David McCullough, a beloved television host and best-selling author with many awards, passed away on Sunday at his home in Hingham, Massachusetts. He was 89.
David McCullough won the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award twice each, as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest civilian award in the country.
HBO has produced TV movies and miniseries based on McCullough’s Pulitzer Prize-winning books Truman and John Adams.
David McCullough, please. Dorie Lawson & Rosalee McCullough, the couple’s daughter
When David McCullough was 17 years old, he met Rosalee Barnes McCullough in Pittsburgh. They later got married. Until her demise in June 2022, they remained wed.
He took the risk of quitting his day job to focus solely on writing history and biographies because of the success of “The Johnstown Flood” and the support of his wife, Rosalee McCullough. The couple reared their five kids concurrently.
He is survived by Melissa McDonald, three sons, David Jr., William, and Geoffrey; one brother, George; 19 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. He is also survived by Dorie. Ms. McCullough passed away in June at the age of 89.
In total, they had five children and 19 grandchildren. He enjoys sports, history, and art, particularly watercolor and portraiture.
Three of McCullough’s five children currently live with him in Hingham, Massachusetts, where he established a house after leaving Boston’s Back Bay in 2016. He owns a second home in Camden, Maine.
David McCullough’s Cause of Death: How Did He Pass Away?
David McCullough’s daughter, Dorie Lawson, confirmed his passing. The cause of death, however, has not been made public by the family.
McCullough was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s Point Breeze neighborhood to Ruth (née Rankin) and Christian Hax McCullough. He is of Irish and Scots descent. He attended Linden Avenue Grade School and Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh, the city of his birth.
In 1955, Mr. McCullough graduated with honors in literature. He was debating between enrolling in medical school, starting a play or a novel, or continuing as a trainee at Sports Illustrated, a publication that had just come out the year before.
Following that, employment for writing and editing began to emerge, initially at the United States Information Agency in Washington and then for the history journal American Heritage.
He wrote 11 more volumes during the ensuing decades, including “1776,” a collection of his writings that concentrated on the American military under George Washington, “Brave Companions: Portraits in History,” and the previously mentioned ones.
It also functioned as a companion volume to “John Adams” and “In the Dark Streets Shineth: A 1941 Christmas Eve Story,” which discussed the message of hope that Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill shared at their initial meeting soon after Pearl Harbor.
David McCullough’s earnings
David McCullough’s estimated net worth was $8 million, based on Celebrity Net Worth.
Mr. McCullough was widely used as an illustration of moral excellence. He received more than 40 honorary doctorates from academic historical organizations, among other honors. In 2006, the author received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
In 1990, Mr. McCullough narrated the highly regarded Ken Burns series “The Civil War.” He was the one whose voice was heard repeatedly interjecting historical context into the 2003 Hollywood film “Seabiscuit.”
Yale University awarded David Mccullough a degree in English literature.
The National Endowment for the Humanities selected him to deliver the prestigious Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities in Washington, D.C., in 2003.
Mr. McCullough was the host and narrator of the public television series “American Experience” from 1988 to 1999. He also hosted the television magazine Smithsonian World.
The breadth of information and dramatic structure in his writings inspired television adaptations; “Truman” became a Gary Sinise-starring HBO film, while “John Adams” served as the basis for a Paul Giamatti-starring HBO miniseries.
Mr. McCullough was a self-assured, hale, Scotch-Irish man who excelled on television. He also had blue eyes. He was also in demand for off-camera work thanks to his voice and delivery.