Mitch Albom: Difference between revisions

In 2005, Albom and four editors were briefly suspended from the ''Detroit Free Press'' after Albom wrote a column that stated that two college basketball players were in the crowd at an NCAA tournament game when in fact they were not.<ref>{{cite news| last=Johnson| first=Peter| title=Will Albom's woes taint journalism?| date=April 13, 2005| url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/mediamix/2005-04-13-media-mix_x.htm| work=[[USA Today]]}}</ref> In a column printed in the April 3, 2005, edition, Albom described two former [[Michigan State University]] basketball players, both then in the [[National Basketball Association|NBA]], attending an [[NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship|NCAA Final Four]] semifinal game on Saturday to cheer for their school. The players had told Albom they planned to attend, so Albom, filing on his normal Friday deadline but knowing the column could not come out until Sunday (after the game was over) wrote that the players were there. But the players' plans changed at the last minute and they did not attend the game. The ''Detroit Free Press'' also suspended the four editors who had read the column and allowed it to go to print. Albom was in attendance at the game, but the columnist failed to check on the two players' presence. A later internal investigation found no other similar instances in Albom's past columns, but did cite an editorial-wide problem of routinely using unattributed quotes from other sources.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Strupp|first1=Joe|title='Freep' Editor: Lack of Attribution Is My Fault|url=http://www.editorandpublisher.com/news/freep-editor-lack-of-attribution-is-my-fault/|website=Editor & Publisher|access-date=June 30, 2016|date=May 16, 2005}}</ref> Carol Leigh Hutton, publisher of the ''Detroit Free Press'' at the time of these events, later told [[Buzzfeed]] that she regretted the way it was handled. "It was a stupid mistake that Mitch made that others failed to catch but not at all indicative of some problem that required the response we gave it. I allowed myself to believe that we were doing this highly credible, highly transparent thing, when really in hindsight what I think we were doing was acquiescing to people who were taking advantage of a stupid mistake."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Shafrir|first1=Doree|title=Mitch Albom's Great Experiment|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/doree/mitch-alboms-great-experiment|access-date=June 29, 2016|publisher=Buzzfeed|date=November 24, 2015}}</ref>

Albom's fifth novel, ''The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto'', was published by HarperCollins in 2015. His longest book at almost 400 pages, it chronicles the life and mysterious death of the fictional musician Frankie Presto, as narrated by the voice of Music. An orphan born in a burning church in Spain in 1936, Frankie is blessed with musical ability: at nine years old, Frankie is sent to America in the bottom of a boat, his only possession is an old guitar and six precious strings. The [[Forrest Gump]]-like journey that follows takes him through the musical landscape of the 20th century, from classical to jazz to rock and roll super stardom, meeting and working with musical greats (like [[Hank Williams]], [[Elvis Presley]], [[Carole King]], [[Little Richard]], and [[The Beatles]]). Real musicians including [[Tony Bennett]], [[Wynton Marsalis]], [[Paul Stanley]], [[Darlene Love]], and [[Ingrid Michaelson]], lent their names to first-person passages to the book,{{citation needed|date=May 2023}} and an original 17-song soundtrack for the book was released by Republic Records four days before the book's release. It featured original songs written and performed by Albom and other artists including Sawyer Fredericks, Mat Kearney, Ingrid Michaelson, John Pizzarelli, and James Brent, interpreting Frankie Presto's "greatest hits", along with such older favorites featured in the novel such as Tony Bennett's "Lost in the Stars" and [[Dionne Warwick]]'s "A House is Not a Home."<ref name = MagicStrings2015usnews>{{cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/entertainment/articles/2015/10/23/soundtrack-to-be-released-for-mitch-alboms-new-novel|title=Sing along with Mitch: Soundtrack planned for Albom's 'The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto'|website=US News|publisher=AP|access-date=February 22, 2016}}</ref>

''The Little Liar'' was published on November 14, 2023, by HarperCollins.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Little Liar |url=https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-little-liar-mitch-albom?variant=41012408221730 |website=HarperCollins.com}}</ref> The book peaked at #5 on the New York Times Best Sellers list on December 3, 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Best Sellers – Books – Dec. 3, 2023 – The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2023/12/03/ |access-date=March 20, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The book is historical fiction following Nico, an eleven-year-old boy during the [[Germany]]'s [[Axis occupation of Greece|occupation]] of [[Greece]] in [[World War II]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 24, 2023 |title=The Little Liar – Mitch Albom |url=https://www.mitchalbom.com/books/the-little-liar/ |access-date=March 20, 2024 |language=en-US}}</ref>

On November 19, 2002, the stage version of ''Tuesdays with Morrie'' opened [[Off Broadway]] at the Minetta Lane Theatre. Co-authored by Mitch Albom and [[Jeffrey Hatcher]] (''Three Viewings'') and directed by [[David Esbjornson]] ([[The Goat or Who Is Sylvia?]]). ''Tuesdays with Morrie'' starred [[Alvin Epstein]] (original Lucky in ''[[Waiting for Godot]]'') as Morrie and [[Jon TenneyTenny]] (''The Heiress'') as Mitch.

His follow-up to the stage adaptation of ''Tuesdays'' were two original comedies that premiered at the [[Purple Rose Theatre Company]] in [[Chelsea, Michigan]], started by actor [[Jeff Daniels]]. <ref>{{citationCite neededweb|url=https://annarborobserver.com/articles/purple_rose_in_full_bloom.html#.XX1i3SV7kWo|title=Purple Rose in Full Bloom|last=Reynolds|first=Cynthia Furlong|date=Dec 2015|website=Ann Arbor Observer|access-date=Sep May7, 20232019}}</ref> ''"Duck Hunter Shoots Angel'' (The Purple Rose's highest grossing play as of 2008) and ''And the Winner Is'' have both been produced nationwide, the latter having its West Coast premiere at the Laguna Playhouse in [[Laguna Beach, California]].{{citation needed|date = May 2023}}