Joel Sayre

Joel Grover Sayre, Jr[1] (December 13, 1900 – September 9, 1979) was an American novelist, war reporter, and screenwriter born in Marion, Indiana.[2]

Joel Sayre
Born(1900-12-13)December 13, 1900
Marion, Indiana, U.S.
DiedSeptember 9, 1979(1979-09-09) (aged 78)
Taftsville, Vermont, U.S.
Occupationscreenwriter

Early life and education

Sayre was the son of businessman Joel Grover Sayre and Nora Clemens Sayre, a photographer and interior decorator. He was raised at Columbus, Ohio, and educated at the Columbus Academy in Ohio, and a private school in Cleveland. A childhood friend was James Thurber, later a distinguished writer. Sayre failed to join the American army aged sixteen, but with a falsified birth certificate succeeded in joining the Canadian army, being subsequently sent to Siberia with its Expeditionary Force. On his return, he read literature at Exeter College, Oxford, graduating BA in 1922,[3] and briefly studied medicine at Heidelberg University in Germany.[4][5]

Career

Sayre was the chief screenwriter for the 1939 film Gunga Din. His novels included Hizzoner the Mayor and Rackety Rax, which the New York Times called "incredibly funny".[6][7]

Personal life

In 1930, Sayre married Gertrude Lynahan, a reporter for The World. She later worked in journalism as a fashion editor.[8][9] Their daughter was the film critic and essayist, Nora Sayre. He died on September 9, 1979, due to heart failure.[10]

References
  1. The United States in the Middle East: A Historical Dictionary, David Shavit, Greenwood Press, 1988, p. 312
  2. Pace, Eric (September 14, 1979). "Joel Sayre, Correspondent, Novelist and Screenwriter". New York Times. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  3. Projecting Empire: Imperialism and Popular Cinema, James Chapman and Nicholas J. Cull, I. B. Tauris, 2009, p. 45
  4. "Joel Sayre papers". The New York Public Library Archives & Manuscripts. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
  5. The Thurber Letters: The Wit, Wisdom and Surprising Life of James Thurber, ed. Harrison Kinney, with Rosemary A. Thurber, Simon & Schuster, 2002, p. 95
  6. Poore, C. G. (19 March 1933). "HIZZONER THE MAYOR. By Joel Sayre. 288 pp. New York: The John Day Company. $2". The New York Times.
  7. "Joel Sayre papers". The New York Public Library Archives & Manuscripts. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
  8. The New York Times Biographical Service, volume 10, New York Times & Arno Press, 1979, pp. 1253-1254
  9. Pace, Eric (14 September 1979). "Joel Sayre, Correspondent, Novelist and Screenwriter". The New York Times.
  10. "Nora Sayre obituary". The Independent. 7 September 2001. Retrieved 15 January 2011.


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