William Joseph Kennedy is an American author born in Albany, New York, to an Irish Catholic family. His father, William J., did odd jobs. He was also a member of the Democratic Party and later Deputy Sheriff. His mother Mary worked as a secretary. Kennedy was a choirboy and wanted to study for the priesthood. Instead, he was attracted to journalism as a teenager, so he started his own newspaper and wrote for the school magazine at the Christian Brothers Academy; and, coming from a family of dedicated Democrats, he took an interest in politics.