Nick Tosches
Encyclopedia
Nick Tosches is an American
journalist
, novelist, biographer, and poet
of Albanian
and Italian
descent.
, Fusion, and Rolling Stone
.
Tosches' second book, a biography of Jerry Lee Lewis
named Hellfire was published in 1982. Subsequent biographies have covered the lives of Dean Martin
, Michele Sindona
, Sonny Liston
, Emmett Miller
, and Arnold Rothstein
.
Tosches has also published a collection of poetry, and three novels. He has been published in Vanity Fair
, Esquire
and Open City
. The Nick Tosches Reader collects writings from over the course of his career.
Tosches was featured on the popular Travel Channel
show Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations in the episode "Disappearing Manhattan". He and Bourdain
shared a drink at Sophie's in the East Village, a Manhattan
dive bar
, and they discussed the changing nature of the city.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist
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...
, novelist, biographer, and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
of Albanian
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
and Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
descent.
Life
After different odd-jobs, Tosches started writing with poetry and rock-'n'-roll magazines, including CreemCreem
Creem , "America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine," was a monthly rock 'n' roll publication first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. It suspended production in 1989 but received a short-lived renaissance in the early 1990s as a glossy tabloid...
, Fusion, and Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
.
Tosches' second book, a biography of Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
named Hellfire was published in 1982. Subsequent biographies have covered the lives of Dean Martin
Dino (Nick Tosches Book)
Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams is a biography of Dean Martin written by Nick Tosches. It draws heavily from interviews Tosches did with Jerry Lewis and Martin's second wife, and lifelong friend Jeanne Biegger. The story begins with the births of Martin's grandparents in Italy and...
, Michele Sindona
Power on Earth
Power on Earth is a biography of mafia-linked Italian banker and accused murderer Michele Sindona written by Nick Tosches. Based on his own in-depth research, including several interviews with Sindona himself while he was in prison awaiting trial, Tosches tells Sindona's rise from poor beginnings...
, Sonny Liston
The Devil and Sonny Liston
The Devil and Sonny Liston is a biography of world heavyweight champion boxer Sonny Liston by Nick Tosches. The book's title is a reference to the story The Devil and Daniel Webster. Tosches' intended title was "Night Train" after one of Liston's favorite songs...
, Emmett Miller
Where Dead Voices Gather
Where Dead Voices Gather is a book by Nick Tosches. It is, in part, a biography of Emmett Miller, one of the last minstrel singers. Just as importantly, it depicts Tosches' search for information about Miller, about whom he initially wrote in his book Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock and Roll...
, and Arnold Rothstein
King of the Jews (Nick Tosches Book)
King of the Jews is a book by Nick Tosches. On the surface it is a biography of Arnold Rothstein, the man who reputedly fixed the 1919 World Series, inspired the characters of Meyer Wolfsheim in The Great Gatsby and Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, and created the modern system of organized...
.
Tosches has also published a collection of poetry, and three novels. He has been published in Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
, Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
and Open City
Open City (magazine)
Open City Magazine and Books was a New York City based magazine and book publisher that features many first-time writers alongside those who are well known. The editors are Thomas Beller and Joanna Yas. It is published by a nonprofit organization, Open City, Inc. Open City Magazine is released...
. The Nick Tosches Reader collects writings from over the course of his career.
Tosches was featured on the popular Travel Channel
Travel Channel
The Travel Channel is a satellite and cable television channel that is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. Programming has included shows in African animal safaris,...
show Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations in the episode "Disappearing Manhattan". He and Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Michael "Tony" Bourdain is an American chef, author and television personality. He is well known for his 2000 book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, and is the host of Travel Channel's culinary and cultural adventure program Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.A...
shared a drink at Sophie's in the East Village, a Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
dive bar
Dive bar
A dive bar is a type of bar or pub. Dive bars generally have a relaxed and informal atmosphere—they are often referred to by local residents as "neighborhood bars," where people in the neighborhood gather to drink and socialize...
, and they discussed the changing nature of the city.
Biographies
- Hellfire, 1982 (first edition), Grove Press, USA, ISBN 0-8021-3566-8
- Dangerous Dances: The Authorized Biography with Daryl Hall and John Oates, 1984, St. Martin's Press, USA, ISBN 0312357168
- Power on EarthPower on EarthPower on Earth is a biography of mafia-linked Italian banker and accused murderer Michele Sindona written by Nick Tosches. Based on his own in-depth research, including several interviews with Sindona himself while he was in prison awaiting trial, Tosches tells Sindona's rise from poor beginnings...
, 1986 - Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of DreamsDino (Nick Tosches Book)Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams is a biography of Dean Martin written by Nick Tosches. It draws heavily from interviews Tosches did with Jerry Lewis and Martin's second wife, and lifelong friend Jeanne Biegger. The story begins with the births of Martin's grandparents in Italy and...
, 1992 - The Devil and Sonny ListonThe Devil and Sonny ListonThe Devil and Sonny Liston is a biography of world heavyweight champion boxer Sonny Liston by Nick Tosches. The book's title is a reference to the story The Devil and Daniel Webster. Tosches' intended title was "Night Train" after one of Liston's favorite songs...
, 2000 - Where Dead Voices GatherWhere Dead Voices GatherWhere Dead Voices Gather is a book by Nick Tosches. It is, in part, a biography of Emmett Miller, one of the last minstrel singers. Just as importantly, it depicts Tosches' search for information about Miller, about whom he initially wrote in his book Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock and Roll...
, 2001 - King of the JewsKing of the Jews (Nick Tosches Book)King of the Jews is a book by Nick Tosches. On the surface it is a biography of Arnold Rothstein, the man who reputedly fixed the 1919 World Series, inspired the characters of Meyer Wolfsheim in The Great Gatsby and Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, and created the modern system of organized...
