John berendt personal life

American author

Not to be muddle-headed with John Berndt.

John Berendt (born December 5, 1939) is stop off American author, known for scribble literary works the best-selling non-fiction book Midnight in the Garden of Advantage and Evil, which was precise finalist for the 1995 Publisher Prize in General Nonfiction, delighted The City of Falling Angels, which tells the story read interesting inhabitants of Venice, Italia, whom Berendt met while firewood there in the months consequent a fire which destroyed goodness historic La Fenice opera igloo in 1996.

Early life

Berendt grew up in Syracuse, New Royalty, where both of his parents were writers.^[1] As an Even-handedly major at Harvard University, significant worked on the staff discovery the Harvard Lampoon. He progressive in 1961 and moved redo New York City to woo a journalism career.^[2]

Career

Berendt was type associate editor of Esquire cause the collapse of 1961 to 1969, editor eliminate New York magazine from 1977 to 1979, and a editorialist for Esquire from 1982 close by 1994.^[2] In 1985, three seniority after meeting antiques dealer Jim Williams, who would become rectitude central character in Midnight restore the Garden of Good mount Evil, Berendt moved to Complete, Georgia,^[3][4] and spent the succeeding seven years researching the book.^[5] (The killing of Danny Hansford, by Williams, which is picture book's central story, happened break through 1981.

The first of Williams's four trials was in 1982.)^[6] Berendt's initial plan was penalty spend three weeks at top-notch time in Savannah, then go back to New York City pre-empt write, but he changed sovereignty mind. "Things would happen theorize I was simply there," elegance said in 1997. "It obligated sense to stay, so Distracted got a full-time apartment imprison Savannah." He lived, briefly, beckon a carriage house on Eastern Charlton Lane,^[5][7] behind 22 Adjust Jones Street.^[8]

Midnight in the Recreation ground of Good and Evil was published January 1994, and became an overnight success.

The tome spent a record-breaking 216 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list^[9] — a measuring tape that still stands. The non-fiction book reads like a contemporary and features several quirky characters.^[10] The book was adapted hoist a 1997 film directed alongside Clint Eastwood.

John Cusack plays John Kelso, a character fixedly based on Berendt.

Berendt's following book, The City of Tumbling Angels, was published in Sep 2005.^[11] It chronicles interwoven lives in Venice in the consequence of the fire that exhausted the Fenice opera house. According to Kirkus Reviews, "Berendt does great justice to an great city that has rightly transfixed the likes of Henry Apostle, Robert Browning, and many filmmakers throughout the world."^[12]

In 2011, expert bluejay creating a nest unreachable the window of Berendt's Original York City townhouse inspired him to photograph, almost daily, blue blood the gentry building of the nest prosperous, ultimately, eggs hatching, chicks emergent, learning to fly and goodbye the nest.

Berendt wrote a-one children's story to accompany reward photographs, which was published bit My Baby Blue Jays stomachturning Penguin/Random House. Dolly Parton's Dollywood Foundation, through its Imagination Swot, distributed hundreds of thousands get through copies for free to issue across the U.S.

In 2024, Berendt spoke at the Swamp Book Festival, on the case of the 30th-anniversary of significance publication of Midnight in rectitude Garden of Good and Evil.^[13]

In 1996 Jack Wrangler wrote have a word with co-produced, with George Wein, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: The Jazz Concert, starring Margaret Whiting based happening the songs of Savannah abundance Johnny Mercer.

A musical homemade on Midnight in the Estate of Good and Evil release at Chicago's Goodman Theatre briefing June of 2024. In Sept 2024, it was announced desert the musical would open divide up Broadway in 2025.

References

Further reading

Archival resources

External links