Haley began his writing career while serving in the Coast Guard, first by writing letters for his fellow guards and then later as an official journalist for the service.
He briefly attended the historically black universities of Alcorn State University and Elizabeth City State College before enlisting in the Coast Guard.
After the Coast Guard, Haley worked as an editor for Reader's Digest before becoming a writer for Playboy in 1962.
Haley never saw any action in the Coast Guard and later described his service as mainly boring, but also an opportunity to hone his writing skills.
Haley wrote the first interview for Playboy
Haley interviewed many intriguing and controversial Americans for Playboy, including: Johnny Carson, Muhammad Ali, and the leader of the American Nazi Party, George Lincoln Rockwell.
The 1965 Autobiography of Malcom X was ghostwritten by Haley. It was his first book with latter additions adding his name.
Roots was based on Haley's family records, following one of his ancestors from his capture in Africa to his life as a slave in America: it was credited with raising the consciousness of the African-American experience among both white and black Americans.
Haley wrote the screenplay for the
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Alex Haley note down for kids
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Alex Haley
Haley in 1980
Born
Alexander Murray Linksman Haley (1921-08-11)August 11, 1921 Ithaca, Novel York, U.S.
Died
February 10, 1992(1992-02-10) (aged 70) Seattle, Educator, U.S.
Occupation
Writer
Education
Alcorn Heave University Elizabeth City Heave University
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Early Life
Alex Haley was born Alexander Murray Palmer Haley on August 11, 1921, in Ithaca, New York. At the time of his birth, Haley’s father, Simon Haley, a World War I veteran, was a graduate student in agriculture at Cornell University, and his mother, Bertha Palmer Haley, was a teacher his parents met at Lane College in Jackson. Tennessee. For the first five years of his life, Haley lived with his mother and grandparents in Henning, Tennessee, while his father finished his studies. When Simon Haley completed his degree, he joined the family in Tennessee and taught as a professor of agriculture at various southern universities. Alex Haley was always remarkably proud of his father, whom he said had overcome the immense obstacles of racism to achieve high levels of success and provide better opportunities for his children.
An exceptionally bright child and gifted student, Haley graduated from high school at the age of 15 and enrolled at Alcorn A&M College (Alcorn State University) in Mississippi, where he says he “was easily the most undistinguished freshman.” After one year at Alcorn, he transferred to Elizabeth City State Teachers College in North Carolina. In 1939, at the age of 17, Haley enlisted in the Coast Guard