244:— warts and all. I accepted the offer though I didn't give a shit about her warts." Israel also claimed that Lauder repeatedly attempted to bribe her into dropping the project. In the book, Israel discredited Lauder's public statements that she was born into European aristocracy and attended church regularly in Palm Beach, Florida. In 1985, Lauder wrote an autobiography that her publisher timed to coincide with Israel's book. Israel's book was panned by critics and was a commercial failure. "I had made a mistake," Israel said of the episode. "Instead of taking a great deal of money from a woman rich as
225:“Despite Israel’s deceptive practices more than twelve years after finishing her 485-page Kilgallen book,” notes conspiracy theorist Mark Shaw, “there is no indication she fabricated any portion of the book. Some material is incomplete but reference notes at the end of the book appear credible. Ms. Israel's citations of old newspaper articles, magazine pieces and her quotations from numerous books, all check out. Unfortunately, this author was unable to speak with her before she died in 2014.”
280:, where he lived from 1956 until his death, in his native United Kingdom or in the United States might tamper with his mail. These researchers have noted that Israel never had Coward make an explicit reference to a sexual act. They believe the sheer abundance of letters being sold by Israel aroused suspicion among autograph collectors, dealers and used bookstore owners. Other researchers believe they became suspicious of paper with
260:. To make money, she began forging letters (estimated to total more than 400) of deceased writers and actors. Later, she began stealing actual letters and autographed papers of famous persons from libraries and archives, replacing them with forged copies she had made. She and an accomplice, Jack Hock, sold forged works and stolen originals. (Hock had been released from prison a short time earlier for the armed
222:, despite the prevalence of show business gossip in her newspaper column. Brown added that Israel's book “deserves to be ranked with serious biography just as its subject deserves to be ranked a serious journalist” despite the possibility that some “political movements would probably find even the mention of name a cause for hilarity.”
287:
Israel's memoir makes clear that her name suddenly became toxic among autograph collectors, dealers and used book merchants no matter exactly how they caught on. Moreover, she criticizes the guild of autograph brokers: before they became suspicious, they never required her to recite her prepared lies
327:
In June 1993, Israel pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to transport stolen property, for which she served six months under house arrest and five years of federal probation. Additionally, she was barred by almost all libraries and archives, ending any opportunity to resume her career as a
295:
Her criminal prosecution was set in motion not over the forgeries she was selling to collectors, but over the forgeries she was slipping into library and museum files to replace the genuine letters she was stealing. The forgeries she sold had not involved interstate commerce or great sums of money,
311:
In Israel's memoir, where she cites FBI documents from her case file, her story of her encounter with the FBI differs from the account by
Lowenherz. She describes her encounter with two FBI agents on a sidewalk outside a Manhattan delicatessen where she had waited for Jack Hock to meet her so they
319:
She immediately returned to her apartment and started to destroy all evidence of her crimes, discarding in public trash cans more than a dozen typewriters she had used to emulate the look of the famous writers' letters. By the time she was served with a federal warrant ordering her to save this
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When Israel exited the delicatessen, her memoir goes on to say, she was startled by a man's voice shouting "Lee!", and she noticed that another man "appeared to be with him". "The man in my face showed me a big star affixed to his wallet that glinted in the sunlight. The lunch-hour crowd milled
341:
Even after her exposure and sentencing, some of her forgeries were still being sold by reputable dealers as authentic—and at substantially greater prices than she had been paid for them. Some were even quoted in published books as if they were real. Israel later expressed pride in her criminal
307:
At this point, the FBI was called in and an investigation showed that Israel had stolen authentic letters, replacing them with forged copies, from several institutional collections. According to David
Lowenherz, Israel and Hock were arrested together by the FBI when they met at a bank to cash
316:
around us." She told them she needed to consult with her lawyer. The two agents on the sidewalk left without arresting her or telling her what was going to happen next. They did tell her that Jack Hock was in federal custody and he had requested that she never try to contact him again.
358:. Ironically, in a joke the reader will share, by purchasing her book we all participate in buying her that meal." Upon the publication of the memoir in 2008, Naomi Hample, a New York City bookstore owner who had purchased some of Israel's forged letters in 1992, was quoted by
312:
could count the cash from a sale he had made (she had caught him stealing when they had met at her home several weeks earlier). Israel claims Hock failed to show up at the delicatessen and she decided to return to her home in case he had gone there, instead.
