Walter R. Brooks

Walter R. Brooks (January 9, 1886 - August 17,1958) was an American writer best remembered for his short storiesand children's books, particularly those about Freddy the Pig and otheranthropomorphic animal inhabitants of the "Bean farm" in upstate New York.

Born in Rome, New York, Brooks attended college at the
University of Rochester and subsequently studied homeopathicmedicine in New York City. He dropped out after two years however,and returned to Rochester where he married his first wife, AnneShepard, in 1909. Brooks found employment with an advertising agencyin Utica, then "retired" in 1911, evidently because he came intoa considerable inheritance. His retirement was not permanent:in 1917, he went to work for the American Red Cross and later dideditorial work for several magazines, including The New Yorker. In 1940, Brooks turned to his own writing for his full timeoccupation. Walter married his second wife, Dorothy Collins, followingthe death of Anne in 1952.

The first works Brooks published were poems and short stories. Hisshort story "Ed Takes the Pledge" about a talking horse was the basisfor the 1960s television comedy series Mister Ed (credit forcreating the characters is given in each episode to "Walter Brooks").His most enduring works, however, are the 26 books hewrote about Freddy the Pig and his friends.

External links

* [http://www.freddythepig.org International "Friends of Freddy"]

* [http://www.harley.com/freddy-the-pig/ Harley Hahn's Freddy the Pig information page]
* [http://www.mreha.com "Mr. Eha's Place", a fan site celebrating Walter R. Brooks's Freddy the Pig series]
* [http://members.tripod.com/~jill_morgan/freddy.html Jill Morgan's Freddy the Pig pages]