The test of 'true friendship'

 

“Gossipis the art of saying nothing in a way that leaves practically nothing unsaid.”– Walter Winchell

 

Born on this date in 1897, Winchellrose from what he termed “The mean streets of New York” to become the somewhatmean writer about New York and the entertainment world.   A grade school dropout (6thgrade) who ran off to join the Vaudeville stage, he became a conduit forsharing showbiz tales at the age of 15, first posting stories on theater wallsand then feeding them to entertainment journals.

 

By age 20, Winchell was working for The Vaudeville News and by 30 for the NewYork Daily Mirror, where he started a gossip column called On-Broadway.  Ultimately, King Features made it the firstsyndicated column, and Winchell became a worldwide phenomenon.  At the height of his popularity 50 millionpeople read his daily column and another 20million tuned in for his Sunday Night radio broadcast.

 

Noted for taking a stand againstHitler, Mussolini and Facism and for his support of Civil Rights, he also wasnotorious for often unjustified attacks on those he thought were trying to hurthis career.   But, if he was your friend,he was a true friend no matter what.

 

“A real friend,” he said,  “is one who walks in when the rest of theworld walks out.”

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