American author Clarence Day was born in New York City in 1874. He came
from a wealthy family (his father had his own brokerage firm on Wall
Street and was a member of the New York Stock Exchange, and his
grandfather founded the "New York Sun" newspaper), and he graduated
from Yale University--where he was the editor of the school's humor
magazine, "The Yale Record"--in 1896. The next year he joined his
father's brokerage firm, but left a year later to enlist in the US
Navy. Unfortunately, he developed crippling arthritis while in the
service, resulting in his spending the rest of his life as a
semi-invalid.
His most famous work is his memoir, "Life with Father" (1935), which
humorously recounted the Day family life in the 1890s under the rule of
his domineering father. The book was quite successful, and was turned
into a smash-hit play in 1939, then into a critically and financially
successful film,
Unser Leben mit Vater (1947)). The
film received Oscar nominations for best cinematography, best art
direction, best musical score and best actor
(William Powell). It was also
turned into a short-lived (two seasons) TV series,
Wenn Vater nicht wär... (1953).
Clarence Day died of pneumonia in New York City in 1935.
