Author George Plimpton dies

George Plimpton, the self-deprecating American author of Paper Lion and a patron to Philip Roth, Jack Kerouac and countless other writers, has died, aged 76.

Plimpton died last night at his Manhattan apartment, said his long-time friend, restaurateur Elaine Kaufman.

“I saw him the other day. He was full of energy,” she said. “He was talking about a trip he took with his family to the tip of South America.”

Said author John Updike, a long-time friend: “My goodness, he was so vital, full of fun.”

Praised as a “central figure in American letters” when inducted in 2002 to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Plimpton also enjoyed a lifetime of making literature out of non-literary pursuits.

He boxed with Archie Moore, pitched to base ball great Willie Mays and performed as a circus trapeze artist.

He acted in numerous films, including Reds and Good Will Hunting and even appeared in an episode of The Simpsons, playing a professor who runs a spelling bee.

Writers appreciated Plimpton for The Paris Review, the quarterly he helped found in 1953 and ran for decades with eager passion.

The magazine’s high reputation rested on two traditions: publishing the work of emerging authors, including Roth and Kerouac, and an unparalleled series of interviews in which Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner and others discussed their craft.

The Paris Review remained more respected than read. The subscription base was rarely higher than a few thousand and the bank account seemed to descend at will. At one point in 2001, Plimpton reported, funds dropped to 69p. Donations from various wealthy friends kept it going.

He seemed to know everyone: athletes, actors, musicians, statesmen.

He had deep connections to the political world, dating back to childhood, when Adlai Stevenson – the two-time presidential nominee – was a family friend and he would see Jacqueline Kennedy at dances. Robert Kennedy was a classmate at Harvard.

Plimpton maintained a light touch in his work, but he knew tragedy firsthand. He served as a volunteer for Robert Kennedy’s 1968 presidential run and was walking in front of him as the candidate was assassinated in the kitchen of a Los Angeles hotel.

“I had my hands around his neck,” he recalled, referring to gunman Sirhan Sirhan, whom he helped wrestle to the ground.

He sailed with John Kennedy, played tennis with former President George Bush and rode on Air Force One with President Bill Clinton.

Sports was the common bond between Plimpton and politicians. He knew the current President George Bush from his days as owner of the Texas Rangers and chatted with him shortly after Election Day 2000, when the outcome was still in doubt.

“He wanted to talk about Sidd Finch,” Plimpton recalled. ”I thought that was rather odd.”

Sidd Finch was a fictitious baseball pitcher Plimpton invented in an April Fool’s Day hoax article.

Plimpton was married twice and had four children.