Author

Skip Hollandsworth

Skip Hollandsworth's Profile Photo

Skip Hollandsworth is a staff writer at Texas Monthly, specializing in long-form narratives. He grew up in Wichita Falls, Texas, attended TCU in Fort Worth, and after graduation worked as a reporter and columnist for newspapers in Dallas. He also worked as a television producer and documentary filmmaker.

In 1989, Hollandsworth joined Texas Monthly, where he has received several journalism awards, including a National Headliner Award, the national John Hancock Award for Excellence in Business and Financial Journalism, the City and Regional Magazine Association gold award for feature writing, and the Texas Institute of Letters O. Henry Award for magazine writing. He has been a finalist four times for a National Magazine Award, the magazine industry’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, and in 2010 he won the National Magazine Award in feature writing for “Still Life,” his story about a young man who, after suffering a crippling football injury in high school, spent the next 33 years in his bedroom, unable to move. The comic crime movie Bernie, which Hollandsworth cowrote with director Richard Linklater, was released in May 2012. It's based on his 1998 story "Midnight in the Garden of East Texas." His book, The Midnight Assassin, a true crime historical thriller, was published in April 2016 and became a New York Times best-seller.

True Crime |
November 1, 1997

The Bookmaker’s Wife

She had a secret life, and so did her husband. For a while they seemed to have a pleasant existence in the affluent Houston neighborhood of River Oaks. But then she turned up dead.

By Skip Hollandsworth

The Culture |
May 31, 1997

The Curse of Romeo and Juliet

Frankie Mitchell and Janet Evans want to be together, but their families are feuding. It’s a story as old as Shakespeare—older, in fact, because they’re Gypsies, the children of two prominent Dallas clans, and ancient superstitions guide every aspect of their lives. Even love.

By Skip Hollandsworth

Feature |
September 30, 1996

Absolutely Farbulous

Carolyn Farb wrote the book on charity fundraising, so when she calls, the stars come out to play, and Houston�s high society has a ball.

By Skip Hollandsworth

True Crime |
June 30, 1996

Poisoning Daddy

No one ever suspected a thing until she asked her best friend if she could keep a terrible secret: the bizarre story of teenager Marie Robards, the devoted daughter who murdered her father.

By Skip Hollandsworth

Style & Design |
June 30, 1996

Wende, Becky, and Kelly Parks

There haven’t been many successful sister acts in the world of modeling, but don’t tell that to the Parkses. Farm girls who grew up near Arlington in the tiny community of Webb, 20-year-old Wende, 22-year-old Becky, 23-year-old Kelly, and 26-year-old Kimberly piled into the front seat of a pickup truck

By Skip Hollandsworth

Feature |
April 1, 1996

Interview With The Vamp

After twenty years as the reigning queen of the soaps, the essential truth about Morgan Fairchild remains: She’s not a bitch, but she plays one on TV.

By Skip Hollandsworth

Food & Drink |
January 1, 1996

Lay’s of Our Lives

BESIDES THE TASTE OF ITS CHIPS, Frito-Lay’s advertising has had a lasting impact on Americans. Grown-ups can still sing all the words to “Ai-yi-yi-yi, I’m the Frito Bandito” and “Munch a Bunch of Fritos.” Only time will tell if the supermodels’ plug for Baked Lay’s will join the ranks of

By Skip Hollandsworth

Business |
January 1, 1996

Hot Potatoes

Is it possible to have a low-fat chip that tastes good? After three years of top-secret tinkering, Frito-Lay thinks it has hit upon the ultimate snacker’s delight.

By Skip Hollandsworth

Business |
November 1, 1995

Hostile Makeover

Mary Kay Ash and Jinger Heath have made fortunes getting women to buy and sell their beauty products. But no lipstick or powder can conceal the ugliness between these Dallas cosmetics queens.

By Skip Hollandsworth

Reporter |
April 30, 1995

Refinery Woe

Citizens groups in Corpus Christi blame pollution for high cance rates—but they must prove it.

By Skip Hollandsworth

Reporter |
April 1, 1994

Karate Cop

Tough guy Chuck Norris’ kick is better than his kiss on the TV hit Walker, Texas Ranger.

By Skip Hollandsworth

Feature |
December 1, 1993

Fallen Angels

We started out as pious kids helping Wichita Falls celebrate the birth of Christ. We ended up astray in a manger.

By Skip Hollandsworth

True Crime |
April 30, 1993

See No Evil

Dallas police say Charles Albright is the coldest, most depraved killer of women in the city’s history. To me, he seems like a perfect gentleman. Maybe too perfect.

By Skip Hollandsworth

True Crime |
November 1, 1992

The Almost Great Bank Robbery

It seemed like the perfect inside job: A respected cop conspires with his teller girlfriend to pull the biggest bank heist in San Antonio history. If they hadn’t been so careless, they might have gotten away with it.

By Skip Hollandsworth

True Crime |
February 1, 1992

The Ranger Bandit

Steve Benifiel was an old-fashioned outlaw who practically owned the town of Ranger—until he was busted for running one of West Texas’s biggest drug rings.

By Skip Hollandsworth