Will Cuppy
William Jacob "Will" Cuppy (1884-1949) was an American humorist and literary critic known for his satirical writings that focused on nature and historical figures. Growing up in rural Indiana, he had a humble background, with a mother who was a seamstress and a father involved in various trades. Cuppy pursued his education at the University of Chicago, where he became interested in writing, leading to his first book, "Maroon Tales," published in 1910. His career evolved as he wrote for newspapers, notably the New York Herald Tribune, where he created over four thousand columns, including the popular "Mystery and Adventure." Cuppy's lifestyle included a retreat to a simple shack on Jones Island, where he penned "How to Be a Hermit," reflecting his unique perspective on solitude. His writing process was meticulous, often involving extensive research and organization through note cards. Cuppy's unfinished work, "The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody," was completed posthumously by a friend, showcasing the depth of his writing endeavors. Cuppy's legacy remains significant in the realm of American satire and humor.
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Will Cuppy
Newspaper Columnist
- Born: August 23, 1884
- Birthplace: Auburn, Indiana
- Died: September 19, 1949
Biography
Humorist and satirist Will Cuppy grew up in rural Indiana, where his mother, Frances Stahl Cuppy, worked as a seamstress in a shop next to their home and his father worked at a range of jobs, including grain dealing, farm equipment selling, and lumber buying for the Wabash Railroad. As a child, Cuppy spent summers with his grandmother Sarah Collins Cuppy, whose farm was situated on the Eel River near South Whitley, Indiana.
Will Cuppy graduated from Auburn High School in Indiana in 1902 and enrolled at the University of Chicago, where he joined several Chicago newspapers, including the Record-Herald and the Daily News, as a campus reporter. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1907, Cuppy continued at the University with the intention of completing a Ph.D., but his attentions were more directed at his writing than his studies. In 1910, he published his first book, Maroon Tales: University of Chicago Stories, whose stories depicted college and fraternity life. Cuppy abandoned his plan for a Ph.D., completed his master’s degree in 1914, and departed for New York with aspirations of a career in journalism.
He was stationed stateside as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Motor Transport Corps during World War I. Afterwards, Cuppy began writing book reviews for the New York Herald Tribune. In 1926, he wrote his first weekly “Mystery and Adventure” column for the newspaper, the first of what would be more than four thousand columns over the next twenty- three years of his life.
For the first three years that he composed the columns, he resided in a shack on Jones Island, off the south shore of Long Island, a hermit-like home to which he had escaped from the city in 1921. His eight years there resulted in the immediately popular How to Be a Hermit, which appeared in 1929, the same year that expansion of the Jones Beach State Park forced Cuppy out of his refuge and back into the city for permanent residence in a Greenwich Village apartment, though he was allowed to keep the shack there for periodic retreats.
Continuing to write satires of history and nature, Will Cuppy researched intensively and outlined all of his writings first on index cards, and a number of his magazine articles later became books. When Cuppy’s history satire, The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody, was left unfinished upon his death, friend and literary executor Fred Feldkamp found himself sorting through almost fifteen thousand meticulous note cards in order to finish the book.