Edward Streeter (August 1, 1891 – March 31, 1976), sometimes credited as E. Streeter, was an American novelist and journalist, best known for the 1949 novel ''

Father of the Bride The Father of the Bride is commonly one of the wedding ceremony participants. Father of the Bride may also refer to: * ''Father of the Bride'' (novel), 1949, by Edward Streeter ** ''Father of the Bride'' (franchise), media franchise based on the 1 ...

'' and his ''Dere Mable'' series.

Biography

Streeter was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, and educated at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

where he edited ''

The Harvard Lampoon ''The Harvard Lampoon'' is an undergraduate humor publication founded in 1876 by seven undergraduates at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Overview The ''Harvard Lampoon'' publication was founded in 1876 by seven undergraduates ...

''. He began his career as a reporter for the Buffalo newspaper the ''Buffalo Express'' as a war correspondent and travel writer. He grew in notoriety with his "Dere Mable" letters, a humorous column from an undereducated soldier writing home. Serialized between 1917 and 1919 in the 27th (NY) Division's magazine ''Gas Attack'', they were inspired by Streeter's time spent on an

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 ...

base (

Camp Wadsworth Camp Wadsworth was a World War I-era training facility for the United States Army. Located near Spartanburg, South Carolina, the post was in operation from its opening in July 1917 until it was inactivated in March 1919, following the Armistice ...

, near Spartansburg SC) during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The humorous letters were compiled in

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...

in Streeter's full-length books ''"Dere Mable"'', ''"Thats me all over, Mable"'', and ''"Same old Bill, eh Mable"''. After returning home from the war, Streeter pursued writing casually, deciding to focus on his work as a businessman. For eight years he served as assistant

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

, before transitioning to the Fifth Avenue Bank (later,

The Bank of New York The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY Mellon, is an American investment banking services holding company headquartered in New York City. BNY Mellon was formed from the merger of The Bank of New York and the Mellon Finan ...

) in New York City, where he served as vice president for twenty-five years. While serving as VP of the bank, Streeter published short stories and articles in magazines such as the ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

'' and ''

McCall's ''McCall's'' was a monthly American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. It was established as a small-for ...

''. In

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

, he published his first novel, ''Daily Except Sundays''. In 1944 he was elected to The

Century Association The Century Association is a private social, arts, and dining club in New York City, founded in 1847. Its clubhouse is located at 7 West 43rd Street near Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. It is primarily a club for men and women with distinction ...

, and remained a member for 32 years. His next novel, the

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

comic satire ''

'', became an instant bestseller and was listed among ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' list of bestselling novels for the year. The following year's successful

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

starring

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...

and

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

spawned multiple remakes, sequels, and a TV series. After his breakthrough success, Streeter continued to write successful novels. Of the most notable of his subsequent works are '' Mr. Hobbs' Vacation'' (1954, filmed in 1962), '' Merry Christmas, Mr. Baxter'' (1956), ''Mr. Robbins Rides Again'' (1958), and ''Chairman of the Bored'' (1961). He also wrote two non-fiction books about his European travels: ''Skoal Scandinavia'' (1952) and ''Along the Ridge'' (1964). He finished his writing career with

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

's grim semi-autobiographical ''Ham Martin, Class of '17''. Streeter died on March 31, 1976, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Bibliography

* ''"Dere Mable"'' (1918) * ''"Thats me all over, Mable"'' (1919) * ''"Same old Bill, eh Mable"'' (1919) * ''Daily Except Sunday'' (1938) * ''

'' (1949) * ''Skoal Scandinavia'' (1952) * '' Mr. Hobbs' Vacation'' (1954) * '' Merry Christmas, Mr. Baxter (1956) * ''Mr. Robbins Rides Again'' (1957) * ''Window on America'' (1957) * ''Chairman of the Bored'' (1961) * ''Along the Ridge'' (1964) * ''Ham Martin, Class of '17'' (1969)

References

External links

* * *
Guide to The Edward Streeter Papers
in the

Fales Library New York University's Fales Library and Special Collections is located on the third floor of the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library at 70 Washington Square South between LaGuardia Place and the Schwartz Plaza, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhat ...

NYU New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-United States Secretary of the Treasu ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Streeter, Edward 1891 births 1976 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American male journalists Writers from Buffalo, New York The Harvard Lampoon alumni Journalists from New York (state) 20th-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American journalists