Clarence Day(1874-1935)

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, Life with Father (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, Life with Father (1953).

Clarence Day died of pneumonia in New York City in 1935.