Robert Emmett Ginna Jr Explained

Robert Emmett Ginna Jr. (b. 1925) is a retired magazine reporter and editor, a film producer and screenwriter, and a Harvard faculty member. He co-founded People magazine, served as its first editor, and later was Editor-in-Chief of Little Brown.

Early life

Ginna was born to Robert Emmett Ginna, a Rochester Gas and Electric executive, and his wife, the former Margaret McCall, both descended from Irish immigrants.^{[1] [2] [3]} Ginna and his father were named for Robert Emmett, an Irish revolutionary who was executed by British authorities in 1803.^[3] After an admission to Harvard College, Ginna enlisted in the Navy at age 17, serving in the Pacific during World War Two.^[3] He graduated from the University of Rochester in 1948,^[4] and went on to get a Master's in Art History from Harvard University.^[3]

Career

In his early career, Ginna worked as a reporter and editor for Horizon, Life, and Scientific American.^[2] His article "Have We Visitors From Space?" appeared in the April 7, 1952 edition of Life magazine.^[5] In 1955, Ginna interviewed Sean O'Casey for NBC television; A decade later, Ginna would produce a film about O'Casey.Book: The Sting and the Twinkle: Conversations with Sean O'Casey . 978-0-06-494818-0 . O'Casey . Sean . 1974 . Barnes & Noble Books . ^[6] In 1960, Ginna interviewed filmmaker Stanley Kubrick for Horizon.^{[7] [8]}

In February 1962, Ginnna authored "Life in the Afternoon", an essay about meeting Ernest Hemingway in 1958 Cuba.^{[9] [10]}

During the 1960s, Ginna was a screeenwriter and film producer. Ginna worked with famous filmmaker John Ford on the film Young Cassidy, but Ford had to be replaced mid-shoot.^{[11] [12]}

In 1974, Ginna co-founded People magazine and served as its first Editor-in-Chief.^[13] From 1977 to 1980, Ginna was the Editor-in-Chief of Little Brown Publishing ; In that role, he was influential in writer James Salter's switch from screenplays to novels.^[14]

From 1988 to 2002, Ginna served on the faculty of Harvard University, teaching writing and filmmaking. In 2003, Ginna authored The Irish Way: A Walk Through Ireland's Past and Present.^{[15] [16]}

In 2006, Ginna was profiled for his role in creating an academic press at New England College.^[17]

Selected works

• "Our Man from New York Observes Carol Reed Directing 'Our Man in Havana' " Horizon, Nov. 1959
• "Life in the afternoon : Ernest Hemingway, some quiet conversations regarding fishing, writing, war, bars, wine, hunting, and so on" (1962) Esquire Magazine^[18]
• FDR (1963) with Roger Butterfield and Robert D. Graff
• "Talking to Sean O’Casey on American Television" (1974)
• "In Search of 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'" (2002)^{[19] [20]}
• The Irish Way: A Walk Through Ireland's Past and Present (2003)^[16]

Filmography

Producer

• Brotherly Love (1970)^[21]
• Before Winter Comes (1969) Book: J. Lee Thompson . 978-1-5261-6286-1 . Chibnall . Steve . 15 June 2021 . Manchester University Press .
• Young Cassidy (1965)
• The Flood (1962)

Screenplays

• The Last Challenge (1967) ^[22]
• World Wide '60 (1960)

Personal life

Ginna married Margaret Williams; The pair had two children. She died in 2004.^[23] In 2017, their son dedicated his book What Editors Do to his parents.^[24] After his wife's death, Ginna was the companion of journalist Gail Sheehy, who died in 2020 at the age of 83.^[25]

External links

• Ginna's collection of James Salter material at the Harry Ransom Center

Notes and References

1. News: Robert Ginna, 94, a Champion of Nuclear Power - NYTimes.com. The New York Times . May 26, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150526165720/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/19/us/robert-ginna-94-a-champion-of-nuclear-power.html . 2015-05-26 . Salpukas . Agis .
2. Book: Keppen, Julie. Contemporary Authors. October 4, 2004. Cengage Gale. 978-0-7876-6706-1 . Google Books.
3. Web site: Rochester • University of Rochester. www.rochester.edu.
4. http://www.lib.rochester.edu/IN/RBSCP/University-History/ATTACHMENTS/Commencement/1948.pdf
5. Book: Bullard, Thomas E.. The Myth and Mystery of UFOs. October 17, 2016. University Press of Kansas. 978-0-7006-2338-9 . Google Books.
6. Web site: Wisdom: Conversations with the Elder Wise Men of Our Day. James. Nelson. February 4, 1958. Norton. Google Books.
7. Book: Duncan, Paul. Stanley Kubrick: Visual Poet, 1928-1999. February 4, 2003. Taschen. 978-3-8228-1592-2 . Google Books.
8. Web site: Stanley Kubrick speaks for himself. EW.com.
9. Book: Canada, Mark. Literature and Journalism: Inspirations, Intersections, and Inventions from Ben Franklin to Stephen Colbert. April 3, 2013. Springer. 978-1-137-32930-1 . Google Books.
10. Book: Ernest Hemingway in Interview and Translation. Mirosława. Buchholtz. Dorota. Guttfeld. July 21, 2022. Springer Nature. 978-3-031-07230-7 . Google Books.
11. Book: McBride, Joseph. Searching for John Ford. February 11, 2011. Univ. Press of Mississippi. 978-1-4968-0056-5 . Google Books.
12. Book: Grant, Barry Keith. John Ford's Stagecoach. February 4, 2003. Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-79743-6 . Google Books.
13. Book: Salter, James. Don't Save Anything: Uncollected Essays, Articles, and Profiles. November 1, 2017. Catapult. 978-1-64009-001-9 . Google Books.
14. Book: Conversations with James Salter. Jennifer. Levasseur. Kevin. Rabalais. November 23, 2015. Univ. Press of Mississippi. 978-1-4968-0358-0 . Google Books.
15. Web site: Robert Emmett Ginna. October 2, 2015.
16. Web site: The Irish Way: A Walk Through Ireland's Past and Present. Robert Emmett. Ginna. February 4, 2003. Random House. Google Books.
17. Web site: Concord Monitor 16 Apr 2006, page 39. Newspapers.com.
18. Web site: Esquire. 1962 . books.google.com.
19. In Search of "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre". GINNA, ROBERT EMMETT. 2002. The American Scholar. 71. 4. 75–89. 41213368 . JSTOR.
20. https://books.google.com/books?id=jgsEAAAAYAA
21. Book: America's Best, Britain's Finest. 978-1-4116-7877-4 . books.google.com . Reid . John Howard . March 2006 . Lulu.com .
22. Book: Western Movies. 978-0-7864-6372-5 . books.google.com . Pitts . Michael R. . 4 January 2013 . McFarland .
23. News: Deaths GINNA, MARGARET WILLIAMS - NYTimes.com. The New York Times . May 16, 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20150528041503/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/16/classified/paid-notice-deaths-ginna-margaret-williams.html . 2015-05-28 .
24. Book: Ginna, Peter. What Editors Do: The Art, Craft, and Business of Book Editing. October 6, 2017. University of Chicago Press. 978-0-226-29997-6 . Google Books.
25. News: Gail Sheehy, Journalist, Author and Social Observer, Dies at 83. Katharine Q.. Seelye. The New York Times . August 25, 2020. NYTimes.com.