Ward Greene (December 23, 1892 – January 22, 1956) was an American writer, editor, journalist, playwright, and general manager of the comic syndicate King Features Syndicate."Ward Greene Dies; Headed Syndicate," ''Washington Post'' 24 Jan 1956: 26. He is known for overseeing the works of

Alex Raymond Alexander Gillespie Raymond Jr. (October 2, 1909 – September 6, 1956) was an American cartoonist who was best known for creating the ''Flash Gordon'' comic strip for King Features Syndicate in 1934. The strip was subsequently adapted into many ...

and other writers and artists at King Features Syndicate, as well as writing Raymond's ''

Rip Kirby ''Rip Kirby'' is an American comic strip created by Alex Raymond and Ward Greene featuring the adventures of private detective Rip Kirby. The strip ran from 1946 to 1999 and was in the hands of artist John Prentice for more than 40 years. Pub ...

'' comic strip from 1946 until his death. Greene wrote the magazine story "Happy Dan, the Cynical Dog" for ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

'' in 1945, and this story was the basis for the 1955

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

film ''

Lady and the Tramp ''Lady and the Tramp'' is a 1955 American animated musical romance film produced by Walt Disney and released by Buena Vista Film Distribution. The 15th Disney animated feature film, it was directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and ...

''. Greene also wrote the spinoff comic strip, '' Scamp'', featuring the young son of the Disney dogs, from 1955 to 1956.

Biography

Greene was born in Asheville, North Carolina, in 1892. One of his ancestors was Gen.

Nathanael Greene Nathanael Greene (June 19, 1786, sometimes misspelled Nathaniel) was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependab ...

of the Continental Army, one of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

's most gifted and trusted officers. Greene was raised in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, and later attended the Sewanee: The University of the South. His first job was in 1913 for ''

The Atlanta Journal ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'' as an assistant sports editor. Staying at ''The Journal'' for ten years, he moved from sports to the police beat to finally become the paper's star reporter. He covered the trial and subsequent lynching of

Leo Frank Leo Max Frank (April 17, 1884August 17, 1915) was an American factory superintendent who was convicted in 1913 of the murder of a 13-year-old employee, Mary Phagan, in Atlanta, Georgia. His trial, conviction, and appeals attracted national at ...

after his conviction for the murder of Mary Phagan in 1913.Greene bio
Internet Movie Database. Accessed Dec. 10, 2018. After a stint at the ''

New-York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...

'' in 1917, in 1918–1919 he went to the battlefields of France to cover the

Great War 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 ...

for ''The Atlanta Journal'' from the perspective of Georgian troops. Greene joined the Hearst Corporation in 1920, became a writer and editor of the magazine section in 1925, advancing to executive editor, and to general manager in 1946."WARD GREEN DIES: A HEARST OFFICIAL,"
''New York Times '' (January 23, 1956), p. 25. He wrote articles for ''

The American Mercury ''The American Mercury'' was an American magazine published from 1924Staff (Dec. 31, 1923)"Bichloride of Mercury."''Time''. to 1981. It was founded as the brainchild of H. L. Mencken and drama critic George Jean Nathan. The magazine featured wri ...

'' from 1925 to 1931. His first novel, ''Cora Potts'', was published in 1929. Greene's book ''Death in the Deep South'' (

Avon Publications Avon Publications is one of the leading publishers of romance fiction. At Avon's initial stages, it was an American paperback book and comic book publisher. The shift in content occurred in the early 1970s with multiple Avon romance titles rea ...

, 1936) was a fictionalized account of the Leo Frank case. According to reviewer

William Rose Benét William Rose Benét (February 2, 1886 – May 4, 1950) was an American poet, writer, and editor. He was the older brother of Stephen Vincent Benét. Early life and education He was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Col. James Walker Benét a ...

