John Ball met my father and later informed my father that he was the subject of a book. In the letter, John Ball stated that Virgil Tibbs was created from how he envisioned my father, if my father was in a different profession. My father and John Ball met again in CA and John Ball was to introduce my father to Sidney Poitier during the making of In the Heat of the Night movie but, never did due to a schedule conflict. Interesting that Virgil Tibbs would not exist had it not been for an encounter and meeting between my father and John Ball.
Wow! That’s fascinating. You should write about your father. John Ball is one of those writers who created an iconic character and novel title but whose own name isn’t widely known. Meanwhile you have writers like John Updike and Norman Mailer, whose own names are well known but who never managed to create an iconic character.
John Ball met my father and later informed my father that he was the subject of a book. In the letter, John Ball stated that Virgil Tibbs was created from how he envisioned my father, if my father was in a different profession. My father and John Ball met again in CA and John Ball was to introduce my father to Sidney Poitier during the making of In the Heat of the Night movie but, never did due to a schedule conflict. Interesting that Virgil Tibbs would not exist had it not been for an encounter and meeting between my father and John Ball.
Wow! That’s fascinating. You should write about your father. John Ball is one of those writers who created an iconic character and novel title but whose own name isn’t widely known. Meanwhile you have writers like John Updike and Norman Mailer, whose own names are well known but who never managed to create an iconic character.
"For what it’s worth, he was also a semi-professional magician and an ardent nudist. Few writers have ever had a resume as interesting as Ball’s."
I see what ya did there!
😂