Edward Tivnan

Edward F.X. Tivnan studied at the University of Toronto and graduated from Amherst College in 1967; he then set sail for England, where he studied Ancient History and Philosophy for two years at Oxford's Trinity College. In 1969, he accepted a fellowship in philosophy at Princeton where he completed a Ph.D. in 1973. By then, he was a cub reporter at Time magazine, covering Watergate-related stories for the law section. He was a reporter and staff writer at Time until early in 1978. In February, 1978, ABC hired him to help develop a competitor to "60 Minutes," so he became the first writer for "20/20." In February, 1979, he quit to freelance in TV and print. In February, 1980, he married Marilyn Bethany, a writer for the New York Times Magazine and later New York Magazine. They have two children, Maisie and Nell. He began a book on the pro-Israel lobby, published by Simon & Schuster, and co-produced two BBC documentaries, "Say Goodbye to the President: The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe" and "We Can Keep You Forever: The Story of the MIAs." He also worked on a documentary about the statue of liberty, with producer Allan Albert. In the spring of 1987, he wrote an episode for "Miami Vice." In 1989, he traveled to Leningrade to do a documentary with Walter Cronkite on "The New Russia." He also wrote for "Nasty Boys" that year. In February, 1991, he returned to Russia to follow a hunch about Russian involvement with American POWs. By October, 1991, he had written a cover story for the Los Angeles Times Magazine on Soviet detention and interrogation of US military personnel during and after the Vietnam War. Since 1991, he's continued writing for TV and print.