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Mitchell David Albom (born May 23, 1958) is an American author, journalist, and musician. His books have sold over 40 million copies worldwide. Having achieved national recognition for sports writing in his early career, he turned to writing the inspirational stories and themes that weave through his books, plays, and films. Albom lives with his wife Janine Sabino in
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
.


Early life

Albom was born on May 23, 1958, to a
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family in Passaic, New Jersey. He lived in
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
for a little while until his family settled in
Oaklyn, New Jersey Oaklyn is a borough in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 3,930, a decrease of 108 (−2.7%) from the 2010 census count of 4,038, which in turn reflected a decline ...
, just outside of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. He grew up in a small, middle-class neighborhood which most people never left. Albom was once quoted as saying that his parents were very supportive, and always used to say, "Don't expect your life to finish here. There's a big world out there. Go out and see it." His older sister, younger brother and he himself all took that message to heart and traveled extensively. His siblings are currently settled in Europe.


Columnist

While living in New York, Albom developed an interest in journalism. Still supporting himself by working nights in the music industry, he began to write during the day for the ''
Queens Tribune The ''Queens Tribune'' was a free weekly newspaper founded as the monthly ''Flushing Tribune'' in February 1970 by Gary Ackerman. The ''Tribune'' was a member of the New York Press Association. From 1989 to 2002, the paper was owned by News Comm ...
'', a weekly newspaper in
Flushing, New York Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the i ...
. His work there helped earn him entry into the
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism s ...
. To help pay his tuition he took work as a babysitter. In addition to nighttime piano playing, Albom took a part-time job with ''
SPORT Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...
'' magazine. Upon graduation, he freelanced as a sportswriter for ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'', ''
GEO Geo- is a prefix derived from the Greek word ''γη'' or ''γαια'', meaning "earth", usually in the sense of "ground or land”. GEO or Geo may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''GEO'' (magazine), a popular scientific magazine ...
'', and ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
'', and covered Olympic sports events in Europe including track and field and luge paying his own way for travel, and selling articles once he was there. In 1983, he was hired as a full-time feature writer for '' The Fort Lauderdale News and Sun Sentinel'', and eventually promoted to columnist. In 1985, having won that year's
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
Sports Editors award for best Sports News Story, Albom was hired as lead sports columnist for the ''
Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...
'' to replace
Mike Downey Mike Downey (born August 9, 1951 in Chicago Heights, Illinois, and raised in the nearby village of Steger, Illinois) is a retired American newspaper columnist. From 2003 to 2008, Downey wrote the "In the Wake of the News" column for the ''Chica ...
, a popular columnist who had taken a job with the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
''. Albom's sports column quickly became popular. In 1989, when the ''Detroit Free Press'' and the ''Detroit News'' merged weekend publications, Albom was asked to add a weekly non-sports column to his duties. That column ran on Sundays in the "Comment" section and dealt with American life and values. It was eventually syndicated across the country. Both columns continue in the ''Detroit Free Press.'' During his years in Detroit, he became one of the most awarded sports writers of his era. He was named best sports columnist in the nation a record 13 times by the Associated Press Sports Editors and won best feature writing honors from the AP a record seven times. No other writer has received the award more than once. He has won more than 200 other writing honors from organizations including the National Headliner Awards, the
American Society of Newspaper Editors The American Society of News Editors (ASNE) was a membership organization for editors, producers or directors in charge of journalistic organizations or departments, deans or faculty at university journalism schools, and leaders and faculty of ...
, the
National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association The National Sports Media Association (NSMA), formerly the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, is an organization of sports media members in the United States, and constitutes the American chapter of the International Sports P ...
, and
National Association of Black Journalists The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is an organization of African-American journalists, students, and media professionals. Founded in 1975 in Washington, D.C., by 44 journalists, the NABJ's stated purpose is to provide quality p ...
. On June 25, 2010, Albom was awarded the APSE's
Red Smith Award The Red Smith Award is awarded by the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) organization for outstanding contributions to sports journalism Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and ...
for lifetime achievement, presented at the annual APSE convention in Salt Lake City, Utah. The selection was heavily criticized by a number of Albom's peers, including fellow Red Smith Award winner Dave Kindred. In 2013, Albom was inducted into the
National Sports Media Association The National Sports Media Association (NSMA), formerly the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, is an organization of sports media members in the United States, and constitutes the American chapter of the International Sports P ...
(formerly the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association) Hall of Fame and his induction into the
Michigan Sports Hall of Fame The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame to honor Michigan sports athletes, coaches and contributors. It was organized in 1954 by Michigan Lieutenant Governor Philip Hart, Michigan State University athletic director Biggie Munn, presid ...
was announced May 2017. Many of his columns have been collected into anthology books including ''Live Albom I'' (Detroit Free Press, 1988), ''Live Albom II'' (Detroit Free Press, 1990), ''Live Albom III'' (Detroit Free Press, 1992), and ''Live Albom IV'' (Detroit Free Press, 1995). Albom also serves as a contributing editor to ''Parade'' magazine. His column is syndicated by
Tribune Content Agency Tribune Content Agency (TCA) is a syndication company owned by Tribune Publishing. TCA had previously been known as the Chicago Tribune Syndicate, the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (CTNYNS), Tribune Company Syndicate, and Tribune Media S ...
.


