Douglass Wallop

Douglass Wallop
Born	John Douglass Wallop III (1920-03-08)March 8, 1920 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Died	April 1, 1985(1985-04-01) (aged 65) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Occupation	Writer
Nationality	American
Education	University of Notre Dame
Alma mater	University of Maryland, College Park
Notable works	The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant
Spouse	Lucille Fletcher ​ (m. 1949)​
Children	2

John Douglass Wallop III (March 8, 1920 – April 1, 1985) was an American novelist and playwright.

Early life

John Douglass Wallop III was born on March 8, 1920, in Washington, D.C., to Marjorie (née Ellis) and John Douglass Wallop Jr. His father was an insurance agent. He attended the University of Notre Dame and graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1942. He served as editor of "The Old Line", a student-run literary and humor magazine.

Career

During World War II, Wallop worked for United Press in Washington, D.C. He was skilled in stenography and shorthand. In 1948, he worked as a secretary for Dwight D. Eisenhower while Eisenhower wrote Crusade in Europe. He moved to New York City and worked for the Associated Press.

His first novel, 1953's Night Light, concerns a father's search into the background of his child's murderer. Anne Brooks of the New York Herald Tribune Book Review said he "created characters who are both real and colorful, and he has delved into a maniac's mind with considerable understanding." R.G. Peck wrote an article for the Chicago Sunday Tribune and said it was the "first novel that's well constructed, carefully written, and free of painful mannerisms." Al Hine of the Saturday Review said it's a "novel that is moving and tautly interesting from the first page to last. Mr. Wallop writes fluently and without affectation, even when he is exploring the subcellars of bop."

He authored 14 works, including The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant (1954), which was adapted by Wallop and George Abbott into the Tony Award-winning musical Damn Yankees.

Awards

• 1956 Tony Award Damn Yankees
• Book of the Month Club
  • The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant
  • The Good Life
• Reader's Digest Condensed Books
  • The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant
  • So This Is What Happened to Charlie Moe

Personal life

On January 6, 1949, Wallop married writer and actress Lucille Fletcher. He had two daughters, Dorothy Louise and Wendy Elizabeth. Wallop’s interests included chess, sailing, music, and woodworking. He lived in Arlington, Virginia, for a time. In 1963, he moved to Oxford.

Wallop died on April 2, 1985, aged 65, at a hospital in Washington, D.C.

Bibliography

Novels

• Night Light (1953)
• The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant (also published as Damn Yankees) (1954)
• The Sunken Garden (also published as The Dangerous Years) (1956)
• What Has Four Wheels and Flies? A Tale (1959)
• Ocean Front (1963)
• So This Is What Happened to Charlie Moe (1965)
• The Mermaid in the Swimming Pool (1968)
• The Good Life (1969)
• Baseball, An Informal History (1969)
• Stone (1971)
• Howard's Bag (1973)
• Mixed Singles (1977)
• Regatta (1981)
• The Other Side of the River (1984)

Plays

• Damn Yankees (musical, with George Abbott) (1955)

Nonfiction

• Baseball: An Informal History (1969)

External links

• Washington Post story on Wallop and Damn Yankees
• Douglass Wallop at Library of Congress