Jim Bishop
Jim Bishop | |
|---|---|
| Born | James Alonzo Bishop November 21, 1907 Jersey City, New Jersey |
| Died | July 26, 1987 (aged 79) Delray Beach, Florida |
| Occupation | Journalist, author |
| Nationality | American |
James Alonzo Bishop (November 21, 1907 – July 26, 1987)[1][2] was an American journalist and author who wrote the bestselling book The Day Lincoln was Shot.[3]
Early life
Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, he dropped out of school after eighth grade. In 1923, he studied typing, shorthand, and bookkeeping, and in 1929 began work as a copy boy at the New York Daily News.[3]
Career
In 1930, Bishop got a job as a cub reporter at New York Daily Mirror, where he worked until 1943, when he joined Collier's magazine. He remained there until 1945.
His plans to write for his friend and mentor, Hollywood producer Mark Hellinger, ended with Hellinger's death in 1947. Bishop wrote a biography of Hellinger in 1952.[3]
From 1946 to 1948, Bishop was executive editor of Liberty magazine, he then was director of the literary department at the Music Corporation of America until 1951. Next, he was the founding editor of Gold Medal Books (the juvenile division of Fawcett Publications) until 1953.
In the 1950s, Bishop would do his writing at the Jersey Shore in Sea Bright, New Jersey, going back to his home in Teaneck, New Jersey on weekends to see his wife and children.[4] In 1957, he started his column, Jim Bishop: Reporter, with King Features Syndicate, which continued until 1983. It also landed him on the master list of Nixon political opponents.[citation needed]
Bishop spent the remainder of his career writing biographical books about notable figures and Christian-themed books.
Bishop's bookThe Day Lincoln Was Shot was published in 1955. Bishop had worked on the book for 24 years. The book was successful, selling more than 3 million copies, and it was translated into 16 languages.[1]
Bishop also wrote The Day Christ Died, The Day Christ Was Born, and The Day Kennedy Was Shot. Perhaps his most critically acclaimed book was FDR's Last Year: April 1944 – April 1945, which brought to public awareness the secrecy that surrounded President Franklin D. Roosevelt's declining health during World War II.[3]
Bishop died of respiratory failure on 26 July 1987 at his home in Delray Beach, Florida.
Screen adaptations
The Day Lincoln Was Shot was dramatized on TV twice, first as a 1956 live special starring Raymond Massey as Abraham Lincoln and shown on the Ford Star Jubilee anthology series,[citation needed] and again as a 1998 made-for-television film starring Lance Henriksen as Lincoln.[5][citation needed]
The Day Christ Died was made into a television film in 1980, starring Chris Sarandon as Jesus Christ, and Keith Michell as Pontius Pilate.
References
- ^ a b "Author Jim Bishop, 79 Dies". Washington Post. Washington, DC: Washington Post. July 28, 1987. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
- ^ Barronap, James (July 28, 1987). "Jim Bishop, A Columnist, Dies: Popular Author of 21 Books". New York Times. New York, Ny: New York Times. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
- ^ a b c d Spencer, Michael. "Jim Bishop Chronology". St. Bonaventure University. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
- ^ The Golden Hack (May 13, 1957). "A teetotaler, Bishop works in a pink-and-black oceanside house at Sea Bright, N.J., sees his wife and family in Teaneck only on weekends". Time.
- ^ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0581149/?ref_=ttep_ep6
External links
- Jim Bishop at IMDb
- Jim Bishop Chronology by Michael Spencer
- Jim Bishop Collection at St. Bonaventure University
- Jim Bishop at Find a Grave
- 1907 births
- 1987 deaths
- Male biographers
- Deaths from respiratory failure
- People from Teaneck, New Jersey
- Writers from Florida
- Writers from New Jersey
- Writers from New York City
- 20th-century American biographers
- 20th-century American male writers
- American male non-fiction writers
- Historians from New York (state)