Gay Tale's Advice to Young Wrers: “Get Off Your Ass” | Vany Fair

Contents:

• WHEN NEW JOURNALISM WAS NEW: GAY TALE ON HIS LEGENDARY ESQUIRE PROFILE OF FRANK SATRA
• HONORG HIS FATHER : IN WRG ‘UNTO THE SONS,’ GAY TALE FDS KEYS TO UNRSTANDG HIS HERAGE
• GAY TALE EXPLAS WHY HE WROTE INIC ESQUIRE PROFILE “FRANK SATRA HAS A COLD”
• GAY TALE
• A GAY TEEN DISVERS HIMSELF AT SUMMER MP THIS FLAMER FIRST LOOK
• GAY TALE’S ADVICE TO YOUNG WRERS: “GET OFF YOUR ASS”CELEBRATG THE PUBLITN OF A SPECIAL EDN OF HIS LEGENDARY PROFILE, “FRANK SATRA HAS A COLD,” THE JOURNALIST DISCSED THE STATE OF THE CELEBRY PROFILE AND THE POWER OF DRSG WELL TO GET WHAT YOU WANT.BY RACHEL TASHJIANDECEMBER 2, 2015© CORBIS. ALL RIGHTS RERVED.SAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVENEAR MIDNIGHT ON MONDAY GAY TALE WAS TUCKED TO A RNER BOOTH THE DOWNSTAIRS BAR AT THE 21 CLUB, SIPPG A BOMBAY MARTI WH A TWIST, WH A SPECIMEN OM HIS MUCH-ADMIRED HAT LLECTN STG POLELY BI HIM. IT WAS NEARLY TWO HOURS AFTER GUTS CLUDG FRANK STELLA, MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, HIS PARTNER DIANA TAYLOR—NOT TO MENTN THE HOST, TOM WOLFE—HAD HEAD HOME AFTER A LEISURELY, TIMATE DNER AT THE DG ROOM UPSTAIRS CELEBRATG AN EXQUISE TASCHEN EDN OF TALE’S GROUNDBREAKG CELEBRY PROFILE, “FRANK SATRA HAS A COLD.”“HERE I AM, YOU KNOW, ON THE OCSN OF ‘FRANK SATRA HAS A COLD,’” TALE SAID. “I REALLY HAVE A LD. WORSE THAN SATRA DID, I’LL BET.”BUT TALE WOULDN’T HAVE MISSED THE NIGHT FOR THE WORLD. “THAT’S ONE THG ABOUT JOURNALISM: YOU HAVE TO SHOW UP.”THE BOOK IS FELY WORTH SHOWG UP FOR—A TOME TAILOR-MA FOR JOURNALISM JUNKI. TALE’S PROFILE OF SATRA FOR THE APRIL 1966 ISSUE OF ESQUIRE—WRTEN AT A DISTANCE, TRAILG THE SGER AND TERVIEWG EVERYONE OM HIS -STARS TO HIS WIG GROOMERS AFTER REPEATED BSH-OFFS OM SATRA’S PUBLICIST—IS EQUENTLY CED AS ONE OF THE WORKS THAT STEERS IMPRSNABLE YOUNGSTERS TOWARD A REER JOURNALISM. AND WH S NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN PHOTOS OF SATRA, TALE-PENNED TRODUCTN, AND MARKED-UP MANCRIPTS OM THE ARCHIVE PRTED ON OLD-FASHNED LETTERPRS AND ACCENTED THE SWOONY BLUE OF SATRA’S EY, THE TASCHEN BOOK IS THE GLOSSIT JOURNALISM TEXTBOOK IMAGABLE, RELEASED A FEW MONTHS AHEAD OF THE PIECE’S 50TH BIRTHDAY AND WEEK OR TWO AWAY OM WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN SATRA’S 100TH. IT MAK THE WORK OF REPORTG AND WRG AND EDG LOOK AS PRETTY AND IRREVERENT AND FUN AS A W ANRSON MOVIE.COURTY OF TASCHEN.IT MAY HAVE A PRETTY FACE, BUT FOR TALE, APPEARANCE N BE EVERYTHG. HE TRAC MUCH OF WHAT LED HIM TO JOURNALISM TO HIS PARENTS AND THEIR REERS THE GARMENT DTRY—HIS FATHER WAS A TAILOR AND HIS MOTHER OWNED A DRS STORE OCEAN CY, NEW JERSEY—WHICH NO DOUBT SPURRED AN OBSSN WH CLOTHG THAT SEEMS EXTRIBLE OM HIS WORK. “WHEN I WRE STORI, ’S LIKE MAKG A SU: THE PIEC HANG TOGETHER, AND YOU SKETCH,” HE SAID. “THE WHOLE PROCS: HANDWORK.”HE EVEN CREDS HIS FIRST JOB AT THE NEW YORK TIM—WHICH ME IMPROBABLY AFTER A “HUIATG” TERVIEW DURG WHICH HE DISVERED HIS