Fabrication scandal

In 2005, Albom and four editors were briefly suspended from the ''Detroit Free Press'' after Albom wrote a column that stated that two college basketball players were in the crowd at an NCAA tournament game when in fact they were not. In a column printed in the April 3, 2005, edition, Albom described two former Michigan State basketball players, both then in the NBA, attending an NCAA Final Four semifinal game on Saturday to cheer for their school. The players had told Albom they planned to attend, so Albom, filing on his normal Friday deadline but knowing the column could not come out until Sunday (after the game was over) wrote that the players were there. But the players' plans changed at the last minute and they did not attend the game. The ''Detroit Free Press'' also suspended the four editors who had read the column and allowed it to go to print. Albom was in attendance at the game, but the columnist failed to check on the two players' presence. A later internal investigation found no other similar instances in Albom's past columns, but did cite an editorial-wide problem of routinely using unattributed quotes from other sources. Carol Leigh Hutton, publisher of the ''Detroit Free Press'' at the time of the scandal, later told Buzzfeed that she regretted the way it was handled. "It was a stupid mistake that Mitch made that others failed to catch but not at all indicative of some problem that required the response we gave it. I allowed myself to believe that we were doing this highly credible, highly transparent thing, when really in hindsight what I think we were doing was acquiescing to people who were taking advantage of a stupid mistake."


Author


Sports books

Albom's first non-anthology book was ''Bo: Life, Laughs, and the Lessons of a College Football Legend'' (Warner Books), an autobiography of football coach Bo Schembechler co-written with the coach. The book was published in August 1989 and became Albom's first ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' bestseller. Albom's next book was ''Fab Five: Basketball, Trash Talk, The American Dream'', a look into the starters on the University of Michigan men's basketball team that reached the
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
championship game as freshmen in 1992 and again as sophomores in 1993. The book was published in November 1993 and also became a ''New York Times'' bestseller.


''Tuesdays with Morrie''

Albom's breakthrough book came about after he was rotating the TV channels and viewed
Morrie Schwartz Morris S. "Morrie" Schwartz (December 20, 1916 – November 4, 1995)Ted Koppel Edward James Martin Koppel (born February 8, 1940) is a British-born American broadcast journalist, best known as the anchor for ''Nightline'', from the program's inception in 1980 until 2005. Before ''Nightline'', he spent 20 years as a broadc ...
on ABC News '' Nightline'' in 1995, in which Schwartz, a sociology professor, spoke about living and dying with a terminal disease, ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease). Albom, who was close to Schwartz during his college years at
Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...
, felt guilty about not keeping in touch so he reconnected with his former professor, visiting him in suburban Boston and eventually coming every Tuesday for discussions about life and death. Albom, seeking a way to pay for Schwartz's medical bills, sought out a publisher for a book about their visits. Although rejected by numerous publishing houses, Doubleday accepted the idea shortly before Schwartz's death as Albom was able to fulfill his wish to pay Schwartz's bills. ''Tuesdays with Morrie'', which chronicled Albom's time spent with his professor, was published in 1997. The initial printing was 20,000 copies. As word of mouth grew, the book sales slowly increased and landed the book a brief appearance on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', nudging the book onto the ''New York Times'' bestseller's list in October 1997. It steadily climbed, reaching the number-one position six months later. It remained on the New York Times bestseller list for 205 weeks. One of the top selling memoirs of all time, ''Tuesdays With Morrie'' has sold over 20 million copies and has been translated into 45 languages. Oprah Winfrey produced a television movie adaptation by the same name for ABC, starring
Hank Azaria Henry Albert Azaria ( ; born April 25, 1964) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is known for voicing many characters in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), most notably Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, ...
as Albom and Jack Lemmon as Morrie. It was the most-watched TV movie of 1999 and won four Emmy Awards.


