Started his career at the New York Post in 1960. He has written for
numerous national magazines, has worked as a syndicated columnist, and
was most recently editor in chief of the New York Daily News. His books
include eight novels, two collections of stories, and A Drinking Life,
his bestselling memoir.
Won a Grammy in the "Best Album Notes" category for Bob Dylan's
"Blood On the Tracks"
The premise of his novel "Forever" was inadvertently paralleled by the TV show New Amsterdam (2008).
Eldest of seven children born to Catholic emigrants from Belfast, Anne Devlin and Billy Hamill. His father was a grocery clerk and his mother was a domestic and grocery store worker.
Attended a Jesuit high school.
From his first marriage to Ramona Negron, he has two grown daughters, Adriene (born 1962) and Deirdre (born 1964).