Alex Haley | |
|---|---|
 Haley in 1980 | |
| Born | Alexander Murray Palmer Haley August 11, 1921 Ithaca, New York, U.S.[1] |
| Died | February 10, 1992 (aged 70) Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Occupation | Coast Guardsman, writer |
| Years active | 1939–1992 |
| Spouse |
Nannie Branch
(m. 1941; div. 1964)Juliette Collins
(m. 1964; div. 1972)Myran Lewis (m. 1977) |
| Relatives | Simon Haley (father) George W. Haley (brother) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Coast Guard |
| Years of service | 1939–1959 |
| Rank | Chief Petty Officer |
Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992)[1] was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book Roots: The Saga of an American Family. ABC adapted the book as a television miniseries of the same name and aired it in 1977 to a record-breaking audience of 130 million viewers. In the United States, the book and miniseries raised the public awareness of black American history and inspired a broad interest in genealogy and family history.[3]
Haley's first book was The Autobiography of Malcolm X, published in 1965, a collaboration through numerous lengthy interviews with Malcolm X.[4][5][6]
He was working on a second family history novel at his death. Haley had requested that David Stevens, a screenwriter, complete it; the book was published as Queen: The Story of an American Family. It was adapted as a miniseries, Alex Haley's Queen, broadcast in 1993.
- ^ a b Wynn, Linda T. "Alex Haley, (1921–1992)". Tennessee State University Library. Archived from the original on August 3, 2004. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
- ^ "The anguish of Alex Haley's widow with her husband's literary legacy dispersed, she's locked in a bitter probate battle". Phoenix New Times. November 11, 1992. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
- ^ Thompson, Krissah (November 14, 2017). "Her mother said they descended from 'a president and a slave.' What would their DNA say?". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 19, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
- ^ Stringer, Jenny (ed), The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Literature in English (1986), Oxford University Press, p 275
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
TimesObitwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Perks, Robert; Thomson, Alistair, eds. (2003) [1998]. The Oral History Reader. Routledge. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-415-13351-7. Archived from the original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2015.