and sources. Many thanks also to Wayne Barrett, Anne Bollinger, Edward Borges, Ben Bradlee, Jr., Jimmy Breslin, Maurice Carroll, Joe Conason, John Cotter, Richard Cramer, Michael Daly, Hal Davis, Rita Delfiner, Doug Edelson, Al Ellenberg, Owen Fitzgerald, Kevin Flynn, Kristen Kelch, Murray Kempton, Steven Kroft, Diane McNulty, Jack Morrison, Patricia Morrisroe, Jack Newfield, Joyce Purnick, Marvin Smilon, F. Gilman Spencer, Sharman Stein, and Marilyn Thompson.
For allowing me to browse through their clip and photo files, a special expression of appreciation goes to Christine Baird and Mary Ann Skinner of Newsday, Faigi Rosenthal of the New York Daily News, Merrill Sherr of the New York Post, and Linda Uhrmann of the Atlantic City Press. I am also indebted to the many librarians who assisted me with my research at the New York Public Library at Lincoln Center, New York Municipal Reference Center, New York Municipal Archives, YIVO, and Hunter College’s archives, where William Omelchenko gave me tremendous help.
More than two hundred people were interviewed for this book. While it is not possible to list all of them here or to name all of the people who offered their insights and advice over the past two years, I would like to note a special thanks to George Arzt, Virginia Freeland Berry, Pat Byrne, Lori Calabro, Nancy Capasso, Pam Chanin, Roma Conable, Maureen Connelly, Linda Daly, Michael Feldberg, Myrna Felder, Raoul Lionel Felder, Chester Feldman, Joseph Fitzpatrick, Walt Framer, Sam Fredman, Kevin Ford, Arnold Forster, Hortense Gabel, Dr. Milton Gabel, Sukhreet Gabel, Neal Gantcher, Steve Gersten, Jay Goldberg, Rema Goldberg, Phyllis Goldman, Barry Gray, Betty Ann Grove, Jeremy Gutman, Fred Hafetz, Steve Hyman, Candy Jones, Leland T. Jones, former Mayor Edward I. Koch, David Lawrence, Simon Lazarus, Paul Levinson, Tony Lombardi, Henry Morgan, Steve Mosley, Susan Mulcahy, Hope O’Connor, Murray Panitz, Steve Posner, Lisa Rayder, Vera Robinson, Philip Schrag, Ceci Scott, Henry Stern, Ruth Singer, Louise Sugarman, Gary Walker, Elaine Werbell, Dan Wolf, and Judith Yeager.
At New York Newsday, I would like to thank my editors, Tom Curran, Don Forst, and Jim Toedtman. A special debt of gratitude is owed to Bill Murphy, New York Newsday’s City Hall bureau chief, whose support during the final stage of this project I will always remember.
I am grateful for the research assistance that I received from Josh Kurtz and Dean Pelligra, as well as the comments on the manuscript that I received from Sue Weston, Bob Williams, Jan Winburn, and, particularly, Carolyn White. Thanks also to Michael Antonello, Pam Richardson, and Kathy Willhoite at Contemporary Books for their professionalism and hard work and to Chris Benton, who edited the manuscript.
Finally, I reserve my deepest thanks for my husband, Christopher Conway, who spent countless hours editing and discussing this project and whose love, support, and encouragement saw me through every day of work on it.
About the Author
Jennifer Preston worked as a reporter and editor for the New York Times for nearly two decades before becoming vice president of journalism at the Knight Foundation in 2014. At the Times, she spent almost seven years as a senior editor and was named the company’s first social media editor, responsible for digital journalism and social media storytelling, in 2009. Previously, Preston was a reporter for New York Newsday, the Philadelphia Daily News, and Philadelphia’s The Bulletin. She has received several awards for reporting including the New York Press Club’s Gold Typewriter Award for Public Service and the New York State Bar Association’s Award for Investigative Reporting. In 2013 Fast Company named her one of the top twenty-five women to follow on Twitter. Preston is the author of Queen Bess: An Unauthorized Biography of Bess Myerson.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
Copyright © 1990 by Jennifer Preston
Cover design by Andrea Worthington
ISBN: 978-1-5040-3130-1
This edition published in 2016 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
345 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
www.openroadmedia.com
EARLY BIRD BOOKS
FRESH EBOOK DEALS, DELIVERED DAILY
BE THE FIRST TO KNOW—
NEW DEALS HATCH EVERY DAY!
Open Road Integrated Media is a digital publisher and multimedia content company. Open Road creates connections between authors and their audiences by marketing its ebooks through a new proprietary online platform, which uses premium video content and social media.
Videos, Archival Documents, and New Releases
Sign up for the Open Road Media newsletter and get news delivered straight to your inbox.
Sign up now at
www.openroadmedia.com/newsletters
FIND OUT MORE AT
WWW.OPENROADMEDIA.COM
FOLLOW US:
@openroadmedia and
Facebook.com/OpenRoadMedia
Queen Bess Page 56
