H. C. Witwer

Harry Charles Witwer (March 11 1890–August 9 1929), more commonly known as H. C. Witwer, was an American short story author. Some 60 comedy film shorts were based on his works, most from the mid 1920s to 1930, the year after Witwer's death.

Biography

Witwer was born on March 11 1890 in Athens, Pennsylvania, and briefly attended Saint Joseph's College in Philadelphia. He worked in odd jobs—errand boy for a butcher, prize fighter manager, and a soda jerk on Broadway—for a time before starting to write for newspapers,cite news | title = H. C. Witwer dies; a noted humorist | work = The New York Times | date = 1929-08-10 | page = 13 ] counting the "St. Cloud (Florida) Tribune" and
New York newspapers "Brooklyn Eagle", the "New York American", the "New York Mail", and "The Sun" as employers.cite news | title = Death grasps pen of Witwer | work = Los Angeles Times | date = 1929-08-10 | page = A1 ]

In 1912, he married Zada "Sadie" Schagrin of Yonkers, New York. His first recorded film contribution at the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) was writing intertitles for the 1916 silent film "Where D'Ye Get That Stuff?".imdb name | id = 0937149 | name = H.C. Witwer ] In 1917—during World War I—he was sent to France by "Collier's" magazine as a war correspondent. He also wrote for "McClure's" in this time period.

By the early 1920s, Witwer's works were starting to be filmed, with nearly 30 film credits recorded by the IMDB by 1925. In May 1925, his income was reportedly more than that of Ring Lardner. [cite journal | last = Sherwood | first = R. E. | title = the SILENT DRAMA | journal = Life | date = 1925-05-14 | volume = 85 | issue = 2219 | pages = 28 ] Witwer is credited with producing ten shorts beginning in 1925, but he was most active as a writer, receiving writing credits for 30 more short films after 1925.

In the mid 1920s, Witwer collaborated on two newspaper comic strips. In 1924, he began the strip "Samson and Delia" with Tim Early and Paul Robinson, which ran for two years. In 1925, he created "Switchboard Sally" with Wesley Morse. [cite web | url = http://cartoons.osu.edu/finding_aids/sfaca/s.html | title = Guide to the SFACA Collection : Newspaper Comic Strips, Series I: Comic Features | publisher = Cartoon Research Library, The Ohio State University | date = | accessdate = 2008-06-04 ]

Witwer relocated to California in 1926 to regain his health, which he apparently did, remaining in good health until he fell ill in May 1929.

Harold Lloyd lawsuit

Witwer sued Harold Lloyd in April 1929 for $2,300,000 over Lloyd's 1925 film "The Freshman", claiming that it was "pirated" from Witwer's short story "The Emancipation of Rodney", first published in 1915. [cite news | title = H. C. Witwer sues Lloyd over story | work = Los Angeles Times | date = 1929-04-12 | page = A20 ] By the time Witwer died from liver failure in Los Angeles, California, on 9 August 1929, the lawsuit had not been settled. Witwer's widow pursued the lawsuit and won a judgement against Lloyd in November 1930. [cite news | title = Finds Harold Lloyd pirated Witwer plot | work = The New York Times | date = 1930-11-19 | page = 48 ] On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals overturned the ruling and Witwer's widow received nothing. [cite news | title = Court victory won by Lloyd | work = Los Angeles Times | date = 1933-04-11 | page = 8 ]

Legacy

Most notable during his lifetime for his baseball and boxing stories, Witwer wrote some 400 stories and articles for magazines and some 125 film treatments throughout his career. In a 1999 review of an anthology of boxing short stories, which included Witwer's "The Chickasha Bone Crusher", reviewer Sybil S. Steinberg praised the "near-forgotten" Witwer, calling him one of "America's wittiest idiomatic stylists". [cite journal | last = Steinberg | first = Sybil S. | year = 1999 | month = September | title = Boxing's Best Short Stories | format = Review of book | journal = Publishers Weekly | volume = 246 | issue = 38 | page = 74 ]

Notes

External links

* [http://cartoons.osu.edu/finding_aids/sfaca/html/1201-1300/1283.html Sample panel] from Witwer's comic strip "Switchboard Sally"
* [http://cartoons.osu.edu/finding_aids/sfaca/html/1201-1300/1286.html Sample panel] from Witwer's comic strip "Samson and Delia"