# Speed Vogel
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{{short description|American painter}}
'''Irving "Speed" Vogel''' (March 3, 1918 – April 14, 2008) was an American sculptor, painter, and co-author, along with [Joseph Heller](/source/Joseph_Heller), of the best-selling[[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/books/18vogel.html "Speed Vogel, Author's Aide, Dies at 90"] – ''[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)''] memoir, ''[No Laughing Matter](/source/No_Laughing_Matter_(book))''.
He was born in New York City and was the fourth of five children of his father Julius, who was a builder. He was educated at [West Virginia University](/source/West_Virginia_University) and attended pre-med classes at [New York University](/source/New_York_University) but, with the beginning of World War II, started working as a shipbuilder. Vogel started his own textile business, Ria Herlinger Fabrics, with his first wife. Later, he became a furniture producer and left this business at a relatively early age when he retired. After retirement, he dedicated himself to painting and sculpting.[James Robert Parish, "It's Good to Be the King: The Seriously Funny Life of Mel Brooks", published by John Wiley & Sons, 2008, p.124-125]
A textile businessman and associate of [Gwathmey Siegel](/source/Gwathmey_Siegel), he was also a member of the "Gourmet Club," an assemblage of writers, artists and show business people (which included [Mel Brooks](/source/Mel_Brooks) and [Mario Puzo](/source/Mario_Puzo), among others), who gathered weekly from the 1960s to the 1980s to eat and talk at Chinese restaurants in New York City.[{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2011/09/30/obituaries/30goodman.html |title=Obituaries – Image |newspaper=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |date=September 30, 2011 |access-date=2022-06-14}}]
In the 1960s, Vogel met Joseph Heller, best known for his novel ''[Catch-22](/source/Catch-22)'', and they became good friends. In 1982, Heller was diagnosed with [Guillain–Barré syndrome](/source/Guillain%E2%80%93Barr%C3%A9_syndrome), which provokes paralysis. Vogel moved into Heller's house to help him recover. They alternatively wrote the chapters in their best-seller ''No Laughing Matter'', which was published in 1986. The book was on the ''New York Times'' best-seller list for four weeks.[[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/books/18vogel.html/ Speed Vogel, Author's Aide, Dies at 90 by BRUCE WEBERAPRIL 18, 2008] Retrieved on 1 Mar 2018]
He had five children from his three marriages. Vogel died of natural causes at his home in [Sag Harbor](/source/Sag_Harbor), [New York](/source/New_York_(state)). He was 90.[[https://archive.today/20130201092431/http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS163311+18-Apr-2008+PRN20080418 "Speed Vogel Obituary"] – ''[Reuters](/source/Reuters)'']