Leo Lerman (May 23, 1914 – August 22, 1994) was an American writer and editor who worked for

Condé Nast Publications Condé is a French place name and personal name. It is ultimately derived from a Celtic word, "Condate", meaning "confluence" (of two rivers) - from which was derived the Romanised form "Condatum", in use during the Roman period, and thence to ...

for more than 50 years.Grimes, William (August 23, 1994). Leo Lerman, 80, Editor at Conde Nast Magazines. ''

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 ...

'' Lerman also wrote for the ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...

'', '' Harper's Bazaar'', ''

Dance Magazine ''Dance Magazine'' is an American trade publication for dance published by the Macfadden Communications Group. It was first published in June 1927 as ''The American Dancer''. ''Dance Magazine'' has multiple sister publications, including '' Poin ...

'', and ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' and was the editor of ''

Playbill ''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the show's ...

'' for decades.Gabriel, Trip (November 8, 1994). Leo Lerman Remembered for Buoyant Style, Wit and Elegance. ''

Life and career

Lerman was born in New York City, the son of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, Ida (née Goldwasser) and Samuel Lerman. He grew up in

East Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, F ...

and

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long Is ...

. As a child, he accompanied his house-painter grandfather and father on various jobs in upper-class homes.Amanda Fortini
"So, You Want To Be a Star? Leo Lerman's Gossipy Journals Offer Lessons on Fame"
''Slate'', July 2, 2007 He was openly gay. His partner was

Gray Foy Gray Foy (1922–2012) was a mid twentieth-century American artist who created a visionary body of drawings from 1941 to 1975. His drawings are generally divided into two phases. First, from 1941–48, the artist drew figurative Surrealist landsc ...

(1922-2012), who had a promising career as an artist, specializing in drawings, which was eventually eclipsed by his social life with Lerman: Foy's "Dimensions" was donated to the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, ...

in New York by actor

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominat ...

, Foy's friend."When Leo Lerman and Gray Foy Were Kings"
, by Brook S. Mason Selections from his journals, roughly 10 percent of the writings, were published in 2007 as ''The Grand Surprise: The Journals of Leo Lerman''.Schillinger, Liesl (April 22, 2007). Life of the Party. ''

'' Meant to be the source material for a novel he never wrote, the journals detail his social and business interactions with a remarkable number of famous and important people who passed through the New York arts scene from the 1940s to the '90s. Lerman died in New York City on August 22, 1994. He was 80.

Filmography

*'' The Troublemaker'' (1964) - Dirty Old Man

Bibliography

*Lerman, Leo (edited by Stephen Pascal). ''The Grand Surprise: The Journals of Leo Lerman.'' Knopf,

References

External links

Leo Lerman Papers
at the

Rare Book & Manuscript Library The Rare Book & Manuscript Library is principal repository for special collections of Columbia University. Located in New York City on the university's Morningside Heights campus, its collections span more than 4,000 years, from early Mesopot ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

Leo Lerman papers, 1911-1986 (bulk 1940-1960)
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

* 1914 births 1994 deaths American magazine editors American LGBT journalists American LGBT writers Writers from Manhattan Vanity Fair (magazine) editors 20th-century American writers 20th-century American journalists American male journalists Jewish American journalists LGBT Jews People from East Harlem People from Queens, New York 20th-century LGBT people {{US-journalist-1910s-stub