Betty MacDonald: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
|||
| Line 39: | Line 39: | ||
*[http://seattlepress.com/article-9455.html February 2002 article on MacDonald in the ''Seattle Press''] |
*[http://seattlepress.com/article-9455.html February 2002 article on MacDonald in the ''Seattle Press''] |
||
*[http://bettymacdonald.net Betty MacDonald fan site with discussion forum] |
*[http://bettymacdonald.net Betty MacDonald fan site with discussion forum] |
||
*[http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=156 Brief biography of Betty MacDonald with pictures] |
*[http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=156 Brief biography of Betty MacDonald with pictures] |
||
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/pip/cbh7d/ "Betty MacDonald Had a Farm' BBC Radio 4 100th anniversary tribute of her birth.] |
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/pip/cbh7d/ "Betty MacDonald Had a Farm' BBC Radio 4 100th anniversary tribute of her birth.] |
||
*[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=39172872| Grave of Robert "Bob" Heskett, Golden Gate National Cemetery] |
|||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Betty}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Betty}} |
||
Revision as of 00:14, 15 July 2009
Betty MacDonald (March 26, 1908 - February 7, 1958) was an American author who specialized in humorous autobiography, and is best known for her book The Egg and I. She also wrote the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series of children's books. She is associated with the Pacific Northwest, especially Washington state.
Life and work
MacDonald was born Anne Elizabeth Campbell Bard in Boulder, Colorado. Her official birthdate is given as March 26, 1908; however, public records indicate that she was actually born in 1907, presumably on March 26.[1][2][3] Her family moved from Butte, Montana, to the north slope of Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood in 1918, moving to the Laurelhurst neighborhood a year later and finally settling in the Roosevelt neighborhood in 1922, where she graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1924. MacDonald married Robert Heskett in July 1927 when she was 20 years old (though in "The Egg and I" she states she married at age 18) and he was 31, and the couple moved to a farm in the Olympic Peninsula's Chimacum Valley, near Chimacum a few miles south of Port Townsend.
Betty left Robert in 1931 and returned to Seattle. On April 24, 1942, she married Donald C. MacDonald (1910-1975) and moved to Vashon Island, where she wrote most of her books. The MacDonalds moved to California's Carmel Valley in 1956.
MacDonald rocketed to fame when her first book, The Egg and I, was published in 1945. It was a huge bestseller and was translated into 20 languages. Depicting her life on the Chimacum Valley chicken farm, it introduced the characters Ma and Pa Kettle, who were featured in the movie version of The Egg and I and were so popular a series of films were later made featuring them.
MacDonald wrote three more autobiographical books. Anybody Can Do Anything recounting her life in the Depression trying to find work,The Plague and I about her stay in a sanitarium for tuberculosis, and Onions in the Stew about her life on Vashon Island with her second husband and daughters during the Second World War years. She also wrote a series of children's books that are still popular today.
Betty MacDonald died in Seattle of ovarian cancer on February 7 1958, aged 49.
Legacy
A biography of Betty Macdonald, Much Laughter, A Few Tears, was published by her friend, Blanche Caffiere, in 1992.
In 1996 Betty MacDonald's Family had been interviewed by journalist Wolfgang Hampel. The family members shared very interesting details about the fascinating life and work of Betty MacDonald. Especially Betty's youngest sister Alison Bard had a perfect memory and told very funny stories. She got the same talent as her famous sister Betty MacDonald. Betty MacDonald Interviews published 2009 on CD/DVD by Betty MacDonald Fan Club incl.the biography of Betty MacDonald THE KETTLES' MILLION DOLLAR EGG, THE EGG AND BETTY, THE TRAGIC END OF ROBERT HESKETT, BETTY MACDONALD'S ILLNESS and other biographical stories.
In 2007, Betty MacDonald's daughter, Anne MacDonald Canham, published Happy Birthday, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, based on stories and characters created by her mother. The book is attributed to both mother and daughter. She has another daughter, Joan MacDonald Keil, who passed away in July of 2005.
On 13 March 2008, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a tribute programme to Betty MacDonald, commemorating the 100th anniversary of her birth.
Bibliography
- 1945 The Egg and I
- 1947 Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (illustrated by Hilary Knight)
- 1948 The Plague and I
- 1949 Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic (illustrated by Hilary Knight)
- 1950 Anybody Can Do Anything
- 1952 Nancy and Plum
- 1954 Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Farm (illustrated by Maurice Sendak)
- 1955 Onions in the Stew
- 1957 Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (illustrated by Hilary Knight]
- 1959 Who, me? The autobiography of Betty MacDonald (as Betty Bard MacDonald)
References
- ^ U. S. census of 1910, taken in Placerville, Idaho on May 2 and 3, shows that Elizabeth Bard was three years old.
- ^ U. S. census of 1920, taken in Seattle, Washington on January 15, 1920, shows that Elizabeth Bard was 12 years old.
- ^ U. S. census of 1930, taken in Center, Washington on April 24, 1930, shows that Elizabeth Heskett was 23 years old.