Alfred Appel Jr. (January 31, 1934 – May 2, 2009) was an American professor, author and journal editor noted for his investigations into the works of

Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Bo ...

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...

, and jazz modernism. He edited ''The Annotated Lolita'', an edition of Nabokov's ''

Lolita ''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is notable for its controversial subject: the protagonist and unreliable narrator, a middle-aged literature professor under the pseudonym Humbert Humber ...

''. He also authored four other books about Nabokov, literature and music. As a student at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

, Appel took a course from Nabokov. His education was interrupted by a stint in the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, after which he completed his undergraduate education and PhD in

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1963. After teaching at Columbia for a few years, he joined the faculty of

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

, where he taught until his retirement in 2000. He died of heart failure. Appel was married until his death to Nina Appel, dean of

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

's law school from 1983 to 2004. They had two children, Karen Oshman and television writer and producer

Richard Appel Richard James Appel (born May 21, 1963) is an American writer, producer and former Attorney at law, attorney. Since 2012, he has served as an executive producer and co-showrunner of ''Family Guy'' on Fox. He attended Harvard University and Harvar ...

References

Cornell University alumni Columbia University School of General Studies alumni Columbia University faculty Northwestern University faculty 1934 births 2009 deaths United States Army soldiers American academics of English literature American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers {{academic-bio-stub