Irving Wallace Centenary

Saturday, March 19, 2016

On March 19, 2016, the popular novelist Irving Wallace—my father—would have turned 100 years old. Instead of honoring my father by presenting a review of his achievements and recalling what a generous, warm-hearted person he was and how much enjoyment he brought to millions of readers around the world, I have decided to look at some of the developments he would have most appreciated if he had lived to be 100, instead of dying at the age of 74.

 

It may seem overly speculative to imagine my father living to 100. However, just ten days earlier, on March 9, 2016, I conducted an extended video interview with a 102-year-old man, Alex Tarics. The interview was part of a project called Words of Olympians, supported by the International Olympic Committee. Mr. Tarics earned a gold medal in water polo at the 1936 Olympics and also was a well-respected structural engineer. As I sat across from Mr. Tarics for several hours, the idea that my father could have reached the age of 100 did not seem at all impossible.

 

So what did my father miss?

 

The most obvious development was the election of an African-American president. You see, back in 1964 my father wrote a novel, The Man, about the first black president. His protagonist, Douglass Dilman, is a retired university president who enters politics and unexpectedly becomes president when the people ahead of him in the line of succession die. (After the publication of The Man, the 25th Amendment was passed, giving the president the right to fill a vice-presidential vacancy.)  My father received death threats for suggesting such a possibility, and one evening a white man telephoned our house saying he was coming over to kill my father. He was headed off before he arrived.

 

On the night of the 2008 election, friends and family gathered at my house to watch the results. When it was announced that Barack Obama had won, many people (including me) were moved to tears. I was so proud of my father for having brought to the public attention the idea that a black citizen could become president at a time when such a concept was unheard of. My father had received death threats for creating a fictional black president and now, 18 years after my father’s death, the American people had elected an African-American president. I cannot even imagine my father’s emotions had he lived to see that day.

 

My father would have been pleased to learn that the spirit of The Man continues. For example, the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg is currently exhibiting the work of the Chilean-born artist Alfredo Jaar, who has stated that one of these works was inspired by The Man.

 

My father would also have enjoyed the fact that the Australian hip-hop duo Spit Syndicate named one of their albums, Sunday Gentlemen, after another of my father’s books: The Sunday Gentleman. My father had created that title because, as a struggling young (and middle-aged) writer, he wrote for others six days a week and then, on Sundays, he wrote what he wanted.

 

The first time I became aware that my father had missed something by dying was the introduction of bookstores with chairs, couches and food. He loved browsing in bookstores. The idea that he could have relaxed and grabbed a bite to eat while doing so would have thrilled him.

 

My father was interested in such a wide range of subjects that it’s hard to grasp. He compiled a personal library of 35,000 volumes, and few activities pleased him more than to burrow into his library, starting with one subject and then being led to another and another and another. Imagine if he had lived long enough to enjoy the Age of the Internet. It would have been more than a dream come true because he could not have dreamt it.

 

He was also obsessed with trying out the latest gadgets. He would have loved digital cameras that allow you to review your photos immediately without waiting for a lab to develop your film. And smartphones? My father collected small cameras. To have one always on hand that also serves as a telephone and a detailed map of the world and a notepad and more? Wow. Once smartphones became enabled with fast and reliable Internet service, he would have appreciated them (as I do now) as an encyclopedia in your pocket.

 

And speaking of “gadgets,” he would have bought or leased a Tesla. An American-made luxury electric car: what could be better?

 

One more development my father would have enjoyed enormously: Woody Allen’s film Midnight in Paris.

 

Of course, had he lived to 100, my father would have experienced some sad events, most notably the death of his wife, Sylvia; his sister, Esther; and the premature death of his beloved daughter, Amy.

 

But he would have also delighted in watching his grandsons, Elijah and Aaron, grow up. He would have attended their soccer matches and he would have been greatly pleased to learn that they inherited his love of gadgets and technological advancements. It would have brought him joy to see that my wife, Flora, and I decided to raise them for part of their childhoods in France.

