Background
James Phelan was born on July 31, 1912 in Alton, Illinois, United States.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
book
Howard Hughes: The Hidden Years
(Drawing from the firsthand accounts of two longtime Hughe...)
Drawing from the firsthand accounts of two longtime Hughes aides and his own research, the investigative journalist who uncovered the 1972 Clifford Irving hoax shares revelations concerning the billionaire businessman's bizarre life-style and methods of secrecy.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0394410424/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i0
1976
Scandals, Scamps, and Scoundrels: The Casebook of an Investigative Reporter
https://www.amazon.com/Scandals-scamps-scoundrels-casebook-investigative/dp/0394481968
1982
The Money: The Battle for Howard Hughes's Billions
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0752813919/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i1
1997
James Phelan
Edit ProfileEducation
James Phelan grew up reading the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and dreaming of becoming a reporter.
Career
Early in his career James Phelan worked as a reporter for the Alton Evening Telegraph in Illinois from 1941 to 1947.
He then joined the Long Beach Press-Telegram as a reporter in 1947 and worked there until 1954. By 1954, chafing against the restrictions of newspaper writing, Phelan quit and became a freelancer.
Over the years, he contributed articles to more than 60 magazines throughout the world including True, Fortune, Time, Cosmopolitan, The New York Times Magazine and the old Saturday Evening Post. He turned to balance writing and later was a staff writer for the Sunday Evening Post from 1963 to 1969.
His first book chronicled the life of billionaire Howard Hughes. The work, titled Howard Hughes: The Hidden Years, was the first author biography written on Hughes. In 1982 Phelan wrote a book of memoirs called Scandals, Scamps and Scoundrels: The Casebook of an Investigative Reporter, which recounted some of his work in the field. Among the stories he investigated was the conspiracy theory surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Phelan also revealed that a book on Hughes, written by Clifford Irving, was a fake.
Phelan also wrote Money: The Battle for Howard Hughes’s Billions (with Lewis Chester) about the vast Hughes fortune, which was issued a month after Phelan’s death.
Achievements
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James Phelan was an outstanding writer and investigative reporter who uncovered some of the biggest stories of the last four decades and wrote the first major biography of Howard Hughes. His 1976 best seller, "Howard Hughes: The Hidden Years", made the cover of Time magazine and provided Americans with their first inside look at the lifestyle of the reclusive billionaire.
Works
book
-
Howard Hughes: The Hidden Years
(Drawing from the firsthand accounts of two longtime Hughe...)
1976 - Scandals, Scamps, and Scoundrels: The Casebook of an Investigative Reporter 1982
- The Money: The Battle for Howard Hughes's Billions 1997
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Howard Hughes: The Hidden Years
Connections
James Phelan was married to Amalie Phelan. The couple had two daughters, Judith and Janet.
References
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Born
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Died
September 8, 1997 (aged 85) -
Resting place
Temecula Cemetery, Temecula, California, United States -
Nationality
American
Career
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1941 - 1947
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1947 - 1954
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1954
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1963 - 1969