275:
expert insisted that Coward would not have referenced his homosexual activities so enthusiastically in letters at a time when such behavior would be punished with a prison sentence. Researchers have doubted that Coward believed authorities in
248:, I published a bad, unimportant book, rushed out in months to beat to market." After this failure, Israel's career went into decline, compounded by alcoholism and a personality that some found difficult.
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watermarks. Some researchers suspect Israel's use of very ordinary (aged) paper raised an alarm because the sophisticated letter writers were likely to have owned the finest stationery.
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as saying, "I'm certainly not angry anymore, though it was an expensive and very large learning experience for me. And she's really an excellent writer. She made the letters terrific."
271:
It is unclear how her forgeries were detected, but in her memoir she indicates that her ability to sell letters ended abruptly and universally. She mentions in her memoir that a
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about how a letter came into her hands. Israel points out that their own code of conduct required all of them to be able to attest unquestioningly to a detailed account of the
354:'s decision to publish it, because she would profit from the sales. One reviewer wrote, "What this is is a hilarious memoir of a self-described miscreant and her pursuit of a
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926:"The Magical Kingdom of Firefly Hill : Arts: Celebrities came to Noel Coward's winter retreat for the Jamaican sunsets and for their host's wit and wisdom"
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obituary, she had lived alone and had no children. Regarding her family, she wrote in her memoir, "I had a brother with whom I had never had much in common."
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archives, it was then discovered that
Columbia's letter had been replaced by a forgery and Israel had signed the register for having examined that folder.
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on
September 1, 2018, and was theatrically released in the United States on October 19, 2018. For her portrayal of Israel, McCarthy was nominated for an
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magazine. Israel's magazine-writing career continued into the 1970s. In the 1970s and 1980s, she published biographies of the actress
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By 1991, Israel's career as a writer of books and magazine articles had ended. She had tried and failed to support herself with
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agents questioned Israel on a
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151:, New York, to a Jewish family. Her parents were Jack and Sylvia Israel; she also had a brother, Edward. She graduated from
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1186:"Can You Ever Forgive Me?' Review: Melissa McCarthy Gives Her Best Performance as a Forger Who Dreams of Fame — Telluride"
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and so were overlooked by the FBI and other law enforcement. But when autograph dealer David
Lowenherz learned that an
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evidence, it had already been destroyed. Israel also claims she was never arrested or handcuffed, instead receiving
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letter he had purchased from Israel's accomplice, Jack Hock, was supposed to be in the
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197:. The Kilgallen book was well received upon its publication in 1979, and appeared on
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for federal court dates, though
Lowenherz's account contradicts hers on this point.
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123:(December 3, 1939 – December 24, 2014) was an American author known for committing
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1246:"Fakes and fortunes: has the time come to forgive literary forger Lee Israel?"
1020:"Review: Can You Ever Forgive Me?: Memoirs of a Literary Forger by Lee Israel"
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of a taxicab driver). This continued for over a year until two undercover
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Israel began a career as a freelance writer in the 1960s. Her profile of
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590:"Lee Israel, a Writer Proudest of Her Literary Forgeries, Dies at 75"
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526:"Can You Ever Forgive Me? vs the True Story of Lee Israel's Letters"
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to begin a project on Estee Lauder, "about whom
Macmillan wanted an
175:, whom Israel had visited in California shortly before the death of
1130:"Melissa McCarthy to Play Novelist and Literary Forger Lee Israel"
245:
1214:"Movie of the Week October 19, 2018: Can You Ever Forgive Me"
1074:"Steal Alice: Julianne Moore to play celebrity letter forger"
372:
Lee Israel died in New York City on
December 24, 2014, from
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in 1979 that
Kilgallen had expressed much curiosity about
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Lee Israel research notes, Billy Rose Theatre Division,
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In April 2015, it was announced that a film version of
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Can You Ever Forgive Me?: Memoirs of a Literary Forger
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Can You Ever Forgive Me?: Memoirs of a Literary Forger
232:, Israel claimed that in 1983, four years after the
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1365:Deaths from multiple myeloma in the United States
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236:publication, she had received an advance from
866:"Empress with a finger in every pot of cream"
350:Some reviewers of Israel's memoir questioned
328:biographer. She eventually supported herself
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1046:"She Says It's True, Her Memoir of Forging"
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425:The film held its world premiere at the
189:, the journalist and game-show panelist
896:Champagne, Jennifer (January 8, 2015).
