Walker, Gerald 1928-2004
WALKER, Gerald 1928-2004
OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born April 16, 1928, in New York, NY; died of complications after a stroke, February 19, 2004, in Manhattan, NY. Editor and author. A magazine editor by trade, Walker also gained acclaim for his one novel, Cruising. A graduate of New York University, he earned an M.A. in theater from Columbia University. His career started as a publicist working on theatrical promotions; then, from 1956 to 1958, he was assistant advertising promotion manager for the periodical Coronet, while also launching a freelance career. His main vocation, however, was as an articles editor for New York Times Magazine, a job he held from 1963 until his 1990 retirement. Walker's novel about the New York City homosexual underground, Cruising (1970), was his only book-length fiction, but one that was successfully adapted in 1980 as a movie starring Al Pacino. Walker was also coauthor of The Consumers Union Report on Smoking and the Public Interest (1963), and he edited several Best Magazine Articles annuals. He was working on a mystery novel, tentatively titled "Witnesses," at the time of his death.
OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:
PERIODICALS
Chicago Tribune, February 23, 2004, section 4, p. 11.
New York Times, February 21, 2004, p. A13.