LLEGE CLASSMATE HAD LIED ABOUT THE TIMACY OF HIS NNECTN TO THE MANAGG EDOR WH WHOM HE WAS MEETG, LEAVG TALE GRASPG TO EXPLA HIS DACY WALTZG FOR A MEETG WH THE BIGWIG UNANNOUNCED—TO THE THREE-PIECE SU HE WORE TO THE TERVIEW. “I WAS POLE, WELL DRSED,” HE SAID. “I JT KNOW, THOUGH I NEVER GOT ANY NFIRMATN, THAT I MA A GOOD IMPRSN.”BEE OF HIS NOTED OBSSN WH CLOTHG, TALE IS OFTEN HELD UP AS A DANDY (AS IS WHE-SUED WOLFE FOR THAT MATTER). THAT MIGHT DO A DISSERVICE TO HIM, BUT ALSO, EQUALLY, TO HIS SENSE OF ELEGANCE. THERE’S REALLY SOMETHG TO HIS PREOCCUPATN WH LIVG AND BEHAVG BETIFULLY. “I WAS VERY RICH 1980, AND 1981,” HE SAID, REFLECTG ON HIS BOOM YEARS, AFTER THY NEIGHBOR’S WIFE OPTNED FOR $2.5 LN. SO WHAT’S THE WILST THG HE BOUGHT? HE TOOK A LONG SIP OF HIS MARTI.“NOTHG. I HAD EVERYTHG. I HAD A TOWN HOE. CLOSETS FILLED WH HANDMA SUS. TWO BETIFUL OLD SPORTS RS THAT I HAD OM THE 1950S,” HE SAID. “I HAVE TWO BETIFUL DGHTERS, I HAVE A WIFE, I HAVE, OF URSE, A JOB, I HAVE A WIFE WH A JOB.”MOST POPULARDONALD TMP’S LAWYER CAN’T STOP GOG ON TV AND MAKG DONALD TMP LOOK RIDICULOLY GUILTY OF THE CRIM HE’S BEEN ACCED OFBY BS LEVRILEY KEOUGH ON GROWG UP PRLEY, LOSG LISA MARIE, AND INHERG GRACELANDBY BRT HENNEMUTHWE’RE ONLY JT STARTG TO UNPACK REX HERMANN’S NEW YORKBY DAN ADLERAS THE CLOCK TICKED TOWARD MIDNIGHT AND THE BAR’S PATRONS—MIDDLE-AGED UPL OF MURKY MARAL STAT, BANKERS TOO-SHY TI HAVG VODKA MARTIS—STARTED TO CLEAR, TALE MED ON WHY, AN AGE WHICH REPORTERS ARE NOTORLY RTRICTED OM CELEBRY SUBJECTS, ’S NOT EASIER THAN EVER TO WRE A PROFILE LIKE HIS, WHICH WAS BORN OF SATRA’S REFAL TO GRANT HIM ACCS. WHY IS SO HARD TO WRE A STORY LIKE THAT NOW?“IT SHOULDN’T BE. MAYBE THE PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT,” HE SAID. “I’M JT GUSG. WHEN I—YOU KNOW, MY ARISTOCRATIC IEND OM RICHMOND, VIRGIA, TOM WOLFE, HE WAS PROBABLY THE EXCEPTN—BUT MOST OF WERE NOT OM VERY TED BACKGROUNDS. WE WERE THE UNRCLASS. THE JOURNALISTS OF THE 1950S WERE PEOPLE LIKE ME. . . . PEOPLE THAT WENT TO HARVARD, YALE, THEY ULDN’T BE JOURNALISTS, WAG FOR SOME LABOR LEAR TO ANNOUNCE THAT THERE’S A SETTLEMENT AT THREE O’CLOCK THE MORNG OUT ON SOME WATERONT. . . . JOURNALISM WAS FOR THE LOW-LEVEL PEOPLE. ME.”“BUT WE HAD A KD OF PATIENCE ABOUT WAG,” TALE NTUED. “WE WERE GOG TO GET WHAT WE WANTED. I DON’T THK THIS NEW GENERATN HAS THE PATIENCE OR EVEN KNOWLEDGE OF HOW TO GET THGS. . . . YOU HAVE TO GET OFF YOUR ASS. MAKE SOMETHG HAPPEN WH YOUR PERSONALY, WH YOUR GODDAMN STYLE, YOUR CHARM, YOUR BETIFUL CLOTH, YOUR REASSURANCE, YOUR SALMAN HUCKSTER-IST LIRICE. KNOW HOW TO GET SOMETHG AND NOT BREAK HEARTS OR BE OFFENSIVE.”AND THEN THE RTRANT TURNED OFF THE MIC—SATRA’S “THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT,” OF URSE—AND WAS TIME TO HEAD HOME. TALE HAD A LD TO SLEEP OFF, AFTER ALL.RELATED: HOW TOM WOLFE BEME … TOM WOLFEPHOTOS: HOW TOM WOLFE WOLFE1 / 16CHEVRONCHEVRONWOLFE HIS MANHATTAN APARTMENT. LEWIS’S DGHTER DIXIE, 13, LLED HIS SU AN “OUTGOG FASHN CHOICE.”RACHEL TASHJIAN

