Alex Belth

The two-time Oscar-winning actor used his own father’s temper to achieve greatness in films from “The French Connection” to “The Royal Tenenbaums.”

What Hackman did was make acting look natural—perhaps a backhanded compliment, like being called an actor’s actor, even if it’s not entirely wrong.

Jon Bradshaw lived fast and died young, but before he stepped off, he managed to charm half the world (he hadn’t met the other half yet) and wrote like a slumming angel.

Philip Roth, John Lahr, and Adam Hochschild were all loving sons. They were also discerning writers, and their memoirs lay bare often awkward truths.

Legendary sports columnist and author John Schulian, editor of the Library of America’s ‘The Great American Sports Page,’ explains why the glory days were so glorious.

One of our greatest but too often overlooked contemporary photographers, Adger Cowans has been shooting indelible images for more than half a century.

The Godfather of Soul wanted the bulk of his estate to be used to educate the children of South Carolina. That hasn’t happened. Author James McBride explains why not.

In 1973, amid the Watergate hearings, the designated hitter debuted, Yogi Berra waxed eloquent, and Mets pitcher Tug McGraw coined his pennant-clinching team’s enduring slogan.

Week after week, The Daily Beast features classic stories from the past that prove great writing is timeless. Here are the ones we found most memorable.

<p>Marilyn Johnson has written fascinating books about obit writers and librarians. Now in <i>Lives in Ruins</i>, she’s turned her keen eye on the world of archeologists. <a target="_blank" href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2014/11/14/knowing-where-the-bodies-are-buried-an-excerpt-from-lives-in-ruins.html">Read an excerpt here</a>.<br> </p>