Richard Gehman was a journalist, biographer and free
lance writer. Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on May 20, 1921 Gehman attended
local public schools and graduated from McCaskey High School in 1938. Prior
to his graduation he worked for Lancaster's two major papers the Sunday
News and Intelligencer Journal. After his graduation until 1942
Gehman worked as a reporter for the Lancaster New Era and the Philadelphia
Record. In 1942, Gehman was drafted into the United States Army and
was stationed at the military base in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. While in Oak
Ridge he edited the base's newspaper the Oak Ridge Journal from 1943
until the close of the war. Following the war, Gehman moved to New York
and began working for the magazines Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitan.
Within a few years he chose to become a freelance writer contributing articles
to numerous magazines including Newsweek, Look and the Saturday
Evening Post. During the 1950's and 1960's he published over 3,000 articles,
wrote five novels and a dozen nonfiction books. He also taught writing classes
at several major universities including New York University, Columbia University
and Indiana University. By the late 1960's he had become known by his peers
as the "King of Freelance Writers". During 1970's the demand for his articles
had waned and before his death had practically ceased. He spent his final
years in Lancaster financially bankrupt and emotionally troubled over his
declining popularity. He died on May 12, 1972. Biographers -- Pennsylvania -- Lancaster.
Authors -- Pennsylvania -- Lancaster.
Freelance journalism.
Celebrities -- United States.
Television personalities -- United States.
Journalism and motion pictures.
Gehman, Richard Boyd (1921-1972)