WHEN NEW JOURNALISM WAS NEW: GAY TALE ON HIS LEGENDARY ESQUIRE PROFILE OF FRANK SATRA

Gay Tale’s outle for “Frank Satra Has a Cold, ” sketched on one of his tramark shirt boards, 1966. © 2015 and urty of Gay other tim I make not unobserved by the terviewee—such as durg those terptns our talks when the person has temporarily left the room, th allowg me moments which to jot down what I believe to be the relevant parts of our nversatn.

© 2015 and urty of Gay chronicle is kept an ever-expandg seri of rdboard folrs ntag such data as the plac where I and my sourc had breakfast, lunch, and dner (rtrant receipts enclosed to document my expens); the exact time, length, lole, and subject matter of every terview; together wh the agreed-upon ndns of each meetg (i.

” © 2015 and urty of Gay tryg whout succs to rchle the Satra terview durg my send week Los Angel (I was told that he still had a ld), I ntued to meet wh people who were varly employed some of Satra’s many bs enterpris—his rerd pany, his film pany, his real tate operatn, his missile parts firm, his airplane hangar—and I also saw people who were more personally associated wh the sger, such as his overshadowed son, his favore haberdasher Beverly Hills, one of his bodyguards (an ex–pro leman), and a ltle gray-haired lady who traveled wh Satra around the untry on ncert tours, rryg a satchel his 60 hairpiec. Copyright © 2021 by Gay Tale. NEW YORK — At 60, Gay Tale has fally cid to unrstand--but not five--his immigrant father.

HONORG HIS FATHER : IN WRG ‘UNTO THE SONS,’ GAY TALE FDS KEYS TO UNRSTANDG HIS HERAGE

Growg up durg World War II, young Gay learned what meant to live a double life.

