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A new hour-long public television documentary examines the life of an Alabamian who became one of this century’s most prominent and controversial writers. I’m In the Truth Business: William Bradford Huie considers the legacy of an author whose 21 books sold more than 28 million copies. Seven of them were made into Hollywood movies starring James Garner, Julie Andrews, Martin Sheen, Jane Russell, Tony Curtis, and Richard Burton. He held the sales records for three of the nation’s leading news magazines that published articles he had written. His investigations into racial murders in the South hastened the Civil Rights movement. The program, which received Emmy awards for its script and musical score, airs on PBS at 10 p.m. ET, Tuesday, Oct. 7, and at 10 p.m. that night on Alabama Public Television. Born in Hartselle, Ala., in 1910, and educated at the University of Alabama, Huie’s first novel, Mud on the Stars, chronicled the education of a North Alabama boy during the Depression and the events leading up to World War II. After serving in the war Huie moved to the Northeast and hosted Chronoscope, a nationally broadcast interview show. He wrote his best-selling comic novel The Revolt of Mamie Stover, which told how a Honolulu prostitute amassed a fortune when the island was swamped with servicemen. But Huie’s name became forever associated with controversy after he moved back to Hartselle and wrote about the murder of black teenager Emmett Till in Mississippi for Look magazine. Two white men had been acquitted in the slaying. Huie felt that the truth behind the shocking murder would never be revealed unless a journalist uncovered it. So he paid the men $4,000 dollars for their story. Since they could not be tried again for the murder, they were free to admit to it. Many journalists and readers denounced Huie, saying that information paid for is suspect. "A lot of people resent using informers," Huie said. "I don’t recommend it. I just don’t know any better way." Many times in his career he reminded his detractors that the FBI commonly paid for information. Huie continued to pay for stories. In 1964 he wrote Three Lives For Mississippi when three civil rights workers were killed in that state. And in 1968 he caused an uproar when he paid James Earl Ray $40,000 for his story of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. Huie concluded that Ray, acting alone, had indeed committed the murder. Huie’s prominent role in documenting the Civil Rights movement made him many enemies in Alabama. When his 1967 novel, The Klansman, unmasked the inner workings of the Ku Klux Klan, Huie defended himself with a shotgun as the local Klan burned a cross in his yard. Huie’s book The Execution of Private Slovik was the most-watched television movie when it aired in 1975. It’s the story of the only American serviceman to be executed for cowardice and desertion in World War Two. Martin Sheen played the role of Eddie Slovik. "I think that book, until In Cold Blood, was the best non-fiction reportage book that we’ve ever had, and I think it’s still one of the top two or three," says writer Wayne Greenhaw. "I’ve always thought he was a courageous man and a champion of investigative journalism," says Larry Woods, who, as a reporter for TIME, covered the murders of the Mississippi Civil Rights workers. Despite his many successes, Huie remained a controversial figure because of his checkbook journalism. His books were out of print when he died in 1986, although this fall The University of Alabama Press is re-printing his first novel, Mud on the Stars. Don Noble, professor of English at the University of Alabama and co-producer of the program, says that Huie is an important literary figure. "Huie’s reputation waned in the 80’s because the nation’s attention turned from the World War II to the Vietnam War, and the nation became exhausted with the Civil Rights struggle," says Noble. "A renewed interest in World War II and some breathing room and perspective on the Civil Rights movement will lead to a renewed interest in Huie and his two greatest subjects." I’m In the Truth Business: William Bradford Huie was produced by Brent Davis of The University of Alabama Center for Public Television. The project was supported by a grant from the Alabama Humanities Foundation, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Press Releases || This Month from CPT&R || The Alabama Experience Order Tapes || The University of Alabama Center for Public Television For more information: |
