P.G. Wodehouse(1881-1975)
- Writer
- Actor
- Music Department
Master of comedy novelist Pelham (Plum) Grenville Wodehouse was born on
October 15, 1881, in Guilford, Surrey, England. He died in hospital in
Southampton, New York, on Valentine's day (February 14) 1975, from a
heart attack after a long illness at age 93. In that time he managed to
write close to 200 novels, short stories, plays, song lyrics and so on.
At the time of his birth, Plum's mother was visiting her sister in
England, but after only a few weeks she and young Plum returned to Hong
Kong, where his father was a magistrate. At an early age he was sent to
school in Britain--Dulwich College in London.
At age 14, he moved with his parents in to what they would call "the
old house." After completing school, he spent two years as a banker at
the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, but he soon switched jobs to the old
Globe newspaper as a sports reporter and columnist on "By the way..."
About that time he started to write his own little stories. At first he
wrote school novels about life in the famous universities in England
(for example, "The White Feather") and mainly for a boys magazine
called "The Captain", but soon he developed a talent for comic dialogue
and started to put his talents to that instead.
Success was just around the corner, and by 1910 he had established
himself in such a way that he could spend time between residences in
the US and France. It was also at about this time he acquired his
obsession with golf, a sport around which many of his short stories
circle--even though his handicap never came down below 18. In a few
years he was reaching millions of readers in dozens of countries.
Plum met Ethel, an American widow who became the woman of his life, in
1913 and they married in 1914. World War II caught Plum in his
newly-purchased home in Le Touquet in France, having tea with his wife
and some friends. He was captured by German forces and put in a prison
camp. He was treated well and got the means to keep writing his books.
Joseph Goebbels, it was revealed later,
understood what a big fish they had caught and lured Plum into giving
some brief, humorous appearances on German radio. Being the political
fool he was, Plum fell into the trap. The broadcasts, which were
supposed to be heard in the US only, were redirected to Britain, in a
cunning scheme to annoy British authorities. As word of the broadcasts
spread, back in Britain Plum's readers and publisher went berserk. They
wanted him charged with treason. However, it was obvious he had been
tricked and as the war ended, he returned to America, where he became a
citizen in 1955.
Hollywood claimed Wodehouse, but it soon became apparent that all they
wanted was his name on the posters and ads. Still, his popularity
increased to such a degree that in 1975, a few weeks before his death,
he was forgiven his wartime mistakes by the British establishment and
was knighted by Her Majesty the Queen. At the time of his knighthood he
was in poor health and couldn't attend the ceremony.
Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother,
a devout Wodehouse fan, offered to go to the US to personally present
the knighthood.
In his final years, Plum was in and out of the hospital with pneumonia,
heart problems and lung failures. Seeking comfort, as always, in his
typewriter, Sir Plum kept writing until the end. His last work is the
unfinished "Sunset at Blandings", of which nine chapters were written
before he died in 1975.
Lady Ethel lived until 1984. They had no mutual children, only from
Ethel's daughter from her previous marriage, Leonora, who Plum adopted
and who died during surgery in 1942, devastating Plum to his core.
October 15, 1881, in Guilford, Surrey, England. He died in hospital in
Southampton, New York, on Valentine's day (February 14) 1975, from a
heart attack after a long illness at age 93. In that time he managed to
write close to 200 novels, short stories, plays, song lyrics and so on.
At the time of his birth, Plum's mother was visiting her sister in
England, but after only a few weeks she and young Plum returned to Hong
Kong, where his father was a magistrate. At an early age he was sent to
school in Britain--Dulwich College in London.
At age 14, he moved with his parents in to what they would call "the
old house." After completing school, he spent two years as a banker at
the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, but he soon switched jobs to the old
Globe newspaper as a sports reporter and columnist on "By the way..."
About that time he started to write his own little stories. At first he
wrote school novels about life in the famous universities in England
(for example, "The White Feather") and mainly for a boys magazine
called "The Captain", but soon he developed a talent for comic dialogue
and started to put his talents to that instead.
Success was just around the corner, and by 1910 he had established
himself in such a way that he could spend time between residences in
the US and France. It was also at about this time he acquired his
obsession with golf, a sport around which many of his short stories
circle--even though his handicap never came down below 18. In a few
years he was reaching millions of readers in dozens of countries.
Plum met Ethel, an American widow who became the woman of his life, in
1913 and they married in 1914. World War II caught Plum in his
newly-purchased home in Le Touquet in France, having tea with his wife
and some friends. He was captured by German forces and put in a prison
camp. He was treated well and got the means to keep writing his books.
Joseph Goebbels, it was revealed later,
understood what a big fish they had caught and lured Plum into giving
some brief, humorous appearances on German radio. Being the political
fool he was, Plum fell into the trap. The broadcasts, which were
supposed to be heard in the US only, were redirected to Britain, in a
cunning scheme to annoy British authorities. As word of the broadcasts
spread, back in Britain Plum's readers and publisher went berserk. They
wanted him charged with treason. However, it was obvious he had been
tricked and as the war ended, he returned to America, where he became a
citizen in 1955.
Hollywood claimed Wodehouse, but it soon became apparent that all they
wanted was his name on the posters and ads. Still, his popularity
increased to such a degree that in 1975, a few weeks before his death,
he was forgiven his wartime mistakes by the British establishment and
was knighted by Her Majesty the Queen. At the time of his knighthood he
was in poor health and couldn't attend the ceremony.
Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother,
a devout Wodehouse fan, offered to go to the US to personally present
the knighthood.
In his final years, Plum was in and out of the hospital with pneumonia,
heart problems and lung failures. Seeking comfort, as always, in his
typewriter, Sir Plum kept writing until the end. His last work is the
unfinished "Sunset at Blandings", of which nine chapters were written
before he died in 1975.
Lady Ethel lived until 1984. They had no mutual children, only from
Ethel's daughter from her previous marriage, Leonora, who Plum adopted
and who died during surgery in 1942, devastating Plum to his core.