Lawrence Lipton
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Lawrence Lipton (October 10, 1898 - July 9, 1975)[1] was an American journalist, writer, and beat poet, as well as the father of James Lipton.
Lipton was born in Lodz, Poland, the son of Rose and Abraham Lipton.[1] He was brought to the United States in 1903 and settled in Chicago, Illinois. Lipton began working as a graphic artist and won an award for his illustration of Haggadah, a Passover prayer book.[1] He also worked as a journalist, writing for the Jewish Daily Forward and working for a movie theater as a publicity director. During the 1920s, he associated with Chicago writers Edgar Lee Masters, Sherwood Anderson, Harriet Monroe, Ben Hecht and Carl Sandburg.[1] Lipton later wrote for Atlantic Monthly, Quarterly Review of Literature, and the Chicago Review.[1] Lipton co-authored many mystery novels during the 1930 and 1940s. His other novels include Brother, The Laugh is Bitter and In Secret Battle, as well as a poetry book, Rainbow at Midnight. His book, The Holy Barbarians (1959), linked Lipton to 1950s Beatnik writers.[1]
Lipton's first wife was Dorothy Omansky. He next married Betty Weinberg, a teacher; their son is Inside the Actors Studio host James Lipton.[1] He was later married to author Craig Rice and Nettie Esther Brooks (from 1948 to 1975).[1]
