Peter Mayhew
British-American actor
George Plimpton was an American writer known for his participatory journalism, including accounts of his active involvement in professional sporting events, acting, and performing with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. He was the first and only editor of The Paris Review, and his exploits in various high-profile careers were chronicled in witty, elegant prose across his numerous books.
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About the George Plimpton
George Ames Plimptonwas an American writer. He is known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review, as well as his patrician demeanor and accent. He was 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 and then recording the experience from the point of view of an amateur.
Per The New York Times, his “exploits in editing and writing seesawed between belles lettres and the witty accounts he wrote of his various madcap attempts to slip into other people’s high-profile careers…a lanky, urbane man possessed of boundless energy and perpetual bonhomie, became, in 1953, the first and only editor of The Paris Review. A ubiquitous presence at book parties and other gala social events, he was tireless in his commitment to the serious, contemporary fiction the magazine publishes…All of this contributed to the charm of reading about Mr. Plimpton’s frequently hapless adventures as ‘professional’ athlete, stand-up comedian, movie bad guy or circus performer; which he chronicled in witty, elegant prose in nearly three dozen books.”
Frequently Asked Questions
George Plimpton was an American writer known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review. He was also known for his ‘participatory journalism’, where he would actively participate in professional sporting events, acting, and other high-profile careers, and then write about the experiences.
George Plimpton was the first and only editor of The Paris Review, a literary magazine that published serious, contemporary fiction.
George Plimpton participated in a variety of high-profile careers for his ‘participatory journalism’, including playing with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, acting in a Western, and performing a comedy act at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
According to The New York Times, George Plimpton chronicled his ‘frequently hapless adventures’ in ‘witty, elegant prose’ across nearly three dozen books.
George Plimpton was known for his patrician demeanor and accent, which contributed to the charm of reading about his ‘madcap attempts to slip into other people’s high-profile careers’.
5 Quotes by George Plimpton
- 1.
My favorite monologue in the book is Kate Harrington’s story of her relationship with Truman.
George PlimptonAmerican writer (1927-2003)
- 2.
He was interviewed in the early ’60s by a young novelist, Pati Hill.
George PlimptonAmerican writer (1927-2003)
- 3.
The New York Times published the guest list on the front page. The masks were a brilliant concept.
George PlimptonAmerican writer (1927-2003)
- 4.
I remember being awed by it – the uniqueness and nicety of style – and I suspect I was a bit jealous because we were more or less of the same generation.
George PlimptonAmerican writer (1927-2003)
- 5.
It is also one of the pleasures of oral biography, in that the reader, rather than editor, is jury.
George PlimptonAmerican writer (1927-2003)