Citizendia
Your Ad Here

For the political scientist, see James A. Thurber. James A Thurber is Distinguished Professor of Government and Director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University in
James Thurber

Born James Grover Thurber
December 8, 1894(1894-12-08)
Columbus, Ohio
Died November 2, 1961 (aged 66)
New York, New York
Occupation Humorist
Nationality American
Writing period 1929-1961
Genres short stories, cartoons, essays
Subjects humor, language
Notable work(s) My Life and Hard Times,
My World - And Welcome to It
Influenced

James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was a U.S. humorist and cartoonist. Events 1609 - Biblioteca Ambrosiana opens its reading room the second public library of Europe. Year 1894 ( MDCCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Columbus is the Capital and the largest city of the US state of Ohio. Events 1570 - A Tidal wave in the North Sea devastates the coast from Holland to Jutland, killing more than 1000 Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The City of New York Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. Nationality is a relationship between a Person and their State of Origin, Culture, association Affiliation and/or Loyalty The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A literary genre is a category of literary composition Genres may be determined by Literary technique, tone, Content, or even (as in the case of fiction The short story is a literary genre of Fictional Prose Narrative that tends to be more concise and to the point than longer works of fiction such A gag cartoon is a single-panel Cartoon, usually including a written caption that appears beneath the drawing most often published in magazines An essay is usually a short piece of writing It is often written from an author's personal point of view. Humour or humor (see spelling differences) is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke Laughter and provide Amusement A language is a dynamic set of visual auditory or tactile Symbols of Communication and the elements used to manipulate them My Life and Hard Times is the 1933 Autobiography of James Thurber. George Robert "Bob" Newhart (born September 5, 1929) is an American stand-up comedian and Actor. Henry Charles Bukowski ( August 16 1920 – March 9 1994) was a German American Poet, Novelist, and Frances Ann "Fran" Lebowitz (born October 27 1950 is an American Author. Kurt Vonnegut Jr (November 11 1922 – April 11 2007 (ˈvɒnəgət was a prolific and genre-bending American Novelist known for works blending Satire, Black Joseph Heller (May 1 1923 – December 12 1999 was an American Satirical novelist Short story writer and playwright Events 1609 - Biblioteca Ambrosiana opens its reading room the second public library of Europe. Year 1894 ( MDCCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1570 - A Tidal wave in the North Sea devastates the coast from Holland to Jutland, killing more than 1000 Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A humorist is a person who writes or performs humorous material A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing Cartoons Traditionally much of this work was and still is humorous and is intended primarily for entertainment purposes Thurber was best known for his contributions (both cartoons and short stories) to The New Yorker magazine. A gag cartoon is a single-panel Cartoon, usually including a written caption that appears beneath the drawing most often published in magazines The short story is a literary genre of Fictional Prose Narrative that tends to be more concise and to the point than longer works of fiction such The New Yorker is an American Magazine that publishes reportage commentary criticism essays fiction satire cartoons and poetry

Contents

Life

Thurber was born in Columbus, Ohio, to Charles L. Columbus is the Capital and the largest city of the US state of Ohio. Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads Thurber and Mary Agnes (Mame) Fisher Thurber. Both of his parents greatly influenced his work. His father, a sporadically employed clerk and minor politician who dreamed of being a lawyer or an actor, is said to have been the inspiration for the small, timid protagonist typical of many of his stories. Thurber described his mother as a "born comedienne" and "one of the finest comic talents I think I have ever known. " She was a practical joker, on one occasion pretending to be crippled and attending a faith healer revival, only to jump up and proclaim herself healed. [1]

Thurber had two brothers, William and Robert. Once, while playing a game of William Tell, his brother William shot James in the eye with an arrow. William Tell (;) Because of the lack of medical technology, Thurber lost his eye. This injury would later cause him to be almost entirely blind. During his childhood he was unable to participate in sports and activities because of his injury, and instead developed a creative imagination, which he shared in his writings. [1]

From 1913 to 1918, Thurber attended The Ohio State University, where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. The Ohio State University ( OSU) is a Coeducational public Research university in the state of Ohio. Phi Kappa Psi (ΦΚΨ Phi Psi is a US national college fraternity. He never graduated from the University because his poor eyesight prevented him from taking a mandatory ROTC course. ROTC links here For other uses see ROTC (disambiguation A Reserve Officers' Training Corps ( ROTC) ROTC produces officers in all branches [2] In 1995 he was posthumously awarded a degree. [3]

