Douglas Fairbairn
{{short description|American novelist}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Douglas Fairbairn
| image = Douglas Fairbairn.jpg
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| birth_name = Douglas Behl
| birth_date = December 20, 1926
| birth_place = Elmira, New York
| death_date = {{death date and age|1997|10|2|1926|12|20}}
| death_place = Miami, Florida
| occupation = Author
| alma_mater = Harvard College
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Douglas Behl Fairbairn (December 20, 1926 – October 2, 1997)SS#: 267-40-1406. Social Security Death Index. Florida Death Index. was an American author who mainly wrote about South Florida. He wrote novels and a memoir.
Early life
Born Douglas Behl in Elmira, New York, to Jean Melissa "Missy" (née Fairbairn) and Martin E. Behl. His father was born in Westphalen, Germany, and came to America as a toddler. His mother was born in Huntsville, Ontario, Canada. After marrying in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1918, his parents relocated frequently, living in Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. His parents got a divorce when he was a child and he never saw his father again. (His father moved back to New York City and later died in Santa Barbara, California, in 1967.SS#: 116-03-5266. Social Security Death Index.) His mother later remarried, to Wesley Hibbard Bunce, and they moved to Coconut Grove, Florida in 1938. After going by Douglas Bunce for a time, although not officially, he legally changed his last name to his mother's maiden name in 1955.Fairbairn, Douglas (1982). Down and Out in Cambridge. New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, pp. 9–10, 21. {{ISBN|978-0698110892}}.
He attended but did not graduate from Harvard College, where he concentrated (majored) in English and was editor of the Harvard Lampoon. His Harvard roommate was the famous American actor Fred Gwynne. He returned to the Miami area where he would live out the rest of his life. He was married to wife Gay Fairbairn.
Publications
=Novels=
- A Man's World (1956)
- The Joy Train (1957)
- The Voice of Charlie Pont (date unknown; story adapted as a 1962 television movie)
- A Gazelle on the Lawn (1964){{cite web | url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/a/douglas-fairbairn-11/a-gazelle-on-the-lawn/ | title=Book Reviews, Sites, Romance, Fantasy, Fiction }}
- A Squirrel of One's Own (1971)
- Shoot (1973)
- A Squirrel Forever (1975)
- Street 8 (1976)
=Memoirs=
Filmography
His screen credits include the television episode "A Man's World" (based on his novel of the same title) for Studio One in Hollywood, the episode "The Voice of Charlie Pont" on Alcoa Premiere (1962), and a 1976 feature film ("Shoot") adapted from his 1973 novel of the same name.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=0265442|name=Douglas Fairbairn}}
- [https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/17/books/books-of-the-times-247347.html New York Times review of Fairbairn's memoirs], 2/17/1982
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Category:20th-century American novelists
Category:20th-century American memoirists
Category:The Harvard Lampoon alumni
Category:Harvard College alumni
Category:American male novelists
Category:20th-century American male writers