Porter, Darwin 1937–

(Darwin Fred Porter)

PERSONAL:

Born September 13, 1937, in Greensboro, NC; son of Numie Rowan (a builder) and Hazel Lee (an artist) Porter. Ethnicity: "English." Education: University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, B.A., 1959. Politics: Democrat.

ADDRESSES:

Home—New York, NY. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Miami Herald, Miami, FL, bureau chief, 1959-60; Haggart Associates, New York, NY, vice president, 1961-64; Arthur Frommer, Inc. (publisher), New York, NY, writer, 1964-67; Frommer-Pasmantier Publishing Corp., New York, NY, writer, 1967-80; Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, writer, 1980-94; Macmillan Travel, New York, NY, writer, 1994-98; Hungry Minds, New York, NY, writer, beginning 1999.

MEMBER:

Society of American Travel Writers, Smithsonian Association, Sigma Delta Chi.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Silver Award, International Film and Television Festival of New York, 1977, for Chemical Transfer.

WRITINGS:

Butterflies in Heat (novel), Manor, 1976, Starbooks Press (Sarasota, FL), 1997.

Marika, Arbor House (New York, NY), 1977.

Chemical Transfer (industrial film), Tim David Marketing Services, 1977.

Butterflies in Heat (screenplay; based on his novel), Jerry B. Wheeler Productions, 1979.

Venus: A Novel Suggested by the Life of Anais Nin, Arbor House (New York, NY), 1982.

Sister Rose (novel), Antelope, 1983.

Razzle-Dazzle (novel), Florida Literary Foundation (Sarasota, FL), 1995.

Blood Moon (novel), Georgia Literary Association (Staten Island, NY), 1998.

Midnight in Savannah (novel), Georgia Literary Association (Staten Island, NY), 2000.

Rhinestone Country (novel), Georgia Literary Association (Staten Island, NY), 2002.

Hollywood's Silent Closet, Georgia Literary Association (Staten Island, NY), 2002.

The Secret Life of Humphrey Bogart, Georgia Literary Association (Staten Island, NY), 2002.

Katharine the Great: A Lifetime of Secrets Revealed … (1907-1950), Blood Moon Productions (New York, NY), 2004.

Howard Hughes: Hell's Angel, Blood Moon Productions (New York, NY), 2005.

Brando Unzipped: A Revisionist and Very Private Look at America's Greatest Actor, Blood Moon Productions (New York, NY), 2006.

(With Danforth Prince) Blood Moon's Guide to Gay and Lesbian Film, Blood Moon Productions (New York, NY), 2006.

Author of The Last Resort, a screenplay. Editor, Travel Bulletin, 1983-85.

TRAVEL GUIDES

(With Stanley Mills Haggart) Spain on $5 a Day, Arthur Frommer (New York, NY), 1955, revised editions published as Spain on $5 and $10 a Day, 1971, Spain and Morocco on $5 and $10 a Day, 1973, Spain and Morocco on $10 a Day, 1975, Spain and Morocco on $10 and $15 a Day, 1977, Frommer-Pasmantier Publishing (New York, NY), 1979, Spain and Morocco plus the Canary Islands on $20 a Day, 1981, (sole author) Spain and Morocco plus the Canary Islands on $25 a Day, 1983, Spain and Morocco plus the Canary Islands on $35 a Day, 1985, and Spain and Morocco on $40 a Day, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1987, new edition, 1989.

(With Stanley Mills Haggart) England on $5 a Day, Arthur Frommer (New York, NY), 1964, revised editions published as England on $5 and $10 a Day,1966, England on $10 a Day, 1973, England on $10 and $15 a Day, 1975, England on $15 a Day, 1977, England and Scotland on $20 a Day, Frommer-Pasmantier Publishing (New York, NY), 1977, (sole author) England and Scotland on $25 a Day, 1982, England on $35 a Day, 1986, England on $40 a Day, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1988, and England on $50 a Day, 1990.