From 1918 to 1920, at the close of World War I, Thurber worked as a code clerk for the Department of State, first in Washington, D. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All C. , and then at the American Embassy in Paris, France. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city After this Thurber returned to Columbus, where he began his writing career as a reporter for the Columbus Dispatch from 1921 to 1924. The Columbus Dispatch is a daily Newspaper, based in Columbus Ohio, that serves the central portion of the state During part of this time, he reviewed current books, films, and plays in a weekly column called "Credos and Curios," a title that later would be given to a posthumous collection of his work. Thurber also returned to Paris in this period, where he wrote for the Chicago Tribune and other newspapers. The Chicago Tribune is a major daily Newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and owned by the Tribune Company [3]

In 1925, he moved to Greenwich Village in New York City, getting a job as a reporter for the New York Evening Post. Greenwich Village (ˌgrɛnɪtʃ ˈvɪlɪdʒ often simply called the Village, is a largely residential area on the west side of downtown (southern Manhattan The City of New York The New York Post is the 13th-oldest Newspaper published in the United States and generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continually He joined the staff of The New Yorker in 1927 as an editor with the help of his friend and fellow New Yorker contributor, E.B. White. The New Yorker is an American Magazine that publishes reportage commentary criticism essays fiction satire cartoons and poetry Elwyn Brooks "E B" White ( July 11, 1899 – October 1 1985) was an American writer His career as a cartoonist began in 1930 when White found some of Thurber's drawings in a trash can and submitted them for publication. Thurber would contribute both his writings and his drawings to The New Yorker until the 1950s.

Thurber was married twice. In 1922, Thurber married Althea Adams. The marriage was troubled and ended in divorce in May 1935. [1] Adams gave Thurber his only child, his daughter Rosemary. Thurber remarried in June 1935 to Helen Wismer. His second marriage lasted until he died in 1961, at the age of 66, due to complications from pneumonia, which followed upon a stroke suffered at his home. Pneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the Lung. Frequently it is described as lung Parenchyma / alveolar inflammation and abnormal A stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain functions due to a disturbance in the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain His last words, aside from the repeated word "God," were "God bless. . . God damn," according to Helen Thurber. [4]

Career

Thurber worked hard in the 1920s, both in the U. S. and in France, to establish himself as a professional writer. However, unique among major American literary figures, he became equally well known for his simple, surrealistic drawings and cartoons. Both his skills were helped along by the support of, and collaboration with, fellow New Yorker staff member E. B. White. Elwyn Brooks "E B" White ( July 11, 1899 – October 1 1985) was an American writer White insisted that Thurber's sketches could stand on their own as artistic expressions — and Thurber would go on to draw six covers and numerous classic illustrations for the New Yorker.

While able to sketch out his cartoons in the usual fashion in the 1920s and 1930s, his failing eyesight later required him to draw them on very large sheets of paper using a thick black crayon (also, on black paper using white chalk, from which they were photographed and the colors reversed for publication). Regardless of method, his cartoons became as notable as his writings; they possessed an eerie, wobbly feel that seems to mirror Thurber's idiosyncratic view on life. He once wrote that people said it looked like he drew them under water. (Dorothy Parker, contemporary and friend of Thurber, referred to his cartoons as having the "semblance of unbaked cookies. Dorothy Parker (August 22 1893&ndashJune 7 1967 was an American writer and poet best known for her caustic Wit, wisecracks and sharp eye for 20th century urban foibles "). The last drawing Thurber was able to complete was a self-portrait in yellow crayon on black paper, which appeared on the cover of the July 9, 1951, edition of Time Magazine. Time (trademarked in capitals as TIME) is a weekly American Newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and [5] The same drawing also appeared on the dust jacket of The Thurber Album (1952). The year 1952 in literature involved some significant events and new books

Many of his short stories are humorous fictional memoirs from his life, but he also wrote darker material, such as "The Whip-Poor-Will," a story of madness and murder. "The Dog Who Bit People" and "The Night the Bed Fell" are his most well known short stories; they can be found in My Life and Hard Times, the creative mix of autobiography and fiction which was his 'break-out' book. Also notable, and often anthologized, are "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," "The Catbird Seat," "A Couple of Hamburgers," "The Greatest Man in the World" and "If Grant Had Been Drinking at Appomattox," which can be found in The Thurber Carnival. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1939 is a short story by James Thurber. Ulysses S Grant, born Hiram Ulysses Grant (April 27 1822 &ndash July 23 1885 was an American general and the eighteenth President of the United States Appomattox Court House is a village located three miles (5 km east of Appomattox, Virginia, USA (25 miles east of Lynchburg Virginia, in the The Middle Aged Man on the Flying Trapeze has several short stories with a tense undercurrent of marital discord. The book was published the year of his divorce and remarriage. His story "You Could Look It Up," about a midget being brought in to take a walk in a baseball game, is said to have been an inspiration for Bill Veeck's stunt with Eddie Gaedel with the St. Louis Browns in 1951. William Louis Veeck Jr (ˈvɛk rhymes with "wreck" February 9 1914 &ndash January 2 1986) also known as " Sport Shirt Edward Carl "Eddie" Gaedel ( June 8, 1925 – June 18, 1961) born in Chicago Illinois, was an American The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland. Veeck claimed an older provenance for the stunt, but was certainly aware of the Thurber story. [6]

