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Alcoholic Authors: Dorothy ParkerA Life of Writing, Drinking, Debauchery and Suicidal Tendencies
Dorothy Parker was known for her drinking and suicidal tendencies while being one of the most accomplished female writers of poetry, prose and screenplays of her time.
Dorothy Parker and her dependency on alcohol are said to be a result of a troubled childhood or failed marriages and affairs. She was one of the most accomplished female writers of her time and known for her sharp, sardonic wit and personal quotes. Early Life of Dorothy ParkerDorothy Parker was born as Dorothy Rothchild on August 22, 1893, to Jacob Henry Rothschild and Annie Eliza Maston, the fourth child in the family. After her mother died, she was raised by her father and a stepmother. Her father, brother and stepmother died while she was still in her teens. Her uncle, Martin Rothschild and his wife Lizzie, were aboard the Titanic in 1912 and he did not survive which is said to have hastened her father’s death. To support herself, Dorothy began giving piano lessons. She had been given an excellent education for her time and began writing poetry early in life. Early Writing Career of Dorothy ParkerDorothy Parker’s first success was selling a poem to Vanity Fair in 1914 and soon afterward joined the editorial department of Vogue, a fashion magazine. In 1917, after moving to Vanity Fair, she, along with Robert Benchley and Robert Sherwood, formed the Algonquin Round Table with members such as newspaper columnist Franklin Pierce Adams and James Thurber. In 1920, when Dorothy’s sarcastic remarks were printed in the newspapers, she was fired from Vanity Fair because of offending powerful producers. Dorothy Parker’s Marriages and AffairsDorothy Parker married Edmund Pond Parker in 1917. He was soon stationed overseas during WWI and returned home with a drinking problem. Dorothy enjpyed her single life during his absence and after frequent separation, they were divorced in 1928. In 1934, at age 40, Dorothy married Alan Campbell who was twenty-nine-years-old. After moving to Hollywood they became a successful screenwriting team. She divorced him in 1947 and later remarried. Alan Campbell died in 1963. Dorothy was known to have had an affair with the playwright Charles McArthur, who was also having multiple affairs with other women. After an affair with a married reporter led to an unwanted pregnancy and an abortion, she began to drink heavily, became increasingly sarcastic and tried to kill herself twice. Dorothy Parker’s Literary LegacyDorothy Parker and Edmund’s success in 1933 for A Star is Born, which was nominated for an Academy Award, began the most lucrative time in her career. During her lifetime she published books, short stories, screen plays and poetry. She is also known for her personal quotes such as “Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses.” Dorothy Parker’s Final DaysThroughout her life, Dorothy Parker struggled with alcoholism and depression. She spent her last years in New York, often depending upon friends such as Lillian Hellman to help her financially as she spent the money from writing as quickly as she earned it. She was in very poor health due to the heavy drinking and died alone in a hotel room on June 7, 1967 at the age of seventy three. Dorothy Parker's estate was left to Martin Luther King and after her death, her ashes were scattered at a specially designed memorial garden at the NAACP headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland. Dorothy Parker has not been forgotten. A party is held on odd-numered years by the Dorothy Parker Society that sponsors "Parkerfest", a celebration of her life with a speakeasy night, walking tour, Roundtable lunch, and readings. Bibliography: Randall Calhoun. Dorothy Parker: A Bio-Bibliography. Greenwood Press, CT, 1992. 192 pages.
The copyright of the article Alcoholic Authors: Dorothy Parker in Biographies/Memoirs is owned by Martha R. Gore. Permission to republish Alcoholic Authors: Dorothy Parker in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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