Robert Sam Anson was a renowned American journalist, author, and seasoned editor who will be greatly remembered as a contributing editor to Vanity Fair for over 20 years. Robert was known for his immersive stories about ex-presidents, social change and conflict, including his own captivity by North Vietnamese forces in Cambodia, He authored about six Non-fiction books and other American magazines. Anson's grandfather, Sam B. Anson, was also a renowned media personality in the city's journalism i... moreRobert Sam Anson was a renowned American journalist, author, and seasoned editor who will be greatly remembered as a contributing editor to Vanity Fair for over 20 years. Robert was known for his immersive stories about ex-presidents, social change and conflict, including his own captivity by North Vietnamese forces in Cambodia, He authored about six Non-fiction books and other American magazines. Anson's grandfather, Sam B. Anson, was also a renowned media personality in the city's journalism industry, and also worked as an editor and publisher of many local daily newspapers. Robert Anson started writing for Time as a student and was employed full-time after his graduation. Anson covered the Vietnam War for Time two years after graduating and remained in captivity for three weeks after becoming a North Vietnamese troops prisoner on August 3, 1970. He convinced his captors that he was a journalist, which saved him from execution, and discoveries after 15 years showed that Pope Paul VI had appealed to the Cambodian authorities to secure Anson's release. One of Anson's earliest tasks was to cover boxer Joe Frazier. Fellow editor Chris Byron recounted how Anson broke his leg or dislocated his shoulder when he got into the ring with Frazier. Anson overcame a bout of cancer and became involved at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Visible Ink writing program. He died of complications from dementia on November 2, 2020, in New York at 75.
