1. Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies
2. Brock Peters to Jonathan Prince

George Plimpton Biography (1927-)

Full name, George Ames Plimpton; born March 18, 1927, in New York, NY; son ofFrancis T. P. (a lawyer and diplomat) and Pauline (maiden name, Ames) Plimpton; married Freddy Medora Espy (a photography studio assistant), March 28, 1968 (divorced, c. 1988); married Sarah Whitehead Dudley, c. 1991; children: (first marriage) Medora Ames, Taylor Ames; (second marriage) Olivia Hartley, Laura Dudley. Addresses: Agent: Joseph Regal, Russell & Volkening, 50 West 29th St., New York, NY 10001.

Nationality

American

Gender

Male

Occupation

Writer, actor

Birth Details

March 18, 1927

New York, New York, United States

Famous Works

• CREDITS
• Film Appearances
• Reporter, The Detective, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1968
• Mayor, Beyond the Law, Grove Press, 1968
• Himself, Hickory Hill, 1968
• Fourth gunman, Rio Lobo (also known as San Timoteo), National General, 1970
• Quentin Reynolds, The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover, American International Pictures, 1977
• Lawrence, If Ever I See You Again, Columbia, 1978
• Horace Whigham, Reds, Paramount, 1981
• Lawrence Bourne, Jr., Volunteers, TriStar, 1985
• Pumping Iron II: The Women (documentary), Cinecom International, 1985
• God, Religion, Inc. (also known as A Fool and His Money), 1989
• Surgeon, Easy Wheels, Fries Entertainment, 1989
• Well-wisher, The Bonfire of the Vanities, Warner Bros., 1990
• Straight weatherman, L.A. Story, TriStar, 1991
• Winston F. Buckner, Little Man Tate, Orion Pictures, 1991
• Voice, The Donner Party (documentary), 1992
• Elder Phillips, Just Cause, Warner Bros., 1995
• President's lawyer, Nixon, Buena Vista/Hollywood Pictures, 1995
• Himself, When We Were Kings (documentary), Gramercy, 1996
• Henry, Good Will Hunting, Miramax, 1997
• Club-goer, The Last Days of Disco, Gramercy, 1998
• Panel member, Edtv (also known as Ed TV), MCA/Universal, 1999
• Famous author, Woman Found Dead in Elevator, Big Telescope, 2000
• Dr. Byron Brady, Just Visiting (also known as Les visiteurs enAmerique), Buena Vista, 2001
• Film Work
• Director, Hickory Hill, 1968
• Television Appearances
• Miniseries
• New York segment, Cities, CBC (Canada), 1978
• Voice of George Templeton Strong, The Civil War (also known as The American Civil War), 1990
• Voice, Baseball, PBS, 1994
• Voice, Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, PBS, 1999
• Voice, New York: A Documentary Film, PBS, 1999
• Episodic
• Clinton Brandauer, "Starfire," The Equalizer, CBS, 1989
• Dr. Greyson, "The Shrink," Wings, NBC, 1994
• Himself, Central Park West, CBS, 1995
• Himself, "Rival," The Single Guy, NBC, 1996
• John Truman Carter, Sr., "My Brother's Keeper," ER, NBC, 1998
• Voice, It's Like, You Know ... , ABC, c. 1999
• Spelling bee judge, "Spell Check," Wonderland, ABC, 2000
• Himself, "A&E Biography: Nina van Horn," Just Shoot Me, NBC, 2000
• John Truman Carter, Sr., "Thy Will Be Done," ER, NBC, 2001
• Attorney Lamont Otis, "Eeny, Meeny, Murder, Moe," A Nero Wolfe Mystery, Arts and Entertainment, 2001
• John Barrett, "Over My Dead Body: Parts 1 & 2," A Nero Wolfe Mystery, Arts and Entertainment, 2001
• Specials
• Plimpton! Shoot-out at Rio Lobo, ABC, 1970
• Plimpton! The Man on the Flying Trapeze, ABC, 1970
• Plimpton! Did You Hear the One About ... ?, ABC, 1971
• Plimpton! The Great Quarterback Sneak, ABC, 1971
• Plimpton! Adventure in Africa, ABC, 1972
• Voice, Coney Island, 1991
• RECORDINGS
• Audio Books
• Narrator, Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr., Random House Audio Publishing Group, 1998
• Narrator (with others), The Best American Short Stories of the Century, Volume 1, Houghton Mifflin, 1999, Volume 2, 2000
• WRITINGS
• Television
• (With William Kronick) Plimpton! Shoot-out at Rio Lobo, ABC, 1970
• Plimpton! The Man on the Flying Trapeze, ABC, 1970
• (With Kronick) Plimpton! Did You Hear the One About ... ?, ABC, 1971
• (With Kronick) Plimpton! The Great Quarterback Sneak, ABC, 1971
• (With Kronick) Plimpton! Adventure in Africa, ABC, 1972
• Film
• (Contributor) Woman Found Dead in Elevator, Big Telescope, 2000
• Books
• The Rabbit's Umbrella (juvenile), Viking (New York City), 1955
• Out of My League (baseball anecdotes), Harper (New York City), 1961
• Paper Lion (football anecdotes), Harper, 1966
• The Bogey Man: A Month on the PGA Tour, Harper, 1968
• (With Alex Karras and John Gordy) Mad Ducks and Bears: Football Revisited (anecdotes), Random House (New York City), 1973
