Patrick Dennis
Patrick Dennis , actually: Edward Everett Tanner III. , (Born May 18, 1921 in Evanston , Illinois , † November 6, 1976 in New York City ) was an American author .
Dennis was one of America's most widely read authors from 1950 to 1960. He published 16 novels, most of which became bestsellers.
His greatest success was the novel "Auntie Mame" (original title: "Auntie Mame - an Irreverant Escapade") published in 1955. The eccentric title heroine was seen as an alternative to the conservative, staid ideal of women at the time, as "America's diabolical answer to Mary Poppins" (Paul Rudnick). The novel served as the basis for a play, a film from 1958 with Rosalind Russell in the title role, a musical of the same name that premiered on Broadway in 1966 played Angela Lansbury Mame and a film adaptation of the 1974 musical with Lucille Ball .
Dennis' oeuvre also includes titles such as “Around the World with Auntie Mame”, “Genius”, “Tony”, “How Firm a Foundation”, “The Joyous Season”, “Love and Mrs. Sergeant ”and“ Little Me ”. The plot of his works is often based on the model of "Aunt Mame" around an eccentric female main character.
When Dennis' works went out of style, fell into disuse and went bankrupt, he worked as a butler from 1974 until the end of his life, without his employers knowing that it was the famous author. He died of pancreatic cancer on November 6, 1976 at the age of 55.
swell
Afterwords by Paul Rudnick and Michael Tanner in “Tante Mame”, Goldmann Verlag 2004
Web links
- Literature by and about Patrick Dennis in the catalog of the German National Library
- Biography at Randomhouse
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Dennis, Patrick |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Tanner III, Edward Everett |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American writer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 18, 1921 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Evanston (Illinois) , Illinois , United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 6, 1976 |
| Place of death | New York City , United States |