GRIFFITH, Thomas 1915-2002

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born December 30, 1915, in Tacoma, WA; died from head injuries resulting from a fall March 16, 2002, in New York, NY. Journalist, editor, and author. Griffith was a former senior staff editor for Time magazine. Enduring a tough childhood, he was abandoned by his father and sent to a boarding school; nevertheless he went on to attend high school and college, graduating from the University of Washington in Seattle in 1936 and attending Harvard University from 1942 to 1943. Griffith started his journalism career as a crime reporter for the Seattle Times, where he worked from 1936 to 1942. He began his career at Time as a contributing editor before serving in a variety of other editorial positions at the magazine, becoming senior staff editor in 1963. Considered liberal in his politics by his fellow editors at the predominately conservative periodical, Griffith always maintained that his only goal was to publish a balanced magazine. During his stint at Time he oversaw such stories as Senator Joseph McCarthy's hunt for communists and the 1960 presidential elections and through his coverage of such events became respected for his evenhanded management. Griffith left Time in 1967 to work as the editor of Life, where he remained until 1972 when that magazine ceased to be a weekly. In addition to his editorial work, Griffith contributed articles to such publications as the Atlantic and Fortune, and he was the author of the books The Waist-high Culture, How True and Harry and Teddy: The Turbulent Friendship of Press Lord Henry R. Luce and His Favorite Reporter, Theodore H. White.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

BOOKS

Who's Who in the Media and Communications, Marquis (Providence, NJ), 1997.

PERIODICALS

Los Angeles Times, March 19, 2002, p. B11.

New York Times, March 18, 2002, p. A25.

Washington Post, March 19, 2002, p. B7.