Mike McAlary
Encyclopedia
Mike McAlary was a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
and columnist
who worked at the New York Daily News
for 12 years, beginning with the police beat.
In 1988, McAlary wrote a book, Buddy Boys, about corrupt police in New York's 77th Precinct. He also had a hand in writing the script for the movie Copland
, starring Sylvester Stallone
and Robert De Niro
. In the film The Paper
directed by Ron Howard
, a columnist character called McDougal played by Randy Quaid
was said to be based on McAlary. He had a cameo appearance in the movie.
In 1990 McAlary wrote a piece referring to a gang leader named Lefty. Four years later he interviewed Lefty anew. By then the former gang leader was a decorated soldier, family man, and college student. He attributed his about face to McAlary's 1990 article. McAlary ended his 1994 piece by saying, "I am humbled by his talent. Sure, as a columnist, you can get people indicted and even free the wrongly accused. That is what you do. But from now on, I know, at least once, I wrote a story that mattered."
McAlary won a Pulitzer Prize
for an exposé of the New York police torture of Abner Louima
in Brooklyn in 1997.
His idols were New York journalists Jimmy Breslin
, Murray Kempton
and Pete Hamill
. During his reporting of the Louima case, McAlary was diagnosed with colon cancer, from which he died on Christmas Day 1998. McAlary was a resident of Bellport, New York, at the time of his death.
"The Wood," playwright Dan Klores's drama based on McAlary's life, premiered at Manhattan's Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in August, 2011.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
who worked at the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
for 12 years, beginning with the police beat.
In 1988, McAlary wrote a book, Buddy Boys, about corrupt police in New York's 77th Precinct. He also had a hand in writing the script for the movie Copland
Copland
Copland was a project at Apple Computer to create an updated version of the Macintosh operating system. It was to have introduced protected memory, preemptive multitasking and a number of new underlying operating system features, yet still be compatible with existing Mac software...
, starring Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
and Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
. In the film The Paper
The Paper
The Paper is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Ron Howard and starring Michael Keaton, Robert Duvall, and Glenn Close. The film depicts 24 hours in a newspaper editor's professional and personal life.-Plot:...
directed by Ron Howard
Ron Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
, a columnist character called McDougal played by Randy Quaid
Randy Quaid
Randall Rudy "Randy" Quaid is an American actor perhaps best known for his role as Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon's Vacation movies, as well as his numerous supporting roles in films, including his Oscar nominated performance in The Last Detail, Independence Day, Kingpin and Brokeback Mountain...
was said to be based on McAlary. He had a cameo appearance in the movie.
In 1990 McAlary wrote a piece referring to a gang leader named Lefty. Four years later he interviewed Lefty anew. By then the former gang leader was a decorated soldier, family man, and college student. He attributed his about face to McAlary's 1990 article. McAlary ended his 1994 piece by saying, "I am humbled by his talent. Sure, as a columnist, you can get people indicted and even free the wrongly accused. That is what you do. But from now on, I know, at least once, I wrote a story that mattered."
McAlary won a Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for an exposé of the New York police torture of Abner Louima
Abner Louima
Abner Louima is a Haitian who was assaulted, brutalized and forcibly sodomized with the handle of a bathroom plunger by New York City police officers after being arrested outside a Brooklyn nightclub in 1997....
in Brooklyn in 1997.
His idols were New York journalists Jimmy Breslin
Jimmy Breslin
Jimmy Breslin is an American journalist and author. He currently writes a column for the New York Daily News' Sunday edition. He has written numerous novels, and columns of his have appeared regularly in various newspapers in his hometown of New York City...
, Murray Kempton
Murray Kempton
James Murray Kempton was an influential, Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist.-Biography:Kempton was born in Baltimore on December 16, 1917. His mother was Sally Ambler and his father was James Branson Kempton, a stock broker...
and Pete Hamill
Pete Hamill
Pete Hamill is an American journalist, novelist, essayist, editor and educator. Widely traveled and having written on a broad range of topics, he is perhaps best known for his career as a New York City journalist, as "the author of columns that sought to capture the particular flavors of New York...
. During his reporting of the Louima case, McAlary was diagnosed with colon cancer, from which he died on Christmas Day 1998. McAlary was a resident of Bellport, New York, at the time of his death.
"The Wood," playwright Dan Klores's drama based on McAlary's life, premiered at Manhattan's Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in August, 2011.