''The Five People You Meet in Heaven''

After the success of ''Tuesdays with Morrie'', Albom's follow-up was the fiction book ''
The Five People You Meet in Heaven ''The Five People You Meet In Heaven'' is a 2003 novel by Mitch Albom. It follows the life and death of a ride mechanic named Eddie (inspired by Albom's uncle) who is killed in an amusement park accident and sent to heaven, where he encounters fi ...
'' ( Hyperion Books) which he published in September 2003. Although released six years after ''Tuesdays With Morrie'', the book was a fast success and again launched Albom onto the ''New York Times'' best-seller list. ''The Five People You Meet in Heaven'' sold over 10 million copies in 38 territories and in 35 languages. In 2004, it became a television movie for
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
, starring
Jon Voight Jonathan Vincent Voight (; born December 29, 1938) is an American actor. He came to prominence in the late 1960s with his Academy Award–nominated performance as Joe Buck, a would-be gigolo, in ''Midnight Cowboy'' (1969). During the 1970s, h ...
,
Ellen Burstyn Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complicated women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Em ...
,
Michael Imperioli Michael Imperioli (born March 26, 1966) is an American actor, writer, and musician. He is best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti in the HBO crime drama ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), which earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Ou ...
, and Jeff Daniels. Directed by
Lloyd Kramer Lloyd Kramer is an American filmmaker known for directing made-for-TV films such as ''The Five People You Meet in Heaven''. Television filmography As director *''Nine'' (1992, documentary) *''ABC Afterschool Specials'' (1993, 1 episode, "Girlfrien ...
, the film was critically acclaimed and the most watched TV movie of the year, with 18.7 million viewers.


''For One More Day''

Albom's second novel, ''For One More Day'' (Hyperion), was published in 2006. The hardcover edition spent nine months on the New York Times Bestseller list after debuting at the top spot. It also reached No. 1 on the
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. It was the first book to be sold by Starbucks in the launch of the Book Break Program in the fall of 2006. It has been translated into 26 languages. On December 9, 2007, ABC television aired the 2-hour television event motion picture '' Oprah Winfrey Presents: Mitch Albom's For One More Day'', which starred
Michael Imperioli Michael Imperioli (born March 26, 1966) is an American actor, writer, and musician. He is best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti in the HBO crime drama ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), which earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Ou ...
and
Ellen Burstyn Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complicated women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Em ...
. Burstyn received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for her role as Posey Benetto. ''For One More Day'' is about a son who gets to spend a day with his mother, who died eight years earlier. Charley "Chick" Benetto is a retired baseball player who, facing the pain of unrealized dreams, alcoholism, divorce, and an estrangement from his grown daughter, returns to his childhood home and attempts suicide. There he meets his long dead mother, who welcomes him as if nothing ever happened. The book explores the question, "What would you do if you had one more day with someone you've lost?" Albom has said his relationship with his own mother was largely behind the story of that book, and that several incidents in ''For One More Day'' are actual events from his childhood.


''Have a Little Faith''

''Have a Little Faith'', Albom's first nonfiction book since ''Tuesdays With Morrie'', was released on September 29, 2009, through Hyperion publishing, and recounts Albom's experiences that led to him writing the eulogy for Albert L. Lewis, a Rabbi from his hometown in New Jersey. The book is written in the same vein as ''Tuesdays With Morrie'', in which the main character, Mitch, goes through several heartfelt conversations with the Rabbi in order to better know and understand the man that he would one day eulogize. Through this experience, Albom writes, his own sense of faith was reawakened, leading him to make contact with Henry Covington, the African-American pastor of the ''I Am My Brother's Keeper'' church, in Detroit, where Albom was then living. Covington, a past drug addict, dealer, and ex-convict, ministered to a congregation of largely homeless men and women in a church so poor that the roof leaked when it rained. From his relationships with these two very different men of faith, Albom writes about the difference faith can make in the world. On November 27, 2011, ABC aired the Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie based on the book.


