Bernard Wiseman (26 August 1922 – 11 January 1995) was an American author of children's books. He wrote ''Morris and Boris: Three Stories'' (1974) and other children's books. He was active from 1958 to 1995.
Early Years
Wiseman was born in the
Canarsie section of
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
on August 26, 1922. He joined the
U.S Coast Guard during World War II. He rose to the rank of
bosun's mate and saw action in the Atlantic Ocean on a
destroyer escort
Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships.
Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...
.
Career
After being honorably discharged in 1945, Wiseman began working as a
cartoonist in New York City. His work was frequently published in ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' and ''
Playboy magazine
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...
''. Wiseman also created a series for ''
Boys' Life
''Scout Life'' (formerly ''Boys' Life'') is the monthly magazine of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Its target readers are boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 18. The magazine‘s headquarters are in Irving, Texas.
''Scout Life'' is pu ...
'' magazine called Sir Nervous Norman, humorous stories of an insecure medieval knight. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Wiseman began writing and illustrating early reader children's books. His first major title was ''The Log and Admiral Frog''. Wiseman published over 80 books, his most popular being the Morris the Moose series. Morris and his pal Boris the Bear had adventures children could relate to. They had a pun-filled
Abbott and Costello relationship.
In 1977, Wiseman and his wife Susan and stepson Peter moved to
Melbourne, Florida
Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is located southeast of Orlando. As of th2020 Decennial Census there was a population of 84,678. The municipality is the second-largest in the county by both size and population. ...
. There he had two sons of his own, Michael and Andrew.
Wiseman died in 1995. He is interred in
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiseman, Bernard
1922 births
1995 deaths
American children's writers
United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II