Roy Hoopes

Roy Hoopes (May 17, 1922 – December 8, 2009) was an American journalist, writer, and biographer who wrote the official biographies of James M. Cain and Ralph Ingersoll.

Roy Hoopes was born on May 17, 1922, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Roy and Lydia Hoopes. After active duty in WWII in the Naval Reserves, he attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., completing his A.B. in 1943 and M.A. in 1948. He worked as a writer and editor for various magazines in D.C., including The Washingtonian, Path-finder, High Fidelity, Democratic Digest Playboy, and National Geographic. From 1957-1977 he also had a weekly newspaper column for the Berkshire Eagle under the false name Peter Potomac. He was a member of the Oral History Association and the National Press Club.

Hoopes wrote and co-wrote over 30 works of fiction and non-fiction. His most notable works include his biographies of James M. Cain, for which he won the Edgar Award in 1984, and Ralph Ingersoll, he also wrote novels and nonfiction about the Peace Corps, the steel industry, politics, sports, and Hollywood.

Roy Hoopes died of pneumonia on December 8, 2009, at age 87.

Selected published works

• Cain: The Biography of James M. Cain (1982)
• Ralph Ingersoll: A Biography (1985)
• The Steel Crisis: 72 Hours That Shook the Nation (1963)
• Political Campaigning (1979)
• The Peace Corps Experience (1968)
• The Presidency: A Question of Power (with Erwin C. Hargrove)
• A Report on Fallout in Your Food (1962)
• Everything You Need to Know about Building the Custom Home: How to Be Your Own General Contractor (with John Folds) (1990)
• A Watergate Tape (2001)
• When the Stars Went to War: Hollywood and WWII (1994)
• Paralegal Careers (with William Fry)
• The Making of a Mormon Apostle: The Story of Rudger Clawson (1990)
• Our Man in Washington (2000)
• Americans Remember the Homefront (2002)

Selected edited works

• Career in C Major and Other Fiction (1986)
• The Baby in the Icebox and Other Short Fiction (1981)
• The Life and Hard Times of the Late, Great Peter Potomac
• Wit from Overseas (1953)