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42-708: John Berendt (born December 5, 1939) is an American author, known for writing the best-selling non-fiction book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil , which was a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction. Berendt grew up in Syracuse, New York , where both of his parents were writers. As an English major at Harvard University , he worked on the staff of the Harvard Lampoon . He graduated in 1961 and moved to New York City to pursue

84-496: A carriage house on East Charlton Lane, behind 22 East Jones Street . Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was published January, 1994, and became an overnight success. The book spent a record-breaking 216 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list — a record that still stands. The non-fiction book reads like a novel and features quirky characters: The Lady Chablis , a legendary drag queen with an acerbic tongue;

126-477: A journalism career. Berendt was an associate editor of Esquire from 1961 to 1969, editor of New York magazine from 1977 to 1979, and a columnist for Esquire from 1982 to 1994. In 1985, three years after meeting antiques dealer Jim Williams , who would become the central character in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil , Berendt moved to Savannah, Georgia , and spent the next seven years researching

168-571: A man who carries a vial of poison he claims could kill every person in Savannah if he dumped it in the water supply; and a man who walks an invisible dog. At its center is Jim Williams , a high-society gay man, and his relationship to a young hustler, Danny Hansford , that ends in Hansford's death and Williams' prosecution for murder over the course of four trials. In an author's note in the book, Berendt acknowledged that he used pseudonyms to protect

210-491: A relationship between Joe Odom and Nancy Hillis. The character Serena Dawes was based on silent-film actress and heiress Helen Avis Drexel , while voodoo priestess Valerie Boles was the inspiration for Minerva. The book was adapted for Clint Eastwood 's 1997 film , with several characters' names changed to protect their privacy. Maybe to "protect the innocent," said Sonny Seiler , Williams's attorney. "Well, I don't know how innocent they were, but he didn't change any of

252-466: A week, she had four major publishers bidding for it. Random House were the successful bidders. It was published in January 1994, fourteen months after Berendt finished writing it. They did not change a word of the manuscript. In tone, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is atmospherically Deep South coastal ( Savannah, Georgia , and Beaufort, South Carolina ) and Southern Gothic , depicting

294-418: A wide range of eccentric personalities in and around Savannah. The central narrative concerns the shooting of Danny Hansford , a local male prostitute, characterized as "a good time not yet had by all" by Prentiss Crowe, a Savannah socialite. The perpetrator was respected antiques dealer Jim Williams , who was also his employer and casual sexual partner. Hansford's death resulted in four murder trials, with

336-565: Is a combination of a lot of stories he told me. Then afterward, I meet all these people — Joe Odom , Chablis, Lee Adler . I met all these people, obviously, after the murder, but they don't impact the murder at all, so I simply put them right after my meeting with Jim, and it seems as though I met them before the shooting and I didn't, but so what? All of those meetings with people were actual meetings. They took place in '85 or later, and they are pretty much verbatim what happened with those people and me." Jim Williams' confession to Berendt before

378-446: Is based on real-life events that occurred in the 1980s and is classified as non-fiction. Because it reads like a novel (and rearranges the sequence of true events in time), it is sometimes referred to as a "non-fiction novel." Although the book's timeline is set to coincide with the entire saga of Jim Williams' arrest and four trials for murder, in reality Berendt did not meet Williams for the first time until March 1982 — six weeks after

420-524: The Easy Listening singles chart . Her final solo albums were made for Audiophile (1980, 1982, 1985) and DRG Records (1991). Her distinguished conductors and musical arrangers through the years included Buddy Bregman , Frank DeVol , Russell Garcia , Johnny Mandel , Billy May , Marty Paich , Nelson Riddle , Pete Rugolo , and Paul Weston . Whiting co-starred on the 15-minute musical programs The Jack Smith Show and Club Fifteen . She also

462-1210: The situation comedy Those Whiting Girls . The show, produced by Desilu Productions, aired on CBS as a summer replacement series (in place of I Love Lucy ) between July, 1955 and September, 1957. Margaret Whiting was a regular guest on variety shows and talk shows throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, including Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town , when the musical series focused on Whiting's hometown of Detroit; The Big Record , The Bob Hope Show , The Colgate Comedy Hour , The Tony Martin Show , The David Frost Show , The Ed Sullivan Show , The George Jessel Show , The Guy Mitchell Show , The Jonathan Winters Show , The Merv Griffin Show , The Mike Douglas Show , The Nat King Cole Show , Over Easy , The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom , The Patti Page Show , The Red Skelton Hour , The Steve Allen Show , The Ford Show Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford , The Texaco Star Theater , The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson , The Virginia Graham Show , and The Voice of Firestone . In 1960, Whiting appeared as Vinnie Berkeley in one of

