30 Facts About MacKinlay Kantor

1.

MacKinlay Kantor, born Benjamin McKinlay Kantor, was an American journalist, novelist and screenwriter.

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2.

MacKinlay Kantor wrote more than 30 novels, several set during the American Civil War, and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1956 for his 1955 novel, Andersonville.

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3.

MacKinlay Kantor was born and grew up in Webster City, Iowa, the second child and only son in his family.

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4.

MacKinlay Kantor's father, John Martin Kantor, was a native-born Swedish Jew descended from "a long line of rabbis, who posed as a Protestant clergyman".

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5.

MacKinlay Kantor's mother was of English, Irish, Scottish, and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry.

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6.

MacKinlay Kantor's mother returned to her parents in Webster City, Mr and Mrs Adam McKinlay, to live at their home with her children.

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7.

MacKinlay Kantor changed its spelling, adding an "a", because he thought it sounded more Scottish, and chose to be called "Mack" or MacKinlay.

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8.

MacKinlay Kantor attended the local schools and described the Kendall Young Public Library as his "university".

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9.

MacKinlay Kantor married Florence Irene Layne, and they had two children together.

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10.

From 1928 to 1934, MacKinlay Kantor wrote numerous stories for pulp fiction magazines, to earn a living and support his family; these works included crime stories and mysteries.

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11.

MacKinlay Kantor sold his first pulp stories, "Delivery Not Received" and "A Bad Night for Benny", to Edwin Baird, editor of Real Detective Tales and Mystery Stories.

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12.

In 1928, MacKinlay Kantor published his first novel, Diversey, set in Chicago, Illinois.

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13.

In 1932, MacKinlay Kantor moved with his family from the Midwest to New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area.

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14.

MacKinlay Kantor's work was part of the literature event in the art competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics.

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15.

MacKinlay Kantor interviewed numerous wounded troops, whose thoughts and ideas inspired a later novel of his.

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16.

When Kantor interviewed U S troops, many told him the only goal was to get home alive.

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17.

MacKinlay Kantor wrote a novel in blank verse, which was published as Glory for Me.

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18.

MacKinlay Kantor was said to have lost his temper with Goldwyn and walked off the Hollywood lot.

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19.

MacKinlay Kantor was the only civilian other than reporters allowed to ride with police on their beat.

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20.

MacKinlay Kantor often rode on night shifts, working with the 23rd Precinct, whose territory ranged from upper Park Avenue to East Harlem, comprising a wide range of residents and incomes.

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21.

Also in 1950 MacKinlay Kantor took up research into the post-war life of a war widow.

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22.

In discussions with the chaplain at Mitchel Field, MacKinlay Kantor was referred to Margaret Stavish of Bellmore, New York, who had lost her B-24 pilot husband, Edward Dobson, killed in action on November 18, 1943, and in 1947 married John Stavish, a veteran of the Pacific theater.

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23.

MacKinlay Kantor then published their story, "V-J Day Plus Five Years, " in the August 1950 issue of Redbook Magazine.

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24.

MacKinlay Kantor was noted for his limited use of punctuation within his literary compositions.

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25.

MacKinlay Kantor was known for a lack of quotation marks and was influential in this regard on Cormac McCarthy, who said that Kantor was the first writer he encountered who left them out.

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26.

MacKinlay Kantor was one of three primary influences on McCarthy's adopting his unique style.

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27.

In writing more than 30 novels, MacKinlay Kantor often returned to the theme of the American Civil War.

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28.

MacKinlay Kantor passed his payment on to Trumbo to help him survive.

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29.

MacKinlay Kantor established his own publishing house, and published several of his works in the 1930s and 1940s.

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30.

MacKinlay Kantor died of a heart attack in 1977, aged 73, at his home in Sarasota, Florida.

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