GAY TALE EXPLAS WHY HE WROTE INIC ESQUIRE PROFILE “FRANK SATRA HAS A COLD”

Bombg raid over Napl, Joseph Tale stormed to Gay’s bedroom and smashed his son’s prized llectn of mol Amerin warplan.

When Gay wanted to play baseball, his father showed no tert. While other kids drsed sually, Gay wore formal attire ma by his father and mother, Cathere, who ran a drs first glance, the gulf between Gaetano the stonemason and Gay the Manhattan bon vivant seems extreme. “You n’t make this stuff up, ” Gay Tale says the begng of Voyr, the new documentary chroniclg the velopment of his book The Voyr’s Motel, which was excerpted as a ntroversial New Yorker article, and, as of Friday, is available on Netflix.

GAY TALE

In hdsight, some errors are glargly obv: There are some obv and damng genr dynamics at work here, between Gay and Nan and between Foos and his wife, Ana, but Kane and Koury do ltle to lve to the sexual polics that make Foos’s motel an enavor of masculy, and an credibly vlatg and disturbg one at that. The level of meta-storytellg they attempt to tell lv to all the most superficial rners, like watchg Tale’s dghter, an artist, pat Foos’s motel for her father’s book; Tale and Foos, when they first meet 2013, stay at a motel, se you didn’t know what they’re gettg at faiar wh Gay Tale’s brand of lerary journalism, which has bee a fg style, is likely faiar wh another pneer, Ja Mallm, who said this of her chosen genre, bgraphy: “The voyrism and bybodyism that impel wrers and rears of bgraphy alike are obscured by an apparat of scholarship signed to give the enterprise an appearance of bank-like blandns and solidy. Gay Tale liv on the East Si of Manhattan, a four-story brownstone he moved to 1958, at age 26.

A GAY TEEN DISVERS HIMSELF AT SUMMER MP THIS FLAMER FIRST LOOK

Gay Tale: Harold Hay, Esquire‘s edor, gave me a one-year ntract to do six piec.

” “Look, Gay, ” said Hay, “’s all set up. Where do this fall your hierarchy of Gay Tale piec? By Gay Tale.

