April 16, 1968, New York City, New York, United States, April 16, 1968, New York City, New York, United States
Fact
The character of Jett Rink in her novel "Giant" was loosely based upon the life of Texas oilman Glenn McCarthy. McCarthy built the Shamrock Hotel at a cost of $21 million. It opened on St. Patrick's Day 1949 with a grand-opening party costing over $1 million. Ferber was one of the guests who stayed in the hotel, and after meeting with him, she decided to write a novel based upon his life. McCarthy sold the hotel to the Hilton family in 1955.
Edna Ferber was born on August 15, 1885, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her parents were Jacob Charles Ferber, a storekeeper, and Julia (née Hammerslough) Ferber, a former teacher. She had four siblings: Louis, George, Henry, and Sarah. Ferber was educated at the Wayland Academy and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She began her career as a journalist for the Appleton Daily Crescent.
Ferber’s first novel, Dawn O’Hara, the Girl Who Laughed, was published in 1911. She went on to write such popular novels as So Big (1924), Show Boat (1926), Cimarron (1929), and Giant (1952). Ferber was also a successful playwright, and her plays include The Royal Family (1927) and Dinner at Eight (1932).
Ferber was married to William G. Dick from 1913 to his death in 1927. She had no children. In her later years, Ferber suffered from arthritis and heart disease. She died on April 16, 1968, in New York City.
Ferber was one of the most popular and successful American writers of her time. Her novels and plays were widely read and often adapted for the stage and screen. Her work helped to shape the way Americans thought about race, gender, and class.
General Info
Full Name
Edna Ferber
Died
April 16, 1968, New York City, New York, United States, April 16, 1968, New York City, New York, United States
Jacob Charles Ferber, Julia Ferber, Jacob Charles Ferber, Julia Ferber
Accomplishments
Awards
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Movies
Ice Palace, Giant, Show Boat, Saratoga Trunk, Stage Door, Dinner at Eight, So Big, Cimarron, The Royal Family of Broadway, Classified, No Place to Go, Mother Knows Best, Gigolo, Welcome Home, No Woman Knows, Our Mrs. McChesney, Ice Palace, Giant, Show Boat, Saratoga Trunk, Stage Door, Dinner at Eigh...
[on her acclaimed novel 'So Big'] The title had been only a tentative working one. While the title exactly expressed the book's theme, it seemed in itself to be pretty stomach-turning and I didn't for a moment mean to keep it.
2
[from her autobiography "A Peculiar Treasure", describing her reaction to "Ol' Man River" from "Show Boat", based on her best-selling novel] The music mounted, mounted, and I give you my word my hair stood on end, the tears came to my eyes, I breathed like a heroine in a melodrama . . . This was great music. This was music that would outlast your day and my day.
3
[replying to Noël Coward, who once encountered her when she was wearing a tailored suit and said, "You look almost like a man".] So do you.
4
Roast beef, medium, is not only a food. It is a philosophy.
5
Living in the past is a dull and lonely business; looking back strains the neck muscles, causes you to bump into people not going your way.
6
It's terrible to realize you don't learn how to live until you're ready to die and, then it's too late.
Facts
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Fact
1
"Show Boat" in the Center Theatre Group production at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, California was awarded the 1996 Drama Logue Award for Production.
2
George S. Kaufman and her play, "Stage Door," at the Griffin Theatre Company in Chicago, Illinois was nominated for the 2011 Non-Equity Joseph Jefferson Award for Production of a Play.
3
Won a Pulitzer Prize for the novel "So Big" in 1925.
4
She began as a reporter for the Milwaukee Journal.
5
Pictured on a USA 83¢ postage stamp issued 29 July 2002.
6
She made her acting debut in Orson Welles' 1939 non-musical, Mercury Theatre radio production of her own 1926 novel, "Show Boat," playing the role of Parthy Ann Hawks.
7
The character of Jett Rink in her novel "Giant" was loosely based upon the life of Texas oilman Glenn McCarthy. McCarthy built the Shamrock Hotel at a cost of $21 million. It opened on St. Patrick's Day 1949 with a grand-opening party costing over $1 million. Ferber was one of the guests who stayed in the hotel, and after meeting with him, she decided to write a novel based upon his life. McCarthy sold the hotel to the Hilton family in 1955.
Movies
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Ford Theatre Hour
1950
TV Series play - 1 episode
The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse
1948
TV Series writer - 1 episode
Kraft Theatre
1948
TV Series play - 1 episode
Stage Door
1948
TV Movie play
Saratoga Trunk
1945
novel
Stage Door
1939
TV Movie play
No Place to Go
1939
adapted from the play: "Minick" by / short story "Old Man Minick" - uncredited
The Royal Family of Broadway
1939
TV Movie play
Stage Door
1937
from the play by
Come and Get It
1936
based upon the famous novel by
Show Boat
1936
Glamour
1934
story
Dinner at Eight
1933
from the Sam H. Harris stage play by
So Big!
1932
novel "So Big"
The Expert
1932
adapted from the play: "Minick" by / story "Old Man Minick" - uncredited