Rex Benedict
Rex Arthur Benedict was an American author and naval aviator, born on June 27, 1920, in Jet, Oklahoma. He graduated from Jet High School in 1938 and later earned a Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern State University in 1949. Benedict served in the United States Navy Air Corps during World War II and later in the Korean War, achieving the rank of lieutenant and receiving honors like the Distinguished Flying Cross. His diverse career included roles as a dance orchestra leader, orchestra manager, translator, and reader for publishing houses, culminating in a position as a translator and reviewer for The New York Times.
Benedict is best known for his children's literature, particularly stories that intertwine the myths of the American West with a humorous twist. He emphasized the mythical nature of the Old West in his work, aiming to explore and confuse the historical narratives rather than clarify them. He was married to Giusi Usai in 1966 and continued to write until his passing on November 21, 1995, leaving behind a unique legacy in children's literature that reflects both historical and imaginative elements.
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Rex Benedict
Children's Writer
- Born: June 27, 1920
- Birthplace: Jet, Oklahoma
- Died: November 21, 1995
- Place of death: Jet, Oklahoma
Biography
Rex (Arthur) Benedict was born in Jet, Oklahoma, on June 27, 1920, the son of Excel Edward (a farmer) and Violet Lambert Benedict. He graduated from Jet High School in 1938. He graduated from Northwestern State University in Alva, Oklahoma, in 1949 with a B.A. and did graduate work at the University of Oklahoma in Norman in 1949 and 1950. He served in the United States Navy Air Corps from 1942 to1945 and from 1951 to 1953; he became a naval aviator and a lieutenant. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and three air medals. He married Giusi Usai, a secretary, on January 5, 1966.
In addition to writing, Benedict had several diverse careers. He was a dance orchestra leader in Alva, Oklahoma, from 1938 to 1941; an orchestra manager in San Diego from 1945 to 1946; a translator and film dubber in Rome, Italy from 1953 to 1960; a reader for various publishing houses in New York from 1960 to 1965; and a translator and reviewer for the New York Times from 1972 to 1979. He died November 21, 1995 in Jet.
Benedict also wrote numerous children’s books. Many of them deal with the myths of the American West but add a comic twist. In Twentieth Century Children’s Writers Benedict comments: “If there is one word that will catch the intent of my novels for children, it is the word ‘mythical.’ In almost all my novels, I have used the Old West as myth. Since facts of the West are so hopelessly lost in myth, I, instead of trying to disentangle them, confuse them even more in the hope of arriving at logic. There is no length to which one cannot go in writing about the West, so long as one is convincing.”