In addition to his other fiction, Thurber wrote over seventy-five fables, most of which were collected in Fables for Our Time & Famous Poems Illustrated (1940) and Further Fables for Our Time (1956). A fable is a succinct story in prose or verse that features Animals Plants inanimate objects, or forces of nature which are These usually conformed to the fable genre to the extent that they were short, featured anthropomorphic animals as main characters, and ended with a moral as a tagline. A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event An exception to this format was his most famous fable, "The Unicorn in the Garden," which featured an all-human cast except for the unicorn, which didn't speak. The Unicorn in the Garden is a short story written by James Thurber. Thurber's fables were satirical in nature, and the morals served as punchlines rather than advice to the reader. Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and Performing arts In satire human His stories also included several book-length fairy tales, such as The White Deer (1945) and The Wonderful O (1957). The latter was one of several of Thurber's works illustrated by Marc Simont. Marc Simont (born November 23, 1915 in Paris) is an artist political cartoonist and illustrator of more than a hundred children's books

Thurber's prose for The New Yorker and other venues also included numerous humorous essays. An essay is usually a short piece of writing It is often written from an author's personal point of view. A favorite subject, especially toward the end of his life, was the English language. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Pieces on this subject included "The Spreading 'You Know'," which decried the overuse of that pair of words in conversation, "The New Vocabularianism," "What Do You Mean It Was Brillig?" and many others. Thurber's short pieces, whether stories, essays or something in between, were referred to as "casuals" by Thurber and the staff of The New Yorker. [7] Thurber wrote a biographical memoir about The New Yorker's founder and publisher, Harold Ross, titled The Years with Ross (1958). Harold Wallace Ross ( November 6, 1892 - December 6, 1951) was an American journalist and founder of The New Yorker

Thurber also wrote a five-part New Yorker series, between 1947 and 1948, examining in depth the radio soap opera phenomenon, based on near-constant listening and researching over the same period. Radio is the transmission of signals by Modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible Light. A soap opera is an ongoing episodic work of Fiction, usually broadcast on Television or Radio. Leaving nearly no element of these programs unexamined, including their writers, producers, sponsors, performers, and listeners alike, Thurber re-published the series in his anthology, The Beast in Me and Other Animals (1948) under the section title "Soapland. " The series was one of the first to examine such a pop culture phenomenon in depth and with just enough traces of Thurber's wit to make it more than just a sober piece of what would later be called investigative reporting.

Thurber teamed with college schoolmate (and actor/director) Elliot Nugent to write a major Broadway hit comic drama of the late 1930s, The Male Animal, which was made into a film in 1942, starring Henry Fonda, Olivia de Havilland, and Jack Carson. Elliott Nugent ( September 20, 1896, Dover Ohio - August 9, 1980, New York City) was an American Actor The Male Animal is a 1942 film starring Henry Fonda as a college English teacher being threatened with being fired for being a Communist because he intends Henry Jaynes Fonda ( May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American Academy Award -winning Film and Olivia Mary de Havilland (born July 1, 1916) is a two-time Academy Award -winning actress. John Elmer "Jack" Carson ( October 27 1910 &ndash January 2 1963) was a Canadian-born U In 1947 Danny Kaye played the title character in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, a film that had little to do with the original short story and which Thurber hated. Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Danny Kaye ( January 18, 1913 – March 3, 1987) was an American award-winning Actor, Singer and Comedian The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a 1947 Comedy film, loosely based on the short story of the same name by James Thurber. In 1951 animation studio United Productions of America announced a forthcoming feature to be faithfully compiled from Thurber's work, titled Men, Women and Dogs. United Productions of America, better known as UPA, was an American Animation studio of the 1940s through present day beginning with industrial films [8] However, the only part of the ambitious production that was eventually released was the UPA cartoon The Unicorn in the Garden (1953). The Unicorn in the Garden is a short story written by James Thurber. [9]

Near the end of his life, in 1960, Thurber finally was able to fulfill his long-standing desire to be on the professional stage by playing himself in 88 performances of the revue A Thurber Carnival, based on a selection of Thurber's stories and cartoon captions. A Thurber Carnival is a Revue by James Thurber, adapted by the author from his stories cartoons and casuals (humorous short pieces nearly all of which Thurber appeared in the sketch "File and Forget," dictating fictional correspondence to his publisher. [10] Thurber won a special Tony Award for the adapted script of the Carnival. The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American Theatre and are presented [11]

