With its proximity to the cultural hub of New York City and its quieter suburban and rural landscapes, Connecticut was fertile ground for artists and writers in the period of Modernist movements between 1913 and 1979. Many of these cultural figures are well known through biographical and critical studies. Creative Places seeks to show how place played a significant role in creative work, and how in turn the artists and writers influenced communities in Connecticut.
Jack Douglas
Fiction
1908 – 1989
Jack Douglas was an American comedy writer for radio and television and author of a series of humor books. “The Neighbors Are Scaring My Wolf,” written in 1968, was about life and parties in New Canaan at the time.
- Biography/Description of Work
Born Douglas Linley Crickard, Douglas was married several times, and moved to New Canaan in 1965 with his last wife, Reiki Hashimoto. A comedy writer for radio and television, he supplied material for such comic greats as Bob Hope, Red Skelton, Jimmy Durante, Bing Crosby, Woody Allen and Jack Paar. He wrote the book, “The Neighbors are Scaring My Wolf” about his experiences of living in the suburbs of New Canaan. The Crickards only lived on the property for four years, selling it in 1969. Eventually Jack Douglas and Reiko moved to California where he died in 1989.
- Sources view
- http://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/03/obituaries/jack-douglas-writer-for-tv-is-dead-at-80.html, http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Popular-TV-Talk-Show-Panelist-Reiko-Douglas-Dies-at-77-20130911, http://blog.preservationnation.org/2013/01/28/interview-elizabeth-ellsworth-maven-of-midcentury-modern/#.VOUJHvnF_XU
- Associated Resource(s)