19 Facts About Ludwig Bemelmans

Ludwig Bemelmans was an Austrian and American writer and illustrator of children's books and adult novels.

Ludwig Bemelmans is known best for the Madeline picture books.

Ludwig Bemelmans grew up in Gmunden on the Traunsee in Upper Austria.

Ludwig Bemelmans had difficulty in school, as he hated the German style of discipline.

Ludwig Bemelmans was apprenticed to his uncle Hans Bemelmans at a hotel in Austria.

The headwaiter ignored his warning, whipped him, and Ludwig Bemelmans reportedly shot and seriously wounded him in retaliation.

Ludwig Bemelmans spent the next several years working at hotels and restaurants in the US.

Ludwig Bemelmans did become an officer, and was promoted to Second Lieutenant.

Ludwig Bemelmans writes of his experiences in the Army in the book, My War With the United States.

Ludwig Bemelmans associated with Ervine Metzl, a commercial artist and illustrator who is variously described as Bemelmans's friend, agent, and ghost artist.

Ludwig Bemelmans began to publish children's books, beginning with Hansi in 1934.

Ludwig Bemelmans did not write a second Madeline book until 1953, when he published Madeline's Rescue.

Ludwig Bemelmans painted murals therein, but the project was a disaster owing to French bureaucracy, and after two years of frustration and disappointment, he unloaded it by selling it to Michel Valette, who converted it into a notable cabaret.

Ludwig Bemelmans wrote a number of adult books, including travel, humorous works, and novels, as well as movie scripts.

Ludwig Bemelmans painted the children's dining room on Aristotle Onassis's yacht Christina, for Christina Onassis, the young daughter of the magnate.

Ludwig Bemelmans published six Madeline stories in his lifetime, five as picture books and one in a magazine.

Ludwig Bemelmans was involved with the design of the production and present for the tryouts and Broadway performances.

Ludwig Bemelmans is said to have met his future wife, Madeleine "Mimi" Freund, as a model in Metzl's studio.

Ludwig Bemelmans died in New York of pancreatic cancer, aged 64 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.