George Plimpton

George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 – September 25, 2003) was an American writer, journalist, literary editor, actor, and known for his sports writing. He helped found The Paris Review and was famous for his style of "participatory journalism," where he would actively participate in the sporting events he was covering. This approach took him from playing in a Western, performing a comedy act at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, playing with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and even trying his hand as a 'professional' athlete. His accounts of these events were chronicled in nearly three dozen books in his witty and elegant prose. He was born in New York City and attended St. Bernard's School, Harvard College, and King's College, Cambridge. His parents were Francis T. P. Plimpton and Pauline Ames. He had three siblings: Francis Taylor Pearsons Plimpton Jr., Oakes Ames Plimpton, and Sarah Gay Plimpton. He married twice, first to Freddy Medora Espy, with whom he had two children, and later to Sarah Whitehead Dudley. At Harvard, he was a close personal friend of Robert F. Kennedy. He died of a heart attack in 2003.