Winchell

by Neal Gabler

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 who was cavorting with gangsters or chorus girls, who was engaging in financial shenanigans, whose husband was compromisingly sighted with whose wife. By legitimizing gossip he forever shattered the taboo against what could be said about celebrities in the media. In his own words: "Democracy is where everybody can kick everybody else's ass." Adding: "But you can't kick Winchell's.". Because Winchel