Later Life
It was fatherhood that gave Wilkerson the inspiration to kick the habit which had plagued him for so much of his life. He quit gambling cold turkey with the birth of his son in October, 1951. It was as if family life provided a sense of permanence and fulfillment that had been sadly lacking throughout six nomadic decades.
Wilkerson had been in relatively poor health throughout the later half of the 1950s due to decades of excessive smoking. He continued to head The Hollywood Reporter and write his daily Tradeviews column up until his death.
Wilkerson died of a heart attack on September 2, 1962 at his Bel-Air home, one day before the Hollywood Reporter's 32nd anniversary. He is interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City.
Read more about this topic: William Wilkerson
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