''The Time Keeper''

This work focuses on the inventor of the world's first clock, who is punished for trying to measure God's greatest gift. He is banished to a cave for centuries and forced to listen to the voices of all who came after him seeking more days and years. Eventually, with his soul nearly broken, Father Time is granted his freedom, along with a magical hourglass and a mission: a chance to redeem himself by teaching two earthly people the true meaning of time. He returns to our world now dominated by the hour and commences a journey with two unlikely partners: a teenage girl who is about to give up on life and a wealthy old businessman who wants to live forever. To save himself, he must save them both.


''The First Phone Call from Heaven''

In 2013, Albom moved to a new publisher,
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News ...
, for the publication of his seventh book and fourth novel. In ''The First Phone Call From Heaven'', the small town of Coldwater, Michigan, is thrust into the international spotlight when its citizens suddenly start receiving phone calls from deceased loved ones. Is it the greatest miracle ever or a massive hoax? Sully Harding, a grief-stricken single father recently released from prison, is determined to find the truth. The town is fictional, and not the real Coldwater, Michigan, but Albom pays tribute to the real small town in the book's acknowledgements. ''The First Phone Call from Heaven'' received starred reviews from ''Publishers Weekly'' and ''Library Journal''.


''The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto''

In 2015, Albom's fifth novel, ''The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto'', was published by HarperCollins. His longest book at almost 400 pages, it chronicles the life and mysterious death of the fictional musician Frankie Presto, as narrated by the voice of Music. An orphan born in a burning church in Spain in 1936, Frankie is blessed with musical ability. At nine years old, Frankie is sent to America in the bottom of a boat. His only possession is an old guitar and six precious strings. His Forrest Gump-like journey takes him through the musical landscape of the 20th century, from classical to jazz to rock and roll super stardom, meeting and working with other greats like Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, Carole King, Little Richard, and even The Beatles. Real musicians, including Tony Bennett, Wynton Marsalis, Paul Stanley, Darlene Love, and Ingrid Michaelson, lent their names to first-person passages to the book. An original 17-song soundtrack for the book was released by Republic Records four days before the book's release. It featured original songs written and performed by Albom and other artists including Sawyer Fredericks, Mat Kearney, Ingrid Michaelson, John Pizzarelli, and James Brent, interpreting Frankie Presto's "greatest hits", along with such older favorites featured in the novel such as Tony Bennett's "Lost in the Stars" and Dionne Warwick's "A House is Not a Home."


''The Next Person You Meet in Heaven''

A sequel to ''
The Five People You Meet in Heaven ''The Five People You Meet In Heaven'' is a 2003 novel by Mitch Albom. It follows the life and death of a ride mechanic named Eddie (inspired by Albom's uncle) who is killed in an amusement park accident and sent to heaven, where he encounters fi ...
'', the novel tells the story of Eddie's heavenly reunion with Annie, the little girl he saved on earth in the first book. The story strongly emphasizes on how lives and losses intersect, and that not only does every life matter, but that every ending is also a new beginning. The book debuted at the top of the ''New York Times'' bestseller list.


''Finding Chika''

Albom's return to nonfiction for the first time in a decade. It is a memoir and a tribute to Chika, a young Haitian orphan who arrived at Albom's Have Faith Haiti Orphanage in
Port Au Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is defin ...
before being diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor and passing away two years later. An excerpt will be read by Albom on the new
Lit Hub Literary Hub is a daily literary website that launched in 2015 by Grove Atlantic president and publisher Morgan Entrekin, American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame editor Terry McDonell, and Electric Literature founder Andy Hunter. Cont ...
/Podglomerate Storybound (podcast), accompanied by an original score from musician Maiah Wynne.


''The Stranger in the Lifeboat''

Albom's seventh novel, ''The Stranger in the Lifeboat'' was published on November 2, 2021 in the US by Harper, and imprint of Harpercollins, and by Sphere, an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group in the UK. The book became a #1 ''New York Times'' bestseller in its first week of sales.


