Mason Wiley

Robert Mason Wiley (May 30, 1955 – October 7, 1994) was an author who co-wrote The Official Preppy Handbook and Inside Oscar: The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards.[1]

Mason Wiley
Born
Robert Mason Wiley

(1955-05-30)May 30, 1955
Nash County, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedOctober 7, 1994(1994-10-07) (aged 39)
New York City, New York, U.S
Education
Alma materEpiscopal High School
Occupation
  • Writer
Notable workThe Official Preppy Handbook

Biography

Wiley was born in Nash County, North Carolina on May 30, 1955.[2] He attended Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia and graduated from Columbia University in 1977.[3][4]

While working for the Columbia Daily Spectator, he met future film critic and historian Damien Bona, who later became his writing collaborator.[5]

He was one of the four authors of The Official Preppy Handbook, a humorous, best-selling reference book on prep culture published in 1980.[6] As the only southerner among the writers, Wiley included Southern prep culture to offset the predominant New England vibes.[7]

In 1986, he and Bona wrote a year-by-year account of the Academy Awards that took 4 years of writing and research, with a fourth edition published in 1993.[8]

Wiley also was a critic for such publications as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, New York Newsday, Cosmopolitan, Time, Entertainment Weekly and others.[8][9]

On October 7, 1994, Wiley died from the complications of AIDS.[1]

References
  1. "Mason Wiley; Writer, 39". The New York Times. 1994-10-09. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  2. "Person Detail: Mason Wiley - The NYSCA Literary Map of New York State and The NYSCA Literary Tree". www.nyslittree.org. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  3. Columbia College today. Columbia College, Office of Alumni Affairs and Development. 1988.
  4. "2013-14 Annual Report". Issuu. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  5. Hevesi, Dennis (2012-02-10). "Damien Bona Dies at 56; Creator of Guide for Oscar Buffs". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  6. Clendinen, Dudley (1981-01-04). "BEHIND THE BEST SELLERS; 'PREPPY HANDBOOK'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  7. "Pop That Collar—Revisiting 'The Official Preppy Handbook'". Garden & Gun. 2015-08-14. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  8. "Obituaries : Mason Wiley; Wrote on Oscars". Los Angeles Times. 1994-10-17. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  9. "The Faces of AIDS: 1994". EW.com. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
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