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504-591: The 1920s. Whiting's singing ability was noticed at an early age and at seven she sang for singer-lyricist Johnny Mercer , with whom her father had collaborated on some popular songs, including "Too Marvelous for Words". In 1942, Mercer co-founded Capitol Records and signed Margaret to one of Capitol's first recording contracts. Whiting's first recordings were as featured singer with various orchestras. In 1944, her version of " Moonlight in Vermont ", with Billy Butterfield 's Orchestra, sold over one million copies, and

546-611: The Savannah Book Festival, on the occasion of the 30th-anniversary of the publication of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil . In 1996 Jack Wrangler wrote and co-produced, with George Wein , Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: The Jazz Concert , starring Margaret Whiting based on the songs of Savannah native Johnny Mercer . A musical based on Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil opened at Chicago's Goodman Theatre in June of 2024. In September 2024, it

588-465: The aftermath of the fire that destroyed the Fenice opera house. According to Kirkus Reviews , "Berendt does great justice to an exalted city that has rightly fascinated the likes of Henry James , Robert Browning , and many filmmakers throughout the world." In 2011, a bluejay creating a nest outside the window of Berendt's New York City townhouse inspired him to photograph, almost daily, the building of

630-625: The book is the narrator, me, until I catch up with myself midway through the book," Berendt said in 1995. "I felt that was a legitimate license to take. The book is 99 percent true and 1 percent exaggeration." In the first chapter, Berendt and Williams are interrupted by Hansford's screaming entrance; this happened prior to Williams and Berendt's first meeting in 1982. "Jim was having drinks with somebody else," explains Berendt. "Jim told me about it and so did somebody else. So I reconstructed it, put myself in there. The first evening in Mercer House

672-441: The book. (The killing of Danny Hansford , by Williams, which is the book's central story, happened in 1981. Williams first of four trials was in 1982.) Berendt's initial plan was to spend three weeks at a time in Savannah, then return to New York City to write, but he changed his mind. "Things would happen if I was simply there," he said in 1997. "It made sense to stay, so I got a full-time apartment in Savannah." He lived, briefly, in

714-472: The city's popularity growth entirely to Midnight , but that it had a significant impact. Dorothy Kingery, Jim Williams's sister, did not like the book. "She kept everything hush-hush," explained Sonny Seiler , the Williams family attorney, "but now she lets tourists go through Mercer–Williams House. But they cannot talk about the unpleasantness or what went on in that study on the first floor." The story

756-435: The facts." John Lee Hancock wrote the screenplay , after Berendt favored his script over that of Alfred Uhry . The book's title is shared by the title of chapter 18. Berendt dedicated the book to his parents. Berendt gave the finished manuscript to his agent, who enjoyed it but said it was "too local" and that no publisher would take a chance on it. She gave the manuscript back to Berendt, who found another agent. Within

798-494: The final one ending in acquittal after the judge finally agreed to a change of venue to move the case away from the Savannah jury pool. The book describes Williams' version of the killing, which is that it was in "self-defense"—the result of Hansford, who was prone to fits of rage, shooting at Williams with a gun that was on display, and Williams shooting back to protect himself—and not murder, pre-meditated or otherwise, by Williams. The death occurred in Williams' Mercer House home,

840-414: The ground floor of which is now a museum. The book highlights many other notable Savannah residents, including The Lady Chablis , a local transgender woman, club performer, and entertainer. Chablis provides both a Greek chorus of sorts as well as a light-hearted contrast to the more serious action. Chablis was given a dedicated chapter, as was Emma Kelly , the "Lady of 6,000 Songs." The book's plot

882-473: The hoodoo notion of "midnight," the period between the time for good magic (11:30pm to midnight) and the time for evil magic (midnight to 12:30am). Although Bonaventure Cemetery is the focus in the book, "the garden of good and evil" refers principally to the cemetery off Congress Street in Beaufort, South Carolina , where Dr. Louis Buzzard, the husband of Minerva, the folk-magic practitioner who figures in

