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160:
370:), author Thomas Fensch suggests that the character was largely based on Thurber himself. This is consistent with Thurber's self-described imaginative interpretations of shapes seen with his "two-fifths vision" in his essay "The Admiral on the Wheel". Neurologist
287:, with his wife for their regular weekly shopping and his wife's visit to the beauty parlor. During this time he has five heroic daydream episodes, each inspired by some detail of his mundane surroundings. The first is as a pilot of a
543:. The sketch, which closed the show except for "Word Dance Part II", was nearly identical to the short story, except that at the end he cleverly avoids being shot. The original cast for the sketch was as follows:
468:. Because the show was a half hour, including commercials, Kaye's extraneous routines are minimized, making it more like the original story. Even closer to the original story is a 1944 radio adaptation from
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depicts Mitty at age 40, tempted by "would-be chanteuse" Willa De Wisp to leave his wife Agnes and really live "the Secret Life". It features 17 songs, with lyrics by
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347:" and the physically unimposing men Thurber often paired with larger women in his cartoons, Mitty is dominated and put upon by his wife. Like the man who saw the
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than paying attention to the real world, or more seriously, one who intentionally attempts to mislead or convince others that he is something that he is not.
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referred to the musical's plot as having been "boldly extrapolated" from the short story, and called the result "a thoroughly pleasant musical evening".
351:, he escapes via fantasies. A similar dynamic is found in the Thurber story "The Curb in the Sky", in which a man starts recounting his own dreams as
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magazine, Thurber expressed his considerable dissatisfaction with the script, even as
Goldwyn insisted in another letter that Thurber approved of it.
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also appearing in the film. The film was released on
December 25, 2013 in the US and in other countries and had a production budget of $ 90 million.
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343:, so much so that he has been called "the archetype for dreamy, hapless, Thurber Man". Like many of his male characters, such as the husband in "
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in a storm, followed by Mrs. Mitty's complaint that Mitty is "driving too fast". As he drives past a hospital, he imagines himself a magnificent
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performing a one-of-a-kind surgery. Later, a newsboy shouting about the "Waterbury Trial" begins Mitty's third fantasy, as a deadly
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Thurber's love of wordplay can be seen in his coining of several nonsense terms in the story, including the pseudo-medical
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in the following way: "To the Walter Mittys of the world he was all the heroes in one magnificent, sexy, animal package."
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directed another film adaptation in 2013, which also differs widely from the book. Stiller stars as Mitty, with
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Thurber was repeatedly consulted about the film's script, but his suggestions were largely ignored by producer
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in the title role, though the film is very different from the original story. It was also adapted into a
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has set in" uses the name of a flower which sounds vaguely like a horrible medical condition.
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531:"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" was adapted for the stage by Thurber as part of the 1960
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935:"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Official Trailer + Trailer Review : HD PLUS"
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as an attempt to stop his wife from constantly correcting him on the details.
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at the
Players Theatre on October 26, 1964, and ran for 96 performances.
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The short story deals with a vague and mild-mannered man who drives into
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This article is about the original short story. For the 1947 film, see
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for the screen by Ken
Englund, Everett Freeman, and Philip Rapp, and
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535:
836:
The Man Who Was Walter Mitty: The Life and Work of James
Thurber
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The story was again adapted for the stage in 1964, this time by
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The Man Who Was Walter Mitty: The Life and Work of James
Thurber
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website, and is one of the most anthologized short stories in
193:. The most famous of Thurber's stories, it first appeared in
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of "ta-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa." The medical nonsense that "
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issued an original cast recording on LP, also dated 1964.
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A 1947 radio adaptation of the film, with Danny Kaye and
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on March 18, 1939, and was first collected in his book
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876:"Notes for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)"
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647:"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty: Introduction"
645:Napierkowski, Marie Rose, ed. (January 2006).
1130:. Time Inc. November 13, 1964. Archived from
8:
1212:Works originally published in The New Yorker
839:. New York: New Century Books. p. 267.