• One for the Record: The Inside Story of Hank Aaron's Chase for the Home Run Record, Harper, 1974
• Shadow Box (boxing anecdotes), Putnam (New York City), 1977
• One More July: A Football Dialogue with Bill Curry, Harper, 1977
• Sports!, photographs by Neil Leifer, Abrams (New York City), 1978
• A Sports Bestiary (cartoons), illustrated by Arnold Roth, McGraw-Hill (New York, NY), 1982
• Open Net: A Professional Amateur in the World of Big-Time Hockey,Norton, 1985
• The Curious Case of Sidd Finch (novel), Macmillan (New York City),1987
• The X Factor: A Quest for Excellence, Whittle Direct (Knoxville, TN), 1990, revised edition, Norton, 1995
• The Best of Plimpton, Atlantic Monthly Press (New York City), 1990
• (With Dave Marsh) Fifty Ways to Fight Censorship, Thunder's MouthPress, 1991
• The Official Olympics Triplecast Viewer's Guide, Barcelona commemorative edition, Pindar, 1992
• The Norton Book of Sports, Norton, 1992
• (With Jean Kennedy Smith) Very Special Art: Profiles in Disability andCreativity, Random House, 1992
• (With Smith) Chronicles of Courage: Very Special Artists (interviews), Random House, 1993
• Truman Capote: In Which Various Friends, Enemies, Acquaintances, and Detractors Recall His Turbulent Career, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1997
• Pet Peeves; or, Whatever Happened to Doctor Rawff?, Atlantic Monthly Press (New York City), 2000
• Contributor to books, including Hampton Shorts: Fiction Plus from theEast End, Hamptons Literary Publications, 1997; and The Great Life: AMan's Guide to Sports, Skills, Fitness, and Serious Fun, 2000.
• Editor
• Writers at Work: The Paris Review Interviews, Viking (New York City), Volume 1, 1957; Volume 2, 1963; Volume 3, 1967; Volume 4, 1976; Volume 5,1981; Volume 6, 1984; Volume 7, 1986; Volume 8, 1988; Volume 9, 1992
• (With Peter Ardery) The American Literary Anthology, Number 1, Farrar, Straus (New York City), 1968; Number 2, Random House (New York City), 1969; Number 3, Viking, 1970
• (With Jean Stein) American Journey: The Times of Robert Kennedy (interviews), Harcourt (New York City), 1970
• (And author of introduction) Pierre Etchebaster, Pierre's Book: The Game of Court Tennis, Barre Publishers (Barre, MA), 1971
• Jean Stein, Edie: An American Biography, Knopf (New York City), 1982; published as Edie: American Girl, Grove Press (New York City), 1994
• (With Christopher Hemphill) Diana Vreeland, D.V., Random House, 1984
• Fireworks: A History and Celebration, Doubleday (Garden City, NY),1984
• Poets at Work: The Paris Review Interviews, Viking, 1989
• Women Writers at Work: The Paris Review Interviews, Viking, 1989
• The Writer's Chapbook: A Compendium of Fact, Opinion, Wit, and Advicefrom the Twentieth Century's Preeminent Writers, Viking, 1989
• The Best of Bad Hemingway: Choice Entries from the Harry's Bar & American Grill Imitation Hemingway Competition, Harcourt (San Diego, CA),Volume 1, 1989; Volume 2, 1991
• The Paris Review Anthology, Norton (New York City), 1990
• (With others) Muhammad Ali: A Thirty Year Journey, Simon & Schuster (New York City), 1993
• (With Pauline A. Plimpton) A Collector's Recollections, Columbia University Libraries (New York City), 1993
• (With Glenn Stout) The Best American Sports Writing, Houghton Mifflin, 1997
• Beat Writers at Work, Random House, 1998
• (With Jason Shinder) The Best American Movie Writing, St. Martin'sPress (New York City), 1998
• Playwrights at Work: The Paris Review, Modern Library (New York City), 2000
• Home Run, Harcourt, 2001
• (With Andrei Codrescu) Christopher Felver: The Importance of Being Christopher Felver, Arena Editions, 2001
• Editor, Harvard Lampoon, c. 1948-50; associate editor, Horizon, 1959-61; contributing editor, Sports Illustrated, 1967--; associate editor, Harper's, 1972--; contributing editor, Food and Wine, 1978; member of editorial advisory board, Realities, 1978.

Further Reference

ADAPTATIONS

• Plimpton's book Paper Lion was adapted as a screenplay, released by United Artists in 1968.

OTHER SOURCES

Books

• Contemporary Literary Criticism, Volume 36, Gale, 1986
• Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 185: American LiteraryJournalists, 1945-1995, First Series, Gale, 1997

Periodicals

• America, February 20, 1993, p. 2
• Antioch Review, winter, 1990, p. 121
• Belles Lettres, summer, 1990, p. 47
• Bloomsbury Review, March/April, 1990, p. 7
• Harper's, June, 2000, p. 51
• New Yorker, June 27, 1994, p. 44
• New York Times, March 6, 1995
• Playboy, December, 1996, p. 90
• Publishers Weekly, November 17, 1997, p. 41
• Sports Illustrated, August 3, 1992, p. 6