Radio host

Albom began on radio in 1987 on WLLZ-Detroit, a now-defunct Active Rock radio station. He worked on the station's morning program as a sports commentator, and started a Sunday night sports-talk program, ''The Sunday Sports Albom'' in 1988, believed to be one of the first sports talks shows to ever air on FM radio. In 1996, he moved to WJR, a powerful, clear-channel station in Detroit, where he broadcasts a five-day a week general
talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sh ...
with an emphasis on entertainment, writing, current events and culture. He has been honored by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters as the top afternoon talk show host, and was voted best talk show host in ''Detroit by Hour Detroit'' magazine. In 2001, the show was televised nationally in a simulcast by MSNBC. Albom continues to do the show from 5 to 7 p.m. ET. Following his Monday show, he hosts an hour-long sports talk show called, "The Monday Sports Albom".


Television

Albom appeared regularly on
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
's ''
The Sports Reporters ''The Sports Reporters'' was a sports talk show that aired on ESPN at 9:30 a.m. ET every Sunday morning (and replayed at 10:30 a.m. ET the same day on ESPN2 and 11:30 AM on ESPNews). It featured a roundtable discussion among four spor ...
'' (aired Sunday mornings from Studio A in Bristol, CT at ESPN Plaza at 9:00am EST) and regularly appears on '' SportsCenter''. He has also made appearances on '' Costas Now,
The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Produced ...
,
The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It ...
, CBS's
The Early Show ''The Early Show'' is an American morning television show that aired on CBS from November 1, 1999 to January 7, 2012, and the ninth attempt at a morning news-talk program by the network since 1954. The program aired Monday through Friday from ...
, ABC's Good Morning America, Dr. Phil'', ''
Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles ...
'', '' The View'', ''
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airing from January 3, 2005, to December 19, 2 ...
'', and appeared as a guest voice on ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'' on the episode '' Thursdays with Abie'' in 2010.


Playwright

On November 19, 2002, the stage version of ''Tuesdays with Morrie'' opened Off Broadway at the Minetta Lane Theatre. Co-authored by Mitch Albom and
Jeffrey Hatcher Jeffrey Hatcher is an American playwright and screenwriter. He wrote the stage play ''Compleat Female Stage Beauty'', which he later adapted into a screenplay, shortened to just ''Stage Beauty'' (2004). He also co-wrote the stage adaptation o ...
(''Three Viewings'') and directed by
David Esbjornson David Esbjornson is a director and producer who has worked throughout the United States in regional theatres and on Broadway, and has established strong and productive relationships with some of the profession's top playwrights, actors, and compan ...
(
The Goat or Who Is Sylvia? ''The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?'' is a full-length play written in 2000 by Edward Albee which opened on Broadway in 2002. It won the 2002 Tony Award for Best Play, the 2002 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, and was a finalist for the 2003 P ...
). ''Tuesdays with Morrie'' starred Alvin Epstein (original Lucky in '' Waiting for Godot'') as Morrie and Jon Tenney (''The Heiress'') as Mitch. His follow-up to the stage adaptation of ''Tuesdays'' were two original comedies that premiered at the
Purple Rose Theatre Company The Purple Rose Theatre Company is a Michigan not-for-profit theatre company founded in 1991 by Jeff Daniels in an old pizza parlor/garage in Chelsea. Its name comes from the 1985 film ''The Purple Rose of Cairo'', which starred Daniels and for ...
, in Chelsea, Michigan, a theater started by actor Jeff Daniels. ''Duck Hunter Shoots Angel'' (The Purple Rose's highest grossing play as of 2008) and ''And the Winner Is'' have both been produced nationwide, with the latter having its West Coast premiere at the Laguna Playhouse in
Laguna Beach, California Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a seaside resort city located in southern Orange County, California, in the United States. It is known for its mild year-round climate, scenic coves, environmental preservation efforts, and a ...
. The premiere of Albom's ''Ernie'', a play dedicated to the memory of famed
Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
broadcaster
Ernie Harwell William Earnest Harwell (January 25, 1918 – May 4, 2010) was an American sportscaster, known for his long career calling play-by-play of Major League Baseball games. For 55 seasons, 42 of them with the Detroit Tigers, Harwell called the actio ...
, occurred in April 2011 at the City Theatre in Detroit. In subsequent years the play travelled to theaters in Traverse City, East Lansing, and Grand Rapids. It has run for seven summer seasons as of 2017. In the summer of 2016, Albom debuted his first musical at the City Theatre with "Hockey The Musical!" A musical comedy with a book, original songs and parody lyrics written by Albom, "Hockey The Musical!" follows five characters who work to convince God to spare hockey after concluding that the world has too many sports and one should be eliminated. An opening night review in The Detroit Free Press describe an "audience roaring for most of the 90 minutes"


