Journalist & Biographer Stephen M. Silverman Has Passed Away

Stephen M. Silverman was a biographer, journalist, editor and historian of popular culture.  He was chief entertainment correspondent for the New York Post from 1977 to 1988, becoming known for his masterful celebrity features (which led to many long time friendships with his subjects), and was a news editor at Time Inc (20 years). where he founded the People Online Daily for which he did breaking entertainment news and celebrity obituaries.  He died on Thursday, July 6 in Manhattan of heart failure as stated by his longtime friend Diane Reid.  He was 71.

Born on November 22, 1951 he grew up in Los Angeles (West Covina), California, and graduated in 1969 from West Covina High School, where he was editor of the school newspaper. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Irvine, and a Master of Science in Journalism from Columbia University, NY.

Silverman, as a writer, editor, and critic, contributed to numerous publications some of which were Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, The Times of London as well as Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, Smithsonian, and Vogue.

Silverman's first book, Public Spectacles, is a series of "mostly unvarnished and frequently amusing vignettes" of his personal run-ins with celebrity culture. His David Lean is a biography of the acclaimed director features an introduction by Katharine Hepburn.  His Dancing on the Ceiling: Stanley Donen and His Movies, has an introduction by Audrey Hepburn.  He has written numerous other books, some are: The Last Remaining Seats: Movie Palaces of Tinseltown; Funny Ladies: 100 Years of Great Comediennes; Movie Mutts: Hollywood Goes to the Dogs; Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade: A New York City Holiday Tradition, a history of the annual parade; and The Catskills: Its History and How It Changed America.  His most recent book was The Amusement Park: 900 Years of Thrills and Spills, and the Dreamers and Schemers Who Built Them.  His last work, Sondheim: His Life, His Shows, His Legacy, will be released this Fall.

For television, Silverman wrote the TBS special “Hot on the Trail: The Search for Sex, Love and Romance in the Old West”. He also taught cultural affairs reporting and writing from 1995 to 2004 as an adjunct professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

The New York Public Library Billy Rose Theatre Division has documents of some of Silverman's career as a journalist, non-fiction writer, and playwright/lyricist through research materials, notes, interviews, and writings created and collected by him. This collection illuminates Silverman's process of conducting research, writing, and publicizing a non-fiction book.

There will be a celebration of his life this fall after the publication of his last work, "Sondheim: His Life, His Shows, His Legacy" in the Fall.  He is survived by a niece, Sarah Silverman, and many devoted friends. Memorial gifts in Stephen's name can be sent to PEN America (pen.org).