DR SEUSS- THE MAN BEHIND THE WHOS

He was Theodor Seuss Geisel, that’s who. And he is one of the most popular (over 100 million books sold), prolific (over 50 books written), honoured (including a Pulitzer Prize, three Academy Awards, two Peabody Awards and two Emmys) and world-famous writers (translated in over 20 languages) of all time.

He was born on March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. His father was the curator of the nearby Forest Park Zoo. After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1925, he attended Oxford University in England with the goal of attaining a doctorate in literature. At Oxford he met Helen Palmer, whom he wed in 1927. He returned from Europe in 1927, and began working for a magazine called Judge, the leading humour magazine in America at the time, submitting both cartoons and humorous articles to them.

At the same time, he was submitting cartoons to Life, Vanity Fair and Liberty magazines. In some of his works, he’d make reference to a popular insecticide called Flit. These references gained notice, and led to a contract to draw comic ads for Flit. This association lasted 17 years, gained him national exposure, and coined the catchphrase “Quick, Henry, the Flit!”

In 1936 on the way to a vacation in Europe, listening to the rhythm of the ship’s engines, he came up with And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street, which was then promptly rejected by the first 29 publishers he showed it to. But finally in 1937, a friend published the book for him, and it went on to moderate success. He used the pen name Seuss intending to keep his real name, for more serious works.

Seuss was his middle name (and his mother’s maiden name) and he put Dr. in front of it after dropping out of Oxford University not wanting to disappoint his father by arriving home without a doctorate, he simply annexed Dr. to his middle name. Except for various appellations assumed during the 1920s – such as Theo Seuss 2nd, Dr. Theophrastus Seuss, and Dr. Theodorphilus Seuss, Ph.D,I.Q.,H2SO4 – the name Dr. Seuss was used by Theodor Geisel and his pen name throughout his long life .

During World War II, Geisel joined the army and was sent to Hollywood. There, Captain Geisel wrote for the world-famous director, Frank Capra’s Signal Corps Unit (for which he won the Legion of Merit) and did documentaries (he won Oscars for Hitler Lives and Design for Death).

In May 1957, Life published an article written by novelist John Hersey observing that young children were having trouble learning to read because their books were so boring. Nine months later, Geisel, would revolutionize children’s beginning reading books when he wrote and illustrated The Cat in the Hat, which went on to become a children’s classic.

In 1960 Bennett Cerf bet Geisel $50 that he couldn’t write an entire book using only fifty words. The result was the classic Green Eggs and Ham.

Dr. Seuss’s characters have not been confined to the printed page. Horton, the Grinch (who stole Christmas), the Lorax, and the Cat in the Hat have all been featured in television specials. Gerald McBoing Boing, an animated film written by Dr. Seuss in 1951, won an Academy Award. The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T, a full-length feature film designed by Dr. Seuss in 1952, has become a cult classic. And let’s not forget, the recent hit film, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas starring Jim Carrey.

Ted Geisel was a dreamer who saw the world “through the wrong end of a telescope.” In his eighty-seven years, he met seven U.S. presidents, but was more proud of the fact that he had seen Halley’s Comet twice. An obsessively private man, he rarely revealed anything of his personal and professional disappointments. After his dear wife Helen passed away, he married Audrey Stone Dimond, a long-time friend of both him and his late wife. Audrey had a daughter from a previous marriage, but Ted never had any children of his own. Theodor Seuss Geisel died on September 24, 1991 but with the continuous popularity of his books, films and the Broadway musical Seussical, Dr. Seuss will live forever in the hearts of boys and girls of all ages.