Harold Everett Porter (19 September 1887 - 21 June 1936) was an American writer. Under the pen name of Holworthy Hall he published plays, verse, novels and short stories. He took his pseudonym from the dormitory for first-year students where he stayed 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 ...

Biography

Porter was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the son of Albert de Lance (D.) Porter, who was first a printer in Boston, and then a publisher in New York City as owner of the A. D. Porter Co. His mother, Louella née Root, was born in Ohio and raised in Massachusetts. Holworthy Hall, Harvard University

He attended

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

winning a scholarship in the year 1906–1907. He was on the

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

team in 1906–1907. Porter was the editor of 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 ...

'' from 1906 to 1909 and an editor of the ''

Harvard Advocate ''The Harvard Advocate'', the art and literary magazine of Harvard College, is the oldest continuously published college art and literary magazine in the United States. The magazine (published then in newspaper format) was founded by Charles S. ...

'', the campus literary magazine, from 1907 to 1909. He shared Room 13 in

Holworthy Hall Holworthy Hall, in Harvard Yard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a historic dormitory for first-year students at Harvard College. History Holworthy was named in 1812 in honor of a wealthy English merchant, Sir Matthew Holworthy, who died in 1678 ...

, the freshman's dormitory, with John Mansfield Groton, next door to

Robert Middlemass Robert Middlemass (September 3, 1883 – September 10, 1949) was an American playwright and stage actor, and later character actor with over 100 film appearances, usually playing detectives or policemen.(13 Feb 1937)Mrs. Susan C. Middlemass ...

(with whom he collaborated on '' The Valiant'') and the artist Julian Ellsworth Garnsey in Room 14. After graduating in 1909 he worked at the Boston publisher

Little, Brown Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily D ...

& Co., and then with his father's firm at the A.D. Porter Company. The firm published a monthly magazine, ''The Housewife'', which he edited. His first short story under the pseudonym Holworthy Hall was printed in ''

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 he continued to write short stories for the rest of his life. In 1916, he was named the president of the A. D. Porter Company. His short story "The Same Old Christmas Story" appeared in the 1,000th edition (or so) of the ''Harvard Advocate'' in May 1916. He was characterised in a review in the rival ''

Harvard Crimson The Harvard Crimson are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Harvard College. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2013, there were 42 Division I intercollegiate varsity sports teams for women and men at Harvard, more than at ...

'' as a "noble graduate of 1907, with a bank account, a tender heart and too much leisure." 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 ...

he served in the office of the

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

in Washington, D.C., working in the

Military Intelligence Division The Military Intelligence Division was the military intelligence branch of the United States Army and United States Department of War from May 1917 (as the Military Intelligence Section, then Military Intelligence Branch in February 1918, then Mil ...

, as a first lieutenant and then captain. He continued to publish stories, and was demobilized as a major in the Officer Reserve Corps. His two non-fiction books date from this period. He joined the Skaneateles Country Club in 1920. He moved to France to escape the US, living in Paris and Cannes, in a house overlooking the Mediterranean. Playing golf was a particular passion, and he wrote less and less. His marriage ended in divorce, and he returned to the US alone to live in Connecticut. He continued to write stories and died in Torrington of pneumonia, aged 48.

Personal life

In 1911 he married Marian 'Marnie' Heffron of

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

. She was the daughter of Dr. John Lorenzo Heffron, the dean of the School of Medicine at Syracuse University. Heffron retired in June 1922 after 40 years' connection with the teaching staff of the medical school, 15 of them as dean. After their separation/divorce she went back to the States with their three children, and became involved (as Mrs. Harold Everett Porter) with luncheons and dinners for the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, ...

at the Copley-Plaza Hotel.

Selected bibliography

;Poems * "Epithalamium" (1913, ''Life'' magazine) * "Opera Porteri" (1913, ''Life'' magazine) ;Short stories * "The Rôle of Vision" (1910, ''The Scrap Book'')
"My next imitation"
(1913) Imitations of/tributes to other writers, starting with

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among t ...

and

Stephen Leacock Stephen P. H. Butler Leacock (30 December 1869 – 28 March 1944) was a Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humorist. Between the years 1915 and 1925, he was the best-known English-speaking humorist in the world. He is known ...

.
"The Gilded Mean"
(1914), published in ''

The Smart Set ''The Smart Set'' was an American literary magazine, founded by Colonel William d'Alton Mann and published from March 1900 to June 1930. Its headquarters was in New York City. During its Jazz Age heyday under the editorship of H. L. Mencken and G ...

: A Magazine of Cleverness''. (April 1914) Vol. 42, No. 3, pp. 91–96. Also given away as miniature book in packs of Sovereign cigarettes. ''The Smart Set'' was edited by

H. L. Mencken Henry Louis Mencken (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English. He commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians, ...

from 1914 to 1923.
''Pepper''
(1915), collection of college stories
''Paprika''
(1916), more college tales
''Dormie One: and other golf stories''
(1917) ;Novels
''Henry of Navarre, Ohio''
(1914)
''What He Least Expected''
(1917)
''The Man Nobody Knew''
(1919)
''The Six Best Cellars''
(1919) (with Hugh McNair Kahler). A satire of prohibition. Filmed in 1920 as ''

The Six Best Cellars ''The Six Best Cellars'' is a lost 1920 American silent comedy film directed by Donald Crisp and starring Bryant Washburn and Wanda Hawley. It was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was based on the 1 ...

'' by

Famous Players Lasky Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and ...

.
''Egan''
(1920)
''Rope''
(1922)
''Colossus''
(1930), with a dedication to his friend and literary agent, Harold Ober (still in copyright in 2016, searchable text only) ;Plays * '' The Valiant'' (1921) a one-act play (with

, Harvard classmate), appeared in ''

McClure's ''McClure's'' or ''McClure's Magazine'' (1893–1929) was an American illustrated monthly periodical popular at the turn of the 20th century. The magazine is credited with having started the tradition of muckraking journalism (investigative journ ...

'' magazine"The Valiant"
''

'' (March 1921, p. 8) ** '' The Valiant'' (1929 film), ''El valien'' (1930 film), '' The Man Who Wouldn't Talk'' (1940 film), and three TV movies
''The Duke and the Dices''
(1929) (still in copyright in 2016, searchable text only) ;Non-fiction * ''The History of the Liberty Engine'' (1918) (with William Rose Benét and Warner W. Kent)
''Aerial Observation: The Airplane Observer, The Balloon Observer and the Army Corps Pilot''
(1921)

Light verse

Porter was evidently a great lover of classical music, and the following lines (which originally appeared in ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' magazine in 1913) evoke memories of his favourite operas, singers and musicians.The words fit fairly well t
the tune of ''Mattinata''
(YouTube) by

Leoncavallo Ruggero (or Ruggiero) Leoncavallo ( , , ; 23 April 18579 August 1919) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Although he produced numerous operas and other songs throughout his career it is his opera ''Pagliacci'' (1892) that remained his ...

References

;Notes ;Sources * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Harold Everett 1887 births 1936 deaths 20th-century American novelists The Harvard Lampoon alumni 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Harvard Advocate alumni 20th-century pseudonymous writers