{{short description|American journalist and author}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2014}} {{Infobox person | name = Cal Fussman | image = Cal Fussman 2017 (cropped-J1).jpg | caption = Fussman in 2017 | birth_name = Calvin Fussman | birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. | birth_date = | occupation = Author, writer | television = | known_for = ''Esquire's'' What I've Learned column | awards = James Beard Foundation Award, Best Personal Essay, 2011<br>The New York Times Best Seller list | title = Writer at Large, Esquire | family = | credits = | agent = | website = http://www.calfussman.com }}
'''Calvin Fussman''' is an American journalist and author. He is a Writer at Large for ''Esquire'' magazine, known for the What I've Learned column, where he interviews leaders in various fields,<ref name=homepage>{{cite news|url=http://www.esquire.com/masthead|title=The Masthead|publisher=Esquire Magazine|year=2012|access-date=October 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007063637/http://www.esquire.com/masthead|archive-date=October 7, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="WIL">"How to do a What I've Learned Interview", ''Esquire'', New York, January 2012.</ref> which have included Mikhail Gorbachev, Jimmy Carter, Ted Kennedy, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Jack Welch, Robert De Niro, Clint Eastwood, Al Pacino, George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Bruce Springsteen, Dr. Dre, Quincy Jones, Woody Allen, Barbara Walters, Pelé, Yao Ming, Serena Williams, John Wooden, and Muhammad Ali.
== Early life == Cal Fussman was born in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up on Long Island<ref name="SI" /> and earned a bachelor's degree at The University of Missouri School of Journalism.<ref name="SI">Howlett, Philip. [https://www.si.com/vault/1983/03/14/625129/letter-from-the-publisherl "Letter From The Publisher"], ''Sports Illustrated'', New York, March 14, 1983. Retrieved on October 8, 2014.</ref>
== Career == Fussman started his career as a sportswriter for ''The Miami Herald'' and ''The St. Louis Post-Dispatch'', then moved to New York, where his work appeared in the magazines ''Inside Sports'' and ''Sports Illustrated''.<ref name="SI" /> He learned how to interview on trains and buses, when he travelled around the world for 10 years and was constantly in conversation with people from all cultures and walks of life.<ref name="WIL" /> Fussman's writing during this time and thereafter often revolved around quests.
Fussman began contributing to ''Esquire'' when David M. Granger took over as Editor in Chief in 1997. He became the lead interviewer for the magazine's "What I've Learned" column, in which people who have lived extraordinary lives discuss the wisdom they have accrued. Some the "What I've Learned" column, have reissued in two books titled ''The Meaning of Life'',.<ref name="WIL"/><ref name="WIL Book" /> ''The Austin Chronicle'' has described Fussman's work in this format as "peerless" and "prolific".<ref name="WIL Book">Badgley, Shawn. [http://www.austinchronicle.com/books/2004-12-10/241460/ "Big Books"], ''The Austin Chronicle'', Austin, 10 December 2014. Retrieved on October 9, 2014.</ref>
Fussman has a chapter giving advice in Tim Ferriss' book Tools of Titans.
