Tom Dardis (1926 – November 2, 2001) was an American author and editor. He served as editor for multiple publishing houses such as

Avon Books Avon Publications is a leading publisher 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 reaching and ma ...

and Berkley Publishing Corporation. Dardis was also an educator who taught at such institutions as

Adelphi University Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York, United States. Adelphi also has centers in Downtown Brooklyn, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County in addition to a virtual, online campus for remote students. As of 2019, it had ...

and the

John Jay College of Criminal Justice The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts col ...

of the

City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...

Life

Dardis was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1926 to Michael Gregory and Josephine Coletta Dardis. Dardis married Jane Buckelew in 1947. The couple divorced in 1982. They had three children. Dardis died of respiratory failure in New York in 2001.

Career

Dardis was educated at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

where he earned his A.B. in 1949. For graduate school, Dardis attended

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

where he earned his M.A. and Ph.D. From 1952 to 1955, Dardis worked as an associate editor at

. In 1955, Dardis became the executive director for the Berkley Publishing Corporation in

. He became editor-in-chief at that corporation in 1960 and held that position until 1972. Dardis worked as a freelance writer from 1972 to 1974. From 1974 to 1980 Dardis worked as a professor at

. He worked as a professor of English at

of the

from 1982 until his death in 2001. Over the course of his career, Dardis edited and authored several critically acclaimed books. Many of these pieces depict the life of the alcoholic. ''Firebrand: The Life of Horace Liveright'' received generally positive feedback from such prominent publications as

The Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. and the larges ...

, the

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

, and the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

. The book was a best-seller and was named a Notable Book of 1995 by the

New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

. He is also well known for his biographies of

Harold Lloyd Harold Clayton Lloyd Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many Silent film, silent comedy films.Obituary ''Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55. One of the most influent ...

and

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent films during the 1920s, in which he performed physical comedy and inventive stunts. He frequently ...

Selected bibliography

*''Daughters of Eve'' (editor, 1958) *''Banned!'' (editor, 1961) *''Banned #2'' (editor, 1962) *''Some Time in the Sun: The Hollywood Years of Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Nathanael West, Aldous Huxley and James Agee'' (1976)
reprint 1988
*''Keaton: The Man Who Wouldn't Lie Down'' (1979) *'' Harold Lloyd: The Man on the Clock'' (1983) *''Some time in the Sun'' (1983) *''The Thirsty Muse: Alcohol and the American Writer'' (1989) *''Firebrand: The Life of Horace Liveright'' (1995)

References

*''Contemporary Authors Online'', Gale, 2009. Reproduced in ''Biography Resource Center''. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC
Periodical entries about Tom Dardis
from the Biography Reference Bank
Tom Dardis Bibliography
at Open Library

External links

from the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dardis, Tom American book editors 1926 births 2001 deaths New York University alumni Columbia University alumni Adelphi University faculty John Jay College of Criminal Justice faculty Writers from New York City 20th-century American male writers