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924-471: The last episodes, "Martial Law", of the ABC / Warner Brothers western series, Colt .45 . Paul Picerni was cast in the same segment as Duke Blaine. In 1984, Whiting appeared in the television musical movie Taking My Turn. It was basically a filmed version of the 1983 off-Broadway show in which she appeared. This ensemble show also included Marni Nixon, Tiger Haynes, and Cissy Houston among others. The music

966-647: The millionaire had been convicted of murder and released pending appeal. Two years later, after Berendt had decided he wanted to write a book, Williams agreed to be interviewed by Berendt in jail. "I might be interested in cooperating with you," he told Berendt. "I really want my story out." Berendt flew down to Savannah. "Jim actually saw very few people in jail. He didn't like to be in such reduced circumstances. He always wanted to be on his own turf, where he could entertain people, and control people." Berendt did not move to Savannah to collect material for his book until 1985 — after Williams' second conviction. Berendt attended

1008-410: The nest and, ultimately, eggs hatching, chicks emerging, learning to fly and leaving the nest. Berendt wrote a children's story to accompany his photographs, which was published as My Baby Blue Jays by Penguin/Random House. Dolly Parton's Dollywood Foundation , through its Imagination Library, distributed hundreds of thousands of copies for free to children across the U.S. In 2024, Berendt spoke at

1050-511: The privacy of some characters, and took "storytelling liberties", particularly having to do with the sequence of some events. The book was adapted into a 1997 film directed by Clint Eastwood . John Cusack plays John Kelso, a character loosely based on Berendt. Berendt's second book, The City of Falling Angels , was published in September 2005. It chronicles interwoven lives in Venice in

1092-575: The stage production was released and subsequently re-released on CD. In the 2000s, Whiting was interviewed in several documentaries about singers and songwriters of her era, including Judy Garland : By Myself (2004), Fever: The Music of Peggy Lee (2004), Anita O'Day : The Life of a Jazz Singer (2007), Johnny Mercer : The Dream's on Me (2009), The Andrews Sisters : Queens of the Music Machines (2009) and Michael Feinstein 's American Songbook (2010). From 1989 through 2001, Whiting

1134-557: The story, is buried. It is over his grave that Minerva performed the incantations to ensure a more successful result in the retrial for the case of Jim Williams. (The marriage between Minerva and Dr. Buzzard was the invention of John Berendt. Dr. Buzzard was based on Stephen Robinson , who died in 1947, aged 61 or 62.) The Bird Girl statue, designed both as art and as a birdseed holder, was originally located in Bonaventure Cemetery. A Savannah photographer, Jack Leigh ,

1176-501: The third and fourth trials. Williams was a free man and living in Mercer House during Berendt's five years in Savannah. "He was available to me and very cooperative," Berendt said in 2015. "When I started the book, I knew about the shooting," said Berendt. "It did not happen in the middle of my being there. But I moved it to the middle of the book so that you could meet everybody in Savannah and get to know Savannah before this shocking event happened." "The only fictional character in

1218-610: The third trial was recorded on a Dictaphone by the author. "If [Williams] had not died, I don't know what I would have done, because I'm pretty sure he would not have wanted that in the book." Lee Adler initially shunned Berendt after the book's release, claiming he was misrepresented. "At first he wouldn't talk to me; now, he shakes my hand," said Berendt. Nancy Hillis, who appears as Mandy Nichols, later explained that, contrary to Berendt's portrayal of her, she did not meet Joe Odom until he had moved from 16 East Jones Street to 101 East Oglethorpe Avenue . She also clarified that there

1260-495: The year before the book's publication, Savannah had five million visitors, who spent almost $ 600 million during their time in the city. Two years after the book's release, Savannah was seeing a 46% increase in tourism. Twenty years later, the number of visitors to the city had jumped to 12.5 million, spending $ 2.2 billion. Joseph Marinelli, president of the Savannah Convention and Visitors Bureau, does not attribute

1302-494: Was announced that the musical would open on Broadway in 2025. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil Berendt combined self-witnessed experiences during his time living in Savannah (roughly four years after the shooting) with stories from the preceding years recounted to him by locals; he catches up with proceedings around the book's mid-point. Williams was a free man during Berendt's five years in Savannah. The author took some liberties with his writing, including creating

