Synopsis of the Life of Dean Lipton

Contributed By

Judith Price

Dean Lipton was a versatile writer. He wrote non-fiction was well as fiction. It is hard to categorize his work because of the wide variety of subjects he penned. Dean was born Solomon Lipsitz on October 3, 1919, in Detroit, Michigan. He left home at the age of fourteen, at which time he landed his first newspaper job. Dean traveled around the United States for three years, working on newspapers or as a migrant worker and living in hobo jungles. Before World War II began, he arrived in San Francisco, and started college; he served in the U.S. Army. After the War Dean earned his bachelor’s degree at Wood bury College, Los Angeles, California. Some of Dean’s various accomplishments include: U.S. Army historian, reporter, editor, publisher, publicist for many political campaigns, and author of books and numerous newspaper and magazine articles. He served as Chairman and moderator of the San Francisco Writer’s Workshop for about 45 years until his death. Mr. Lipton was the first writer to defend Iva Toguri d’Aquino, the “so-called” Tokyo Rose--eventually pardoned by President Ford.

In 1967, Dean entered Kaiser Hospital in San Francisco for a minor ear operation. The surgeon negligently severed a facial nerve. From that moment the entire right side of his face was paralyzed. He was unable to close his eye, to speak clearly enough to be understood, to smile, or to eat without drooling. The traumatic shock plunged him into a mental abyss that made it impossible for him to write. He spent the next five and one-half years barely able to exist through the wait for the malpractice suit to come to trial. His depression was constant, driving him to the verge of suicide—only his love for his two daughters kept him from taking this final step. The only social contact that remained open to him was the weekly visit to a psychiatrist, and steady, long-term treatment at medical clinics to keep the uncured ear infection from spreading to his brain. His long-term friends (especially those from the Writer’s Workshop) and his two-daughters remained constant but Dean’s depression and facial impediments caused aloofness that made it hard for him to interact even with close friends and family.

While he waited to see some semblance of justice done, he was victimized again—this time by shabby legal practices. The first law firm he went to ignored the seriousness of his case, and procrastinated so long that he was afraid he might die before he could reach his day in court. The second lawyer was younger and less case hardened. He was overwhelmed with admiration and empathy for his client, and dedicated himself to the legal struggle on Dean’s behalf.

Although Dean eventually won his case, he was never really compensated for the torture and disfigurement or for the years of despair. The only significant writing he did during this time was the telling of his story in “Malpractice—Autobiography of a Victim”.