==Awards== Fussman's story about his experience at Windows on the World won a James Beard Foundation Award for best personal essay in 2011.<ref name="Beard">[http://www.jamesbeard.org/sites/default/files/static/additional/050712_JBF_WINNERS.pdf "James Beard Foundation Award Winners 2012"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120522130130/http://www.jamesbeard.org/sites/default/files/static/additional/050712_JBF_WINNERS.pdf |date=May 22, 2012 }}, Retrieved on October 8, 2014.</ref>
==Bibliography== {{Incomplete list|date=January 2020}}
* {{cite book <!--|author=Fussman, Cal --> |title=After Jackie : pride, prejudice, and baseball's forgotten heroes |year=2007 <!--isbn=978-1-933060-18-7-->}} * {{cite book <!--|author=Fussman, Cal |author-mask=1--> |title=Double or nothing : how two friends risked it all to buy one of Las Vegas' legendary casinos |year=2008 <!--isbn=978-0-06-083583-5-->}} * {{cite book <!--|author=Fussman, Cal |author-mask=1--> |title=My remarkable journey |year=2009 <!--isbn=978-1-602-86-086-5-->}} * {{cite journal <!--|author=Anon. -->|date=January 2012 |title=How to do a What I've Learned interview |department=Before We Begin |journal=Esquire |pages=12 |url=https://classic.esquire.com/article/2012/1/1/how-to-do-a-what-ive-learned-interview |url-access=limited <!--accessdate=2020-01-04-->}} * {{cite book <!--|author=Fussman, Cal |author-mask=1--> |title=Hitmaker : the man and his music |year=2013 <!--isbn=978-0-446-58518-7-->}} * {{cite journal <!--|author=Fussman, Cal -->|date=January 2013 |title=Leon Panetta |department=What I've Learned. Warriors |journal=Esquire |volume=159 |issue=1 |pages=68–69 |url=http://classic.esquire.com/article/2013/01/01/what-ive-learned-leon-panetta |url-access=limited <!--accessdate=2020-01-04-->}} * {{cite journal <!--|author=Fussman, Cal |author-mask=1-->|date=January 2013 |title=James Meredith |department=What I've Learned. Warriors |journal=Esquire |volume=159 |issue=1 |pages=70–71 |url=https://classic.esquire.com/article/2013/1/1/what-ive-learned-james-meredith |url-access=limited <!--accessdate=2020-01-04-->}} * {{cite journal <!--|author=Fussman, Cal |author-mask=1-->|date=January 2013 |title=Arnold Schwarzenegger |department=What I've Learned. Warriors |journal=Esquire |volume=159 |issue=1 |pages=72–73 |url=https://classic.esquire.com/article/2013/1/1/what-ive-learned-arnold-schwarzenegger |url-access=limited <!--accessdate=2020-01-04-->}} * {{cite journal <!--|author=Fussman, Cal |author-mask=1-->|date=January 2013 |title=Lara Logan |department=What I've Learned. Warriors |journal=Esquire |volume=159 |issue=1 |pages=74–75 |url=https://classic.esquire.com/article/2013/1/1/what-ive-learned-lara-logan |url-access=limited <!--accessdate=2020-01-04-->}} * {{cite journal <!--|author=Fussman, Cal |author-mask=1-->|date=January 2013 |title=Jake LaMotta |department=What I've Learned. Warriors |journal=Esquire |volume=159 |issue=1 |pages=76–77 |url=https://classic.esquire.com/article/2013/1/1/what-ive-learned-jake-lamotta |url-access=limited <!--accessdate=2020-01-04-->}} * {{cite journal <!--|author=Fussman, Cal |author-mask=1-->|date=January 2013 |title=Rod Stewart |department=What I've Learned. Warriors |journal=Esquire |volume=159 |issue=1 |pages=78–79 |url=https://classic.esquire.com/article/2013/1/1/what-ive-learned-rod-stewart |url-access=limited <!--accessdate=2020-01-04-->}}
== Personal life == Fussman and his wife, Gloria Paes, met on a bus in Brazil.<ref>Fussman, Cal. [http://www.esquire.com/features/gerard-butler-interview-0809-3 "300 Things We Didn't Know About Gerard Butler"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140920222443/http://www.esquire.com/features/gerard-butler-interview-0809-3 |date=September 20, 2014 }}, ''Esquire'', New York, July 13, 2009. Retrieved on 9 October 22014005.</ref> They have three children.
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [http://calfussman.com/ Cal Fussman – Official Website] * [https://www.amazon.com/Cal-Fussman/e/B001IGUPJQ Official Amazon.com Author Page – Books by Cal Fussman]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fussman, Cal}} Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:American magazine writers Category:Esquire (magazine) people Category:Jewish American sportswriters Category:Missouri School of Journalism alumni Category:Sportswriters from New York (state)