24 Facts About James Thurber

1.

James Grover Thurber was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist and playwright.

2.

James Thurber was best known for his cartoons and short stories, published mainly in The New Yorker and collected in his numerous books.

3.

James Thurber's father was a sporadically employed clerk and minor politician who dreamed of being a lawyer or an actor.

4.

James Thurber lost that eye, and the injury later caused him to become almost entirely blind.

5.

James Thurber was unable to participate in sports and other activities in his childhood because of this injury, but he developed a creative mind, which he used to express himself in writings.

6.

From 1913 to 1918, James Thurber attended Ohio State University where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and editor of the student magazine, the Sundial.

7.

James Thurber never graduated from the university because his poor eyesight prevented him from taking a mandatory Reserve Officers' Training Corps course.

8.

From 1918 to 1920, James Thurber worked as a code clerk for the United States Department of State, first in Washington, DC and then at the embassy in Paris.

9.

James Thurber returned to Paris during this period, where he wrote for the Chicago Tribune and other newspapers.

10.

In 1925, James Thurber moved to Greenwich Village in New York City, obtaining a job as a reporter with the New York Evening Post.

11.

James Thurber joined the staff of The New Yorker in 1927 as an editor, with the help of E B White, his friend and fellow New Yorker contributor.

12.

James Thurber contributed both his writings and his drawings to The New Yorker until the 1950s.

13.

James Thurber married his editor, Helen Muriel Wismer in June 1935.

14.

James Thurber's behavior became erratic and unpredictable in his last year.

15.

James Thurber was stricken with a blood clot on the brain on October 4,1961, and underwent emergency surgery, drifting in and out of consciousness.

16.

James Thurber became well known for his simple, outlandish drawings and cartoons.

17.

James Thurber drew six covers and numerous classic illustrations for The New Yorker.

18.

The latter was one of several of James Thurber's works illustrated by Marc Simont.

19.

James Thurber 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.

20.

The last twenty years of James Thurber's life were filled with material and professional success in spite of his blindness.

21.

James Thurber drew them on very large sheets of paper using a thick black crayon.

22.

James Thurber once wrote that people said it looked like he drew them under water.

23.

Dorothy Parker, a contemporary and friend of James Thurber, referred to his cartoons as having the "semblance of unbaked cookies".

24.

The last drawing James Thurber completed was a self-portrait in yellow crayon on black paper, which was featured as the cover of Time magazine on July 9,1951.