William Randolph Hearst

William Randolph Hearst , born with San Francisco the April 29th 1863 and died in Beverly Hills the August 14th 1951, is an American business man , tycoon of the Written press.

His/her father, George Hearst, were an industrialist multimillionnaire in the mining sector, originating in the Missouri and senator of California. His/her mother, Phoebe Apperson Hearst, were a teacher of the Missouri. At the ten years age, Hearst makes the turn of the Europe with his/her mother. It enters to the school St Paul' S, in Concord, in the New Hampshire, at the 16 years age.

Career

Between 1882 and 1885, William studies with the Université Harvard, but it is expelled to have sent chamberpots containing the photograph of the recipient to members of the institution. He takes the head of the daily newspaper San Francisco Examiner , that his/her father received as a payment for a gambling debt. Hearst gives to the newspaper the nickname of “Sovereign of the daily newspapers” ( Monarch off the Dailies ), acquires the best material available and recruits talented journalists. The newspaper will publish revelations of corruption affairs and articles sensationalists.

In 1895, William Hearst repurchases the New York Morning Journal , not very profitable newspaper, and engages of the writers like Stephen Crane and Julian Hawthorne. It enters then in direct competition with its former mentor, Joseph Pulitzer, owner of the New York World , to which it “will steal” Richard F. Outcault, the inventor of the cartoons colors. Hearst includes/understands the potential very early that it can draw from the cartoon then incipient and signs or discharges the best draftsmen and scenario writers of Comic . It launches the funnies ( funny the ), illustrated supplements all color with the Sunday newspapers. To diffuse on the whole of the territory its house authors it creates the King Features Syndicate which proposes amongst other things Blondie , Flash Gordon , Mandrake the magician , Mickey Mouse , Pim, WFP and Poum , Little Nemo , The Yellow Kid or Terry and the pirates . Hearst is thus at the origin of the Comic strip. The price of the New York Journal , which will become later the New York Newspaper-American , is tiny room to one hundred and reached pullings without precedent with articles sensationnalists and dishonest persons on subjects such as the crime and the Pseudo-science S. the warmongering of the writing of the newspaper with regard to the foreign affairs, in particular the cuban insurrection, is famous at the time. Hearst as Pulitzer publish images of Spanish soldiers locking up of the Cubans in concentration camps where they die of hunger and disease. The American term yellow journalism (“yellow journalism”), coming from the cartoon “The Yellow Kid” published in the Newspaper , was then used to describe the style of journalism sensationnalist which results from this competition.

About the middle of the Years 1920, Hearst founded or has newspapers in all the areas of the United States. Its chain of newspapers and periodicals then includes/understands the Chicago Examiner , Boston American , Cosmopolitan , and Harper' S Bazaar , in addition to its own news agency, the International News Service. Hearst also publishes works of fiction and product of films.

In the years 1920, William Hearst makes build spectacular the Hearst Castle, on a Ranch of 970 km ² in San Simeon, in California, a castle which it furnishs with antiquities and works of art bought in Europe. He lives this residence with his mistress, Marion Davies, and he organizes sumptuous receptions there. Millicent Wilson, his wife, from which it separated for a long time, lives in New York, where she belongs to the high society. Wilson is an active philanthropist, and creates in 1921 the foundation Free Milk Fund for Babies (“Funds for free milk for the babies”).

With the apogee of her fortune, William Randolph Hearst is owner of some 28 important newspapers and 18 magazines, as well as press services, stations radio and company of cinema. However, the Grande depression of the Années 1930 will weaken its position and, in 1940, it already lost personal control on its financial empire of press.

Hearst dies in 1951, with Beverly Hills, in California. It is buried with the Cypress Lawn Memorial Park , with Colma, the south of San Francisco.

Personal life

Hearst is sometimes shown to have caused the Guerre Spanish-American of 1898 to increase the sales of its newspaper. Its own political career will be put at evil following the assassination of the president William McKinley, when that a satirical poem of Ambrose Bierce that Hearst published and who makes allusion to a possible murder of McKinley is discovered.

In 1903, William Hearst marries Millicent Veronica Wilson (1882-1974) in New York. Almost 20 years its elder, Hearst attended it since it was sixteen years old. The couple will have five wire: George Randolph Hearst (1904-1972), William Randolph Hearst Jr. (1908-1993), John Randolph Hearst (1910-1958), and of the twins, Randolph Apperson Hearst (1915-2000) and David Whitmire Hearst (1915-1986). Although the couple had remained married until the death of Hearst, it separates from his wife in 1926 and the actress and actress Marion Davies, (born Marion Cecilia Douras, 1897-1961), will be her mistress lasting more than 30 years.

Member of the Room of the representatives of 1903 to 1907, Hearst fails in his attempts to reach the town hall of New York, in 1905 and 1909, and at the station of governor of New York, in 1906. He will be beaten by the candidate Charles Evans Hughes at the time of the election for the post of governor. Opposed to the British Empire, Hearst is opposed to the intervention of the United States in the First World War and critical the formation of the Société of the Nations.

Hearst attracts itself the lightnings of the left in America by supporting the Nazisme in the Années 1930 (it maintains, for example, the mistress of Benito Mussolini, Margherita Sarfatti, lasting its visit in the United States); during the years 1940, it will be savage opposing to the Communisme. Hearst is not the only non-German industrialist allured by the Nazism: Eugene Schueller, founder of the giant of the cosmetics L'Oreal, is also a member of the doctrines during the same period as Hearst. Charles Lindbergh, the automobile manufacturer Henry Ford, and the director of the bottom Of the Bridge Irenee Of the Bridge were also admirors of Hitler. Recent research by the author Louis Pizzitola indicates that Hearst took part in the rally of Nuremberg.

According to certain people supporting the industry of the Cannabis, Hearst would have played a key function in the promotion and the orchestration of a media campaign which would have carried out in 1937 oil industry and forest, aiming at discrediting fiber of cannabis (a cheap substitute of oil and paper) and the marijuana, leading to the prohibition of the Drogue as well as culture of the Cannabis in the United States. This prohibition would have benefitted Hearst, which had interests in the field of the paper mill.

In 1947, Hearst acquired of a villa with Beverly Hills, bought for: 120000 dollars with the banker Milton Getz. It is in this residence that the Kennedy couple passed his honeymoon in 1953.

The Hearst myth

Orson Welles represents the life of Hearst in a portrait hardly buckled in its film epic Citizen Kane . Hearst was with the current of the production of film and placed in work all the resources at its disposal to stop it and prevent its exit, partly because he considered that the film was insulting with respect to Marion Davies, represented in the fiction like a singer addicted to drink and without talent. The film pseudo-history RKO 281 tells the attempts at Hearst to prevent the diffusion of film. Welles and the studio which produced Citizen Kane resisted the pressure, but the conflict harmed the exit of film, causing poor results with the boxoffice, and put in danger the career of Welles. However, the efforts of Hearst appeared useless in the long run since, after its death, the popularity of Citizen Kane increased so much so that film is often regarded as one of the largest masterpieces of all times, and than it became indissociable life of Hearst.

November 19th 1924, the producer of silent film Thomas To grip Ince (often called “the father of the Western”), dies of a myocardial infarction whereas it takes part in a cruising of an end of the week with Hearst, Davies, and several other notable personalities of Hollywood. Rumors according to which Hearst would have drawn on Ince and used its influence to cover the business circulate at the time. The film The Cat' S Meow , left in 2001, tells a history inspired by these rumors. However, the theory wanting that Hearst killed Ince is generally considered to be very improbable.

In 1974, the grand-daughter of Hearst, Patty Hearst, does the one of the newspapers when it is captured by a bunch of left known under the name of the Armée with release symbionaise. It will join the organization thereafter and will be mingled with criminal activities which will lead to its arrest for burgling of bank.

Posterity

William Randolph Hearst inspired several artists.

the realizer Orson Welles used several features of the life of Hearst to create Charles Kane, hero of the film Citizen Kane .
the draftsman Keno Don Rosa quoted the name of Hearst in the list of the billionaires whose hero of cartoon Picsou exceeds fortune in the Youth of Picsou .

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