Stephen M. Silverman

Stephen M. Silverman is an American biographer, journalist, and editor. He was chief entertainment correspondent for the New York Post from 1977 to 1988 and a news editor at Time Inc. where he founded the People Online Daily. He is also the author of thirteen books of cultural criticism.

Career

Journalism

As a writer, critic, and editor, Silverman has contributed to Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, New York, The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, Newsweek, The Times of London, Smithsonian, Vogue, and The Washington Post.

Writing

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 of Lawrence of Arabia and features an introduction by Katharine Hepburn. He has written numerous other books, including Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade: A New York City Holiday Tradition, a history of the annual parade showcasing "vintage prints from the Macy’s archives". His most recent book is The Amusement Park: 900 Years of Thrills and Spills, and the Dreamers and Schemers Who Built Them published by Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers.

Television

For television, he wrote the TBS special Hot on the Trail: The Search for Sex, Love and Romance in the Old West.

Teaching

Silverman taught cultural affairs reporting and writing as an adjunct professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City.

Personal life

Stephen M. Silverman lives in New York City. His first job was selling ice cream in Disneyland.

Books

• Public Spectacles (1981) about celebrity culture; ISBN 0-525-18605-0
• The Fox That Got Away: The Last Days of The Zanuck Dynasty at Twentieth Century-Fox (1988); ISBN 0-818-40485-X
• David Lean (1989); ISBN 0-810-92507-9
• Where There's a Will: Who Inherited What and Why (1991); ISBN 0-060-16260-0
• Dancing On the Ceiling: Stanley Donen and His Movies (1996); ISBN 0-679-41412-6
• The Last Remaining Seats: Movie Palaces of Tinseltown (1997); ISBN 0-964-31197-6
• Funny Ladies: 100 Years of Great Comediennes (1999); ISBN 0-810-93337-3
• Movie Mutts: Hollywood Goes to the Dogs (2001); ISBN 0-810-94394-8
• Envy, Anger and Sweet Revenge: Hey, It Works in Hollywood! (2002); ISBN 0-966-95735-0
• Divas! The Fabulous Photography of Kenn Duncan (2008); ASIN B-01F-9QNDK-S
• The Catskills: Its History and How It Changed America (2015); ASIN B-00T-CI48I-Q
• Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade: A New York City Holiday Tradition (2016); ISBN 0-789-33257-4
• The Amusement Park: 900 Years of Thrills and Spills, and the Dreamers and Schemers Who Built Them (2019); ISBN 0-316-41648-7