(With Stanley Mills Haggart) Scandinavia on $5 and $10 a Day, Arthur Frommer (New York, NY), 1967, revised editions published as Scandinavia on $10 a Day, 1971, Scandinavia on $15 a Day, 1975, Scandinavia on $15 and $20 a Day, 1977, Scandinavia on $20 Day, 1979, Scandinavia on $25 a Day, Frommer-Pasmantier Publishing (New York, NY), 1981, (sole author) Scandinavia on $35 a Day, 1985, Frommer's Scandinavia on $50 a Day, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1987, and Frommer's Scandinavia on $60 a Day, 1989 published as Frommer's Scandanavia, 22nd edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2006.

(With Stanley Mills Haggart) Arthur Frommer's Dollarwise Guide to Italy, Frommer-Pasmantier Publishing (New York, NY), 1969, revised editions published as Frommer's Dollarwise Guide to Italy, 1981, and (sole author) Frommer's Dollarwise Italy, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1989, new edition, 1990.

TWA's Budget Guide to Los Angeles, Trans World Airlines, 1969, revised editions published as Getaway Guide to Los Angeles, Frommer-Pasmantier Publishing (New York, NY), 1971, and (with Stanley Mills Haggart and Rena Bulkin) Arthur Frommer's Guide to Los Angeles, 1977, new edition, 1979.

(With Stanley Mills Haggart) Arthur Frommer's Dollarwise Guide to England, Frommer-Pasmantier Publishing (New York, NY), 1969, revised editions published as Arthur Frommer's Dollarwise Guide to England and Scotland, 1979, (sole author) Frommer's Dollarwise Guide to England and Scotland, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1987, and Frommer's Dollarwise England and Scotland, 1989, new edition, 1990.

(With Stanley Mills Haggart) Arthur Frommer's Dollarwise Guide to Portugal, Frommer-Pasmantier Publishing (New York, NY) 1970, revised editions published as Arthur Frommer's Dollarwise Guide to Portugal, Madeira, and the Azores, 1980, (sole author) Frommer's Dollarwise Portugal, Madeira, and the Azores, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1990.

Getaway Guide to London, Frommer-Pasmantier Publishing (New York, NY), 1970.

(With Stanley Mills Haggart) TWA's Budget Guide to Madrid, Frommer-Pasmantier Publishing (New York, NY), 1970.

(With Stanley Mills Haggart) TWA's Budget Guide to Lisbon, Frommer-Pasmantier Publishing (New York, NY), 1970.

(With Stanley Mills Haggart) Arthur Frommer's Dollarwise Guide to France, Frommer-Pasmantier Publishing (New York, NY), 1971, revised editions published as (sole author) Frommer's Dollarwise Guide to France, 1983, and Frommer's Dollarwise France, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1989.

(With Stanley Mills Haggart) Getaway Guide to Lisbon/Madrid (includes revised editions of TWA's Budget Guide to Lisbon and TWA's Budget Guide to Madrid), Frommer-Pasmantier Publishing (New York, NY), 1971, revised editions published as Getaway Guide to Lisbon-Madrid-Malaga, 1974, Trans World Getaway Guide to Lisbon/Madrid/Costa del Sol, 1975, Arthur Frommer's Guide to Lisbon/Madrid/Costa del Sol, 1977, and Frommer's Guide to Lisbon, Madrid, and the Costa del Sol, 1981, new edition (sole author) Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1989.

(With John Godwin) Getaway Guide to Paris, Frommer-Pasmantier Publishing (New York, NY), 1971, revised editions (with Stanley Mills Haggart) published as Arthur Frommer's Guide to Paris, 1977, and Frommer's Guide to Paris, 1981, new edition (sole author), Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1989.

(With Stanley Mills Haggart) Arthur Frommer's Dollarwise Guide to Germany, Frommer-Pasmantier Publishing (New York, NY), 1972, revised editions (sole author) published as Frommer's Dollarwise Guide to Germany, 1982, and Frommer's Dollarwise Germany, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1990.

(With Stanley Mills Haggart) Transworld Getaway Guide to Rome, Frommer-Pasmantier Publishing (New York, NY), 1975, revised editions published as Arthur Frommer's Guide to Rome, 1977, and Frommer's Guide to Rome, 1981, new edition (sole author), Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1989.

(With Stanley Mills Haggart and John Godwin) Arthur Frommer's Guide to London, Frommer-Pasmantier Publishing (New York, NY), 1977, revised edition (with Haggart) published as Frommer's Guide to London, 1981, new edition (sole author), Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1989.

