Andrew Heiskell

Andrew Heiskell
Looking west across West 20th St at Heiskell Library for the Blind on a cloudy morning. ZIP 10011.
President of the Inter American Press Association
In office 1961–1962
Personal details
Born	(1915-09-13)September 13, 1915 Naples, Italy
Died	July 6, 2003(2003-07-06) (aged 87) Darien, Connecticut, U.S.
Signature

Andrew Heiskell (September 13, 1915 – July 6, 2003) was chairman and CEO of Time Inc. (1960–1980), and also known for his philanthropy, for organizations including the New York Public Library.^[1][2] He was president of the Inter American Press Association (1961–1962) and president of the Harvard University board of overseers.

Biography

Heiskell was born in Naples, the second child of American parents, Ann Moore Hubbard and Morgan Ott Heiskell. His father was an artist and photographer whose work appeared in National Geographic.^[2][3] His parents had married in Wheeling, West Virginia and then moved to Capri, where they became part of a bohemian set, including the writer Compton Mackenzie, with whom his mother was rumored to have had an affair.^[3] After his parents split up, he spent his childhood abroad with his mother and sister.

In 1946, aged just 30, he was named publisher of Life; in 1972, as chairman and CEO of Time, Inc., he had to close it down.^[1] In 1974 he created People, which rapidly became a great asset.^[1]

The Institute of International Education's Andrew Heiskell Award is named for him, as it the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library branch of NYPL. Heiskell donated funds to pay for the Arts Director position at the American Academy in Rome.^[4]

One of his major achievements as a civic leader was the revitalization of New York's Bryant Park,^[5] which he undertook after time as chair of the New York Public Library.^[2] He was for ten years an overseer of Harvard University, after attending Harvard Business School without ever earning an undergraduate degree.^[6]

Personal life

Noted for his charm and height (he was 6'5"),^[7] Heiskell was married three times. His first wife was Cornelia Scott, and they had two children, Diane and Peter.^[2] His second wife was the Hollywood actress Madeleine Carroll, with whom he had a daughter, Anne Madeleine.^[2] In 1965, he married Marian Sulzberger Dryfoos, the widow of New York Times publisher Orvil Dryfoos.^[2]

Books

• Andrew Heiskell with Ralph Graves (1997), Outsider, Insider: An Unlikely Success Story, Marian-Darien Press, ISBN 0-9668271-0-4

References

1. Institute of International Education, 7 May 2003, Andrew Heiskell, a Former Chairman of Time Inc. and a Civic Leader, Dies at 87^[usurped]
2. Kaufman, Michael T. (July 7, 2003). "Andrew Heiskell, 87, a Former Chairman of Time Inc. and a Civic Leader, Dies". The New York Times.
3. "Interview". Notable New Yorkers. Columbia University. p. 21. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
4. "Creative Writing Program Director Karl Kirchwey to Serve as Andrew Heiskell Arts Director at the American Academy in Rome". Bryn Mawr. April 27, 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-06-09. Retrieved 2010-10-15. In 2003 Kirchwey received Bryn Mawr's Rosalyn R. Schwartz Teaching Award.
5. "About Us". Bryant Park. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
6. "Former Corporation Member Dies". Harvard Crimson. Harvard University. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
7. "Andrew Heiskell". Notable New Yorker. Columbia University. Retrieved January 30, 2023.

External links

• 1987 Columbia University Oral History Research Office interview
• 2003 NY Times obituary
• Harvard Crimson obituary
• Variety obituary