Glendon swarthout biography of william hill

American writer (1918–1992)

Glendon Fred Swarthout (April 8, 1918 – September 23, 1992) was an American writer and novelist.

Several of his novels were made into films. Where the Boys Are, and The Shootist, which was John Wayne's last work, are probably the best known.

Early life

Glendon Swarthout was the only child of Fred and Lila (Chubb) Swarthout, a banker and a homemaker. Swarthout is a Dutch name; his mother's maiden name was from Yorkshire. Swarthout generally did well in school, especially in English. He was a Michigan high-school debate champion.

In math, however, he floundered, and only a kindly lady geometry teacher passed him with a D, so he could graduate from Lowell, Michigan High School. He took accordion lessons and occupied his free time with books, for at 6 feet, 99 pounds, he was not good at sports. The summer of his junior year, he got a job playing his instrument in the resort town of Charlevoix, on Lake Michigan, with Jerry Schroeder and his Michigan State College Orchestra, for $10 per week .

Graduating in 1935, he relocated to Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan (UM). He became more seriously involved in music, forming and singing lead for a four-piece band that played for hops and for three consecutive summers at the Pantlind Hotel in Grand Rapids, the largest hotel in Michigan outside of Detroit.

Glendon majored in English at the UM, pledged Chi Phi, and dated Kathryn Vaughn, whom he had met when he was 13 and she 12, at her family's cottage on Duck Lake, outside of Albion, Michigan. They were married on December 28, 1940, after both had graduated from UM and Swarthout was writing advertising copy for Cadillac and Dow Chemical at the MacManus, John and Adams advertising agency in Detroit.

Beginning writer

After a year in the advertising business, Swarthout decided the way to become a writer was to see the world as a jo

Personal

Born April 8, 1918, in Pinckney, MI; died from complications from emphysema September 23, 1992, in Scottsdale, AZ; son of Fred H. (a banker) and Lila (Chubb) Swarthout; married Kathryn Vaughn, 1940; children: Miles. Education:University of Michigan, A.B., 1939, A.M., 1946; Michigan State University, Ph.D., 1955.

Career

Writer of novels, plays, short stories, and screenplays, 1963-92. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, teaching fellow, 1946-48; University of Maryland, College Park, instructor, 1948-51; Michigan State University, East Lansing, associate professor of English, 1951-59; Arizona State University, Tempe, lecturer in English, 1959-63. Military service: U.S. Army Infantry, 1943-45; became sergeant; awarded two battle stars.

Awards, Honors

Theatre Guild Playwriting Award, 1947; Hopwood Award in Fiction, 1948; O. Henry Prize, 1960; National Society of Arts and Letters gold medal, 1972; Spur Award for best novel, Western Writers of America, 1975; Owen Wister Award, Western Writers of America, 1991, for body of work.

Writings

JUVENILE FICTION

(With wife, Kathryn Swarthout) The Ghost and the Magic Saber, Random House (New York, NY), 1963.

(With Kathryn Swarthout) Whichaway, illustrated by Richard M. Powers, Random House (New York, NY), 1966.

(With Kathryn Swarthout) The Button Boat, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1969.

(With Kathryn Swarthout) TV Thompson, illustrated by Barbara Ninde Byfield, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1972.

(With Kathryn Swarthout) Whales to See The, illustrated by Paul Bacon, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1975.

(With Kathryn Swarthout) Cadbury's Coffin, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1982.

ADULT FICTION

Willow Run, Crowell (New York, NY), 1943, reprinted, AMS Press (New York, NY), 1982.

They Came to Cordura, Random House (New York, NY), 1958.

Where the Boys Are, Random House (New York, NY), 1960.

Welcome to Thebes, Random House (New York, NY), 1962.

The Cadillac Cowboys, Random

Glendon Fred Swarthout (April 8, 1918, near Pinckney, Michigan – September 23, 1992, Scottsdale, Arizona) was an American writer and novelist.

One of his best known novels was made into a film of the same title, Where the Boys Are, along with The Shootist which was made into the 1976 John Wayne film of the same name, Wayne's last cinematic appearance.

Life[]

Glendon Swarthout was the only child of Fred and Lila Swarthout, a banker and a homemaker. Swarthout is a Dutch name and his mother's maiden name was Chubb, from English farmers of Yorkshire. Swarthout's academic career was excellent, especially in English, and his writing aspirations were encouraged, for he was a Michigan high school debate champion.

In math, however, he floundered, and only a kindly lady geometry teacher passed him with a D so that he could graduate from Lowell, Michigan High School. He took accordion lessons and occupied his free time with books, for at 6 feet, 99 pounds, he was not good at sports. The summer of his junior year he got a job playing his instrument in the resort town of Charlevoix, on Lake Michigan, with Jerry Schroeder and his Michigan State College Orchestra, for ten dollars per week.

Graduating in 1935, he relocated to Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan. He became more seriously involved in music, forming and singing lead for a four-piece band that played for hops and for three consecutive summers at the Pantlind Hotel in Grand Rapids, the largest hotel in Michigan outside of Detroit.

Glendon majored in English at the U. of M., pledged Chi Phi, and dated Kathryn Vaughn, whom he had met when he was thirteen and she twelve, at her family's cottage on Duck Lake, outsid

Written by Glendon Swarthout
Review by Jo Ann Butler

Anyone who imagines that a homesteader’s life on America’s Great Plains was all “Little House on the Prairie” hasn’t tried it. Spend six months trapped inside a dark sodhouse with sickly children, your food and firewood running low, and your nearest neighbor many miles away so you are forced to deliver your baby by yourself, and the Polar Vortex will seem like a tea party.

Many 1850s pioneers broke under the strain, and four women in Glendon Swarthout’s award-winning The Homesman are in dire straits. All their overwhelmed husbands can do is cast lots to see which of them will escort the madwomen back across the plains to Iowa, where they can be cared for. When the chosen man refuses his duty, an unlikely volunteer steps forth.

Mary Bee Cuddy, an iron-willed spinster tough enough to manage a claim by herself, can’t bear to see the demented women left to their fates. She finds an even more unlikely assistant in George Briggs – at least that’s the name he gave Mary when she rescued the claim jumper from a lynch mob’s noose. The price of Briggs’ life is to help Mary with her unwilling charges.

The Homesman was first printed in 1988, and is highly worthy of its 2014 rerelease. Swarthout’s prose and plot flow like the swirling Missouri River, deceptively smooth but with dangerous undercurrents. His characters are heart-wrenchingly believable because they are drawn from true-life pioneer experiences. Mary Bee Cuddy is simultaneously gritty and fragile – in other words, utterly human. She and The Homesman are unforgettable, and highly recommended.