 

At the time that we moved to France, we had no idea that he had wanted to raise me there. After my mother died in 2006, I discovered two boxes of correspondence between her and my father. When I was 17 months old, my father was working in Paris, and he sent my mother, back in California, a series of letters trying to convince her (unsuccessfully) to move to Paris. He even sent her newspaper ads for an English-language diaper service.

 

I said that I wouldn’t deal with my father’s achievements, but when I think of my father's legacy, I think of a quotation from the final page of his novel The Prize, the last line of which appears on his grave marker:

 

“All man's honors are small beside the greatest prize to which he may and must aspire—the finding of his soul, his spirit, his divine strength and worth—the knowledge that he can and must live in freedom and dignity—the final realization that life is not a daily dying, not a pointless end, not ashes-to-ashes and dust-to-dust, but a soaring and blinding gift snatched from eternity.”

 

David Wallechinsky

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Comments

Steve Straehley 8 years ago
Thanks for posting that, David. I think I'd told you that The Man holds a special place in my heart. To think that years after I encountered that great author I'd become acquainted with his son still amazes me. I wish I could have met your dad. Take care.
Larry Becker 8 years ago
David-Many wonderful Wallace memories! APBA Baseball, Wiffle ball in the backyard, Irving in his office at his typewriter writing books and tv scripts, and meeting Fess Parker (Davey Crockett) with Sylvia. Those were the good old days!
Yvette LeWinter 8 years ago
Heartwarming, David! I also think of my Dad and how he would have loved all the new technology. He was always first to indulge in latest gadgets. Thanks for sharing! Much love, Yvette
Danny Biederman 8 years ago
David-- Thoroughly enjoyed this loving essay about your father on what would have been his 100th birthday. Reading this and seeing his face brings me back to all those wonderful years past. Indeed, had he lived to today, there is so much that he would have enjoyed...and certainly been proud of your family and all you've continued to accomplish. I miss him so much, as I do Amy, Sylvia, my mom and dad. We are simply fortunate to have known and loved them all. Happy birthday, dear Irving. Forever in our hearts.
Katherine mader 8 years ago
I remember sitting several times alone with your dad when I was a teenager at the Brentwood Country Mart. He always was kind to me and offered thoughtful words of encouragement. A real mensch like his son. I had no recollection he was only 74 when he died. It seems so young. Thank you for the essay.
Steve Dworman 8 years ago
David, I so enjoyed this and hearing it all through your vision and words. He was a great great soul. Always warm with a big smile and I so loved coming over and visiting and looking at the amazing books. with love, Steve
Corby Baumgarten 8 years ago
Such a beautiful tribute and remembrance. My heart breaks, once again, because Skip is not here to read your words and join you in mourning the loss of Irving, Sylvia, and your (and his) beloved Amy. He would have taken such joy in AllGov and knowing the fine young men your sons have become. Much love from us all. Corby
Walter Anderson 8 years ago
Dear David: One of my most prized possessions is the copy of The Man that your Dad gave me. He remains one of the truly honorable and generous people I have known. I loved your piece, would not have edited a word. But know this: Irving Wallace would have been even more proud of the fine and decent man his son has become.
Saunie 8 years ago
David, this is lovely. I remember Irving so well--his "largesse" in intelligence, humour, compassion, and joie de vivre. I remember too sitting with him and dearest Amy; they were so beautiful to watch, and a model for me of how loving a father and daughter could be together. Thank you David and Happy 100th Birthday Irving! Clearly his energy surrounds and inspires many.
Wally Tienken 8 years ago
David, My father passed in 1988, and would have loved many of the things that you mentioned. He too would have been awed by the information available via Google. My mother, the ex WWII Marine is now living with us and we try and grasp all that has changed in the world for her. Thanks for a great read. Wally

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