Glendon Swarthout   [1918-1992]

Arts and Letters

Glendon Swarthout


Glendon Swarthout was an author/novelist who authored about twenty books, seven of which were adapted to screenplays, and all seven were turned into films between 1956 and 1984.

Swarthout was born in Pinckney, Michigan on April 8, 1918. Following high school he was admitted to the University of Michigan and majored in English, graduating in 1940. Following graduation he put in a short stint as a copy writer for an advertising agency, and also tried being a free lance journalist. In 1942, the war had begun and before being drafted, Swarthout attempted to enter the United States Army’s Officer Candidate School. He was rejected because of his physical size and weight. So he and his wife, Kathryn Vaugn, who he had married in 1940, went to work at Willow Run, a new bomber plant, outside Ann Arbor, Michigan. While employed as a riveter at the bomber plant, he wrote a book about life in a bomber plant, and had it published in 1943.

As the war continued, the need for enlistees remained urgent, and Swarthout signed up for the military, and was shipped out to Naples, Italy, as a replacement in the Third Division. The Italian campaign against the Nazis was in full progress, and it appeared Swarthout would see plenty of action.  He did not see much action, however, because when the Third Division needed a writer, they quickly found Swarthout, and he turned his gun in for a typewriter. Later when the Third Division was about to invade Germany, Swarthout ruptured a disc in his spine, and that ended his military career. He was discharged as a sergeant.

Following the war, Swarthout returned to the University of Michigan and earned his Master’s degree there. He then began to teach and taught for a while at the University of Maryland and thereafter at Michigan State University. While at Michigan State he also was able to continue his graduate work and earned his Ph. D. in Victorian Literature in 1955.

Swarthout continued teaching at Michigan State for a while but also became more active as a writer. Eventually he was able to write full time, as more of his books and short stories were being published.

During his entire writing career, Swarthout wrote 17 books, including, “Willow Run”, published in 1943, “They Came to Cordura”, published in 1958, “Where the Boys Are”, published in 1960, “Welcome to Thebes”, published in 1962, “The Cadillac Boys”, published in 1964, “The Eagle and the Iron Cross”, published in 1966, “Loveland”, published in 1968, “Bless the Beasts and the Children”, published in 1970, “The Tin Lizzie Troop”, published in 1972, “Luck and Pluck”, published in 1973, “The Shootist”, published in 1975, “A Christmas Gift”, also known as “The Melodeon”, published in 1977, “Skeletons”, published in 1979, “The Old Colts”, published in 1985, “The Homesman”, published in 1988, and “Pinch Me, I Must Be Dreaming”, published in 1994 [posthumously]. In additions to the books, he also wrote and had published a number of short stories.

Seven of Swarthout’s novels were turned into movies. They include, “Seventh Cavalry”, based on short stories, and produced by Columbia Pictures in 1956, “They Came to Cordura”, produced by Columbia Pictures in 1959, “Where the Boys Are”, produced by MGM in 1960, “Bless the Beasts and Children”, produced by Columbia Pictures in 1971, “The Shootist”, produced by Paramount in 1976, “A Christmas to Remember”, produced by CBS in 1978, and “Where the Boys Are-1984”, produced by Tri-Star in 1984.

Swarthout received a number of awards for his literary output during his career. He was awarded the National Society of Arts and Letters Gold Medal in 1960. The Western Writers of America awarded him the Spur Award for the Best Western novel in 1975, “The Shootist”, and the best Western novel of 1988, “The Homesman”. The Western Heritage Association awarded him the Wrangler Award for the Best Western novel of 1988, “The Homesman”. And finally, the Western Writers of America awarded Swarthout the Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1991, one year before his death.

Swarthout’s ancestors came from the province of Groningen in the northern part of the Netherlands. He was the only child of Fred Swarthout and Lila Chubb. In December 1940, Swarthout married Kathryn Vaughn. The couple had one child, a son named Miles Swarthout, who has continued to publicize his father’s works. Swarthout passed away on September 23, 1992. He died from emphysema, probably the result of having been a life-long smoker.

 

REFERENCES

Glendon Swarthout, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glendon_Swarthout

Glendon Fred Swarthout, http://www.swarthoutfamily.org/Famous/Glendon.html

Glendon Swarthout, http://movies.nytimes.com/person/198896/Glendon-Swarthout

 

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