David N. O'Neil (July 23, 1874 - June 9, 1947), also known as Dave O'Neil, was an American businessman and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

of the early 20th century. He was also an occasional stage actor. In 1937, he built an outdoor theatre on his estate in

Cos Cob, Connecticut Cos Cob is a neighborhood and census-designated place in the town of Greenwich, Connecticut, United States. It is located on the Connecticut shoreline in southern Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County. It had a population of 6,873 at t ...

for his family to use, which is known as the O'Neil Outdoor Theatre.

Life and career

O'Neil was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, the son of Joseph and Catherine O'Neil. He received the

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from the law school in

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

. He became president of the O'Neil Lumber Company in 1908 and soon retired a very wealthy man at age 48, and moved with his family to Paris. O'Neil and his wife were close friends of

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

and his first wife, Hadley. They had known O'Neil from St. Louis, and Hemingway wrote an acidulous sketch based on O'Neil. O'Neil published only one volume of

poems Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

, 1918's ''A Cabinet of Jade'', the title suggested by

Zoë Akins Zoe Byrd Akins (October 30, 1886 – October 29, 1958) was an American playwright, poet, and author. She won the 1935 Pulitzer Prize for drama for '' The Old Maid''. Early life Zoe Byrd Akins was born in Humansville, Missouri, second of three ...

. He also contributed to a number of influential

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

reviews of the day, including ''

The Little Review ''The Little Review'' was an American avant-garde literary magazine founded by Margaret Anderson in Chicago's historic Fine Arts Building, published literary and art work from 1914 to May 1929. With the help of Jane Heap and Ezra Pound ...

'' and ''Poetry''. He co-edited the 1923 book, ''Today's Poetry: An Anthology'', with Nelson Crawford. He married the former

Barbara Blackman Barbara Blackman (née Patterson; 22 December 1928 – 4 October 2024) was an Australian writer and essayist, poet, librettist, radio broadcaster and interviewer, artist, artist's model and activist and philanthropist, who was a patron of the ...

on June 10, 1903. She was a socialite and suffragist, the daughter of George and Carrie (Horton) Blackman. Their daughter was actress

Barbara O'Neil Barbara O'Neil (July 17, 1910 – September 3, 1980) was an American film and stage actress. She appeared in the film ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in '' ...

.Barbara O'Neil Playbill bio
accessed 1-5-2016

Works

Notes

References

* * * Dedicated to David O'Neil *

External links

1874 births 1947 deaths American male poets Writers from St. Louis People from Cos Cob, Connecticut Washington University School of Law alumni {{US-poet-1870s-stub