, ''Death in the Deep South'' "reveals with startling clarity how the law works and how the press works after a particularly horrible and brutal murder." It was adapted as the film ''

They Won't Forget ''They Won't Forget'' is a 1937 American drama film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Claude Rains, Gloria Dickson, Edward Norris, and Lana Turner, in her feature debut. It was based on a novel by Ward Greene called ''Death in the Deep Sou ...

'' in 1937. Greene's "Happy Dan, the Cynical Dog" (''

'' magazine, 1945) was the basis for

's animated film ''

'' (1955). King Features immediately spun off "Scamp," a minor unnamed character from the movie, into his own comic strip, written by Greene and illustrated by

Dick Moores Richard Arnold Moores (December 12, 1909 – April 22, 1986) was an American cartoonist whose best known work was the comic strip ''Gasoline Alley'', which he worked on for nearly three decades. Biography Moores was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, ...

. '' Scamp'' was soon taken over by other creators, but lasted more than 30 years, until 1988.Markstein, Don
"Scamp,"
''Toonopedia''

from the original on February 23, 2017. Greene also wrote under the pseudonyms Frank Dudley and Jean Greene. A resident of

Westwood, New Jersey Westwood (known as "The Hub of the Pascack Valley") is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 10,908,Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, of a

pulmonary edema Pulmonary edema, also known as pulmonary congestion, is excessive liquid accumulation in the tissue and air spaces (usually alveoli) of the lungs. It leads to impaired gas exchange and may cause hypoxemia and respiratory failure. It is due t ...

brought on by

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

while en route to a family vacation in California.

Bibliography

Books

* ''Cora Potts: A Pilgrim's Progress''. Cape, 1929 * ''Ride the Nightmare''. Cape, 1930. Repr. as ''Life and Loves of a Modern Mister Bluebeard''. Avon, 1930 * ''Weep No More''. Smith, 1932 * (as Frank Dudley) ''The Havana Hotel Murders''. Houghton Mifflin, 1936 * ''Death in the Deep South''. Avon, 1936 * ''King Cobra''. Carrick, 1940 * ''Route 28''. Doubleday, 1940 * ''What They Don't Know: A Novel''. Random House, 1944 * (as Jean Greene). ''The Forgetful Elephant''. McKay, 1945 * ''Star Reporters and 34 of Their Stories''. Random House, 1948 * ''

: The Story of Two Dogs''. Simon, 1953 * (with

) ''Rip Kirby: The First Modern Detective. Complete Comic Strips 1948-1951''. IDW Publishing, 2012.

Articles and short stories

* "Is the Jelly Bean from Georgia?" nterview_with_F._Scott_Fitzgerald.html" ;"title="F._Scott_Fitzgerald.html" ;"title="nterview with F. Scott Fitzgerald">nterview with F. Scott Fitzgerald">F._Scott_Fitzgerald.html" ;"title="nterview with F. Scott Fitzgerald">nterview with F. Scott Fitzgerald 1923. ''Conversations with F. Scott Fitzgerald'', ed. Matthew J. Bruccoli and Judith S. Baughman, UP of Mississippi, 2004, pp. 40–42 * "Notes for a History of the Klan." ''The American Mercury'' June 1925, pp. 240–43. * "Boy for Tea." ''The American Mercury'' June 1930, pp. 223–27. Repr. ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' July 1954, pp. 76–81 * "Rubber Stamp." ''The American Mercury'' Jan. 1930, pp. 109–12. * "Caravan to Mecca." ''The American Mercury'' Mar. 1931, pp. 353–60 * "Happy Dan, the Cynical Dog." ''

'' Feb. 1945, pp. 19–21

Plays

* ''Honey''. Prod. Cape Playhouse, Dennis, MA, 1938. Prod. Hilltop Theatre, Ellicott City, MD, 1940-41

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Ward 1892 births 1956 deaths American editors 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American novelists American comics writers Writers from Asheville, North Carolina 20th-century American male writers Sewanee: The University of the South alumni Disney comics writers Deaths from pulmonary edema