Walter Lord

[Jan Kite]

He started me off on the voyage and so sorry to hear he has passed away.His Night To Remember is still considered a benchmark for other authors to follow.RIP

 

[Karin Kasper]

I went to South Street Seaport in New York City the other day. Among other things, my friend and I went to the tiny art gallery they have there. The gallery is named "Walter Lord Gallery". A nice tribute...

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

Thanks for sharing that bit of news Karin. The Titanic memorial lighthouse which used to be a part of the Seaman's Church Institute is also at South Street. For a time it was being used as an info tourist kiosk until enough people objected to that usage.

 

[Mark Baber]

The gallery has borne Lord's name for quite a few years now; this is not a recent, posthumous honor. I was there as far back as 2000, and it already was called the Walter Lord Gallery.

 

[sharon rutman]

I posting a challenge on the Lord tribute pages--can all of you out there name all of Walter Lord's books? Although A Night To Remember is the book he will be best remembered for, it was far from the only book he did. Have fun.

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

Sharon- am afraid the crew has seen the list on the website!
http://www.revdma2.com/walter.html
Posted back in February-maybe it is missing a few titles though?

 

[Karin Kasper]

Yes, the gallery is mere steps from the lighthouse, which is right on the corner of Water and Fulton Streets.

 

[sharon rutman]

Shelly, I'm not so sure about everyone knowing Walter published so many books. Everyone knows about a Night To Remember but draw a blank about the rest.

 

[Dr. Douglas B. Willingham]

When I was about 10 years old I wrote sort of a fan letter to Walter Lord. To my amazement he replied--a very gracious letter, typed on his personal paper with the engraved letterhead in red. In 1982, at age 28, I attended the THS meeting in Philadelphia and went up to Lord to introduce myself. As soon as I said that I was from Texas he told me that he remembered me and the nature of my letter written to him almost 20 years ago! He was truly a gentleman, to say nothing of his contributions to history.

 

[sharon rutman]

You'd never think that from the tacky obituaries I saw. What a disgrace. I let both the NY Daily News (which gave Walter two measly paragraphs in contrast to the wrap around section they devoted to the criminal life and times of John Gotti) and Newsday have it for treating Walter's life in such a shabby manner. I even think Walter got gypped during his lifetime--he never got any of the major book awards like the Pulitzer or the National Book Award for non-fiction. Shameful.

 

[Dr. Douglas B. Willingham]

Dear Sharon,

I never had an inkling that Walter Lord had been neglected by the book world or the press at the time of his death. I used to take the New York Times Sunday edition (delivered on Wednesday in Salado, Texas!), but the expense and my own lack of free time to justify that expense resulted in my cancelling the service. Consequently, I didn't see the obituaries about this great man's death and couldn't get annoyed by the apparent lack of interest.

I'm afraid people just don't read anymore, and great writers like Lord have become "non-people" from a commercial standpoint.

This is another reason why I am so pleased to find this intelligent and affectionate forum of people who READ!

Regards,
Doug

 

[sharon rutman]

Isn't it a pity Doug? I wrote to City Hall asking that E. 68th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues be renamed for Walter Lord. I got a polite card back saying the matter would be rerouted to some legislative committee. I'm not exactly holding my breath for these snails to make a decision anytime soon but I thought it would be a fitting tribute to a real class act.

The Times had a fairly decent obituary although Walter was upstaged by the death of scientist Stephen Jay Gould.

Thanks for the post.

 

[Karin Kasper]

Sharon, why that particular street? Just curious.

 

[Paul Jones]

Does anyone know if Walter Lord won any kind of award for writing "A Night to Remember"? If he didnt he should have.

 

[Darren Honeycutt]

Karin, because that was the street he lived on.

 

[sharon rutman]

No, Sadly Walter Lord never won any of the major writing awards such as that National Book Award or the Pulitzer for non-fiction. What a gyp!