Sam Wasson is an American author and publisher, who often writes about the history of cinema in Hollywood. His works include the biography Fosse, the history books Improv Nation: How We Made a Great American Art and The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood and the co-authored Hollywood: The Oral History.
Sam Wasson | |
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Born | Los Angeles, California, United States |
Occupation | Author, publisher |
Notable works | Fosse Improv Nation The Big Goodbye Hollywood: The Oral History |
Website | |
www |
Wasson was born in Los Angeles. His maternal grandfather was former Variety executive, Hal “Lew” Scott.[1][2] Wasson attended Wesleyan University, and USC School of Cinematic Arts.[citation needed]
During the writing of a biography about Bob Fosse (titled Fosse) researcher Jane Klein and Wasson unearthed lost footage of Fosse's 1961 ABC television show "Seasons of Youth”.[3] In 2014, Fosse was one of six books shortlisted for the $10,000 Marfield Prize[4] and received the Special Jury Prize at the George Freedley Memorial Award.[5] Production rights for a limited television series based on the book were purchased by television channel FX in 2018.[6]
In 2020, Wasson published a book about the making of the 1974 movie Chinatown, titled The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood.[7] Later that year, a film adaptation of The Big Goodbye was announced, with Lorne Michaels attached as producer and Ben Affleck as director.[8][9] Also in 2020, Wasson co-founded a publishing house with producer Brandon Millan.[10]
Wasson was a visiting professor at Wesleyan University[11] and Emerson College.[12]
In 2021, Wasson and William Rempel filed a lawsuit to unseal a 2010 deposition transcript of Roger Gunson, a former deputy district attorney, in relation to the Roman Polanski sexual abuse case.[13] In July 2022, the court ruled for the transcripts to be unsealed.[14][15][16][17]
In 2022, Wasson and Jeanine Basinger wrote an oral history book titled Hollywood: The Oral History.[18][19]