This person died 2021, age 87. As a teenager, she typed out chapters from Hemingway novels to see how they worked. Her attraction to trouble spots, disintegrating personalities and incipient chaos came naturally. She came to prominence with a series of incisive, searching feature articles in Life magazine and The Saturday Evening Post that explored the fraying edges of postwar American life. In two early groundbreaking essay collections, she turned her cool, apprehensive gaze on the hippies of Haight-Ashbury, on eccentrics and searchers like Howard Hughes, on the film industry in the post-studio era, and on the death-tinged music of the Doors. Today’s dead celebrity is Joan Didion.

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 96 Ranch Dresser (Paul Newman) and Episode 52 Electric Vanities (Tom Wolfe).

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Allie Arrazola, and features guest co-host Alice Florence Orr.

LINKS:

Transcript of this episode

Podcast Review website

Joan Didion 1992 Interview

Joan Didion 1971 Interview

Dead or Alive quiz game

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Famous & Gravy official website

As part of Famous & Gravy, this episode revisits the legacy of Joan Didion as part of a rethinking celebrity legacies and known for smart pop culture podcast, via exploration of public roles, mythmaking, and generational appeal. It explores how cultural figures continue to influence even after their passing. This legacy podcast explores what makes a life worth remembering and contributes to life lessons from celebrities.

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