Neal Gabler

Neal Gabler, Senior Fellow at the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center, is an author, cultural historian, and film critic. His first book, An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood, won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Theatre Library Association Award. His second book, Winchell: Gossip, Power and the Culture of Celebrity was named non-fiction book of the year by Time magazine. His most recent book is Life the Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality, and he is currently at work on a biography of Walt Disney. Gabler has contributed to numerous publications including The New York Times, The Los Angles Times, Esquire, New York Magazine, Vogue, American Heritage, The New York Republic, Us, and Playboy. He has appeared on many television programs including The Today Show, The CBS Morning News, The News Hour, Entertainment Tonight, Charlie Rose, and Good Morning America. Gabler also hosted Sneak Previews for PBS. Gabler held fellowships from the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center and the Guggenheim Foundation. He served as the chief non-fiction judge of the National Book Awards and judged the Los Angles Times Book Prizes. Gabler has taught at the University of Michigan and at Pennsylvania State University. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Michigan and holds advanced degrees in film and American culture.