(With Stanley Mills Haggart) Arthur Frommer's Dollarwise Guide to the Caribbean, Including Bermuda and the Bahamas, Frommer-Pasmantier Publishing (New York, NY), 1980, revised editions (sole author) published as Frommer's Dollarwise Guide to the Caribbean, 1986, and Frommer's Dollarwise Caribbean, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1990.

(With Stanley Mills Haggart) The Caribbean Bargain Book, Frommer-Pasmantier Publishing (New York, NY), 1980.

Frommer's Dollarwise Guide to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Frommer-Pasmantier Publishing (New York, NY), 1984, revised edition published as Frommer's Dollarwise Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1990.

Frommer's Dollarwise Guide to Austria and Hungary, Frommer-Pasmantier Publishing (New York, NY), 1985, revised edition published as Frommer's Dollarwise Austria and Hungary, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1989.

Frommer's Dollarwise Guide to Bermuda and the Bahamas, Frommer-Pasmantier Publishing (New York, NY), 1986, revised edition published as Frommer's Dollarwise Bermuda and the Bahamas, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1990.

Frommer's Scotland and Wales on $35 a Day, Frommer-Pasmantier Publishing (New York, NY), 1986, revised editions published as Frommer's Scotland and Wales on $40 a Day, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1988, and Frommer's Scotland and Wales on $50 a Day, 1990.

TRAVEL GUIDES; WITH DANFORTH PRINCE

Frommer's Morocco, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1992.

Frommer's Madrid & the Costa Del Sol, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1995.

Frommer's Charleston and Savannah, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996.

Frommer's England from $50 a Day, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996.

Frommer's Caribbean from $60 a Day, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996.

Frommer's Virgin Islands, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996, 9th edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Vienna, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996.

Frommer's Switzerland, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996, 12th edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2006.

Frommer's Spain, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996, published as Frommer's Spain 2008, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Scotland, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996, 10th edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Scandinavia, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996.

Frommer's San Francisco, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996.

Frommer's Rome, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996, 18th edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2006.

Frommer's Puerto Rico, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996, 8th edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2006.

Frommer's Portugal, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996, 19th edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Paris, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996, published as Frommer's Paris 2008, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Munich & the Bavarian Alps, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996, 6th edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's London, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996, published as Frommer's London 2008, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Jamaica/Barbados, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996.

Frommer's Italy, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996, published as Frommer's Italy 2008, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Germany, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996, published as Frommer's Germany 2008, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's France, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996, published as Frommer's France 2008, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's England, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996, published as Frommer's England 2008, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Carolinas and Georgia, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996, 8th edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Caribbean Cruises and Ports of Call, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996.

Frommer's Caribbean, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996, published as Frommer's Caribbean 2008, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's California, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996.

Frommer's Bermuda, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996, published as Frommer's Bermuda 2008, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Barcelona, Madrid, and Seville, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996.

Frommer's Bahamas, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996, published as Frommer's Bahamas 2008, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Austria, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996, 12th edition, 2007.

Frommer's Provence & the Riviera, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996, 6th edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

(And with others) Frommer's Europe, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1996, 9th Edition, 2006

Frommer's Caribbean Ports of Call, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1997.

Frommer's Jamaica, IDG Books Worldwide, 2000, 4th edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2006.

Frommer's Portable Bahamas, Hungry Minds (New York, NY), 2001, 6th edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Portable Puerto Rico, Hungry Minds (New York, NY), 2001, 4th edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Portable Virgin Islands, Hungry Minds (New York, NY), 2001, 4th edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Portable Venice, Hungry Minds (New York, NY), 2001, 6th edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Vienna & the Danube Valley, Hungry Minds (New York, NY), 2001, 6th edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Portable Frankfurt, Hungry Minds (New York, NY), 2001.

Frommer's Denmark, Hungry Minds (New York, NY), 2001, 5th edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Sweden, Hungry Minds (New York, NY), 2001, 5th edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Bahamas for Dummies, Hungry Minds (New York, NY), 2001, 4th Edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2006.