496:Reveals a New Side of Melissa McCarthy"
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1360:Deaths from cancer in New York (state)
179:, ran in the November 1967 edition of
127:. Her 2008 confessional autobiography
948:Lowenherz, David (October 26, 2018).
463:(1985), an unauthorized biography of
7:
1278:Files on Vanessa Redgrave, 1982–1987
1244:Hughes, Kathryn (January 14, 2019).
1212:Merin, Jennifer (October 14, 2018).
705:Rita Mae Brown (November 18, 1979).
674:Rita Mae Brown (November 18, 1979).
1380:Jewish American non-fiction writers
1325:20th-century American women writers
924:Hillinger, Charles (January 1992).
1350:American women non-fiction writers
1219:Alliance of Women Film Journalists
828:Yamamoto, C. (November 19, 1985).
616:"Last of the Honest-to-God Ladies"
490:Stevens, Dana (October 18, 2018).
418:would direct the film. Filming of
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1310:20th-century American journalists
588:Fox, Margalit (January 7, 2015).
1315:20th-century American memoirists
1184:Kohn, Eric (September 1, 2018).
737:, Post Hill Press, p. 111,
644:"Best Sellers: February 3, 1980"
502:. The Slate Grou. Archived from
1044:Bosman, Julie (July 24, 2008).
972:"Instances of literary forgery"
308:Lowenherz's check from a sale.
1390:Journalists from New York City
1100:McNary, Dave (July 15, 2015).
734:The Reporter Who Knew Too Much
461:Estée Lauder: Beyond the Magic
431:Academy Award for Best Actress
1:
1072:Child, Ben (April 10, 2015).
204:. Novelist and book reviewer
994:"Reviewers and commentators"
834:: The Story of Estee Lauder"
1370:Jewish American journalists
1267:The New York Public Library
1018:Bamberger, Barbara (2010).
950:"The unforged truth behind
874:. April 8, 1986. p. 10
193:, and the cosmetics tycoon
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1375:Jewish American memoirists
1340:American women journalists
1330:21st-century American Jews
1305:20th-century American Jews
1163:Directors Guild of America
1155:"Can You Ever Forgive Me?"
133:2018 film of the same name
16:American author and forger
1345:American women memoirists
974:. Encyclopædia Britannica
414:would play Israel, while
952:Can You Ever Forgive Me?
882:– via Google News.
804:. Simon & Schuster.
707:"What Did Dorothy Know?"
676:"What Did Dorothy Know?"
494:Can You Ever Forgive Me?
420:Can You Ever Forgive Me?
399:Can You Ever Forgive Me?
230:Can You Ever Forgive Me?
143:Early life and education
129:Can You Ever Forgive Me?
1355:Brooklyn College alumni
551:"Family Census records"
454:(1980), a biography of
445:(1972), a biography of
427:Telluride Film Festival
898:"Lee Israel 1939–2014"
530:HistoryvsHollywood.com
443:Miss Tallulah Bankhead
242:unauthorized biography
1400:Writers from Brooklyn
131:was adapted into the
1385:Jewish women writers
1335:American biographers
796:Israel, Lee (2008).
352:Simon & Schuster
238:Macmillan Publishing
35:Leonore Carol Israel
711:The Washington Post
681:The Washington Post
506:on October 18, 2018
302:Columbia University
228:In her 2008 memoir
211:The Washington Post
155:, and in 1961 from
153:Midwood High School
147:Israel was born in
67:New York City, U.S.
1395:Literary forgeries
1051:The New York Times
871:The Glasgow Herald
839:Lodi News-Sentinel
731:Mark Shaw (2017),
655:. February 3, 1980
594:The New York Times
361:The New York Times
346:Memoir controversy
292:of each document.
200:The New York Times
931:Los Angeles Times
811:978-1-4165-8867-2
744:978-1-68261-443-3
456:Dorothy Kilgallen
447:Tallulah Bankhead
408:Nicole Holofcener
384:. According to a
216:Lee Harvey Oswald
191:Dorothy Kilgallen
187:Tallulah Bankhead
173:Katharine Hepburn
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60:December 24, 2014
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161:Brooklyn College
137:Melissa McCarthy
125:literary forgery
106:Literary forgery
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624:. November 1967
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832:Inside Info
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510:October 18,
402:, starring
356:meal ticket
338:magazines.
273:Noël Coward
139:as Israel.
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41:1939-12-03
25:Lee Israel
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322:summonses
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