Biographical Overview & Key Facts

Subject:

Gay Talese

Role / Field:

Pioneer of New Journalism, known for literary profiles of American figures.

Born:

1932-02-07

Century / Era:

1932s Historical Era

Database Source:

2Day Chrono-Wiki & Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Origins & Early Life

Gaetano "Gay" Talese (; born February 7, 1932) is an American writer. As a journalist for The New York Times and Esquire magazine during the 1960s, he helped to define contemporary literary journalism and is considered, along with Joan Didion, Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, Hunter S. Thompson and Tom Wolfe, one of the pioneers of New Journalism. Talese's most famous articles are about Joe DiMaggio and Frank Sinatra.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Talese, who is of Italian heritage, was born in Ocean City, New Jersey. His father, Joseph Talese, was a tailor who had emigrated to the United States in 1922 from Maida, a small town in the province of Catanzaro, in the region of Calabria in southern Italy. His mother, the former Catherine DePaolo, was born in Brooklyn to parents who had emigrated from the same area in southern Italy, and worked as a buyer for a Brooklyn department store. At school as a child, Talese wore hand-crafted suits from his father's shop which, he later speculated in his memoir, Origins of a Nonfiction Writer (1996), caused him to seem older than his classmates. Talese recounted his early years in his book Unto the Sons.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Talese graduated from Ocean City High School...

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Abebe Bikila — Contemporary (Born in 1932) (1932): Ethiopian Olympic marathon champion, known for his barefoot victories in Rome and Tokyo.
• Al Arbour — Contemporary (Born in 1932) (1932): Pioneering Canadian hockey player, coach, and executive known for leading the Islanders.
• Alan Bean — Contemporary (Born in 1932) (1932): American astronaut, naval officer, and lunar explorer who walked on the Moon.
• Adolphe Sax — Shared historical date (02-07 · Died) (1894): Belgian inventor who created the saxophone and revolutionized wind instruments.
• Albert Finney — Shared historical date (02-07 · Died) (2019): Esteemed English actor celebrated for his versatile stage and screen performances.
• Alberto Santos-Dumont — Historical peer (Died in 1932) (1932): Brazilian pioneer of aviation, instrumental in developing both airships and fixed-wing aircraft.
• Alexander Grin — Historical peer (Died in 1932) (1932): A celebrated Russian writer known for romantic fantasy novels and sea adventures.
• Aage Bohr — Historical peer (Born in 1922) (1922): Pioneering Danish nuclear physicist, Nobel laureate for atomic structure theory.
• Agostinho Neto — Historical peer (Born in 1922) (1922): Angolan communist revolutionary, poet, and first President of Angola.
• 6ix9ine — Historical peer (Born in 1996) (1996): American rapper known for aggressive style and controversial public persona.
• 1932 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1932
• February 7 (02-07) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on February 7

Frequently Asked Questions about Gay Talese