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Learn about the life and crimes of Lee Israel, who wrote biographies of famous people and later forged letters of celebrities. Find out how she was caught, prosecuted and inspired a film.
- Lee Israel’s Pre-Crime Life
- From Biographer to Forger and Thief
- The Memoir and Movie of Lee Israel
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Leonore Carol Israel was bornin New York City on Dec. 3, 1939. She attended Midwood High School in Brooklyn and graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College in 1961. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Lee Israel made a decent living as a writer for publications such as the New York Times and Soap Opera Digest. She eventually transitioned i...
After the poor reception of her 1985 biography, Lee Israel fell on hard times. But she refused to work a normal 9-5 job and found herself desperate for money. In a 2008 interview with NPR, Israel described her transition into forgery, saying, “[It] happened incrementally, like most evil things do.” Her sick cat needed help so, in 1991, Israel enter...
In 2008, Israel caused quite a stir in the literary community, once again, when she released her own memoir. In the book, Israel detailed her forgeries and thefts and how she sold countless numbers of the items to memorabilia and autograph dealers. The book was met with some criticism from people who were outraged that Israel was once again profiti...
Learn about the true story of Lee Israel, a former biographer who faced financial hardship and resorted to forging and stealing letters from celebrities. Discover how she was caught, how she wrote a memoir, and how her life inspired a movie.
Jan 8, 2015 · Ms. Israel, who died in Manhattan on Dec. 24 at 75, was a reasonably successful author in the 1970s and ’80s, writing biographies of the actress Tallulah Bankhead, the journalist Dorothy...
Oct 19, 2018 · For Lee Israel, a celebrity biographer by trade and the subject of Melissa McCarthy’s new movie Can You Ever Forgive Me?, the best way to acquire such letters was to buy an old...
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- Alejandro de la Garza
Oct 19, 2018 · Lee Israel was a biographer who turned to literary forgery to make ends meet. Learn five fascinating facts about her life, her crimes, and her memoir, which inspired a new movie starring Melissa McCarthy.
Feb 22, 2019 · Lee Israel came late to a life of crime. Though her forgeries of letters from luminaries like Louise Brooks, Dorothy Parker, and Ernest Hemingway would ultimately become a far more...
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Oct 20, 2018 · The strange, true-life story of the literary scammer Lee Israel. Five finger discount. Image: Courtesy Fox Searchlight. By. Thu-Huong Ha. Published October 20, 2018. This story contains...
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