Pearl Zane Gray was born in Zanesville, OH, the fourth of five children. After the author’s birth, the family changed the spelling of their last name to “Grey”.
As a boy, Zane Grey was athletic who loved fishing and baseball. Mr. Grey fought a lot in school, his biographers believe this is because he suffered severe beatings by his father.
Early on he developed an interest in writing, especially historical stories. He was an avid reader of adventure stories, such
Grey got a baseball scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania to study dentistry (like his father). It was his baseball playing that him through school, not his grades. He played for several teams in the minor leagues.
After graduating, Mr. Zane established a dentistry practice in New York City, in order to be close to the publishing world.
Grey wrote 89 books, 56 of which were set in the West, one in the East, three in the Ohio River country, two novelettes, three collections of short stories, two hunting books, six children’s books, two novels about baseball, and eight books about fishing.
He was in the top ten of the best seller list every year between 1915 – 1924, with the exception of 1916.
Grey’s work was based on firsthand experience, and meticulous research which was supported by notes. Despite this, critics found his Western depictions violent, unreal, and very violent.
The TV series The Lone Ranger was adapted from Zane Grey’s successful novel The Lone Star Ranger (adapted into movies in 1919, 1923, 1930 and 1942, and a 1949 comic book published by Dell Comics titled The Ranger). Fifty of Mr. Grey’s novels were adapted into over 100 movies.
Grey was one of the first millionaire authors, and a force in shaping the myths of the Old West.
Zohar – Man of la Book
*Amazon links point to an affiliate account
Summary
Article Name
Fun Facts Friday: Zane Grey
Description
Zane Grey (31 January, 1872 – 23 October, 1939) was an American author mostly associated with adventures and stories taking place in the Wild West.
Author
Man of la Book
Publisher Name
Man of la Book - A Bookish Blog
Publisher Logo
Man of la Book
A father, husband, avid reader, blogger, software engineer & wood worker who is known the world over as a man of many interests and to his wife as “an idiot”.