WWalter's Fall from Public and Political Graces

Walter's popularity would soon be diminished by his notorious and outrageous attitude. By 1943, Walter had already applied for a commission in naval intelligence. Walter was invited to meet president J.Edgar Hoover at FBI headquarters. "That week Hoover also put Walter's name on the FBI's correspondence list, which meant he was to receive all FBI releases. It was the highest privilige afforded a journalist," states Gabler (199). (Correspondences between the FBI and Winchell.) From then on Walter was one of Hoover's hugest public advocates. Walter praised Hoover every opportunity that he could. "He also began funneling information on pro-Nazi activities to the Federal Bureau of Investigations chief J. Edgar Hoover, thus forging one of the most important of his professional relationships," (Gabler article pg.7) Winchell was then sent into active duty and was sent on a mission to collect facts in Brazil. When he came back from Brazil, Walter was criticizing everyone, including members of Congress and Rep. Clare Hoffman of Michigan demanded that he be court-martialed This led to the great feud between Martin Dies, Chairman of the House Committee of Un-American Activities and Mr. Winchell, himself. NBC, Walter's family network, even allowed Dies to bash Winchell on air. Unexpectedly, Winchell calmly refuted all of Dies claims, as opposed to calling him names or being as rude and agressive as he always was. This approach won Walter the debate.

Click on this FBI logo to visit them.

After the end of World War II, many things changed for Walter. J. Edgar Hoover died. It was 1947 and Winchell was lacking a purpose. He chose to become one of America's most prominent enemies of the Soviet Union. "Caught up in his own hysteria, Walter was broadcasting new and more heinous charges of Soviet skullduggery each week, including a plan against germ warfare in America," (355). He lost focus on why he had become a journalist in the first place. He was one of the lower class people when he began and for the advancements of minorities, being a Jew himself. Yet, here he was bashing people who believed in Communism. By doing this, Walter began to alienate himself from liberals who had been his long time allies.

"You have done such a magnificent job fighting bigotry in the United States," Walter White , the secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, wrote him, "that i was shocked and even terrified to read in your Sunday column that 'The question of Communist party legality should not be answered by the ifs and buts of the U.S. Supreme Court, but by the rifle butts of the U.s Marine Corps.' Do you not realize Walter, that mob violence today against Communists means almost invariably mob violence tomorrow against Negroes, Jews, labor, or any other minority," (356).

No, Walter did not realize that. If he did, perhaps his story would have ended a little differently. Walter was soon calling everyone that attacked him a "Red" and his stance on Communism made him directly comparable to William McCarthy, leader of the Anti-Communist sentiment. Walter had always been a liberal and now he was siding with people who were not of his class. They were the elitists and Walter would not be embraced by them, no matter what he believed in. To them, Walter was the epitome of everything they did not want. Walter was "the personification of the uninformed, uneducated, unreasonable mass" and he had power (Article pg. 9) . He alienated himself from his original allies and could not make many new ones. Walter beagn losing everything he had worked so hard for. He lost his flagship paper, the Daily Mirror, because it folded in 1963. He lost his column a few years later. His third wife, Gloria, left him. His son committed suicide and his daughter didn't care to keep in contact with him

.

Walter Winchell died of Prostate cancer on February 20, 1972.

 

"A newsboy Again: Winchell early in 1968 hawking the Column, the only New York Paper in which his column now appeared."

(Wide World Photo obtained from Gabler's biography.)

 

 

click on Walter to go Home.

Back to Media and the Graphic.

Walter's Growing Up on Page 3.

 

 

 

 

 

This entire web site was created by Gabrielle Rivera using Dreamweaver 3.

Special thanks to Sarah Kiley for technical assistance at the info session and with using Dreamweaver.

Questions or Comments: Send me some Mail!