Lardner, Ring

Lardner, Ring

▪ American writer
original name  Ringgold Wilmer Lardner 
born March 6, 1885, Niles, Mich., U.S.
died Sept. 25, 1933, East Hampton, N.Y.

      American writer, one of the most gifted, as well as the most bitter, satirists in the United States and a fine storyteller with a true ear for the vernacular.

      Lardner came from a well-to-do family, although his father lost most of his fortune during Lardner's last year in high school. He attended Armour Institute of Technology in Chicago for one term and then worked at a series of jobs before beginning his writing career in 1905 as a reporter for the South Bend Times in Indiana. He went on to newspapers in Chicago, where he established a reputation as a sportswriter specializing in baseball stories. From 1913 to 1919 he wrote a daily column, "In the Wake of the News," for the Chicago Tribune and from 1919 to 1927 a humorous weekly column for the Bell Syndicate. Meanwhile, in 1914, he had begun publishing fiction and had won success with stories featuring the character Jack Keefe, a comic baseball player, some of which were collected in You Know Me Al (1916).

      Lardner moved to New York in 1919, and the scope of his stories spread beyond the baseball diamond. He first attracted critical interest with his collection How to Write Short Stories (1924). Some of Lardner's best stories— "My Roomy," "Champion," "The Golden Honeymoon," and "Some Like Them Cold" —appeared in the 1924 collection. Equally good was his next: The Love Nest and Other Stories (1926), with its notable title story (dramatized by Robert E. Sherwood in 1927), "A Day with Conrad Green," and "Haircut." Selected Stories was published in 1997.

      Lardner contracted tuberculosis and was in and out of hospitals during his last seven years, turning his hand to all manner of writing to support his family. He collaborated on two plays that had Broadway runs: Elmer the Great (1928) with George M. Cohan and June Moon (1929) with George S. Kaufman. His spoof autobiography, The Story of a Wonder Man, appeared in 1927.

      Lardner's son Ring Lardner, Jr. (1915–2000), was a satiric screenwriter who won Oscars for Woman of the Year (1942) and M*A*S*H (1970). A member of the Hollywood Ten, he was jailed (1950–51) and blacklisted because of allegations that he was a communist.

Additional Reading
Among the works on Lardner's life are Jonathan Yardley, Ring: A Biography of Ring Lardner (1977, reprinted 1984); and Ring Lardner, Jr., The Lardners: My Family Remembered (1976). Critical works include Maxwell Geismar, Ring Lardner and the Portrait of Folly (1972); Elizabeth Evans, Ring Lardner (1979); and Douglas Robinson, Ring Lardner and the Other (1992).

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Lardner, Ring — (1885 1933)    Born in Niles, Michigan, Ringgold Wilmer Lardner became one of America s greatest humorists with his numerous short stories. He occasionally worked as a songwriter and playwright, and he wrote songs for producer Florenz Ziegfeld Jr …   The Historical Dictionary of the American Theater

  • Lardner, Ring — pseud. di Lardner, Ringgold Wilmer …   Sinonimi e Contrari. Terza edizione

  • Lardner, Ring Jr. — pseud. di Lardner, Ringgold Wilmer Jr …   Sinonimi e Contrari. Terza edizione

  • Lardner, Ring(gold Wilmer) — born March 6, 1885, Niles, Mich., U.S. died Sept. 25, 1933, East Hampton, N.Y. U.S. writer. He worked as a newspaper reporter, sportswriter, and columnist before he began publishing fiction. He won popular success with comic stories about a… …   Universalium

  • Lardner, Ring(gold Wilmer) — (6 mar. 1885, Niles, Mich., EE.UU.–25 sep. 1933, East Hampton, N.Y.). Escritor estadounidense. Se desempeñó como reportero, periodista deportivo y columnista antes de publicar sus primeras obras de ficción. Alcanzó gran éxito con sus divertidos… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Ring Lardner — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Ringgold Wilmer Lardner (6 de marzo de 1885 – 25 de septiembre de 1933) es un periodista deportivo y escritor satírico estadounidense. Biografía y carrera Nacido en Niles (Míchigan), Ringgold Lardner era el menor de… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Ring Lardner Jr. — Ringgold Wilmer „Ring“ Lardner jr. (* 19. August 1915 in Chicago, Illinois; † 31. Oktober 2000 in New York) war ein US amerikanischer Drehbuchautor. Er ist der Sohn des Schriftstellers und Sportjournalisten Ring Lardner. Sein älterer Bruder John… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ring Lardner — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Lardner. Ring Lardner Naissance 6 mars 1885 Niles, Michigan Décès 25 septembre 1933 East Hampton …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ring Lardner Jr. — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Lardner. Ring W. Lardner Jr. est un scénariste américain né le 19 août 1915 à Chicago, Illinois (États Unis), décédé le 31 octobre 2000 à Manhattan (New York). Biographie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ring Lardner Jr. — Ring Lardner Jr. Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Ringgold Wilmer Ring Lardner Jr. (9 de agosto de 1915 – 31 de octubre de 2000) fue un periodista y guionista estadounidense ganador de dos Oscars, que fue incluido en las listas negras de los… …   Wikipedia Español

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