Alice Stewart Trillin

Alice Stewart Trillin (May 8, 1938 – September 11, 2001) was an American educator, author, film producer and longtime muse to her husband, author Calvin Trillin. Diagnosed with lung cancer in the 1970s, she wrote about her experience and became known for her work with cancer patients. Alice Trillin is a recurring subject in Calvin Trillin's writings, including his 2006 book titled About Alice. She ultimately died from heart failure related to the radiation therapy that her cancer was treated with.

Early life Alice Stewart was born in Port Chester, New York, to Dorothy and James Stewart, a businessman and inventor specializing in coin changers of vending machines. After attending public school in Harrison, New York she earned a B.A. from Wellesley College in 1960 and an M.A. in English from Yale University in 1961. She subsequently taught English at Hofstra University and at the City University of New York, where she became a writing program specialist.

She married Calvin "Bud" Trillin in 1965 after having met him at a party hosted by Victor Navasky. She regularly made appearances in Trillin's writings – including books such as American Fried, Alice, Let's Eat and Third Helpings – often as the voice of calm reason. Bud Trillin acknowledged that his writings created an impression of Alice as "a dietitian in sensible shoes" – which was perhaps not matched by reality.

Career Trillin's interest in curriculum development led her to consult for WNET television station and help it design new approaches to educational programming. She formed a company "Learning Designs" to produce educational television series, such as Behind the Scenes, starring the illusionist duo Penn & Teller, aiming to teach pre-teens about the creative process in the visual and performing arts.

Selected works A.S. Trillin, E. Koren (Illustrator), Dear Bruno, New Press, 1996, A.S. Trillin, "Of Dragons and Garden Peas: A Cancer Patient Talks to Doctors", New England Journal of Medicine, 304 (12), pp. 699–701, March 19, 1981. A.S. Trillin, "Betting your life", The New Yorker, January 29, 2001.