St. Clair McKelway (February 13, 1905 – January 10, 1980) was a writer and editor for ''

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 ...

'' magazine beginning in 1933.

Childhood

McKelway was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, to

Alexander McKelway Alexander Jeffrey McKelway (October 6, 1866 – April 16, 1918) was an American Presbyterian minister, and journalist. A supporter of the Presidency of Woodrow Wilson he is best known as an Progressive Era reformer, especially as an activist for ...

, a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

minister, journalist, and child labor reformer, and Lavinia Rutherford Smith. In 1909 the senior McKelway took a job with the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) and moved the family to

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

McKelway grew up in the Georgetown neighborhood and attended Western High School (now Duke Ellington School of the Arts).Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, Volume 4, edited by William Stevens Powell, Univ of North Carolina Press, p. 158.

Career

He began his journalistic career at the ''

Washington Herald ''The Washington Herald'' was an American daily newspaper in Washington, D.C., from October 8, 1906, to January 31, 1939. History The paper was founded in 1906 by Scott C. Bone, who had been managing editor of '' The Washington Post'' from 1888 ...

'' before moving to New York City. He worked at the ''

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under pub ...

'' and the ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...

''. While working at the ''New York Herald Tribune'', he was described by Stanley Walker as, "One of the twelve best reporters in New York."

''The New Yorker''

McKelway came to ''The New Yorker'' at the behest of

Harold Ross Harold Wallace Ross (November 6, 1892 – December 6, 1951) was an American journalist who co-founded ''The New Yorker'' magazine in 1925 with his wife Jane Grant, and was its editor-in-chief until his death. Early life Born in a prospector' ...

who "was looking to infuse the magazine with a jolt of gritty reportage." He served as a managing editor for journalistic contributions at ''The New Yorker'' from 1936 to 1939. While editor he hired E. J. Kahn Jr., Joseph Mitchell,

Brendan Gill Brendan Gill (October 4, 1914 – December 27, 1997) was an American journalist. He wrote for ''The New Yorker'' for more than 60 years. Gill also contributed film criticism for ''Film Comment'', wrote about design and architecture for Architectu ...

Philip Hamburger Philip Hamburger is an American legal scholar. Hamburger holds a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School (1982) and a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University (1979). Hamburger is the Maurice and Hilda Friedman Professor of Law at the Columbia Unive ...

and

Margaret Case Harriman Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning " pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular through ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he held public relations posts for the

Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War ...

, leaving the service with the rank of lieutenant colonel. After the war McKelway returned to ''The New Yorker'' and remained at the magazine for 47 years.Obituary for St. Clair McKelway by William Shawn, ''The New Yorker'', January 28, 1980 According to

William Shawn William Shawn (''né'' Chon; August 31, 1907 – December 8, 1992) was an American magazine editor who edited ''The New Yorker'' from 1952 until 1987. Early life and education Shawn was born William Chon on August 31, 1907, in Chicago, Illino ...

, McKelway "was one of the handful of people who, together with

, ''The New Yorker''s founding editor, set the magazine on its course." In 1950, he collected several of his pieces for ''The New Yorker'' in the book ''True Tales from the Annals of Crime & Rascality''. One article from that collection was the basis for the 1950 movie ''

Mister 880 ''Mister 880'' is a 1950 American light-hearted romantic drama film directed by Edmund Goulding and starring Burt Lancaster, Dorothy McGuire and Edmund Gwenn, about an amateurish counterfeiter who counterfeits only one dollar bills, and manages ...

'', starring

Edmund Gwenn Edmund Gwenn (born Edmund John Kellaway; 26 September 1877 – 6 September 1959) was an English actor. On film, he is best remembered for his role as Kris Kringle in the Christmas film ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947), for which he won th ...

as a small-time counterfeiter of one dollar bills, who eluded the

United States Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...

for ten years, from 1938 to 1948. St. Clair McKelway also wrote screenplays for two other movies in 1948: ''

Sleep, My Love ''Sleep, My Love'' is a 1948 American noir film directed by Douglas Sirk. It features Claudette Colbert, Robert Cummings and Don Ameche. Plot Alison Courtland, a wealthy New Yorker, hasn't a clue how she ended up on a train bound for Boston. W ...

