Born in 1952, George Wayne is a New York-based writer renowned for his celebrity Q&A column in Vanity Fair until 2015. His interviewing style, often described as bold and occasionally impolite, has earned him the moniker "celebrity griller" and stirred controversy.
He is the mastermind behind the book titled 'Anyone Who's Anyone: The Astonishing Celebrity Interviews, 1987-2017,' showcasing his engaging conversations with notable figures such as Ivana Trump, Martha Stewart, and Farrah Fawcett. Wayne himself characterises his book as a "post-modern exploration of pop culture" during interviews. Also, Mr. Wayne refers to himself as “G.W.”
Speaking to Greek City Times, 'celebrity griller' 'GW' unveils the art of the celebrity interview.
Can you share the story of how you first became a celebrity interviewer and started your iconic Q&A column for Vanity Fair? What inspired you to pursue this unique style of interviewing?
Well, it all began way back as a seventeen-year-old boy in boarding school in the bush of St. Elizabeth parish in Jamaica, West Indies, and reading Andy Warhol's Interview magazine for the first time in my life. I was fascinated and that's where my obsession first began one day living in New York City and working at Interview magazine with Andy Warhol. That was all I dreamt about moving to New York City and being part of Andy Warhol's cabine. I was lucky enough to have parents who were able to send me to America to study Journalism and I did that in Athens, Georgia at then the coolest, hippest college campus in America in the 80s at the University of Georgia where R.E.M. and the B52s and Rupaul all emerged from just like G.W. And I went out every night hoping to meet Andy Warhol. And I was finally getting to know Andy when he went to hospital for minor surgery and never made it out alive. The last time I saw Andy Warhol alive was two weeks before he died at the Michael Todd Room of the Palladium nightclub where he was at least three nights a week. Being in Andy Warhol's presence was just the most incredible electric feeling in the world. To this day, it is unmatched. When Andy died I did go and work at Interview magazine and as such my celebrity interview style has always been a homage to the conversational normal way Andy would do an interview for his Interview magazine combined with the research and substantive queries of my favorite interviewer of all time in Oriana Fallaci. G.W.'s style was to combine both in my own inimitable fashion.
In your book "Anyone Who's Anyone: The Astonishing Celebrity Interviews, 1987-2017," you mention using the "probe and parry" technique to get inside the heads and hearts of your interviewees. Can you elaborate on this approach and its effectiveness in your interviews?
My “probe and parry” approach to the celebrity interview can either bring amazing results or disastrous results. When I speak of ''the probe and parry'' and the disastrous results I immediately think of the nightmare interview of all time with the Hollywood legend Faye Dunaway when she screamed at me for asking about her son who was in boarding school at the time. An innocuous query that sent her off the rails for some strange reason. So then I had to cajole and coax and temper her tantrum before she hung up the phone like fifteen times before I could get the interview done. She was in her Beverly Hills mansion and I was calling from the conference room of Vanity Fair where I did my interviews when they could not be conducted face-to-face. Faye Dunaway hung up on G.W. at least seven times and every time I had to call her back and coax a response to my questions. The rock and roll star Jon Bon Jovi was another example of a disastrous “probe and parry” G.W. Q&A. Another phone with him in Montreal on a tour stop with his band and I could tell he was in a muddy mood. So, I asked him if he was having a bad hair day and he flew off the handle! We did finish the interview but he refused to sit for the VF-exclusive photo shoot! So, we had to use an illustration for his feature that month in my column. But from then on the Editor-In-Chief of Vanity Fair introduced what became known as ''the Bon Jovi rule” where all subjects for the G.W. Q&A column would be photographed first before we scheduled the interview! LOL. An instance when the “probe and parry” works best and the moment devolves into a fun conversation more than an interview would be a moment with the Hollywood novelist back in her day Jackie Collins who will always be one of my all-time favorites. We probed and parried and had the most delightful chat over a three-hour lunch at Le Cirque back in the day. The G.W. x Faye Dunaway was my worst probe and parry ever!
She was screaming and hanging up the phone every five minutes and the only riff I could not get out of my head amidst the madness was Don Henley the rocker with the famous trill in rock and roll - ''Get the widow on the set/we need dirty laundry/we can do the innuendo/we can dance and sing/" - lol. That's what it felt like.
When I interviewed 'God' (as they called Charlton Heston) back in September of 1994 - he was stunned into silence when I dared to bring up his pro-gun NRA fervour.
Throughout your career, you've interviewed a wide range of cultural icons, royalty, and superstars. Is there a specific interview that stands out as the most challenging or controversial? How did you handle it?
For 22 years George Wayne was the master of the revelatory celebrity interview for Vanity Fair. Decades I have spent discovering and interviewing some of the world's leading cultural figures and personalities in the fields of music, film and fashion, art, and lifestyle. The most controversial interview I have ever and it was never published because it probably would have brought down the presidency of Bill Clinton. It was an incendiary interview I did with Bill Clinton's political hatchet man and Svengali by the name of James Carville. This was at the height of the Clinton impeachment and I asked James Carville his hatchet man some really embarrassing and personal stuff that Paula Jones who was having an adulterous affair with Bill Clinton told me. It was so incendiary, it was totally quashed by the White House at the time and it was a very scary situation in fact. And that is all I will say about that! For now! I will not discuss that further until my third book memoir is in progress – “Simply Georgeous”.