A network television series based on Thurber's writings and life entitled My World and Welcome to It was broadcast on NBC in 1969-70, starring William Windom as the Thurber figure. My World and Welcome to It was a US-made half-hour Sitcom based on the humor and Cartoons of James Thurber (1894-1961 The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's William Windom (born September 28, 1923) is an American Actor. The show won a 1970 Emmy Award as the year's best comedy series, and Windom won an Emmy as well. The animation of Thurber's cartoons on My World and Welcome to It led to the 1972 Jack Lemmon film The War Between Men and Women, which concludes with an animated rendering of Thurber's classic anti-war work "The Last Flower. John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8 1925 &ndash June 27 2001 was an American Actor known principally for his comedic roles The War Between Men and Women is a comedy film starring Jack Lemmon, Barbara Harris, and Jason Robards. " Windom went on to perform Thurber material in a one-man stage show.

An annual award, the Thurber Prize, begun in 1997, honors outstanding examples of American humor. The Thurber Prize for American Humor, named after American Humorist James Thurber, recognizes outstanding contributions in Humor writing

Books

Posthumous Collections:

Biographies of Thurber

Literature review

References

  1. ^ a b c James (Grover) Thurber (1894-1961). Authors' Calendar (2004). Retrieved on 2008-03-19. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1279 - A Mongolian victory in the Battle of Yamen ends the Song Dynasty in China.
  2. ^ Thurber House. Thurber House is a literary center for readers and writers located in Columbus Ohio, in the historic former home of author humorist and New Yorker cartoonist James Thurber. Retrieved on 2007-10-14. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1066 - Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings - In England on Senlac Hill seven miles from Hastings, the forces
  3. ^ a b Thurber House. Thurber House is a literary center for readers and writers located in Columbus Ohio, in the historic former home of author humorist and New Yorker cartoonist James Thurber: His Life & Times. Retrieved on 2007-10-14. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1066 - Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings - In England on Senlac Hill seven miles from Hastings, the forces
  4. ^ Bernstein, Burton (1975). Thurber. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, pg 501. Dodd Mead and Company was a publishing company in New York City. ISBN 0-396-07027-2.  
  5. ^ Time Magazine Cover: James Thurber - July 9, 1951. Time Archive: 1923 to the Present. Time Inc. (1951-07-09). Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January Events 455 - Roman military commander Avitus is proclaimed Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Retrieved on 2007-01-31. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon. 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes
  6. ^ Veeck, Bill; Ed Linn (1962). William Louis Veeck Jr (ˈvɛk rhymes with "wreck" February 9 1914 &ndash January 2 1986) also known as " Sport Shirt "A Can of Beer, a Slice of Cake—and Thou, Eddie Gaedel," from Veeck — As In Wreck: The Autobiography of Bill Veeck. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, pp 11-23. The University of Chicago Press is the largest University press in the United States ISBN 0-226-85218-0.  
  7. ^ The Business of Being Funny. The New York Times. Time Inc. (1989-11-05). Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) Events 1499 - Publication of the Catholicon in Treguier ( Brittany) Retrieved on 2007-08-17. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 986 - A Byzantine army was destroyed in the pass of Trajan's Gate by the Bulgarians under the Comitopuli
  8. ^ Priceless Gift of Laughter. Time Archive: 1923 to the Present. Time Inc. (1951-07-09). Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January Events 455 - Roman military commander Avitus is proclaimed Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Retrieved on 2007-01-31. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon. 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes
  9. ^ The Unicorn In The Garden. The Big Cartoon Database. Retrieved on 2007-01-31. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon. 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes
  10. ^ Bernstein, Burton (1975). Thurber. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, pg 477. Dodd Mead and Company was a publishing company in New York City. ISBN 0-396-07027-2.  
  11. ^ A Thurber Carnival. Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Retrieved on 2008-03-01. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 86 BC - Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army enters in Athens, removing the Tyrant

External links


Persondata
NAME Thurber, James Grover
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION American humorist
DATE OF BIRTH December 8, 1894(1894-12-08)
PLACE OF BIRTH Columbus, Ohio
DATE OF DEATH November 2, 1961
PLACE OF DEATH New York City
Events 1609 - Biblioteca Ambrosiana opens its reading room the second public library of Europe. Year 1894 ( MDCCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Columbus is the Capital and the largest city of the US state of Ohio. Events 1570 - A Tidal wave in the North Sea devastates the coast from Holland to Jutland, killing more than 1000 Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The City of New York
© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic