Editing Alex Haley (section)

===''Playboy'' magazine===
Haley conducted the first interview for ''[[Playboy]]'' magazine. Haley elicited candid comments from jazz musician [[Miles Davis]] about his thoughts and feelings on racism in an interview he had started, but not finished, for ''Show Business Illustrated'', another magazine created by ''Playboy'' founder [[Hugh Hefner]] that folded in early 1962. Haley completed the interview and it appeared in ''Playboy'''s September 1962 issue.<ref>{{cite web |title=Face to Face with the Master of Magical Realism |url=https://playboystories.me/2013/12/13/face-to-face-with-the-master-of-magical-realism/2/ |first=Haresh |last=Shah |date=December 13, 2013 |work=Playboy Stories |access-date=January 1, 2019 |archive-date=January 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190102002111/https://playboystories.me/2013/12/13/face-to-face-with-the-master-of-magical-realism/2/ |url-status=live }}</ref> That interview set the tone for what became a significant feature of the magazine. Rev. [[Martin Luther King Jr.]]'s ''Playboy'' Interview with Haley was the longest he ever granted to any publication.<ref>{{cite web|title=Martin Luther King Jr.: A Candid Conversation With the Nobel Prize-Winning Civil Rights Leader|url=http://playboysfw.kinja.com/martin-luther-king-jr-a-candid-conversation-with-the-n-1502354861|work=Playboy|access-date=May 1, 2015|archive-date=May 5, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505121823/http://playboysfw.kinja.com/martin-luther-king-jr-a-candid-conversation-with-the-n-1502354861|url-status=live}}</ref>

Throughout the 1960s, Haley was responsible for some of the magazine's most notable interviews, including one with [[George Lincoln Rockwell]], leader of the [[American Nazi Party]]. He agreed to meet with Haley only after gaining assurance from the writer that he was not Jewish. Haley remained professional during the interview, although Rockwell kept a handgun on the table throughout it. (The interview was recreated in ''[[Roots: The Next Generations]]'', with [[James Earl Jones]] as Haley and [[Marlon Brando]] as Rockwell.)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/02/15/archives/tv-sequel-to-roots-inevitable-question-new-oral-memoir.html |title=TV Sequel to 'Roots': Inevitable Question |first=Les |last=Brown |date=February 15, 1979 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=June 5, 2016 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=September 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929000516/http://www.nytimes.com/1979/02/15/archives/tv-sequel-to-roots-inevitable-question-new-oral-memoir.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Haley also interviewed [[Muhammad Ali]], who spoke about changing his name from Cassius Clay. Other interviews include [[Jack Ruby]]'s defense attorney [[Melvin Belli]], entertainer [[Sammy Davis Jr.]], football player [[Jim Brown]], TV host [[Johnny Carson]], and music producer [[Quincy Jones]].