Caribbean for Dummies, IDG Books Worldwide, 2001, 4th Edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2006.

Frommer's Portable London, Hungry Minds (New York, NY), 2002, published as Frommer's Portable London 2008, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Great Britain, Hungry Minds (New York, NY), 2002.

Frommer's Portable Paris, Hungry Minds (New York, NY), 2002, published as Frommer's Portable Paris 2008, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Portable Berlin, Hungry Minds (New York, NY), 2002.

Frommer's Portable Charleston & Savannah, Hungry Minds (New York, NY), 2002, separate volumes published as Frommer's Portable Charleston, 3rd edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007, and Frommer's Portable Charleston, 3rd edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Norway, Hungry Minds (New York, NY), 2002, 3rd edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Sicily, Hungry Minds (New York, NY), 2002, 3rd edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Portable Copenhagen, Hungry Minds (New York, NY), 2002.

France for Dummies, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2005, 4th Edition, with Cheryl A. Pientka, 2007.

(And with others) Frommer's Europe by Rail, 2nd edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2006.

(And with others) Europe for Dummies, 4th edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

(And with others) Frommer's USA, 10th edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Seville, Granada & the Best of Andulusia, 2nd edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Portable Cayman Islands, 3rd edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Frommer's Portable Dominican Republic, 3rd edition, Wiley Publishing (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Darwin Porter is a distinguished travel writer who has also penned a number of celebrity biographies as well as several novels. A former journalist, Porter covered Cuban guerilla training camps in 1960 and interviewed such subjects as Eleanor Roosevelt, Robert Frost, Tennessee Williams, Harry S. Truman, Richard Nixon, Sophie Tucker, Adlai Stevenson, and Lucille Ball.

Razzle-Dazzle, a 1995 novel, concerns Sherry Kelly, a sexually ravenous heiress and film actress who discovers an international plot to lobotomize the President of the United States. "This is trash, but well crafted and entertaining trash," observed Lambda Book Report critic David May. "The preposterousness of the story, it's inclusion of named public figures alongside obvious composites of real people … among its characters, make for an entertaining summer read, perfect for plane, train or beach." Blood Moon centers on Buck Brooke III, a powerful, bisexual Florida newspaper publisher. Greg Herren, writing in the Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review, remarked: "If you consider soap opera an art form … this book will keep you entertained."

In Katharine the Great: A Lifetime of Secrets Revealed … (1907-1950), Porter examines the tangled relationships of Academy Award-winning actress Katharine Hepburn, who romanced such high-profile figures as Howard Hughes, Greta Garbo, and Spencer Tracy. "The book, while fascinating reading, addictive really, is mostly based on unsubstantiated gossip," noted Diane Ellen Hamer in the Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide. "It barely touches on the filmmaking aspects of Hepburn's life, focusing instead on her sex life and her many Hollywood and New York friends and lovers." Porter details the affairs—both heterosexual and homosexual—of screen legend Marlon Brando in Brando Unzipped: A Revisionist and Very Private Look at America's Greatest Actor. According to London Times reviewer Christopher Silvester, "the samizdat quality of the text reflects the underground flavour of much of the information, and there is an astounding revelation on almost every page. If you enjoy gossip and are not too precious about presentation, this book is certainly worth reading."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Americas, November 1, 1983, review of Frommer's Dollarwise Guide to the Caribbean, p. 62.

Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide, November 1, 2006, Diane Ellen Hamer, "Hepburn Imagined," review of Katharine the Great: A Lifetime of Secrets Revealed … (1907-1950), p. 43.

Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review, summer, 1999, Greg Herren, review of Blood Moon.

Lambda Book Report, July, 1998, David May, review of Razzle-Dazzle, p. 33; October, 2000, review of Midnight in Savannah, p. 47; September, 2001, review of Hollywood's Silent Closet, p. 25.

Library Journal, June 15, 1982, review of Venus: A Novel Suggested by the Life of Anais Nin, p. 1243.

Publishers Weekly, April 2, 1982, review of Venus, p. 67.

Times (London, England), February 19, 2006, Christopher Silvester, "Brando the Man," review of Brando Unzipped: A Revisionist and Very Private Look at America's Greatest Actor.