Don Robertson (author)
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Don Robertson (March 21, 1929 – March 21, 1999) was an American novelist. He wrote 18 published novels. Robertson is probably best known for his trio of novels featuring Morris Bird III: ''The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread'', ''The Sum and Total of Now'', and ''The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened''. A movie adaptation of ''The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened'' aired on NBC in 1977, starring
Jimmie Walker James Carter Walker Jr. (born June 25, 1947) is an American actor and comedian. Walker portrayed James Evans Jr. ("J.J."), the older son of Florida and James Evans Sr., on the CBS television series ''Good Times'', which ran from 1974 to 1979, ...
and
James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...
.


Early life

Robertson was born on March 21, 1929, in
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, to Josephine Wuebben Robertson and Carl Trowbridge Robertson, an associate editor of ''
The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...
''. Robertson lived until 1946 on Cleveland's east side, in Hough, and graduated from East High School.


Education and early career

After stints 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 ...
and at
Harvard 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 ...
and Western Reserve University (now
Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...
), he became a reporter and columnist for ''The Plain Dealer'' (1950-1955 and 1963–1966), '' The Cleveland News'' (1957–1959), and '' The Cleveland Press'' (1968–1982). He reviewed movies and theater for the NBC's Cleveland affiliate WKYC-TV in the late 1970s and early ’80s, as well as "won a following as a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is radio and TV talk show host." He also got involved in live theater.


Novels and film

Most of Robertson's novels were set in Ohio, and the fictional town of Paradise Falls, Ohio, figured in many of them. ''Paradise Falls'' was also the title of one of his longest novels. Additionally, much of Robertson's fiction was set in the recent past, or a few generations past. His 1964 novel ''A Flag Full of Stars'', for instance, was set during the 1948 U.S. elections. Like
John O'Hara John Henry O'Hara (January 31, 1905 – April 11, 1970) was one of America's most prolific writers of short stories, credited with helping to invent ''The New Yorker'' magazine short story style.John O'Hara: Stories, Charles McGrath, ed., The L ...
, Robertson often linked novels that were not substantially related by including brief allusions to characters and events in his previous works. His fascinations with history and human lives were evident from his first novels, a
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
trilogy (1959–1962). Set in Cleveland between 1944 and 1953, each of the three Morris Bird III novels revolves around a major event in the city's history: the
East Ohio Gas Dominion Energy, Inc., commonly referred to as Dominion, is a North American power and energy company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia that supplies electricity in parts of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina and supplies natural gas ...
explosion, the
Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
winning the pennant, and the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. In 1987,
Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
’s
Philtrum Press Philtrum Press is a small publishing house run by Stephen King. This small press operation, operating out of King's front business offices in Bangor, Maine, is primarily run by King's personal assistant, Marsha DeFillipo (who is also the moder ...
published Robertson’s novel, ''The Ideal, Genuine Man''. King has acknowledged Robertson as one of his influences. Crown published Robertson's final novel, ''Prisoners of Twilight'', in 1989. The early title of this book was ''Companion to Owls''. In April 2008, HarperCollins Publisher reissued ''The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread'' in paperback. Berkley Trade (a division of Penguin Books) reissued ''The Sum and Total of Now'' in August 2009, and HarperCollins Publisher reissued ''The Greatest Thing that Almost Happened'' in September 2009. The rest of Don Robertson's books are currently out of print. In 2016 the Italian editor Nicola Manuppelli started the Italian publication of Robertson's works with the publisher Nutrimenti, translating "The Ideal, Genuine Man" (Nutrimenti, 2016). A second novel by Robertson, "Praise the Human Season" will be translated by Nicola Manuppelli at the end of 2017. . In 2019, Nicola Manuppelli edited and translated an unpublished Don's novel "Julie" in Italy for Nutrimenti publisher. The novel is about the character Julie Sutton, known from others Don's works.


