Robert Sam Anson

Robert Sam Anson (March 12, 1945 –

November 2, 2020) was an American
journalist and author.[1] He was noted for
his work as a contributing editor to Vanity
Fair for over 20 years.[2] He also wrote for
other American magazines such as
Esquire, Life, and The Atlantic. He authored
six nonfiction books, including Gone Crazy
and Back Again: The Rise and Fall of the
Rolling Stone Generation, about Jann
Wenner and his magazine.[3]
 Robert Sam Anson
Born March 12, 1945
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.

Died November 2, 2020

(aged 75)
Rexford, New York,
U.S.

Alma mater University of Notre

Dame

Occupation Writer

Spouse(s) Diane McAniff (c. late-

1960s)
Sharon Haddock (c.
mid-1970s)
Amanda Kay Kyser
(m. 1985; div. 2017)
Children 3

Early life
Anson was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on
March 12, 1945. His mother, Virginia Rose,
worked as a teacher. She raised him as a
single parent, together with her parents.[4]
His grandfather, Sam B. Anson, was a
notable personality in the city's journalism
industry as editor and publisher of several
local daily newspapers.[4][5] Anson
graduated from Saint Ignatius High School
in 1963. He went on to study international
relations and English at the University of
Notre Dame, obtaining a bachelor's degree
from that institution in 1967.[4] He spoke
of Theodore Hesburgh, the president of
Notre Dame at the time, as "the only father
[he] ever had".[6] Anson started writing for
Time during his studies and was
consequently employed there full-time
after graduation.[7]

Career
Two years after graduating, Anson went to
Vietnam and Cambodia to cover the
Vietnam War for Time. He was taken
prisoner by North Vietnamese troops on
August 3, 1970 and remained in captivity
for three weeks.[8] He avoided execution
after convincing his captors that he was a
journalist.[9] He discovered 15 years later
that Hesburgh called Pope Paul VI, who
purportedly appealed to the Cambodian
authorities to secure Anson's release.[6]
Anson subsequently wrote of his
experience in War News: A Young Reporter
in Indochina.[5]

After being released, Anson relocated to

the New York office of Time. He was a
product of the New Journalism, which
embraced the notion that journalists ought
to immerse themselves in what they wrote
and utilize "dramatic literary devices" to
create a more powerful narrative.[7] One of
Anson's earliest tasks there was to cover
Joe Frazier. Fellow editor Chris Byron
recounted how Anson got into the ring
with Frazier, who promptly broke Anson's
leg or dislocated his shoulder.[10] Byron
added how he "thought this guy [Anson]
was completely out of his mind".[7][10]

Anson also contributed to Esquire, Life,

Mademoiselle,[11] The Atlantic, and New
Times.[4] His 1981 Esquire cover story on
Doug Kenney, "The Life and Death of a
Comic Genius," was the first major print
remembrance of the National Lampoon
humorist and screenwriter.[12] Anson
attempted to write about The Walt Disney
Company in the early 1990s. However, his
publisher, Simon & Schuster, abruptly
called off the project. He consequently
sued the publishing company for
$1 million, alleging that they had been
pressured by superiors in the industry to
abandon his book. The two parties
eventually reached an out of court
settlement.[7]

Anson became editor of Los Angeles

magazine in 1995, but was fired after only
five months in the position. During this
time, all but two of the magazine's 19
contributing editors left the publication
within two months.[7] Several employees
and the Los Angeles Times criticized
Anson for being temperamental and
sexist.[4][7] Others came to his defense,
seeing that his clash of personalities with
a dull workplace environment would
inevitably upset those who were there.[4]
Anson returned to the East Coast, residing
in Sag Harbor at the East End of Long
Island. He did the majority of his writing in
an Airstream trailer (which he nicknamed
"the Bambi"), situated at the back of his
house.[4][5] He maintained a blog called
"About Editing and Writing."[13]

Anson conducted an interview with

Hesburgh in 2006. They discussed
political and global issues, as well as their
past interactions with each other. The
interview was not published until after
Hesburgh's death in 2015.[6]

Personal life
Anson married his first wife, Diane
McAniff, in the late 1960s, after meeting at
the University of Notre Dame. They
divorced shortly afterwards. His second
marriage was to Sharon Haddock during
the mid-1970s. He subsequently married
Amanda Kay Kyser in 1985. They remained
married until 2017. He had one son (Sam
Gideon) and two daughters (Christian and
Georgia Grace).[4][5]

Anson overcame a bout of cancer. He

consequently became involved with the
Visible Ink writing program at the
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.[4]
He died on November 2, 2020, in Rexford,
New York. He was 75, and suffered from
dementia in the time leading up to his
death.[4][5]

Books
McGovern: A Biography (1972). New
York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston;
ISBN 9780030913457[4]
"They've Killed the President!": The
Search for the Murderers of John F.
Kennedy (1975). New York: Bantam
Books. ISBN 9780553025255[14]
Gone Crazy and Back Again: The Rise
and Fall of the Rolling Stone Generation
(1981). Garden City: Doubleday.
ISBN 9780385131148[4]
Exile: The Unquiet Oblivion of Richard M.
Nixon (1984). New York: Simon and
Schuster. ISBN 9780671440213[4]
Best Intentions: The Education and
Killing of Edmund Perry (1987). New
York: Random House.
ISBN 9780394552743[4]
 War News: A Young Reporter in
Indochina (1989). New York: Simon and
Schuster; ISBN 9780671665715[4]

References
1. "Robert Sam Anson | Penguin Random
House" . PenguinRandomhouse.com.
2. Magazine, Vanity Fair. "Robert Sam
Anson" . Vanity Fair.
3. "BOOKS OF THE TIMES; Books Of The
Times" . February 10, 1981 – via
NYTimes.com.
4. Seelye, Katharine Q. (November 6,
2020). "Robert Sam Anson, 'Bare-
knuckled' Magazine Writer, Dies at
75" . The New York Times. Retrieved
November 6, 2020.
5. Friend, David (November 6, 2020).
"Farewell, Robert Sam Anson (1945–
2020)" . Vanity Fair. Retrieved
November 6, 2020.
6. Anson, Robert Sam; Roberts, Tom
(May 2, 2015). "Reporter recalls rocky
friendship with Fr. Theodore
Hesburgh" . National Catholic
Reporter. Retrieved November 7,
2020.
 7. Schudel, Matt (November 7, 2020).
"Robert Sam Anson, journalist who
chronicled war, power and social ills,
dies at 75" . The Washington Post.
Retrieved November 7, 2020.
8. "Bio, Anson, Robert" .
www.pownetwork.org.
9. magazine, Reviewed by Marc Leepson,
Book editor and columnist for Veteran.
"ALL CAUGHT UP IN THE FURY OF
WAR" . chicagotribune.com.
10. Lacher, Irene (September 24, 1995).
"The Sunday Profile – Last of a
Breed" . Los Angeles Times. Retrieved
November 7, 2020.
11. "The Sunday Profile : Last of a Breed :
Robert Sam Anson would go to hell
and back for a good story--a passion
that many admire. But some say
making him editor of Los Angeles
magazine was a risky move" .
September 24, 1995 – via LA Times.
12. Anson, Robert Sam (March 1, 2014).
"Doug Kenney: The Odd Comic Genius
Behind 'Animal House' and National
Lampoon" – via
www.thedailybeast.com.
 13. Schudel, Matt (November 8, 2020).
"Robert Sam Anson, journalist who
chronicled war, power and social ills,
dies at 75" .
14. Anson, Robert Sam (1975). "They've
Killed the President!": The Search for
the Murderers of John F. Kennedy .
Bantam Books.

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