Leslie Whitten

Les Whitten was an American investigative reporter at the Washington Merry-Go-Round under Jack Anderson, as well as translator of French poetry by Baudelaire and influential novelist of horror and science fiction books. Leslie Hunter Whitten, Jr., was born on February 21, 1928, in Jacksonville, Florida. His father was an electrical engineer and executive with the manufacturer Graybar. His mother was a Latin teacher. He grew up in Washington, DC, and attended the Woodrow Wilson High School. "From the time I was 18, I wanted to be a poet," Whitten said later in life. Whitten started at Lehigh University by majoring in civil engineering. After three semesters he left school, served two years in the U.S. Army, and moved to Paris to become a poet. Returning to Lehigh, he changed his major to English and Journalism, became the editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, and graduated magna cum laude in 1950. Whitten wrote nearly a dozen novels--political thrillers, horror, and science fiction -- and translated poetry by Baudelaire from French into English. On November 11, 1951, Whitten married Phyllis Webber (born August 6, 1928) in Paris. The couple had three sons. The Whittens were active in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, DC. They also supported the arts, including ballet and opera. Whitten died age 89 on December 1, 2017, of sepsis in a hospital in Adelphi, Maryland.