Carr, Howie 1952-

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Carr, Howie 1952-
(Howard Louis Carr, Jr.)

PERSONAL:

Born January 17, 1952, in Portland, ME; son of Howard Louis and Frances Stokes (Sutton) Carr; married; wife's name Kathy; children: (first marriage) two daughters; (second marriage) Carolyn, Charlotte, Christina. Education: Graduated from University ofNorth Carolina at Chapel Hill. Religion: Roman Catholic.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Wellesley, MA. Office—WRKO, 20 Guest St., 3rd Fl., Boston, MA 02135.E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Broadcaster and journalist. Winston-Salem Journal,Winston-Salem, NC, assistant city editor; Boston Herald American (nowBoston Herald), Boston, MA, Boston City Hall bureau chief, 1980-81, State House bureau chief, columnist; WNEV (now WHDH), political reporter; The Howie Carr Show, WRKO, Boston, MA, host of syndicated radio program. Has also worked as a reporter and commentator for Boston television stations WGBH and WLVI. Portrayed himself in the feature film A Civil Action.

MEMBER:

Phi Beta Kappa.

AWARDS, HONORS:

National Magazine Award, 1985, for essays and criticism; nominated for an Emmy Award.

WRITINGS:

The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorized and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter Century, Warner Books (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Radio and television personality Howie Carr is well known for uncovering the wrongdoings of Massachusetts politicians and exposing them in brutal columns for the Boston Herald front page. The journalist got his start working for the Boston Herald American(now the Boston Herald), as the Boston City Hall reporter, later becoming bureau chief for that division, then State House bureau chief, before being awarded his own regular front-page column. His television work began when he reported for several local Boston television stations early in his career, and he is now considered a valued commentator for various national news programs and networks, including NBC Today, Larry King Live, Cable News Network (CNN), and Fox News Channel. Carr is respected for his willingness to get to the heart of a story without fear of repercussion from his subjects.

In 2006 Carr released his first book, the nonfiction The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorized and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter Century. This book tells the true story of brothers Billy and Whitey Bulger. Billy was a part of Boston's political machine, eventually becoming president of both the Massachusetts senate and the University of Massachusetts, while Whitey headed the city's more corrupt elements, running the Irish criminal underground. Carr traces their story from a childhood in south Boston through their long careers—during which the author contends they worked together to get what they wanted through manipulation, payouts and, failing other methods, violence—and culminating in Billy's eventual fall from power due to these inappropriate activities. A Publishers Weekly critic, although calling The Brothers Bulger a "superior" telling of their history, noted that the book "still falls short of … definitive." J. Max Robins, in a Broadcasting & Cable review, agreed that it was lacking in some information and felt "viewers would have been better-served with the whole story." A contributor for Kirkus Reviews disagreed, calling the book "a classic, seamy portrait" which Carr told well, using "crackling Boston-Irish sarcasm."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Broadcasting & Cable, March 20, 2006, J. Max Robins, "Married to the Mob," review of The Brothers Bulger: How They Terrorized and Corrupted Boston for a Quarter Century, p. 6.

Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2005, review ofThe Brothers Bulger, p. 1307.

Publishers Weekly, October 24, 2005, review of The Brothers Bulger, p. 49.