Leon Hale (May 30, 1921March 27, 2021) was an American journalist and author. He worked as a columnist for the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...

'' from 1984 until his retirement in 2014. Before that, he had a column in the ''

Houston Post The ''Houston Post'' was a newspaper that had its headquarters in Houston, Texas, United States. In 1995, the newspaper shut down, and its assets were purchased by the ''Houston Chronicle''. History Gail Borden Johnson founded the ''Houston P ...

'' for 32 years. He was also the author of twelve books.

Early life

Carol Leon Hale was born in

Stephenville, Texas Stephenville is a city in and the county seat of Erath County, Texas, United States. It sits on the North Bosque River, which rises nearby. Founded in 1854, it is home to Tarleton State University. Located in north-central Texas, Stephenville' ...

, on May 30, 1921. He was named after his mother, Leona; his father, Fred, worked as a travelling salesman who sold a machine that sealed

parcels Parcel may refer to: * Parcel (consignment), an individual consignment of cargo for shipment * Parcel (package), sent through the mail or package delivery * ''Bilu Rakkhosh'' or ''Parcel'', a 2019 Indian Bengali-language film * ''The Parcel'', a ...

. Hale's family moved frequently during his childhood because of his father's employment, relocating to

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

when he was seven years old before leaving for

Eastland SS ''Eastland'' was a passenger ship based in Chicago and used for tours. On 24 July 1915, the ship capsized while tied to a dock in the Chicago River. In total, 844 passengers and crew were killed in what was the largest loss of life from a s ...

during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. He suffered from

polyostotic fibrous dysplasia Polyostotic fibrous dysplasia is a form of fibrous dysplasia affecting more than one bone. Fibrous dysplasia is a disorder where bone is replaced by fibrous tissue, leading to weak bones, uneven growth, and deformity. McCune–Albright syndrome ...

that caused his face to be deformed. He attended Eastland High School, graduating in 1939. Hale went on to study at

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

. He wrote for its student newspaper, ''

The Toreador ''The Toreador'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts by James T. Tanner and Harry Nicholls (comedian), Harry Nicholls, with lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank and music by Ivan Caryll and Lionel Monckton. It opened at the Gaiety ...

'', authoring essays,

columns A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

, and

opinion piece An opinion piece is an article, usually published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about a subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals. Editorials Opinion pieces may take the form of an editorial, ...

s. One of his instructors there, Alan Stroud, extolled Hale's writings but gave him D grades due to his poor spelling. An avid reader of the

Horatio Hornblower Horatio Hornblower is a fictional officer in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, the protagonist of a series of novels and stories by C. S. Forester. He later became the subject of films and radio and television programmes, and ...

novels, Hale attempted to join the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

and later the

Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. However, he was rejected due to

high blood pressure Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms itself. It is, however, a major ri ...

and the anomalous placement of his eye. He eventually enlisted into the

US Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

; his 1941 training stint in

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

marked the first time he left his home state. He subsequently fought as a combat gunner in the

European theatre The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II, taking place from September 1939 to May 1945. The Allied powers (including the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union and Franc ...

, where he flew 50 combat missions. Hale played down his military career, claiming that he never "fir da shot at an enemy plane or g tas much as a skinned finger". He later recounted how a

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

once hit his plane; although it did not explode, it left a gaping hole in the wing. Upon his return from military service in 1945, Hale went back to Texas Tech and obtained a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in journalism the following year. A position at the ''

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal ''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal'' is a newspaper based in Lubbock, Texas, United States. It is owned by Gannett. History ''The Lubbock Avalanche'' was founded in 1900 by John James Dillard and Thad Tubbs. According to Dillard, the name "Avalanche" ...

'' was extended to him, but he declined due to the $20-a-week salary. His father then advised him to leave Abilene, where their family had moved to, worrying that Hale "might get stuck" if he remained. Hale consequently relocated to

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

in 1947.

Career

Hale secured a job at the ''

'' in 1952. He thrived in this work environment, with his colleagues observing how he was a writer who rarely required revision. He also published his first novel, ''Bonney's Place'', in 1972. It gained a

cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...

, and the

film rights Film rights are rights under copyright law to produce a film as a derivative work of a given item of intellectual property. In US law, these rights belong to the holder of the copyright, who may sell (or " option") them to someone in the film indus ...

changed hands six times. Even though four

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

s were drafted, no movie had been produced by the time of Hale's death. Hale published an

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

of his selected works for the ''Post'' in 1983, appropriately titled ''Easy Going''. Although he was attracted to revise his columns, he ultimately opted not to. He worked at the paper until mid-1984 when he was offered a place at the ''

''. He proceeded to author a

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

in the form of a story titled ''Paper Hero'' (1986), in which he discussed how his personal life influenced his work. Hale was a member of the

Texas Institute of Letters The Texas Institute of Letters is a non-profit Honor Society founded by William Harvey Vann in 1936 to celebrate Texas literature and to recognize distinctive literary achievement. The TIL’s elected membership consists of the state’s most resp ...

, a literary group in

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

, which recognized the writer with the Lon Tinkle Award for Excellence Sustained Throughout a Career. He also won awards for fiction and non-fiction from the Headliners Foundation,

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

, and the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

. Hale retired in 2014 after 65 years of writing. He opined how he had "stayed at the party long enough. Maybe even a little too long." Despite his retirement, he continued to write short blog entries weekly for the ''Chronicle''. His twelfth and final book, ''See You Down the Road'', was published in March 2021, shortly before his death.

Personal life

Hale's first two marriages ended in divorce. He met his third wife, Babette Fraser, in 1981. They resided in Houston and Winedale, Texas, and remained married until his death. Hale died on March 27, 2021, at the age of 99.

Books

Hale was also the author of the following twelve books: *''Turn South at the Second Bridge'' (1965) *''Bonney's Place'' (1972) *''Addison'' (1978) *''A Smile from Katie Hattan'' (1982) *''Easy Going'' (1983) *''One Man's Christmas'' (1984) *''Paper Hero'' (1986) *''Texas Chronicles'' (1989) *''Home Spun'' (1997) *''Supper Time'' (1999) *''Old Friends: A Collection'' (2004) *''See You On Down the Road, A Retirement Journal (2021)

References

External links

* Hale, Leon and Gabrielle Hale
Leon Hale Oral History
Houston Oral History Project, November 29, 2007. * Hale, Leon
Leon Hale: A blog featuring Houston Chronicle columnist Leon Hale.
* Hale, Leon
Leon Hale, Author: A Facebook page by Leon Hale and his fans.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hale, Leon 1921 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American journalists American male journalists 21st-century American journalists Houston Chronicle people Houston Post people Military personnel from Texas People from Stephenville, Texas Texas Tech University alumni United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Writers from Texas United States Army Air Forces soldiers