Awards

''A Flag Full of Stars'' (1964), set during the 1948 election of Harry Truman, won the Putnam Award. Robertson won the Cleveland Arts Prize for his Morris Bird books, in 1966. He won the Ohioana Book Award in fiction in 1988 for ''The Ideal, Genuine Man.''The Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature presented him with its
Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
Award in 1991. The Press Club of Cleveland's Hall of Fame inducted Robertson in 1992, and he received the Society of Professional Journalist's Life Achievement Award in 1995.


Critical reception and legacy

After Robertson published his first novel, The Three Days, he was criticized by President
Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
for the obscene language used by the soldiers in the story. Reviewers compared Robertson's first three books - the Civil War trilogy (1959-1962) - to the works of
Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
,
Booth Tarkington Newton Booth Tarkington (July 29, 1869 – May 19, 1946) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1918) and '' Alice Adams'' (1921). He is one of only four novelists to win the Pulitze ...
, and
J.D. Salinger Jerome David Salinger (; January 1, 1919 January 27, 2010) was an American author best known for his 1951 novel ''The Catcher in the Rye''. Salinger got his start in 1940, before serving in World War II, by publishing several short stories in ''S ...
. ''The Dictionary of Midwestern Literature'' pronounced it Robertson's "most significant fictional accomplishment" and predicted the three-book saga was "likely to assume an important place in American boyhood fiction." In contrast, Robertson's later books were sometimes criticized for their violence and "sordid" tendencies.
Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
stated Robertson's work had been an inspiration to him as a writer, and Robertson was deeply touched when King published "the older writer's" novel, ''The Ideal, Genuine Man'' (1987). King also said, during an interview in 2015, that Robertson was "probably" his favorite novelist of all time. Sportswriter
Terry Pluto Terry Pluto (born June 12, 1955) is an American sportswriter, newspaper columnist, and author who primarily writes columns for ''The Plain Dealer'', and formerly for the '' Akron Beacon Journal'' about Cleveland, Ohio sports and religion. Plu ...
has said that, "Robertson made me believe I could become an author," after one of his high school teachers gave the 14 year-old Pluto a copy of ''The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread'', and telling the young boy that he could write books too.


Personal life and health

Dennis Dooley describes Robertson thusly: "A battler who fought his way back, with the help of his wife Sherri, from a series of crushing health problems—two heart attacks in 1974, several strokes, lung cancer and the eventual loss of both legs to diabetes—Robertson liked to refer to the nine novels he published after 1974 as his "posthumous" books." .."Wheelchair-bound but hard at work on another book (he relished a new software program that simulated the printed page), he told two departing fellow writers who had dropped by to see him shortly before his death, 'Hey, don’t forget me, you guys.'"


Death

Robertson died at home of
lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...
on his birthday in 1999, aged 70. US Representative Dennis J. Kucinich gave a tribute to Robertson in front of Congress on April 14, 1999. He's buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Logan, Ohio.


Novels

* A Civil War Trilogy: ** ''The Three Days'' (1959) ** ''By Antietam Creek'' (1960) ** ''The River and the Wilderness'' (published as ''Game Without Rules'' in the UK) (1962) * ''A Flag Full of Stars'' (1964) * ''The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread'' (1965) * ''The Sum and Total of Now'' (1966) * ''Paradise Falls'' (1968) * ''The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened'' (1970) * ''Praise the Human Season'' (1974) * ''Miss Margaret Ridpath and the Dismantling of the Universe'' (1977) * ''Make a Wish'' (1978) * ''Mystical Union'' (1978) * ''Victoria at Nine'' (1979) * ''Harv'' (1985) * ''The Forest of Arden'' (1986) * ''The Ideal, Genuine Man'' (1987) * ''Barb'' (1988) * ''Prisoners of Twilight'' (1989)


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Don 1929 births 1999 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists Case Western Reserve University alumni Harvard University alumni Writers from Cleveland 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Ohio