In your opinion, how has the art of the celebrity interview evolved since you began your career? What role does it play in today's pop culture landscape?
This is an innate gift that I have - the art of the celebrity question and answer and it all comes from a very curious mind from the very earliest stages of learning.
It's an art form which I have made my own and need to make more money from - this talent of mine! George Wayne has mastered the art of asking anyone the awkward and invasive question without making it seem awkward and invasive - well most of the time anyway. The most important quality to possess for this art form - is the art of listening. Listening to what the subject actually says. We live in a time when no one seems to listen. G.W. also had time to be given the research material from the best research team at Conde Nast and Vanity Fair and the time to prepare for the grilling was always well respected. And that is why George Wayne always had the highest Q Rating of any Contributing Editor at Vanity Fair - past, present, or future! For G.W., it is the art of mastering detournement. And it's always about my deft, novel, and original approach to the subject and the talent at hand. The generation today has no sense of history and they don't read - semi-literacy is never IN. GenZ lacks the credentials because they lack a sense of reading and writing and arithmetic - for them, it's all about scrolling. It's the end of the world as we know it.
Your book features interviews with well-known figures like Ivana Trump, Martha Stewart, and Farrah Fawcett. Can you share some behind-the-scenes anecdotes or memorable moments from these interviews that didn't make it into the published versions?
Ivana Trump was like a fairy Godmother to George Wayne. I forever revere Godmama Ivana who loved champagne as much as I still do. I always still wonder whether she was drunk when she tumbled down those stairs to her death. I wouldn't be surprised if Godmama Ivana had been a bit tipsy. My favourite interview of all time - of course - is the one that led to the G.W. Hollywood Bromance Love Story. That whole episode will have to be the Hollywood indie flick one day. I will let you keep guessing who G.W.'s A-List Hollywood hunk is the subject of his Hollywood Bromance.
Many people consider your work to be controversial due to your blunt and occasionally rude questions. How do you balance the need for candidness with the risk of offending your interviewees? Have you ever regretted asking a particular question?
My metier has always been the wite and bite of this legendary sybarite in George Wayne. The pedigreed gimlet eye of G.W. remains unabashedly blunt as is wont, and the right of this legendary creative thinker and arbiter of the zeitgeist – G.W.! Sometimes you have to touch the third rail - just don't get electrocuted bitch!
If you know anyone in Athens, Mykonos, or Paros - a wealthy patron of the Arts who wants to bring G.W. there next summer to banter as long as you want on The Art of The Celebrity Interview - do let me know!! When Nick Kristoff of the New York Times Book Review back in December 2017 called GW - ''One of Vanity Fair's most provocative and provoking interviewers'' - it was the biggest compliment ever!
Can you share your future plans and any new projects you have in mind? How do you see the landscape of celebrity interviews evolving in the coming years, and how do you plan to stay relevant in this field?
There was an amazing article that dropped in the New York Times Styles two weeks ago. And I say it here too. I would love to re-publish R.O.M.E. magazine. During my senior year of college, the idea for R.O.M.E. magazine was born out of a conversation with my best friend. "When I go to New York City, I'm going to start my magazine, R.O.M.E., and I'm going to put periods in between the letters," I excitedly declared. The name itself didn't hold any specific meaning; I just felt that turning it into an acronym added a certain mystique to it. Rome, as a city, held a special fascination for me, despite never having visited it. The allure of its history and culture captivated my imagination. My primary goal with this revival was to provide the younger generation, Generation Z, with a glimpse into what they may have missed from the analog era. R.O.M.E. had a dedicated cult readership during its heyday, and my role as a cheeky interviewer for Vanity Fair from the mid-1990s until 2015 allowed me to engage with a wide range of celebrities, from Milton Berle and Jackie Collins to Fabio, Geraldo Rivera, Donatella Versace, and Anna Wintour. My work for Vanity Fair and other publications was later compiled in the 2018 book "Anyone Who's Anyone: The Astonishing Celebrity Interviews, 1987-2017." R.O.M.E. aims to capture the essence of that bygone era, delivering nostalgia and insights to today's readers.
Have you traveled to Greece and what is your impression? Do you have collaborated with any Greek professionals?
I love Greece very much. In fact - I like to think I was one reason Greece was awarded the Olympic Games back in the 90's. The Greek Olympic Committee flew G.W. to Athens a year before the Games were awarded and I predicted Athens would have to win. They did. I loved the Hotel Astir and the Intercontinental with the amazing views of the Parthenon. Get G.W. a trip to Greece soon - Darlinka!
Photographer: Andrew Werner
GW SHOT SEPTEMBER 2023 AT THE SOHOWORKS IN THE MEATPACKING DISTRICT
