Ponce de Leon, Charles L.

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Ponce de Leon, Charles L.

PERSONAL: Education: University of California at Santa Barbara, B.A., 1981, Rutgers University, Ph.D., 1992.

ADDRESSES: Office— Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Rd., 2008 HUM Building, Purchase, NY 10577. E-mail— charles.poncedeleon@purchase. edu.

CAREER: Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, lecturer, 1992-94; State University of New York, Purchase College, Purchase, NY, assistant professor, 1994-2001, associate professor of history, 2001—.

AWARDS, HONORS: Smithsonian Institution fellowship, 1988-89; junior faculty development award, 1998-99.

WRITINGS

NONFICTION

Self-Exposure: Human-Interest Journalism and the Emergence of Celebrity in America, 1890-1940, University of North Carolina Press (Chapel Hill, NC), 2002.

Fortunate Son: The Life of Elvis Presley, Hill & Wang (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor to The Airplane and American Culture, edited by Domenic J. Pisano, Smithsonian Institution Press (Washington, DC), 1996.

SIDELIGHTS: Charles L. Ponce de Leon explored the nature of celebrity in his first book, Self-Exposure: Human-Interest Journalism and the Emergence of Celebrity in America, 1890-1940. In his next book, Fortunate Son: The Life of Elvis Presley, he brought his insight to the life of one of America’s most famous celebrities.

Discussing the emergence of celebrity in an interview with Scott McLemee for the Chronicle of Higher Education, Ponce de Leon stated that in the period between 1890 and 1940, journalism changed significantly in its treatment of human-interest stories. During the 1890s, stories that took a human-interest perspective were often omitted altogether from major newspapers, or were very limited. By 1940, however, the human-interest angle of news reporting had crept into almost every area of magazine and newspaper journalism. This created many new opportunities for people who had not really done anything newsworthy, but who hoped to promote themselves in some way. The era of celebrity was emerging, but along with the advantages for those who sought media attention, there was the drawback of having their personal lives violated in ways they would not have asked for. Ponce de Leon commented to McLemee: “Today you find a coexistence of forms that seemingly shouldn’t coexist in one culture . . .. publications that claim, . . . to present the real selves of celebrities . . .. And alongside them, there will be accounts that are all about . . . the idea that everyone is manipulating everyone else.”

Reviewing Self-Exposure for Hedgehog Review, Andrew Witmer stated that Ponce de Leon “masterfully illuminates” the emergence of celebrity. He went on to say that the author makes two important points: “First, he shows that American fascination with celebrities is best understood in light of the social and economic developments associated with modernity. Second, he demonstrates that even seemingly superficial reporting about celebrities carried powerful ideas about matters as fundamental as human identity, the good life, politics, race relations, class status, and gender roles.”

Ponce de Leon’s biography of Elvis Presley begins with the singer’s childhood and upbringing in the South. The first half of the book recounts his rise to fame, while the second goes over his years on the top and his descent into depression, multiple addictions, and death. He shows how Elvis’s celebrity made it impossible for him to live a normal life, and how it also thwarted his artistic ambitions. Though the material reveals nothing new, Fortunate Son is “well written, fast-paced, and accurate,” commented Dave Szat-mary in Library Journal. Another favorable review came from a Kirkus Reviews writer, who acknowledged that while Elvis’s story has been frequently told, Ponce de Leon “retells it well, with respect for his subject and the working-class Southern culture.”

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES

PERIODICALS

Booklist, July 1, 2006, Benjamin Segedin, review of Fortunate Son: The Life of Elvis Presley, p. 19.

Chronicle of Higher Education, September 13, 2002, Scott McLemee, interview with Charles L. Ponce de Leon.

Hedgehog Review, spring, 2005, Andrew Witmer, review of Self-Exposure: Human-Interest Journalism and the Emergence of Celebrity in America, p. 88.

Journalism History, winter, 2003, Joseph Bernt, review of Self-Exposure, p. 198.

Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2006, review of Fortunate Son, p. 563.

Library Journal, June 15, 2006, Dave Szatmary, review of Fortunate Son, p. 72.

Washington Post Book World, August 20, 2006, Joe Heim, review of Fortunate Son, p. 9.