Douglass Wallop
Encyclopedia
John Douglass Wallop III (8 March 1920 - 1 April 1985) was an American
novelist and playwright
.
Wallop graduated from the University of Maryland
in 1942, where he served as editor of "The Old Line", a student-run literary and humor magazine.
said "created characters who are both real and colorful, and he has delved into a maniac's mind with considerable understanding." R.G. Peck wrote an article for the Chicago Sunday Tribune
and said it was the "first novel that's well constructed, carefully written, and free of painful mannerisms." Al Hine of the Saturday Review said it's a "novel that is moving and tautly interesting from first page to last. Mr. Wallop writes fluently and without affectation, even when he is exploring the subcellars of bop."
Lost the Pennant (1954), which was adapted by Wallop and George Abbott
into the Tony Award
-winning musical Damn Yankees
.
and they would remain together until his death. His other interest include chess, sailing, music, and woodworking.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novelist and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
.
Early life
John Douglass Wallop III was born on March 8, 1920 to John Douglass, Jr., an insurance agent, and Marjorie Wallop (maiden name Ellis).Wallop graduated from the University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
in 1942, where he served as editor of "The Old Line", a student-run literary and humor magazine.
Writing career
His first novel, 1953's Night Light, the story concerns a father's search into the background of his child's murderer. Anne Brooks of the New York Herald Tribune Book ReviewNew York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
said "created characters who are both real and colorful, and he has delved into a maniac's mind with considerable understanding." R.G. Peck wrote an article for the Chicago Sunday Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
and said it was the "first novel that's well constructed, carefully written, and free of painful mannerisms." Al Hine of the Saturday Review said it's a "novel that is moving and tautly interesting from first page to last. Mr. Wallop writes fluently and without affectation, even when he is exploring the subcellars of bop."
Career
He authored 13 works but is most famous for The Year the YankeesNew York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
Lost the Pennant (1954), which was adapted by Wallop and George Abbott
George Abbott
George Francis Abbott was an American theater producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than nine decades.-Early years:...
into the Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
-winning musical Damn Yankees
Damn Yankees
Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League...
.
Awards
- 1956 Tony AwardTony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
Damn YankeesDamn YankeesDamn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League... - Book of the Month ClubBook of the Month ClubThe Book of the Month Club is a United States mail-order book sales club that offers a new book each month to customers.The Book of the Month Club is part of a larger company that runs many book clubs in the United States and Canada. It was formerly the flagship club of Book-of-the-Month Club, Inc...
- The Year the Yankees Lost the PennantThe Year the Yankees Lost the PennantThe Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant is a 1954 novel by Douglass Wallop. It adapts the Faust theme to the world of American baseball in the 1950s.-Plot summary:...
- The Good Life
- The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant
- Reader's Digest Condensed BooksReader's Digest Condensed BooksThe Reader's Digest Condensed Books were a series of hardcover anthology collections, published by Reader's Digest and distributed by direct mail. Each volume contained several current best-selling novels , abridged...
- The Year the Yankees Lost the PennantThe Year the Yankees Lost the PennantThe Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant is a 1954 novel by Douglass Wallop. It adapts the Faust theme to the world of American baseball in the 1950s.-Plot summary:...
- So This Is What Happened to Charlie Moe
- The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant
Personal life
On January 6, 1949 he married writer and actress Lucille FletcherLucille Fletcher
Lucille Fletcher was an American screenwriter of film, radio and television. Her full name was Violet Lucille Fletcher...
and they would remain together until his death. His other interest include chess, sailing, music, and woodworking.
Novels
- Night Light (1953)
- The Year the Yankees Lost the PennantThe Year the Yankees Lost the PennantThe Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant is a 1954 novel by Douglass Wallop. It adapts the Faust theme to the world of American baseball in the 1950s.-Plot summary:...
(also published as Damn Yankees) (1954) - The Sunken Garden (also published as The Dangerous Years) (1956)
- What Has Four Wheels and Flies? A Tale (1959)
- Ocean Front (1963)
- So This Is What Happened to Charles Moe (1965)
- The Mermaid in the Swimming Pool (1968)
- The Good Life (1969)
- Stone (1971)
- Howard's Bag (1973)
- Mixed Singles (1977)
- Regatta (1981)
- The Other Side of the River (1984)