New York Times best-selling author
This week, Ira spoke with Glenn Plaskin, a New York Times best-selling author and interviewer who has written 30 books, including Horowitz: The Biography of Vladimir Horowitz and Turning Point: Pivotal Moments in the Lives of America’s Celebrities. In this prolific episode of “Ira’s Everything Bagel,” Glenn talks about his early life and originally not planning to be a writer, but instead a classical pianist; the importance of selling your idea instead of yourself; why his first book was life changing; why, after his first successful book on Horowitz, he decided to become an interviewer; the intimate rapport you establish with your interviewee; his backstage “moments” with celebrities; why he wouldn’t have written books and done interviews if he hadn’t felt bad about himself; his ability to connect with people; why he became a ghost writer; how everybody has a book inside them; bringing out the true emotion of the story; why his favorite book, Katie Up And Down The Hall, The True Story of How One Dog Turned Five Neighbors into a Family, is about the concept of family; and why a book is sometimes a legacy for an author.
Glenn Plaskin is the New York Times bestselling author of thirty books, including Horowitz: The Biography of Vladimir Horowitz; Turning Point: Pivotal Moments in the Lives of America’s Celebrities; KATIE: Up and Down The Hall: The True Story of How One Dog Turned Five Neighbors into a Family. Plaskin is also a collaborator and ghostwriter for CEO’s, entertainment personalities, high achievers, newsmakers, performing artists and public speakers. In the 2022 Publishers Weekly Book Publishing Almanac he is rated as one of the most prominent ghostwriters in the nation. In addition, as a nationally-syndicated celebrity interviewer and columnist he is known for his in-depth interviews and human development stories, landing exclusives with film stars, politicians, TV personalities, business executives, and media figures. His profiles and syndicated columns have appeared in the New York Times, the Daily News, San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Family Circle, US Weekly, Ladies Home Journal, Cosmopolitan, W, and Playboy. His interview subjects have included such figures as Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Katharine Hepburn, Nancy Reagan, Bill Gates, Calvin Klein, Edward Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jackson, Paul Newman, Dolly Parton, Leona Helmsley, Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer, Peter Jennings, Yoko Ono, Sylvester Stallone, Donald Trump, Cher, Diana Ross, Bette Midler, Harrison Ford, Lionel Richie, Carol Burnett, Shirley MacLaine, Judge Judy, Betty White, Lena Horne, and hundreds of others. His TV appearances include The Today Show, Oprah, Larry King, Joan Rivers, Sally Jessy Raphael, Geraldo, and Good Day New York. Plaskin has also appeared in such film documentaries as: Call Me Kate (Netflix); Audrey: More Than an Icon (Netflix); Empires of New York (CNBC). He will be appearing in three upcoming documentary films, one about Leona Helmsley (HBO), and two about Elizabeth Taylor (HBO and BBC). He recently appeared in Masterpiece Journey, a Japanese documentary about Vladimir Horowitz’s art collection, broadcast on NHK Japan Broadcasting. He lives in New York City.
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