Former Star-Telegram literary editor Larry Swindell dies at 91

When it came to Hollywood’s Golden Age, literature, or baseball, Larry Nolan Swindell was like “Yoda.”

He always knew a thing or two.

“I called Larry my ‘Yoda’ because of his wisdom, insight and tremendous memory. He had a very dry sense of humor and he was just a delightful person to listen to,” said Jim Reeves, former Star-Telegram sports columnist.

Swindell passed away at 91 Monday morning in Moraga, California due to a heart condition. He was married to his first wife, Eleanor Eby, from 1954 until her death in 1983. He was a widower until 1998 when he married Patricia Ann Volder, whom he was married to until his death. He had five children and 11 grandchildren.

Swindell lived a life pursuing and succeeding in one of his deepest passions — literature.

He published five film biographies on Hollywood celebrities like Spencer Tracy — which was a national bestseller — and he also worked as the Star-Telegram’s literary editor from 1980 to 1999.

Swindell worked at other publications like The Philadelphia Inquirer and the defunct Orange County Illustrated magazine, and he even got a nickname because of his days as a journalist.

“You know, he was called ‘Scoop’ by his grandchildren because of his newspaper career and he also loved ice cream,” his daughter Julie Swindell Bookman, 64, said. “It was so perfect. He was a beloved Scoop.”

Aside from being a passionate writer, he also served on citizen boards in Moraga and he did a two-year conscription with the U.S. Army from 1952 to 1954.

Swindell was raised in the North Texas rural town of Quanah. He was born in a house there in 1929.

“That’s his legacy,” said Mark Swindell, one of his sons. “He was a small-town boy who successfully ended up in a few halls of fame and with a few published works on his resume.”

Swindell was inducted in the Texas Literary Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Classic Film Hall of Fame in 2013.

His son Mark describes him as someone who was passionate, but above all else, someone who was kind and friendly.

“He had so many interests and so many friends. I think part of his legacy is all the loved ones he accumulated in his life,” Mark Swindell said.

Reeves remembers Swindell not just as someone wise but also someone who had an elegant, sophisticated and “refined” personality.

“He wrote about John Garfield, Gary Cooper and Spencer Tracy and in many ways, Larry was refined just like the celebrities he wrote about,” Reeves said. “He was just a delightful person.”

This story was originally published June 22, 2020 at 8:35 PM.