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== Biography ==
== Biography ==
His parents separated when Cornell was young, and he lived in [[Mexico]] with his father, before moving back to [[New York City]] to live with his mother Claire.
Woolrich's parents separated when he was young. He lived for a time in [[Mexico]] with his father, a [[civil engineer]], before returning to [[New York City]] to live with his mother Claire.


He graduated from [[Columbia University]]. His first novel was ''[[Cover Charge (book)|Cover Charge]]'', a [[Jazz Age]] work published in 1926. He also wrote under the [[pseudonyms]] George Hopley and William Irish. He wrote the story "[[It Had to be Murder (story)|It Had to be Murder]]" in 1942 under the Irish name. It was the basis of the [[Alfred Hitchcock]] movie ''[[Rear Window]]'' (1954). His ''[[The Bride Wore Black (novel)|The Bride Wore Black]]'' was made into a film by [[François Truffaut]] in 1968, and Woolrich's ''Waltz Into Darkness'' was the basis of Truffaut's ''[[Mississippi Mermaid]]'' (1969).
He attended [[Columbia University]], but left without graduating in 1926, upon the publication of his first novel, ''[[Cover Charge (book)|Cover Charge]]'', a [[Jazz Age]] work inspired by the work of [[F Scott Fitzgerald]]. He soon turned to pulp and [[detective fiction]], often published under the [[pseudonyms]] George Hopley and William Irish. For example, he published his 1942 story "[[It Had to be Murder (story)|It Had to be Murder]]", the basis of the 1954 [[Alfred Hitchcock]] movie ''[[Rear Window]]'', under the name Irish. [[François Truffaut]] filmed Woolrich's ''[[The Bride Wore Black (novel)|The Bride Wore Black]]'' and ''Waltz Into Darkness'' in 1968 and 1969, respectively, the latter as ''[[Mississippi Mermaid]]''.


⚫
In 1930, while living in Los Angeles and working as a writer in the film industry, Woolrich married Violet Virginia Blackton (1910-1965), daughter of silent film producer [[J. Stuart Blackton]]. They separated after 3 months and the marriage was annulled in 1933. In his youth, Woolridge was a promiscuous [[homosexuality|homosexual]]. He left his ex-wife a locked suitcase containing a diary detailing his sexual adventures.<ref name="glbtq">{{citation |url=http://www.glbtq.com/literature/woolrich_c.html |title=Woolrich, Cornell |periodical=[[glbtq.com]] |accessdate=[[2007-08-20]] |year=2003 |last=Krinsky |first=Charles }}</ref>
⚫
Woolrich lived the last thirty-five years of his mother's life with her in a seedy hotel room in [[Harlem, Manhattan|Harlem]], [[New York]], although he did move in and out of the room into another room at the same hotel frequently. He never allowed his mother to read any of his work.


⚫
Woolrich spent the next 35 years living in the same seedy [[Harlem, Manhattan|Harlem]], [[New York]] residential hotel as his mother, often moving in and out of her apartment. He never allowed her to read any of his work.
⚫
In 1930, he married Violet Virginia Blackton (1910-1965), daughter of silent film producer [[J. Stuart Blackton]], but apparently [[homosexuality|homosexual]] tendencies convinced him he could not remain married, and the marriage was annulled in 1933.<ref name="glbtq">{{citation |url=http://www.glbtq.com/literature/woolrich_c.html |title=Woolrich, Cornell |periodical=[[glbtq.com]] |accessdate=[[2007-08-20]] |year=2003 |last=Krinsky |first=Charles }}</ref> He left his wife a locked suitcase containing a [[diary]] detailing his homosexual adventures.


Following his mother's death in 1957, Woolrich moved in and out of various hotels in New York. [[Alcoholism]] and an [[Amputation|amputated]] leg (caused by an infection from a too-tight shoe which went untreated) left him a recluse, although he occasionally socialized with young admirers such as writer [[Ron Goulart]]. He refused to attend the premiere of the Truffaut movie of his novel ''The Bride Wore Black'' in 1968, even though it was held in New York City. At the time of his death, he weighed 89 pounds.
Following his mother's death in 1957, Woolrich moved in and out of various hotels in New York. [[Alcoholism]] and an [[Amputation|amputated]] leg (caused by an infection from a too-tight shoe which went untreated) left him a recluse, although he did socialize on occasion with young admirers such as writer [[Ron Goulart]]. He did not attend the premiere of Truffaut's film of his novel ''The Bride Wore Black'' in 1968, even though it was held in New York City. He died weighing 89 pounds. He is interred in the [[Ferncliff Cemetery]] in [[Hartsdale, New York]].


