Born: 1930
Formerly a minor author—who had trouble sticking to the truth—Clifford Irving convinced his publisher to hire him to write The Autobiography of Howard Hughes. The trouble was, Howard Hughes had no involvement in his supposed memoirs. Irving faked the life story of the reclusive billionaire—and almost got away with it.
Born in New York City in 1930, Irving grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. His father, Jay Irving, was a cartoonist who drew a comic strip called “Pottsy,” a friendly, overweight policeman. Irving did not get along well with his father, who pressured his son to be successful. As a boy, Irving lived in his parents’ New York apartment and attended public schools in Manhattan. His boyhood friends included William Safire, who later became a speechwriter for President Richard Nixon (1969–1974) and a prominent contributor to the New York Times.
Irving enrolled in New York’s prestigious Cornell University in 1947, with the intention of becoming an artist. After he read some of the works of novelist Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961), however, he decided to become a writer. Having taken college courses in creative writing, Irving was awarded a one-year creative writing fellowship.
This page contains 201 words.
Clifford Irving article
Read the rest of this article.
This article contains 3,070 words
(approx. 10 pages at 300 words per page).
Order our Clifford Irving Article