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1344-512: Was a vocalist on The Eddie Cantor Show and was in the cast of The Philip Morris Follies of 1946 and The Railroad Hour . Additionally, she was hostess on the Spotlight Revue and a featured singer on the transcribed Barry Wood Show . She also appeared in the role of a young Sophie Tucker in the January 13, 1957 CBS Radio Workshop presentation of "No Time For Heartaches". Margaret and Barbara Whiting starred as themselves in

1386-584: Was another number one hit in 1949. It sold 1.75 million copies, and Whiting was titled "Queen of the Jukeboxes". Other recordings include: Until the mid-1950s Whiting continued to record for Capitol, but as she ceased to record songs that charted as hits, she switched to Dot Records in 1957 and to Verve Records in 1960. Whiting returned to Capitol in the early 1960s and then signed with London Records in 1966. On London, Whiting landed one last major hit single in 1966, " The Wheel of Hurt ", which hit No. 1 on

1428-523: Was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA . Other recordings included " That Old Black Magic ", with Freddie Slack and His Orchestra (1942) and " It Might as Well Be Spring ", with Paul Weston and His Orchestra (1945). In 1945, Whiting began to record under her own name. " A Tree in the Meadow " was a number one hit in the summer of 1948, and her duet with country music star Jimmy Wakely , " Slippin' Around ",

1470-553: Was born in Detroit . Her family moved to Los Angeles in 1929, when she was five years old. Her father, Richard , was a composer of popular songs, including the classics " Hooray for Hollywood ", " Ain't We Got Fun? ", and " On the Good Ship Lollipop ". Her sister, Barbara Whiting , was an actress ( Junior Miss , Beware, My Lovely ) and singer. An aunt, Margaret Young , was a singer and popular recording artist in

1512-482: Was commissioned to take a photograph for the cover of the book. The cover image became immediately iconic, with author John Berendt calling it "one of the strongest covers I've ever seen", and the statue became a popular stop for tourists. Owing to rising concerns about the integrity of the statue and the cemetery's privacy, Bird Girl was relocated in 1997 for display in Telfair Museums in Savannah. In 1993,

1554-492: Was composed by Gary William Friedman with lyrics by Will Holt. The revue was centered on issues regarding aging. The stage production opened at New York City's Entermedia Theatre on June 9, 1983. It went on to win the 1984 Outer Critic's Circle Award for Best Lyrics/Music and was nominated for the 1984 Drama Desk Award for Best Musical (losing to Stephen Sondheim's Sunday In the Park With George ). A cast recording of

1596-404: Was no romantic relationship between her and Odom, largely because Odom was gay. The person represented by Serena Dawes (based on Helen Avis Drexel ) died in 1974, over twenty years before the book's release. Minerva is based on Valerie Boles , a root doctor from South Carolina . Regarding the high number of eccentric characters in Savannah, Berendt's belief is that it is because gossip

1638-436: Was so important during his time in the city. "People in Savannah gossip more than anywhere else," he said. "What do people gossip about? Other people's behavior. The stranger the behavior, the better the gossip. The person that is being gossiped about knows they are being appreciated and attempts to outdo themself on the strangeness." In 2024, Berendt stated that he believed Williams was guilty of murder. The title alludes to

1680-664: Was the Artistic Director of the annual Cabaret and Performance Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford Connecticut. With other performers such as Julie Wilson and Anne Francine as well as musical directors like Tex Arnold, she spent 10 days instructing selected professionals and amateurs in the cabaret performance process. Whiting was married four times, and had one child: Whiting died on January 10, 2011, aged 86, from natural causes at

1722-483: Was the most challenging to record: "Especially because all the characters in Midnight have the same damned Savannah accent, so you can't toss in a little North Country to help differentiate them!" he said in 2010. Margaret Whiting Margaret Eleanor Whiting (July 22, 1924 – January 10, 2011) was an American singer of popular music and country music who gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s. Whiting

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1764-408: Was turned into a musical in 2024 with lyrics and music by Jason Robert Brown and book by Taylor Mac . The book won the 1995 Boeke Prize and was one of the finalists for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction. Jeff Woodman recorded the audiobook version of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil . He stated that Berendt's effort, along with that of Ellen Raskin 's The Westing Game ,

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