Musician

Albom is an accomplished songwriter, pianist and lyricist. In 1992, he wrote the song "Cookin' For Two" for a television movie, ''Christmas in Connecticut'', directed by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The song was nominated for The
CableACE Award The CableACE Award (earlier known as the ACE Awards; ACE was an acronym for "Award for Cable Excellence") is a defunct award that was given by what was then the National Cable Television Association from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in Am ...
. Albom has been featured on the cover of
Making Music Magazine ''Making Music'' magazine was founded in 2004 as a bimonthly lifestyle music magazine devoted to the recreational musician and all instruments and genres of music. The publication's tagline is "Better Living Through Recreational Music Making." T ...
. He also co-wrote the song "Hit Somebody (The Hockey Song)", which was recorded by singer/songwriter
Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician. Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", " Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Th ...
, with David Letterman on backup vocals. The song was released as a single in Canada and will be adapted into a film by director
Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film '' Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, ...
. He performed with the
Rock Bottom Remainders The Rock Bottom Remainders, also known as the Remainders, was an American rock charity supergroup, consisting of published writers, most of them both amateur musicians and popular English-language book, magazine, and newspaper authors. The band ...
, a band of writers that also featured Dave Barry, Stephen King,
Ridley Pearson Ridley Pearson (born March 13, 1953 in Glen Cove, New York) is an American author of suspense and thriller novels for adults, and adventure books for children. Some of his books have appeared on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. Literary ...
,
Amy Tan Amy Ruth Tan (born on February 19, 1952) is an American author known for the novel '' The Joy Luck Club,'' which was adapted into a film of the same name, as well as other novels, short story collections, and children's books. Tan has written ...
, Kathi Kamen Goldmark,
Sam Barry Justin McCarthy "Sam" Barry (December 17, 1892 – September 23, 1950) was an American collegiate coach who achieved significant accomplishments in three major sports - football, baseball, and basketball. He remains one of only three coaches to ...
and
Scott Turow Scott Frederick Turow (born April 12, 1949) is an American author and lawyer. Turow has written 13 fiction and three nonfiction books, which have been translated into more than 40 languages and sold more than 30 million copies. Turow’s novel ...
from 1995 until the band dissolved in 2012 with the death of founder Kathi Goldmark. Their performances raised funds for various children's literacy projects across the country. In July 2013, Albom co-authored ''
Hard Listening Hard may refer to: * Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture * Hard water, water with high mineral content Arts and entertainment * ''Hard'' (TV series), a French TV series * Hard (band), a Hungarian hard rock supe ...
'' (
Coliloquy Coliloquy is a digital publishing house based in San Francisco, which specializes in interactive fiction. Lisa Rutherford and Waynn Lue co-founded the startup in January 2012. Coliloquy has published books from over 40 authors, among them Stephe ...
, 2013) with the rest of the Rock Bottom Remainders. The ebook combines essays, fiction, musings, candid email exchanges, and conversations, compromising photographs, audio, and video clips, and interactive quizzes to give readers a view into the private lives of the authors.


Charity work

"The Dream Fund", established in 1989, provides a scholarship for disadvantaged children to study the arts. "A Time to Help", started in 1998, is a Detroit volunteer group. "S.A.Y. (Super All Year) Detroit" is an umbrella program that funds shelters and cares for the homeless. It is now a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that funds numerous homeless shelters throughout the Metro Detroit area. His most recent effort, A Hole in the Roof Foundation, helps faith groups of different denominations who care for the homeless repair the spaces they use. Their first project was the I Am My Brother's Keeper roof in the crumbling but vibrant Detroit church, completed in December 2009. The second project, completed in April 2010, was the rebuilding of the Caring and Sharing Mission and Orphanage, now called the Have Faith Haiti Mission & Orphanage, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Albom also directs the ''Have Faith Haiti Mission'', a project whose stated objective is "dedicated to the safety, education, health and spiritual development of Haiti's impoverished children and orphans", incorporating language lessons and Christian prayer.


