Walter Winchell

Walter Winchell dropped out of school in 6th Grade and turned to vaudeville. By 1920 he had moved from posting notes on bulletin boards to the Vaudeville News, and by 1929 he started the gossip column that would make him famous. Originally known for his relationships with criminals, he began to fear for his life, and fled New York, only to return with a new appreciation for law enforcement. As a columnist and radio host, he was best-known for exposing embarrassing secrets of the rich and famous. A supporter of Joseph McCarthy, his influence faded with the fifties, and by 1963 his column was over. Winchell died of prostate cancer in 1972.