Philip Van Doren Stern

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Philip Van Doren Stern (born September 10, 1900 in Wyalusing , Pennsylvania , † July 31, 1984 in Sarasota , Florida ) was an American author and historian. He wrote the short story The Greatest Gift (1943), which served as a template for the film Isn't Life Beautiful? acted.

life and career

Philip Van Doren Stern was born the son of a traveling salesman of Bavarian origin in a small village in Pennsylvania. He graduated from Rutgers University in 1924. After a brief career in advertising, Von Doren Stern eventually worked as the author and editor of nearly 30 books between 1932 and 1973. He made a name for himself in particular as the author of numerous historical works, with the American Civil War was his specialty. He has written biographies on John Wilkes Booth , Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee, as well as on secret military actions in the wake of the Civil War. Because his interests were wide-ranging, however, also wrote Van Doren Stern books about prehistoric times , Stone Age paintings and the Model T Ford . He has also edited and published works by Henry David Thoreau , Thomas De Quincey and Edgar Allan Poe .

But in addition to non-fiction books, Van Doren Stern also wrote some fictional stories from the fields of fantasy and science fiction. He is best known today as the author of the short story The Greatest Gift , which served as the template for the classic film Isn't Life Beautiful? from 1946 served. Van Doren Stern got the idea for the short story in the late 1930s through a dream. He worked out various drafts over several years, but ultimately no publisher wanted to publish his story. So he sent the story to his friends and relatives on a total of 200 Christmas cards . More and more people became aware of The Greatest Gift until the film studio RKO Pictures Van Doren Stern bought the film rights for US $ 10,000 in 1944. But RKO Pictures didn't quite know what to do with the story and sold the rights to director Frank Capra , who made it, Isn't life beautiful? turned. Like the film, Van Doren Stern's short story already contained the suicidal George, who is shown by an angel what his friends' lives would have been like if he had never been born.

Philip Van Doren Stern was married and had one daughter. He died of heart failure in Florida in 1984 at the age of 83.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Philip Van Doren Stern in the Notable Names Database (English)
  2. ↑ Interview with his daughter  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.beliefnet.com  
  3. ↑ Philip Van Doren Stern at Joycetice
personal data
SURNAME Van Doren Stern, Philip
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American author and historian
DATE OF BIRTH September 10, 1900
PLACE OF BIRTH Wyalusing , Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH July 31, 1984
Place of death Sarasota , Florida