Home > George Plimpton

Plimpton was born in New York City. He attended St. Bernard's School, Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard University, where he was an editor of the Harvard Lampoon.

From 1945 to 1948, he served as a tank driver in ItalyThe Italian Republic or Italy ( Italian: Italia is a country in the south of Europe, consisting mainly of a boot-shaped peninsula together with two large islands in the Mediterranean Sea: Sicily and Sardinia. To the north, where it borders France, Switzer for the U.S. Army. Later, he attended King's CollegeKing's College, Cambridge is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom. The College was founded by King Henry VI in 1441 and was originally intended as a college for pupils from Eton College, itself founded by Henry. at Cambridge University in EnglandEngland is the largest, the most populous, and the most densely populated of the four " Home Nations" which make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK). Occupying the south-eastern portion of the island of Great Britain, England.

In 19531953 is a common year starting on Thursday (click on link for the calendar). Events January events January 7 President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. January 13 Marshal Josip Broz Tito chosen President of Yugosl, Plimpton founded the influential literaryLiterature is literally "an acquaintance with letters" as in the first sense given in the Oxford English Dictionary; the term has, however, generally come to identify a collection of texts. The word "literature" spelled with a lower-case "l" can refer to journal Paris ReviewParis Review was a literary magazine started in 1953 by Peter Matthiessen and Harold L. Humes, and edited for most of its existence by George Plimpton. Its first publisher was Sadruddhin Aga Khan. External links . and became its first editor-in-chief. This periodical carries great weight in the literary world but has never been financially strong; for its first half-century it was largely financed by Plimpton.

At Harvard, Plimpton was a classmate and close personal friend of Robert Kennedy. Plimpton, along with former decathlete Rafer Johnson, was credited with helping wrestle Sirhan Sirhan to the ground when Kennedy was assassinated following his victory in the 1968 California Democratic primary at the old Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

Plimpton was famous for competing in professional sporting events and then recording the experience from the point of view of an amateur. In 1960, prior to the second of baseball's two All-Star games, Plimpton pitched against the National League. His experience was captured in the book Out Of My League. (He intended to face both line-ups, but tired badly and was relieved by Ralph Houk .) Plimpton sparred for three rounds with boxing greats Archie Moore and Sugar Ray Robinson, while on assignment for Sports Illustrated. In 1963, Plimpton attended pre-season training with the Detroit Lions as a backup quarterback and ran a few plays from scrimmage in an exhibition game. These events were recalled in his best-known book Paper Lion. A further book, Open Net , saw him train as an ice hockey goalie with the Boston Bruins. Among other challenges for Sports Illustrated, he attempted to play top-level bridge, and spent some time as a high-wire circus performer. Some of these events, another attempt at professional football, and an attempt at stand-up comedy, were presented on the ABC television network as a series of specials.

Plimpton also appeared in a number of feature films, as an extra and in cameo appearances. He was also notable for his appearance in television commercials during the early 1980s, advertising Intellivision sports video games for Mattel. He appeared in an episode of The Simpsons as host of the "Spellympics" and had a recurring role as the grandfather of the Dr. Carter character on the long-running NBC medical television series, ER.

Plimpton died of natural causes at his apartment in New York City at the age of 76.