He left one million dollars to Columbia for a scholarship for potential writers, in his mother's name.
Woolrich bequeathed his estate of about US$850,000 to [[Columbia University]], to endow scholarships in his mother's memory for journalism students.


[[Francis Nevins Jr.]], in his Woolrich biography ''First You Dream, Then You Die'', rated Woolrich the fourth best crime writer of the era, behind only [[Dashiell Hammett]], [[Erle Stanley Gardner]] and [[Raymond Chandler]].
Woolrich's biographer, [[Francis Nevins Jr.]] (1988), rated Woolrich the fourth best crime writer of his day, behind only [[Dashiell Hammett]], [[Erle Stanley Gardner]] and [[Raymond Chandler]].

Following his passing in 1968, he was interred in the [[Ferncliff Cemetery]] in [[Hartsdale, New York]].


== Novels ==
== Novels ==

Revision as of 21:41, 5 November 2007

Cornell George Hopley-Woolrich (December 4, 1903—September 25, 1968) was an American novelist and short story writer.

Biography

Woolrich's parents separated when he was young. He lived for a time in Mexico with his father, a civil engineer, before returning to New York City to live with his mother Claire.

He attended Columbia University, but left without graduating in 1926, upon the publication of his first novel, Cover Charge, a Jazz Age work inspired by the work of F Scott Fitzgerald. He soon turned to pulp and detective fiction, often published under the pseudonyms George Hopley and William Irish. For example, he published his 1942 story "It Had to be Murder", the basis of the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock movie Rear Window, under the name Irish. François Truffaut filmed Woolrich's The Bride Wore Black and Waltz Into Darkness in 1968 and 1969, respectively, the latter as Mississippi Mermaid.

In 1930, while living in Los Angeles and working as a writer in the film industry, Woolrich married Violet Virginia Blackton (1910-1965), daughter of silent film producer J. Stuart Blackton. They separated after 3 months and the marriage was annulled in 1933. In his youth, Woolridge was a promiscuous homosexual. He left his ex-wife a locked suitcase containing a diary detailing his sexual adventures.[1]

Woolrich spent the next 35 years living in the same seedy Harlem, New York residential hotel as his mother, often moving in and out of her apartment. He never allowed her to read any of his work.

Following his mother's death in 1957, Woolrich moved in and out of various hotels in New York. Alcoholism and an amputated leg (caused by an infection from a too-tight shoe which went untreated) left him a recluse, although he did socialize on occasion with young admirers such as writer Ron Goulart. He did not attend the premiere of Truffaut's film of his novel The Bride Wore Black in 1968, even though it was held in New York City. He died weighing 89 pounds. He is interred in the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.

Woolrich bequeathed his estate of about US$850,000 to Columbia University, to endow scholarships in his mother's memory for journalism students.

Woolrich's biographer, Francis Nevins Jr. (1988), rated Woolrich the fourth best crime writer of his day, behind only Dashiell Hammett, Erle Stanley Gardner and Raymond Chandler.

Novels

Scholars generally cite his novels from 1940 to 1948 as prime Woolrich; this was when he finally made the move to writing novel-length crime fiction in contrast to his first six works, which are said to have been very much influenced by F. Scott Fitzgerald's fiction.

There also exist fragments of an unfinished novel called The Loser; most of these have appeared before in various places but were most recently collected in Tonight, Somewhere in New York.

Selected films based on Woolrich stories

Trivia

Footnotes

  1. ^ Krinsky, Charles (2003), "Woolrich, Cornell", glbtq.com, retrieved 2007-08-20 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ^ Bleiler, Everett (1948). The Checklist of Fantastic Literature. Chicago: Shasta Publishers. p. 158.

Biography

  • Nevins, Francis M. Jr. (1988) First You Dream, Then You Die. Mysterious Press.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cornell_Woolrich&oldid=169461614"