NEW YORK – Joe McGinniss wasn’t one to let a story tell itself.
Whether insisting on the guilt of a murder suspect after seemingly befriending him or moving next door to Sarah Palin’s house for a most unauthorized biography, McGinniss was unique in his determination to get the most inside information, in how publicly he burned bridges with his subjects and how memorably he placed himself in the narrative.
McGinniss, the adventurous and news-making author and reporter who skewered the marketing of Richard Nixon in The Selling of the President 1968 and tracked his personal journey from sympathizer to scourge of convicted killer Jeffrey MacDonald in the blockbuster Fatal Vision, died Monday at age 71.
McGinniss, who announced last year that he had been diagnosed with inoperable prostate cancer, died from complications related to his disease. His attorney and longtime friend Dennis Holahan said he died at a hospital in Worcester, Mass. Optimistic almost to the end, he had for months posted regular updates on Facebook and Twitter, commenting on everything from foreign policy to his health.
The tall, talkative McGinniss had early dreams of becoming a sports reporter and wrote books about soccer, horse racing and travel. But he was best known for two works that became touchstones in their respective genres — campaign books (The Selling of the President) and true crime (Fatal Vision). In both cases, he had become fascinated by the difference between public image and private reality.
McGinniss, who had been working on a book about his illness, wrote openly about his personal and professional follies and setbacks, whether cheating on his first wife or helping himself to the gourmet crabmeat in Styron’s kitchen. He struggled financially at times and battled depression and alcohol abuse. A 1993 biography of Sen. Kennedy, The Last Brother, was widely ridiculed for including invented dialogue.
None of his latter books approached the popularity of Fatal Vision or such other crime works as Cruel Doubt and Blind Faith. He returned a $1 million advance to write a book on the O.J. Simpson murder trial, expressing disgust that the former football star had been acquitted.
But by the 21st century he had cleaned himself up. He was an enthusiastic commentator on Facebook, posting regular updates about his health and current events. And he was back in the news, if not on the bestseller lists, with a biography of Palin, The Rogue, which failed to sell many copies despite allegations of drug use and a premarital fling Palin had with basketball star Glen Rice. The real headlines were in the reporting: Anxious for a close look into Palin’s world, McGinniss scored a front-row seat when he rented a house next door to her in Wasilla, Alaska.
“At first, Sarah will probably be less than thrilled to learn I’m here,” McGinniss wrote in the 2011 book’s introduction. “And who can blame her? Nonetheless, once she understands that I’m not here to hassle her, or to invade her family’s privacy in any way, maybe we can become, if not friends, then at least reasonably cordial summer neighbours.”
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