, 2005
Fiction and Poetry
- Cut NumbersCut NumbersCut Numbers is the first novel by Nick Tosches. It involves small time criminals struggling to maintain the financial viability of their cut numbers game after the implementation of the New York Lottery. They establish an elaborate scheme to fix the legitimate state lottery...
, 1988 - Trinities, 1994, St Martins Mass Market Paper, USA, ISBN 0-312-95689-4
- Chaldea and I Dig GirlsChaldea and I Dig GirlsCHALDEA and I DIG GIRLS is a collection of 25 poems and one short story by Nick Tosches. Selections were previously published in such places as Open City, Contents, Lowest Common Denominator, GQ, Long Shot and Smokes Like a Fish. The cover features an engraving of Mithraic Kronos from AD 190...
, 1999 - In The Hand Of DanteIn The Hand Of DanteIn the Hand of Dante is the third novel by Nick Tosches.-Plot:The book interweaves two separate stories, one set in the 14th century in Italy and Sicily and featuring Dante Alighieri, and another set in the autumn of 2001 and featuring a fictionalized version of Nick Tosches as the protagonist...
, 2002
Journalism
- Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock 'n' RollCountry (Nick Tosches Book)Country was the first book published by Rolling Stone magazine critic Nick Tosches. Released in 1977 under the title Country: The Biggest Music in America, it was retitled in later editions as Country: Living Legends and Dying Metaphors in America's Biggest Music and Country: The Twisted Roots of...
, 1977, Da Capo Press, USA, ISBN 0-306-80713-0 - Unsung Heroes of Rock N' Roll: The Birth of Rock in the Wild Years Before Elvis, 1984 (first edition), Da Capo Press, USA, ISBN 0-306-80891-9
- The Last Opium DenThe Last Opium DenThe Last Opium Den is an investigative journalism/travel book by Nick Tosches. It was originally an article in Vanity Fair, where Tosches is a contributing editor. Tosches travels the world seeking the titular establishment...
, 2002 - Never Trust a Loving God, Art Stock Books Ltd. (to be published 25 October 2009)
Discography
- Blue Eyes And Exit WoundsBlue Eyes And Exit WoundsBlue Eyes and Exit Wounds is a spoken word/poetry album by Nick Tosches and Hubert Selby, Jr.-Track listing:#In the Heat of the Night #Only the Lonely#La Vie en Rose#A Tale of Anticipation#Psalm 16...
, with Hubert Selby Jr. and produced by author Harold Goldberg, 1998 - Nick & Homer, with Homer Henderson, 1998
- FuckthelivingfuckthedeadFuckthelivingfuckthedeadfuckthelivingfuckthedead is a recording of a poetry reading given by Nick Tosches at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, on March 24, 2001. The reading was part of the exhibition "Les Années Pop". For a large part of the performance he is backed by a small ensemble of musicians...
, 2001 - For the taking: Vol. I from CHALDEAFor the taking: Vol. I from CHALDEAFor the Taking: Volume I - From CHALDEA is an album by Nick Tosches and Rick Whitehurst. It features Tosches reading poetry from his book Chaldea and I Dig Girls set to an electronic soundscape by Whitehurst...
with Rick Whitehurst 2006
Film and television
- Louis Prima: The Wildest!Louis PrimaLouis Prima was a Sicilian American singer, actor, songwriter, and trumpeter. Prima rode the musical trends of his time, starting with his seven-piece New Orleans style jazz band in the 1920s, then successively leading a swing combo in the 1930s, a big band in the 1940s, a Vegas lounge act in the...
,1999 - Hubert Selby Jr: It/ll Be Better TomorrowHubert Selby Jr: It/ll Be Better TomorrowHubert Selby Jr: It/ll Be Better Tomorrow is a 2005 documentary film about writer Hubert Selby, Jr. , the author of the novels Last Exit to Brooklyn, The Room, The Demon, Requiem for a Dream, The Willow Tree, and Waiting Period and a book of short stories, Song of the Silent Snow. The movie's title...
, 2005 - Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride: Hunter S. Thompson on Film, 2006
- MobstersThe Biography ChannelThe Biography Channel is an American digital cable television channel owned by A&E and based on the television series of the same name. A version of the channel also airs on ONO and Telefónica in Spain and on Sky Digital and cable television in the United Kingdom, a version of the channel also...
, in the episode Tommy LuccheseTommy LuccheseGaetano "Tommy" Lucchese , also known as "Tom Brown" or "Three-Finger Brown", was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Lucchese crime family in New York City...
, 2008 - Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations in the episode "Disappearing Manhattan", 2009
- Johnny DeppJohnny DeppJohn Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
has purchased the film rights to Tosches' novel In The Hand Of DanteIn The Hand Of DanteIn the Hand of Dante is the third novel by Nick Tosches.-Plot:The book interweaves two separate stories, one set in the 14th century in Italy and Sicily and featuring Dante Alighieri, and another set in the autumn of 2001 and featuring a fictionalized version of Nick Tosches as the protagonist...
. It is in development and set for release some time in 2011 (as of October 2009). Depp will play Tosches in the film.
External links
- Brief bio
- Vanity Fair contributing editor profile
- "Saint Nick" by Mike Miliard, The Boston Phoenix, September 26, 2002
- "Dais of Despair: The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts," extract from Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams
- Exit Wounds with the late Hubert Selby, Jr.
- Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Bourdain and Tosches discuss Southeast AsiaSoutheast AsiaSoutheast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
and The Last Opium Den