GAY TALE’S ADVICE TO YOUNG WRERS: “GET OFF YOUR ASS”CELEBRATG THE PUBLITN OF A SPECIAL EDN OF HIS LEGENDARY PROFILE, “FRANK SATRA HAS A COLD,” THE JOURNALIST DISCSED THE STATE OF THE CELEBRY PROFILE AND THE POWER OF DRSG WELL TO GET WHAT YOU WANT.BY RACHEL TASHJIANDECEMBER 2, 2015© CORBIS. ALL RIGHTS RERVED.SAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVENEAR MIDNIGHT ON MONDAY GAY TALE WAS TUCKED TO A RNER BOOTH THE DOWNSTAIRS BAR AT THE 21 CLUB, SIPPG A BOMBAY MARTI WH A TWIST, WH A SPECIMEN OM HIS MUCH-ADMIRED HAT LLECTN STG POLELY BI HIM. IT WAS NEARLY TWO HOURS AFTER GUTS CLUDG FRANK STELLA, MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, HIS PARTNER DIANA TAYLOR—NOT TO MENTN THE HOST, TOM WOLFE—HAD HEAD HOME AFTER A LEISURELY, TIMATE DNER AT THE DG ROOM UPSTAIRS CELEBRATG AN EXQUISE TASCHEN EDN OF TALE’S GROUNDBREAKG CELEBRY PROFILE, “FRANK SATRA HAS A COLD.”“HERE I AM, YOU KNOW, ON THE OCSN OF ‘FRANK SATRA HAS A COLD,’” TALE SAID. “I REALLY HAVE A LD. WORSE THAN SATRA DID, I’LL BET.”BUT TALE WOULDN’T HAVE MISSED THE NIGHT FOR THE WORLD. “THAT’S ONE THG ABOUT JOURNALISM: YOU HAVE TO SHOW UP.”THE BOOK IS FELY WORTH SHOWG UP FOR—A TOME TAILOR-MA FOR JOURNALISM JUNKI. TALE’S PROFILE OF SATRA FOR THE APRIL 1966 ISSUE OF ESQUIRE—WRTEN AT A DISTANCE, TRAILG THE SGER AND TERVIEWG EVERYONE OM HIS -STARS TO HIS WIG GROOMERS AFTER REPEATED BSH-OFFS OM SATRA’S PUBLICIST—IS EQUENTLY CED AS ONE OF THE WORKS THAT STEERS IMPRSNABLE YOUNGSTERS TOWARD A REER JOURNALISM. AND WH S NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN PHOTOS OF SATRA, TALE-PENNED TRODUCTN, AND MARKED-UP MANCRIPTS OM THE ARCHIVE PRTED ON OLD-FASHNED LETTERPRS AND ACCENTED THE SWOONY BLUE OF SATRA’S EY, THE TASCHEN BOOK IS THE GLOSSIT JOURNALISM TEXTBOOK IMAGABLE, RELEASED A FEW MONTHS AHEAD OF THE PIECE’S 50TH BIRTHDAY AND WEEK OR TWO AWAY OM WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN SATRA’S 100TH. IT MAK THE WORK OF REPORTG AND WRG AND EDG LOOK AS PRETTY AND IRREVERENT AND FUN AS A W ANRSON MOVIE.COURTY OF TASCHEN.IT MAY HAVE A PRETTY FACE, BUT FOR TALE, APPEARANCE N BE EVERYTHG. HE TRAC MUCH OF WHAT LED HIM TO JOURNALISM TO HIS PARENTS AND THEIR REERS THE GARMENT DTRY—HIS FATHER WAS A TAILOR AND HIS MOTHER OWNED A DRS STORE OCEAN CY, NEW JERSEY—WHICH NO DOUBT SPURRED AN OBSSN WH CLOTHG THAT SEEMS EXTRIBLE OM HIS WORK. “WHEN I WRE STORI, ’S LIKE MAKG A SU: THE PIEC HANG TOGETHER, AND YOU SKETCH,” HE SAID. “THE WHOLE PROCS: HANDWORK.”HE EVEN CREDS HIS FIRST JOB AT THE NEW YORK TIM—WHICH ME IMPROBABLY AFTER A “HUIATG” TERVIEW DURG WHICH HE DISVERED HIS LLEGE CLASSMATE HAD LIED ABOUT THE TIMACY OF HIS NNECTN TO THE MANAGG EDOR WH WHOM HE WAS MEETG, LEAVG TALE GRASPG TO EXPLA HIS DACY WALTZG FOR A MEETG WH THE BIGWIG UNANNOUNCED—TO THE THREE-PIECE SU HE WORE TO THE TERVIEW. “I WAS POLE, WELL DRSED,” HE SAID. “I JT KNOW, THOUGH I NEVER GOT ANY NFIRMATN, THAT I MA A GOOD IMPRSN.”BEE OF HIS NOTED OBSSN WH CLOTHG, TALE IS OFTEN HELD UP AS A DANDY (AS IS WHE-SUED WOLFE FOR THAT MATTER). THAT MIGHT DO A DISSERVICE TO HIM, BUT ALSO, EQUALLY, TO HIS SENSE OF ELEGANCE. THERE’S REALLY SOMETHG TO HIS PREOCCUPATN WH LIVG AND BEHAVG BETIFULLY. “I WAS VERY RICH 1980, AND 1981,” HE SAID, REFLECTG ON HIS BOOM YEARS, AFTER THY NEIGHBOR’S WIFE OPTNED FOR $2.5 LN. SO WHAT’S THE WILST THG HE BOUGHT? HE TOOK A LONG SIP OF HIS MARTI.