Shana Alexander
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Shana Alexander (October 6, 1925 – June 23, 2005) was an American
journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
. Although she became the first woman staff writer and columnist for ''
Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
'' magazine, she was best known for her participation in the "Point-Counterpoint" debate segments of ''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
'', in the late 1970s, with conservative James J. Kilpatrick.


Early life and journalism career

Alexander was born Shana Ager on October 6, 1925 in New York City, the daughter of columnist
Cecelia Ager Cecelia Ager ( Rubinstein; January 23, 1902 – April 3, 1981) was an American film critic and star reporter for ''Variety'' and the ''New York Times Magazine''. Life and career Ager was born Cecelia Rubenstein in Grass Valley, California, a mi ...
(née Rubenstein) and
Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...
composer
Milton Ager Milton Ager (October 6, 1893 – May 6, 1979) was an American composer, regarded as one of the top songwriters of the 1920s and 1930s. His most lasting compositions include " Ain't She Sweet?” and “ Happy Days Are Here Again”. Biography ...
, who composed the song "
Happy Days Are Here Again "Happy Days Are Here Again" is a 1929 song with music by Milton Ager and lyrics by Jack Yellen. The song is a standard that has been interpreted by various artists. It appeared in the 1930 film '' Chasing Rainbows'' and was the campaign song for ...
".Profile
Legacy.utsandiego.com; accessed November 30, 2015.
She inspired his famous song "
Ain't She Sweet "Ain't She Sweet" is a song composed by Milton Ager, with lyrics by Jack Yellen. It was published in 1927 by Ager, Yellen & Bornstein, Inc. It became popular in the first half of the 20th century and typified the Roaring Twenties. Like ''Happy ...
." Her family was Jewish. Alexander graduated from
Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...
in 1945,Google News
/ref> majoring in
anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
. She fell into writing when she took a summer job as a copy clerk at the
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
newspaper '' PM'', where her mother worked. She worked as a freelance writer for ''Junior Bazaar'' and '' Mademoiselle'' magazines before becoming a researcher at ''
Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
'' magazine for $65 a week in 1951. During the 1960s she wrote "The Feminine Eye" column for ''Life''. In 1962 she wrote an article for ''Life'' entitled "They Decide Who Lives, Who Dies: Medical miracle puts moral burden on small committee," which sparked a national debate on the allocation of scarce
dialysis machine In chemistry, dialysis is the process of separating molecules in solution by the difference in their rates of diffusion through a semipermeable membrane, such as dialysis tubing. Dialysis is a common laboratory technique that operates on the sam ...
resources. Another ''Life'' article, about a suicide-hotline worker's efforts to keep a caller from killing herself, was turned into the 1965 film, ''
The Slender Thread ''The Slender Thread'' is a 1965 American drama film starring Anne Bancroft and Sidney Poitier. It was the first feature-length film directed by future Oscar-winning director, producer and actor Sydney Pollack. Poitier portrays Alan, a college ...
''.


''60 Minutes'' and later career

In 1969 she became the first female editor at ''
McCall's ''McCall's'' was a monthly American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. It was established as a small-f ...
'' since 1921, but quit in 1971, complaining that it was a token job in a sexist environment. She was writing a column for ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' in 1975 when she replaced
Nicholas von Hoffman Nicholas von Hoffman (October 16, 1929 – February 1, 2018) was an American journalist and author. He first worked as a community organizer for Saul Alinsky in Chicago for ten years from 1953 to 1963. Later, Von Hoffman wrote for ''The Washingt ...
on ''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
'', and debated Kilpatrick for the next four years. She played down this part of her career, commenting in 1979 that prior to that she "had been a writer, a columnist for ''Life'' magazine and for ''Newsweek'' -- that was about as high as you could get in column writing. I care about my writing. I'm not a quack-quack TV journalist." Still, the debates Alexander had with Kilpatrick were so prominent in American culture that they were famously satirized on ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'', with
Jane Curtin Jane Therese Curtin (born September 6, 1947) is an American actress and comedian. First coming to prominence as an original cast member on the hit TV comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' in 1975, she went on to win back-to-back Emmy Awards for ...
taking Alexander's role on the “
Weekend Update ''Weekend Update'' is a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch and satirical news program that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest-running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typic ...
" segment opposite
Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...
's version of Kilpatrick, arguing two sides of a topic in the news. Aykroyd opened his segment with the now-infamous line, "Jane, you ignorant slut." She also wrote a number of non-fiction books, including ''Anyone's Daughter'', a biography of kidnapped heiress
Patricia Hearst Patricia is a female given name of Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word '' patrician'', meaning "noble"; it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick. The name Patricia was the second most common female name in the United S ...
. Her book ''Nutcracker'', about Frances Schreuder, the convicted socialite who persuaded her son to kill her millionaire father, was made into a 1987 TV miniseries. Schreuder was played by actress
Lee Remick Lee Ann Remick (December 14, 1935 – July 2, 1991) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film '' Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962), and for the 1966 Tony Award for Best Actress in ...
.


Personal life

Alexander married and divorced twice. Her first marriage, at age 19, was over quickly. Her second, to Stephen Alexander, lasted 12 years, though Shana described it as "unhappy.". In February 1987, her only daughter, 25-year-old Katherine Alexander, committed suicide. She jumped 31 stories to her death from the Park Avenue high-rise where she lived with her mother in New York. As a child, after her parents divorced, Katherine had chosen to live with Stephen Alexander and his wife.


Death

Shana Alexander died of cancer in an assisted living facility in
Hermosa Beach, California Hermosa Beach (''Hermosa'', Spanish language, Spanish for "Beautiful") is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California, United States. Its population was 19,728 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census. The c ...
, on June 23, 2005. She was 79 and had lived in Manhattan and
Wainscott, New York Wainscott is a census-designated place (CDP) that roughly corresponds to the hamlet with the same name in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2010 United States Cen ...
, for many years. Alexander was survived by a sister, Laurel Bentley,Obituary
''The Los Angeles Times'', June 24, 2005; accessed November 30, 2015.
and a niece.


Books

* ''Talking Woman'' (1976) * ''Anyone's Daughter'' (1979) * '' Happy Days: My Mother, My Father, My Sister & Me'' (1995), autobiography * ''Very Much a Lady: The Untold Story of Jean Harris and Dr. Herman Tarnower'',
Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...
, Best Fact Crime book, (1983) * ''When She Was Bad'' (1991) * ''Nutcracker'' (1985) * ''The Astonishing Elephant'' (2000) * ''The Pizza Connection: Lawyers, Money, Drugs, Mafia'' (1988)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Shana 1925 births 2005 deaths American women columnists Jewish American writers American magazine editors Edgar Award winners People from Long Island People from Manhattan Vassar College alumni Deaths from cancer in California Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery 60 Minutes correspondents Women mystery writers Journalists from New York City Jewish American journalists Women magazine editors American women television journalists 20th-century American women 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women