Pauline Kael’s Grandson Found Dead
The film critic Pauline Kael was a friend and colleague of mine at The New Yorker, and I loved visiting her at her house in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, where many times I watched TV with her and her beloved grandson, William Friedman, as he was growing up. Pauline would usually let Will control the remote, although one evening when he wanted to watch a cartoon (“The Little Mermaid,” or something similar) she shooed him outside, which made me think of her famous remark, “I draw the line at Disney.” Thinking of such moments, I was very sad to find out today from the writer Allen Barra that Will was found dead this past Saturday near the top of East Mountain State Forest, in western Massachusetts. Will, an avid hiker, had been missing for more than a week. There was no sign of foul play, according to a report you can read here from the Berkshire Eagle. Anyone who would like to send condolences to Will’s mother, Gina James, can contact me at brendan@lemonwade.com, for the relevant information.