“NOTHG. I HAD EVERYTHG. I HAD A TOWN HOE. CLOSETS FILLED WH HANDMA SUS. TWO BETIFUL OLD SPORTS RS THAT I HAD OM THE 1950S,” HE SAID. “I HAVE TWO BETIFUL DGHTERS, I HAVE A WIFE, I HAVE, OF URSE, A JOB, I HAVE A WIFE WH A JOB.”MOST POPULARDONALD TMP’S LAWYER CAN’T STOP GOG ON TV AND MAKG DONALD TMP LOOK RIDICULOLY GUILTY OF THE CRIM HE’S BEEN ACCED OFBY BS LEVRILEY KEOUGH ON GROWG UP PRLEY, LOSG LISA MARIE, AND INHERG GRACELANDBY BRT HENNEMUTHWE’RE ONLY JT STARTG TO UNPACK REX HERMANN’S NEW YORKBY DAN ADLERAS THE CLOCK TICKED TOWARD MIDNIGHT AND THE BAR’S PATRONS—MIDDLE-AGED UPL OF MURKY MARAL STAT, BANKERS TOO-SHY TI HAVG VODKA MARTIS—STARTED TO CLEAR, TALE MED ON WHY, AN AGE WHICH REPORTERS ARE NOTORLY RTRICTED OM CELEBRY SUBJECTS, ’S NOT EASIER THAN EVER TO WRE A PROFILE LIKE HIS, WHICH WAS BORN OF SATRA’S REFAL TO GRANT HIM ACCS. WHY IS SO HARD TO WRE A STORY LIKE THAT NOW?“IT SHOULDN’T BE. MAYBE THE PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT,” HE SAID. “I’M JT GUSG. WHEN I—YOU KNOW, MY ARISTOCRATIC IEND OM RICHMOND, VIRGIA, TOM WOLFE, HE WAS PROBABLY THE EXCEPTN—BUT MOST OF WERE NOT OM VERY TED BACKGROUNDS. WE WERE THE UNRCLASS. THE JOURNALISTS OF THE 1950S WERE PEOPLE LIKE ME. . . . PEOPLE THAT WENT TO HARVARD, YALE, THEY ULDN’T BE JOURNALISTS, WAG FOR SOME LABOR LEAR TO ANNOUNCE THAT THERE’S A SETTLEMENT AT THREE O’CLOCK THE MORNG OUT ON SOME WATERONT. . . . JOURNALISM WAS FOR THE LOW-LEVEL PEOPLE. ME.”“BUT WE HAD A KD OF PATIENCE ABOUT WAG,” TALE NTUED. “WE WERE GOG TO GET WHAT WE WANTED. I DON’T THK THIS NEW GENERATN HAS THE PATIENCE OR EVEN KNOWLEDGE OF HOW TO GET THGS. . . . YOU HAVE TO GET OFF YOUR ASS. MAKE SOMETHG HAPPEN WH YOUR PERSONALY, WH YOUR GODDAMN STYLE, YOUR CHARM, YOUR BETIFUL CLOTH, YOUR REASSURANCE, YOUR SALMAN HUCKSTER-IST LIRICE. KNOW HOW TO GET SOMETHG AND NOT BREAK HEARTS OR BE OFFENSIVE.”AND THEN THE RTRANT TURNED OFF THE MIC—SATRA’S “THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT,” OF URSE—AND WAS TIME TO HEAD HOME. TALE HAD A LD TO SLEEP OFF, AFTER ALL.RELATED: HOW TOM WOLFE BEME … TOM WOLFEPHOTOS: HOW TOM WOLFE WOLFE1 / 16CHEVRONCHEVRONWOLFE HIS MANHATTAN APARTMENT. LEWIS’S DGHTER DIXIE, 13, LLED HIS SU AN “OUTGOG FASHN CHOICE.”RACHEL TASHJIAN

People say, “Oh, Gay, how did you get that? But when Gay Tale wr about Italian-Amerins, there are very few people this untry who n tell me more than I know about that subject.

And when I see this guy — Vcent DeRosa, who I hadn’t met and never saw after that — I, Gay Tale, n unrstand .