'', directed by

Douglas Sirk Douglas Sirk (born Hans Detlef Sierck; 26 April 1897 – 14 January 1987) was a German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s. Sirk started his career in Germany as a stage and screen director, but he left for ...

, and ''

The Mating of Millie ''The Mating of Millie'' is a 1948 American romantic comedy film directed by Henry Levin (film director), Henry Levin and starring Glenn Ford and Evelyn Keyes. Plot Millie McGonigle (Evelyn Keyes), is riding a bus home from work when the frustr ...

'', starring

Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who often portrayed ordinary men in unusual circumstances. Ford was most prominent during Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-offi ...

and

Evelyn Keyes Evelyn Louise Keyes (November 20, 1916 – July 4, 2008) was an American film actress. She is best known for her role as Suellen O'Hara in the 1939 film ''Gone with the Wind''. Early life Evelyn Keyes was born in Port Arthur, Texas, to Omar Do ...

. He published the book ''The Edinburgh Caper: A One-Man International Plot,'' based on a ''New Yorker'' article, in 1962. In 2010, Bloomsbury USA published a paperback-original collection of 18 of McKelway's works, ''Reporting at Wit's End: Tales from the New Yorker'' (), with an appreciative introduction by

Adam Gopnik Adam Gopnik (born August 24, 1956) is an American writer and essayist. He is best known as a staff writer for ''The New Yorker,'' to which he has contributed non-fiction, fiction, memoir, and criticism since 1986. He is the author of nine books ...

of ''The New Yorker.''

Personal life

McKelway was married five times, including to the writer

Maeve Brennan Maeve Brennan (January 6, 1917 – November 1, 1993) was an Irish short story writer and journalist. She moved to the United States in 1934 when her father was appointed to the Irish Legation in Washington. She was an important figure in bo ...

. His brother Benjamin Mosby McKelway was a reporter for ''

The Washington Star ''The Washington Star'', previously known as the ''Washington Star-News'' and the Washington ''Evening Star'', was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C., between 1852 and 1981. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Sunday Sta ...

''. He was also involved with

Eileen McKenney Ruth Marguerite McKenney (November 18, 1911 – July 25, 1972) was an American author and journalist, best remembered for ''My Sister Eileen'', a memoir of her experiences growing up in Ohio and moving to Greenwich Village with her sister Eileen ...

. St. Clair McKelway died at the DeWitt Nursing Home in Manhattan on January 10, 1980. He should not be confused with his great-uncle, also named St. Clair McKelway, the editor of the ''

Brooklyn Eagle :''This article covers both the historical newspaper (1841–1955, 1960–1963), as well as an unrelated new Brooklyn Daily Eagle starting 1996 published currently'' The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''King ...

''.

Bibliography

Books

*''Gossip: The Life And Times Of Walter Winchell'' (1940) *''True Tales from the Annals of Crime and Rascality'' (1951) *''The Edinburgh Caper: A One-Man International Plot'' (1962) *''The Big Little Man from Brooklyn'' (1969) *''Reporting at Wit's End: Tales from The New Yorker'' (2010)

Articles

* Part 1 of a report on Ralph Marshall Wilby. * Part 2 of a report on Ralph Marshall Wilby.

Essays

"An Affix for Birds," in ''A Subtreasury of American Humor,'' edited by

E. B. White Elwyn Brooks White (July 11, 1899 – October 1, 1985) was an American writer. He was the author of several highly popular books for children, including ''Stuart Little'' (1945), ''Charlotte's Web'' (1952), and '' The Trumpet of the Swan'' ...

and Katharine S. White

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKelway, St. Clair American male journalists The New Yorker editors The New Yorker people The New Yorker staff writers New York Herald Tribune people 1905 births 1980 deaths Writers from Charlotte, North Carolina Journalists from Washington, D.C. United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers People from Georgetown (Washington, D.C.) United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army colonels