Les Whitten

Les Whitten (February 21, 1928 – December 2, 2017) was an American investigative reporter at the Washington Merry-Go-Round under Jack Anderson, as well as translator of French poetry by Baudelaire and novelist of horror and science-fiction books.

Background Leslie Hunter Whitten, Jr., was born on February 21, 1928, in Jacksonville, Florida. His father was an electrical engineer and executive with the manufacturer Graybar. His mother was a Latin teacher.

He grew up in Washington, D.C., and attended the Woodrow Wilson High School. "From the time I was 18, I wanted to be a poet," Whitten said later in life. Whitten started at Lehigh University, located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, by majoring in civil engineering. After three semesters he left school, served two years in the U.S. Army, and moved to Paris to become a poet.

Returning to Lehigh, he changed his major to English and journalism, became the editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, and graduated magna cum laude in 1950.

Career Journalism

Whitten then moved to Mexico and again to Paris, continuing to try to be a writer, before shifting back to journalism in order to support his new family. He then joined the Munich office of Radio Free Europe in 1951 (or 1952), where he worked until 1957. Between 1957 and 1969, he worked for International News Service and United Press International and covered wars in the Dominican Republic and Vietnam.

The National Suggestion Box In 1975, Whitten and Anderson started another project, called "The National Suggestion Box", headed by Marty Devolites. From offices in Washington, D.C., it conducted on-the-ground research on topics suggested by the general public then investigated by researchers on staff, including Joanne Munisteri. Reports were culled from its research for short spots on the Good Morning America television show and other media Anderson was responsible for in print, radio and television. He wrote multiple novels, as well as other books including a children's book, a biography of lawyer F. Lee Bailey, and a translation of French poet Charles Baudelaire, in his spare time while working as a journalist and then full-time later.

Personal and death On November 11, 1951, Whitten married Phyllis Webber (born August 6, 1928) in Paris. The couple had three sons. The Whittens were active in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C. They also supported the arts, including ballet and opera.

Whitten died age 89 on December 1, 2017, of sepsis in a hospital in Adelphi, Maryland.

Phyllis Webber Phyllis Webber, who hailed from Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania, earned a degree in education from Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and worked with preschool children at the Henry Street Settlement in New York City.

When the couple moved to Washington, D.C., in 1959, she continued to work in education. In 1973, she became director of the Suburban Nursery School of Bethesda, Maryland, until her retirement in 1993. In 1996, she received a lifetime achievement award from the Maryland Council of Parent Participant Nursery Schools. She died on January 11, 2017. once called him Jack Anderson's "senior ferret". The Alchemist (Charterhouse, 1973). Two people caught up in the world of Washington politics find themselves drawn together by their interest in the occult. Translated into Spanish in 1980. Conflict of Interest (Bantam Books, 1976). A veteran newspaper reporter exposes scandal at the highest levels of the U.S. Senate. Sometimes a Hero (Doubleday, 1979). A crack Washington, D.C., lawyer takes on big oil. A Day Without Sunshine (Atheneum, 1985). This book centers around an English crime kingpin who attempts to monopolize the wine industry. The Lost Disciple: the book of Demas (Atheneum, 1989). The life of Jesus as seen by a minor biblical character Demas.

Biography: F. Lee Bailey (Avon, 1971). A biography of lawyer F. Lee Bailey.

Poetry: Washington Cycle (The Smith, 1979). A collection of some of Whitten's poems.

Translations: Sad Madrigals (Preternatural Press, 1997). Poems by Baudelaire, translated by Whitten. The Rebel (Presa S Press, 2005). Poems by Baudelaire, translated by Whitten.