Thomas Kiernan (January 13, 1933 – December 22, 2003) was an American writer who specialized in

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

. Kiernan was the author of a vast assortment of biographies that featured celebrities, literary luminaries, scientists, sports stars, psychologists, and political figures and their associates. He wrote biographies of

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, activist, and former fashion model. Recognized as a film icon, Fonda is the recipient of various accolades including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, sev ...

John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...

, and

Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...

Biography

Born in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

and attended

Newark Academy Newark Academy is a coeducational private day school located in Livingston, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in sixth through twelfth grades. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Col ...

. Kiernan earned his bachelor of arts degree in 1956from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...

. He served in the United States military from 1956 to 1958, when he began graduate studies in philosophy. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was the highly acclaimed biographer of such diverse notables as

Yaser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...

Sir Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage ...

and

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a (né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two ...

. He was a personal acquaintance and occasional tennis partner of

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...

, the subject of his biography, ''Citizen Murdoch''.

Awards

In 1976 he won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for his book ''The Arabs'', a comprehensive study of the Arab world. In researching this book, he traveled extensively throughout the Middle East to interview scores of prominent Arab spokesmen, including Yasir Arafat.

Break in

According to an article in ''

The 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 ...

'' dated November 27, 1975, a completed manuscript of a biography on

Bebe Rebozo Charles Gregory "Bebe" (pronounced ) Rebozo (November 17, 1912 – May 8, 1998) was an American Florida-based banker and businessman who was a friend and confidant of President Richard Nixon. Early life The youngest of 12 children (he ...

, an associate of

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

's, that was scheduled to be published by Farrar,’ Straus & Giroux was stolen from the home of Thomas Kiernan. In addition to Rebozo's biography "several tape recordings of interviews and several research files, including one file containing all of Mr. Kiernan's book contracts and another containing all his royalty statements, were taken." Other news coverage at the time pointed out at the time that "thieves ignored" jewelry and other items of value.

Death

He died at his home in

Peapack-Gladstone, New Jersey Peapack-Gladstone (also written as Peapack and Gladstone) is a borough in Somerset County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the borough's population was 2,582,1933 births 2003 deaths American biographers Newark Academy alumnix People from Orange, New Jersey People from Peapack-Gladstone, New Jersey University of Notre Dame alumni Writers from Jersey City, New Jersey 20th-century American writers