A web site devoted to Ben Hecht Biography & Works

The Ben Hecht Story and News, Compiled. "A Hecht Reprint in Every Issue." Snickersnee Press 2003. ISSN 1629-0611 / ISBN 0966770927. Colored card stock, narrower Centerfolio reprint of a 1920s Hecht story in each of ten issues. 8.5 x 11 inches.

Reissues of a short lived, well researched desktop- printed literary periodical of the year 2000 about the life, works and associates of Ben Hecht, the Chicago and Midwestern Renaissance writer of the 1910s, journalist at the Chicago Daily News, Berlin correspondent in 1919, playwright (the Front Page), activist against the Holocaust, and Hollywood's highest paid writer and script doctor of the studio era e.g., Nothing Sacred, Notorious, Wuthering Heights, Gunga Din, Farewell to Arms, Spellbound, and the first Oscar for film writing for Underworld, 1928. Printed on card stock of bold variegated colors, each issue was written by Hecht scholar and editor Florice Whyte Kovan. Eac issue inclueds a reprint of a Hecht Chicago Daily News story, most never reprinted, in a separate granny apple green center-folio. This recalls Hecht's own literary tabloid, The Chicago Literary Times, which was printed on pink and green stock.

Vol. I, Issue 4, May-June 2000 The Music Number. "You Candy Band, Got Lotsa Sand," Hecht's boyhood poem and its story. "Hecht Rallied Unity in Musical Pageants of WW II" "I Got the Blues," our complete reprint of one of BH's Chicago cabaret stories. "George Antheil wrote tales of the Ben Hecht Sinfonietta." "Moments in Hecht Performance" "Hecht Earns a Place in History for His Musical Pageants for Holocaust Victims." "Ben made His First Scenes in Racine." Pictures: Ben Hecht playing violin for artist George Grosz. Ben in his boyhood band. Kurt Weill, Ferde Grofe, jazz pianist Dave Payton's ensemble.

Vol I, Issue 3, April 2000, The Architecture Number "Modernism Soars with Hecht's Skyscraper Stories." "Chicago Landmarks Paved Way to Oscar Winner 'Underworld'" "For Jenny Ben Animated the 'Topsies' of New York" "NYC Bound, BH Recalls Chicago Metaphors" "Who's Doing What About Ben Hecht" "Three of Hecht's Illustrators Do Skyscrapers" Angarola, Rosse and Grosz. Complete Centerfolio Story: "Peer Gynt's Panhandle" Architect Clarence O'Toole reveals his new city plan. "Hecht and the Chicago Architects" Pictures: LaSalle Street in front of Hecht's studio; Wrigley Building at night. Sears Tower, Cow sculpture honoring architect Louis Sullivan; Hecht's illustrated skyscraper letter to Jenny.

Vol. I, Issue 2, March 2000, The Protest Number. "Hecht's Titanic Poem Hit a Braver Front Page" (photograph) "Captain John Paul Jones Inspired Hecht's Film" "Hecht's Hollywood Associates Assailed Monopoly" (photograph) "Hecht a Role Model for Brando's Protest" (photograph)" "'Phooey on the Free World,' shouts Ilona Massey" (photograph) "Animation Studio Near Ben's Boyhood Home?" Centerfolio Story: "Vox Populi" by Ben Hecht "Who's Doing What About Ben Hecht" Hecht and his punching bag (photograph)

Vol. I Issue 1, February 2000 "The 1001 Afternoons in Chicago Stories: Getting the Stats Right" (all 423 stories found). "Afro-Americana in Ben Hecht." "I love you" drawing by George Grosz. (Hecht's title for it). "Honeymoon" by Claude McKay, 1922. "Who's Doing What About Ben Hecht?" Events, acquisitions, queries by institutions and collectors. "'Romance" is First Mishkin Story in Chicago Jewish History Reprints." "Hecht's Handkerchief Valentine." "Hoch das Dadaismus" by Ben Hecht. His tribute to George Grosz. Centerfolio on sage paper: "50 Books That Are Books" by bibliophile Ben Hecht, his recommendations in 1921, many with his ardent remarks and our endnotes. "Hecht's Literary Harem," editorial notes. "Sourcing Our First Issue" wherein we unveil our sources." Illustrations: Formerly unpublished photographs: A surreal Hecht taken by his first wife, Marie Armstrong, circa 1919; Small newspaper photo of Marie dancing at a church benefit 1915. Antique photo of Library of Congress, where we do our newspaper research on Ben Hecht. Most illustrations are captioned as to source and are generally of reference quality.

NOT YOUR TYPICAL ISSUE

In our First Anniversary Issue, we departed from our usual format to issue this major sholarly find in a unique "thank-you" presentation for the collectors who are our loyal subscribers. It released our list of every Ben Hecht story in the "1001 Afternoons in Chicago" series in Florice Whyte Kovan's 24 page design-driven "Bibliocityscape" on bright blue and chartreuse cardstock. In the Table of Contents, below, the "K"s and numerals before the titles use the system devised by Kovan for standard numbering of Hecht's stories. The titles listed here are the first to appear on each page of the array of 422 tiles.

Volume Two, Issue 5, 2001

"Thank You Subscribers,& Here Is Your Bibliocityscape." Pages 1-2
Time to renew. p.2
About Us--Subscribe--Renew. 28

Cataloging note* A few copies slipped out as Volume III, Issue 2, which is wrong. We apologize for the confusion this may have caused recipients, who are invited to exchange it for one correctly designated as Volume II, Issue 5.

The original issues of the "Ben Hecht Story & News" are out of print. We have reprinted the year 2000 issues and the Marilyn Monroe Issue of 2001 into a book, "The Ben Hecht Story & News, Compiled"