Thornton Wilder (17 April, 1897-7 December, 1957) was a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright and novelist.
Fun Facts about Thornton Wilder:
1. Thornton Niven Wilder was born in Madison, WI to Amos Parker and Isabella Thornton Wilder. Mr. Wilder was a newspaper editor and diplomat.
2. Young Thornton Wilder, along with his four brothers and sisters spent time in China when their father was stationed in Hong Kong and Shanghai is a U.S. Consul General. All children were people of letters. Amos Niven Wilder was a professor in Harvard and a sought-after poet, Isabel wilder was a successful writer. Charlotte Wilder was a poet by her own right. Janet Wilder Dakin was an environmentalist, animal rights advocate, and zoologist.
3. While the family was living in Ojai, California, young Thornton was bullied because he did not fit and was considered “overly intellectual”, as if it was a bad thing.
This is when he started writing plays.
4. During World War I, Thornton Wilder served with the Army’s Coast Artillery Crop at Fort Adams for three months, rising to the rank of Corporal. He served in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II intelligence, rising to the rank of Lt. Colonel.
5. He attended Oberlin College, but earned his BS in Arts from Yale, and a Master of Arts in French Literature from Princeton, graduating in 1926,
5. At the time of this blog post, Thornton Wilder is the only person that has won the Pulitzer Prize for drama (Our Town, The Skin of Our Teeth) and fiction (The Bridge of San Luis Rey).
7. Mr. Wilder wrote the screenplay for the psychological thriller Shadow of Doubt (1943) which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Mr. Hitchcock said that it was the favorite film of his illustrious career.
8. Mr. Wilder taught at several universities, including Harvard and despite his wide and wild success as a writer, he considered himself first and foremost a teacher.
9. Thornton Wilder was obsessed with James Joyce‘s Finnegan Wake. He spent decades decoding the novel and was considered one of the world’s leading experts on the complexities of its references and puns.
10. Among the honorifics he received were the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Lyndon B. Johnson, and a postage stamp in the “Literary Arts” series.
Zohar — Man of la Book
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Sources:
Thornton Wilder | Wikipedia
Thornton Wilder | thorntonwilder.com
Thornton Wilder Society | twildersociety
Thornton Wilder: Biography & Writings | Britannica
