43 Facts About Art Buchwald

1.

Arthur Buchwald was an American humorist best known for his column in The Washington Post.

2.

Art Buchwald was part of a large American expatriate community in those years.

3.

Art Buchwald received the Pulitzer Prize in 1982 for Outstanding Commentary, and in 1991 was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, in addition to other awards.

4.

Art Buchwald was the son of Joseph Buchwald, a curtain manufacturer, and Helen.

5.

Art Buchwald's mother suffered from depression and was later committed to a mental hospital, where she lived for 35 years.

6.

Art Buchwald was the youngest of four children, with three older sisters: Alice, Edith, and Doris.

7.

Art Buchwald was placed in foster homes, and lived in several, including a Queens boarding house for sick children.

8.

Art Buchwald stayed in the foster home until he was 5.

9.

Art Buchwald was eventually reunited with his father and sisters; the family settled in Hollis, a residential community in Queens.

10.

Art Buchwald did not graduate from Forest Hills High School, and ran away from home at age 17.

11.

Art Buchwald wanted to join the United States Marine Corps during World War II but was too young to join without parental or legal guardian consent.

12.

Art Buchwald bribed a drunk with half a pint of whiskey to sign as his legal guardian.

13.

From October 1942 to October 1945, Buchwald served with the Marines as part of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing.

14.

Art Buchwald spent two years in the Pacific Theater and was discharged from the service as a sergeant.

15.

In 1949, Art Buchwald left USC and bought a one-way ticket to Paris.

16.

Art Buchwald got a job as a correspondent for Variety in Paris.

17.

Art Buchwald was hired and joined the editorial staff as a restaurant and nightclub reviewer.

18.

Art Buchwald's column caught on quickly, and in 1951 Buchwald started another column, "Mostly About People".

19.

Art Buchwald had brief encounters with the artist Pablo Picasso, writer Ernest Hemingway, directors Orson Welles and Mike Todd, actress Audrey Hepburn, and attorney Roy Cohn.

20.

In November 1952, Art Buchwald wrote a column in which he attempted to explain the Thanksgiving holiday to the French, using garbled French translations such as "Kilometres Deboutish" for Myles Standish; Art Buchwald considered it his favorite column.

21.

Art Buchwald enjoyed the notoriety he received when US President Dwight Eisenhower's press secretary, James Hagerty, took seriously a spoof press conference report claiming that reporters asked questions about the president's breakfast habits.

22.

Presley's impromptu performances at the piano at Le Lido nightclub, as well as his singing for the showgirls after most of the customers had left, became legendary after Art Buchwald included it in his memoir, I'll Always Have Paris.

23.

Art Buchwald wrote as a columnist for The Washington Post, frequently commenting on the political scene.

24.

Art Buchwald's column appeared in more than 550 newspapers at its height.

25.

Art Buchwald wrote memoirs and other books, a total of more than 30 in his lifetime.

26.

Art Buchwald contributed fumetti to Marvel Comics' Crazy Magazine, which tore apart statistics regarding 1970s campus life.

27.

Art Buchwald had a cameo in Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief.

28.

Art Buchwald contributed to the English dialogue of Jacques Tati's Playtime.

29.

Art Buchwald had a cameo role in a 1972 episode, "Moving Target", of the TV series Mannix.

30.

Art Buchwald is shown in Frederick Wiseman's 1983 film The Store delivering a tribute to Stanley Marcus, the store's owner.

31.

Art Buchwald won, was awarded damages, and accepted a settlement from Paramount.

32.

Political analyst Norman Ornstein in 1991 said he thought Art Buchwald's column was more popular "outside the Beltway"; others disagreed.

33.

Art Buchwald underwent hospitalization twice for mental disorders: once in 1963 for severe depression.

34.

On February 16,2006, the Associated Press reported that Art Buchwald had had a leg amputated below the knee and was staying at Washington Home and Hospice.

35.

Art Buchwald invited radio talk show presenter Diane Rehm to interview him.

36.

Art Buchwald was later interviewed by Miles O'Brien of CNN, in a segment aired on March 31,2006.

37.

Art Buchwald discussed his living will, which documented his wishes not to be revived if he fell into a coma.

38.

Art Buchwald was interviewed by Fox News' Chris Wallace for a segment on May 14,2006's edition of Fox News Sunday.

39.

Art Buchwald was again interviewed by Rehm and reported that his kidney was working.

40.

In July 2006, Buchwald returned to his summer home in Tisbury on Martha's Vineyard.

41.

On November 22,2006, Art Buchwald was again featured on Rehm's show.

42.

The article, "The 'Art Buchwald' of Saying Goodbye", appeared in the January 2007 issues of Nursing Spectrum and NurseWeek, national nursing publications.

43.

Art Buchwald published numerous anthologies and collections of his columns, as well as memoirs.