Richard Connell

Richard Connell
A photograph of Richard Connell, taken circa 1923.
Connell c. 1923
Born
Richard Edward Connell Jr.

(1893-10-17)October 17, 1893
Poughkeepsie, New York, U.S.
DiedNovember 22, 1949(1949-11-22) (aged 56)
Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Education
Occupations
Notable work"The Most Dangerous Game" (1924)
Spouse
Louise Herrick Fox
​
(m. 1919)​
FatherRichard E. Connell
AwardsO. Henry Award (1923, 1924, 1928)

Richard Edward Connell Jr. (October 17, 1893 – November 22, 1949) was an American author, screenwriter, and journalist. One of the most popular short story writers of his time, he is best known for his 1924 story "The Most Dangerous Game". His stories were published in The Saturday Evening Post, The Century Magazine, and Collier's. He had equal success as a journalist and screenwriter and was nominated for an Academy Award in 1942 for Best Story for the 1941 film Meet John Doe, directed by Frank Capra and based on his 1922 short story "A Reputation".

Life and career

Richard Edward Connell Jr. was born on October 17, 1893, in Poughkeepsie, New York, the son of Richard E. and Mary Miller Connell. He began his writing career for The Poughkeepsie Journal and attended Georgetown College for a year before going to Harvard University, where he edited The Lampoon and The Crimson. He received an AB from the university in 1915.

Connell subsequently worked on the city staff of The New York American and as a copy writer for J. Walter Thompson. He served in France with the United States Army during World War I. While in the army, he was the editor of his camp's newspaper. After the war, he turned to writing short stories, and eventually wrote over 300.

Connell married Louise Herrick Fox in 1919. He died on November 22, 1949, in Beverly Hills, California.

Awards

In 1923, Connell won Second Prize of that year's O. Henry Award for his story "A Friend of Napoleon," published in the June 30, 1923 issue of The Saturday Evening Post.

Two of his later stories were finalists for the O. Henry Award, but did not win any of the three prizes:

All three of these stories were included in the respective annual O. Henry Award anthologies, which included both prize winners and (non-winning) finalists. This has evidently led to confusion resulting in the latter two stories occasionally being incorrectly thought of as winners of the award.

Works

Screenplays

† With Gladys Lehman

Novels

Short story collections

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Connell, Richard Edward, 1893–1949. Richard Edward Connell personal archive, 1912–1972, bulk 1912–1915: an inventory". Harvard University Libraries. Archived from the original on April 3, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Richard Connell, Novelist, is Dead: Short-Story and Screen Writer Worked on Many Successful Films—Once in Advertising". The New York Times. November 24, 1949.
  3. ↑ "The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell". Archived from the original on January 23, 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Past winners (by date, 1919–1999) from Random House
  5. 1 2 O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories of 1923. Doubleday, Page & Company. 1924.
  6. 1 2 O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories of 1924. Doubleday, Page & Company. 1925. pp. vii–xxv.
  7. 1 2 O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories of 1928. Doubleday, Doran and Company. 1928.
  8. ↑ Apes and angels at WorldCat
  9. ↑ Variety at WorldCat
  10. ↑ Ironies at WorldCat