Andrew Morton (writer)
Andrew David Morton (born 1953 in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire) is an English journalist and writer who has published biographies on royal figures such as Princess Diana, and celebrity subjects including Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie and Monica Lewinsky; several of his books have been unauthorised and contain contested assertions.
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Life and career [edit]
Born in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire in 1953, Morton attended grammar school, then studied history at the University of Sussex.
Biography of Diana, Princess of Wales [edit]
Andrew Morton wrote a biography of Diana, Princess of Wales called Diana: Her True Story. Following Diana's death in 1997, Morton issued an edition entitled Diana: Her True Story, Commemorative Edition.
Royal Wedding - "William and Catherine: Their Lives, Their Wedding" [edit]
On 16 November 2010, HRH Prince William announced his engagement to long-time girlfriend Catherine Middleton. Morton, the leading authority on royal biographies, was commissioned by Michael O'Mara Books to write a book to coincide with the royal wedding on 29 April. The book, which went on sale on 3 May 2011 in the UK, includes a detailed biography on Prince William, as well as details and insight into his relationship with his wife, Kate Middleton. The book features full-color photos of Prince William and the couple, as well as a detailed section on the wedding itself. The wedding was watched by an estimated 300 million people worldwide.
The Morton Report website [edit]
To coincide with the massive publicity and excitement of the royal wedding between Prince William and Catherine Middleton, Morton announced the official launch (24 April 2011) of his new website, TheMortonReport.com. TMR will be a daily updated entertainment website devoted to celebrities, popular culture and swanky living.
Biography of Monica Lewinsky [edit]
Morton received public attention after Diana's death, when he revealed the extent of her collaborations with him. He achieved greater prominence in the United States after the publication of Monica's Story.
Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography [edit]
Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography was published in January 2008, and reprinted with an update in February 2009. In a New York Times review, Janet Maslin wrote "... Mr. Morton has found a number of former Scientologists who are willing to speak freely, and in some cases vengefully, about the group’s purported inner workings. Mr. Morton’s eagerness to include their voices leads him to push the limits of responsible reporting." Maslin added that Morton "provides a credible portrait extrapolated from the actor’s on-the-record remarks and highly visible public behavior."[1] Writing in Entertainment Weekly, Mark Harris gave the book a grade of "C-", and said "Cruise emerges from Morton's takedown moderately scratched but as uncracked as ever."[2] Another review in the New York Times by Ada Calhooun said:[3]
- However shady Scientology may be, Morton’s language in “Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography” is extreme. He and his sources compare the church and its leadership to fascists, the Roman Empire, storm troopers, Machiavelli, Orwell’s “Animal Farm,” Napoleon, Stalinists and North Korea. He also repeatedly invokes Nazism, and quotes without censure the German Protestant Church’s comparison of Cruise to Joseph Goebbels.'
Teresa Budasi of the Chicago Sun-Times described the book as "fascinating", although Budasi also brought up a "question as to what’s true and what isn’t."[4] Budasi summed up her impression of the work, writing "Morton’s book is as much an indictment on Cruise’s chosen faith as it is the life story of one of the world’s biggest movie stars. And by the end you realize that 'Scientologist' is what will end up being the role of his lifetime."[4] In a review in The Buffalo News, Jeff Simon wrote of the author: "To give Morton the credit he’s clearly due: he is one of the best around at constructing a 250-page gossip column."[5]
Upon its publication, Cruise's lawyer and the Church of Scientology released statements which question the truthfulness of assertions made by Morton in the book. In a 15-page statement released to the press, the Church of Scientology called the book "a bigoted, defamatory assault replete with lies."[6] The book was not published in the UK, Australia, or New Zealand due to strict libel laws in those countries.[7]
Other publications [edit]
After Monica's Story, he investigated a mining disaster, which became his first non-royal journalistic account, Nine for Nine: The Pennsylvania Mine Rescue Miracle. He also wrote an authorized biography of Kenyan president Daniel arap Moi. The book resulted in a libel case brought against Morton by a Kenyan judge; Morton lost the case and was ordered to pay £45,700 in damages.[8]
Then Morton moved on to "king and queen of pop culture," as he termed them, David Beckham and his wife Victoria. Posh and Becks, became a No. 1 best-seller in the United Kingdom, but received little attention in the United States.
Soon after, Morton announced that he would be taking on the "queen of pop", Madonna. Despite a seven figure advance by St. Martin's Press and a 500,000-copy first printing, Madonna failed to make waves in America, where it spent only two weeks on The New York Times best-seller list (peaking at No. 8). By contrast, J. Randy Taraborrelli's Madonna: An Intimate Biography, released at the same time, became a massive best-seller in the United Kingdom (though it only made the extended New York Times best-seller list). Morton subsequently wrote another Diana book entitled In Pursuit of Love, with information that he had left unaddressed. The book made The New York Times best-seller list.
Morton has also written a biography on Angelina Jolie, titled Angelina: An Unauthorized Biography.[9]
Published works [edit]
- Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words. New York: Pocket. 1992. ISBN 0-671-02412-4.
- Monica's Story. New York: St. Martin's Press. 1999. ISBN 0-312-97362-4.
- Posh & Becks. Simon Spotlight Entertainment. 2000. ISBN 1-4169-5386-8.
- Madonna. New York: St. Martin's Press. 2001. ISBN 0-312-28786-0.
- Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography. New York: St. Martin's Press. 2008. ISBN 0-312-35986-1.
- Angelina: An Unauthorized Biography. New York: St. Martin's Press. 2010. ISBN 0-312-35986-1.
- William & Catherine: Their Story. New York: St. Martin's Press. 2011. ISBN 978-0-312-64340-9
References [edit]
- ^ Maslin, Janet (10 January 2008). "Tom Cruise and His Bully Pulpit". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). Archived from the original on 15 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
- ^ Harris, Mark (9 January 2008). "Review: New Cruise biography comes up empty". Entertainment Weekly (CNN.com). Archived from the original on 12 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
- ^ NY Times Review by Ada Calhoun
- ^ a b Budasi, Teresa (17 January 2008). "REVIEW: Cruise bio describes his best role: Scientologist - Focus on 'cult' doesn't make movie star more interesting". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
- ^ Simon, Jeff (19 January 2008). "A dangerous man, or a falling star?". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on 2008-01-22. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
- ^ Associated Press (16 January 2008). "Author of Cruise bio defends book". CNN (Time Warner). Archived from the original on 2008-01-19. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
- ^ "msnbc.com Video Player". MSNBC. 15 January 2007. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
- ^ "Morton moves on from legal defeat with life of Cruise", The Evening Standard, 20 October 2005
- ^ "Angelina Jolie Described As "Beguiling, Elusive" in Andrew Morton's New Book". UsMagazine.com.
External links [edit]
- "BBC News, UK , Curriculum vitae: Andrew Morton". 19 November 1998. Archived from the original on 22 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