Other

During the Detroit newspaper strike of 1995–1997, Albom crossed the picket line and returned to work. In 1999, Albom was named National Hospice Organization's Man of the Year. In 2000, at the
Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
, Albom was personally thanked by actor Jack Lemmon during his acceptance speech for his Emmy for Best Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries for ''Tuesdays With Morrie''. It would be Lemmon's last major acting role. In February 2003, Albom was called to testify at
Chris Webber Mayce Edward Christopher Webber III (born March 1, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player. Drafted number one overall by the Orlando Magic, though arguably best known and remembered as the star forward for the Sacramento Ki ...
's perjury trial. Webber had been a member of the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
's basketball teams of the early 1990s. He was a member of the "Fab Five" players, the subject of a book by Albom. Webber and three other Wolverines who played in the 1990s were alleged to have received over $290,000 in improper loans from a man considered to be a booster of the University of Michigan, although amounts were never verified. The four other Fab Five members were not implicated and the school was cleared of any direct involvement or knowledge of the loans, which were made to players and their families. On November 22, 2005, Albom was the sole and final guest on
Ted Koppel Edward James Martin Koppel (born February 8, 1940) is a British-born American broadcast journalist, best known as the anchor for ''Nightline'', from the program's inception in 1980 until 2005. Before ''Nightline'', he spent 20 years as a broadc ...
's farewell appearance on ABC's '' Nightline''. Koppel had gotten to know Albom through his broadcasts with Morrie Schwartz and the final program dealt with the legacy of those shows and Albom's book. On October 22, 2007, Albom appeared with former
New York Governor The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ha ...
Mario Cuomo Mario Matthew Cuomo (, ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party, Cuomo previously served as ...
and
Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...
in ''An Evening with Tony Bennett'' to honor the release of Bennett's ''Tony Bennett In The Studio: A Life of Art and Music'', for which Albom wrote the foreword. On May 30, 2017, Albom was one of eight new inductees announced for the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in Detroit. The ceremony took place on September 15, 2017.


Selected books

*''
Tuesdays with Morrie ''Tuesdays with Morrie'' is a memoir by American author Mitch Albom about a series of visits Albom made to his former sociology professor Morrie Schwartz, as Schwartz gradually dies of ALS. The book topped the ''New York Times'' Non-Fiction B ...
'' (1997) *''
The Five People You Meet in Heaven ''The Five People You Meet In Heaven'' is a 2003 novel by Mitch Albom. It follows the life and death of a ride mechanic named Eddie (inspired by Albom's uncle) who is killed in an amusement park accident and sent to heaven, where he encounters fi ...
'' (2003) *'' For One More Day'' (2006) *'' Have a Little Faith: A True Story'' (2009) , češtině Neztrácejte víru. Skutečný příběh (2011), překlad Tereza Kolesníková *''
The Time Keeper ''The Time Keeper'' is a work of inspirational fiction by author Mitch Albom. Synopsis Dor, the central character, invents the first clock. Punished for trying to measure time, Dor is banished to a cave for thousands of years. Dor becomes Fath ...
'' (September 2012) *''The First Phone Call from Heaven'' (November 2013) *''The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto'' (November 2015) *''The Next Person You Meet in Heaven'' (October 2018) *''Finding Chika'' (November 2019)


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Albom, Mitch 1958 births 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy alumni American columnists American memoirists American sports radio personalities American talk radio hosts Brandeis University alumni Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni Columbia Business School alumni Detroit Free Press people Living people People from Haddon Township, New Jersey People from Oaklyn, New Jersey Writers from Passaic, New Jersey Radio personalities from Detroit Red Smith Award recipients Rock Bottom Remainders members Sportswriters from Michigan American male novelists Writers from Detroit MSNBC people Jewish American writers Novelists from New Jersey Novelists from Michigan American male non-fiction writers Jewish American journalists 21st-century American male writers