Winchelldom: The World of Walter Winchell

FAIN: TD-261053-18

International Documentary Association (Los Angeles, CA 90010-2207)
Ben Loeterman (Project Director: January 2018 to October 2021)

Development of a one-hour documentary and companion website about newspaper columnist and radio commentator Walter Winchell (1897–1972).

Winchelldom: The World of Walter Winchell will be a one-hour documentary for PBS that traces this iconic yet flawed protagonist who, at the height of his career as newspaper columnist and radio commentator in the 1930’s--‘50’s, had an audience of fifty million, nearly two out of three American adults. Our film will explore the phenomenon he pioneered: celebrity, gossip, politics and news all rolled into one or, as some would later call it, “infotainment.” A friend eulogized Winchell this way: “Walter’s primary objective is to explain the 20th century to his millions of readers. The fact is, however, that historians will be unable to explain the 20th century without understanding Winchell.” Our film will breathe fresh life into his newspaper columns, broadcast scripts and draw on two-dozen preserved broadcasts. We will also work with the New York Public Library to create an aurally and visually rich website to serve as a central portal to all things related to Winchell on the web.