Navigate to News section

Biographer to the Stars

This week in Shivah Stars

by
Marc Tracy
May 17, 2012
C. David Heymann.(WP)
C. David Heymann.(WP)

Each week, we select the most interesting Jewish obituary. This week, it’s that of C. David Heymann, who died Wednesday at 67. Though he began as a literary biographer, he moved to chronicling celebrities like Liz Taylor and Jackie O. He was “eccentric,” and there’s a famous New York Observer profile where he said he was in the Mossad. “I may have made an error or two, or three, or four, or five—but at least I tried to write an accurate biography,” he said. If you don’t think we need the people like him too, you’re crazy.

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.