1183:study guide, teaching guide, themes, quotes
786:Oxford Dictionary of Reference and Allusion
488:The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013 film)
407:The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947 film)
25:The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013 film)
21:The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947 film)
780:Delahunty, Andrew; Dignen, Sheila (2012).
1174:in the Internet Broadway Database (IBDB)
788:. Oxford University Press. p. 243.
577:as Narrator, Lt. Berg, and Dr. Remington
462:reprising their roles, was performed on
1053:Manchester, Joe; James Thurber (1968).
637:
562:as Mr. Pritchard-Mitford and The Leader
1202:Television episodes set in Connecticut
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29:
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964:"Box Office Mojo - Movie Index, A-Z"
760:James Thurber: Writings and Drawings
676:James Thurber: Writings and Drawings
215:James Thurber: Writings and Drawings
385:"obstreosis of the ductal tract", "
374:suggests that Thurber may have had
265:My First Hundred Years in Hollywood
651:Short Stories for Students, Vol. 1
213:). It has since been reprinted in
14:
1093:"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"
708:from the original on 30 June 2014
698:"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"
422:as a young daydreaming editor of
33:"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"
16:1939 short story by James Thurber
1217:Short stories adapted into films
1059:. New York: Samuel French, Inc.
1003:. New York: Samuel French, Inc.
169:
158:
1180:The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
1103:from the original on 2010-10-06
1073:from the original on 2011-07-21
1056:The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
1035:from the original on 2007-10-12
974:from the original on 2017-06-02
941:from the original on 2021-12-22
886:from the original on 2008-04-04
853:from the original on 2012-11-14
822:. HarperCollins. pp. 85–7.
762:(The Library of America, 1996,
741:from the original on 2008-09-24
696:James Thurber (18 March 1939).
678:(The Library of America, 1996,
657:from the original on 2007-08-15
626:The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty
590:The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
225:), is available on-line on the
217:(The Library of America, 1996,
187:The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
731:"Thurber: Mitty and Dangerous"
580:Charles Braswell as Dr. Benbow
267:, Warner Brothers studio head
1:
339:Mitty is very much a Thurber
331:, "inscrutable to the last."
189:" (1939) is a short story by
1097:The Guide to Musical Theatre
1222:Works about photojournalism
207:Harcourt, Brace and Company
108:Harcourt, Brace and Company
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1029:Internet Broadway Database
758:Dust jacket introduction,
588:. This musical version of
485:
478:as the daydreaming Mitty.
411:The story was made into a
404:
319:volunteering for a daring
235:1947 film of the same name
202:My World and Welcome to It
18:
882:. Turner Classic Movies.
737:. todayinliterature.com.
345:The Unicorn in the Garden
252:and the derivative word "
175:Interview with a Lemming
153:
37:
23:. For the 2013 film, see
1155:The original short story
465:The Screen Guild Theater
1031:. The Broadway League.
872:American Film Institute
833:Fensch, Thomas (2001).
376:Charles Bonnet syndrome
1207:Works by James Thurber
285:Waterbury, Connecticut
819:Phantoms in the Brain
674:"Note on the Texts",
600:. The musical opened
571:Wynne Miller as Nurse
389:", and the recurring
263:In his autobiography
1025:"A Thurber Carnival"
271:described the actor
1134:on December 2, 2008
735:Today in Literature
438:. It was filmed in
231:American literature
1197:1939 short stories
1172:A Thurber Carnival
999:A Thurber Carnival
880:TCM Movie Database
540:A Thurber Carnival
1010:978-0-573-61668-6
968:boxofficemojo.com
810:V.S. Ramachandran
527:Stage adaptations
372:V.S. Ramachandran
358:In his 2001 book
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165:Death in the Zoo
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476:Robert Benchley
471:This Is My Best
426:. The film was
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325:ammunition dump
321:suicide mission
314:Royal Air Force
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1136:. Retrieved
1132:the original
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1116:
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976:. Retrieved
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948:– via
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918:. Retrieved
914:
908:"Sound file"
888:. Retrieved
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855:. Retrieved
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743:. Retrieved
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710:. Retrieved
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659:. Retrieved
650:
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605:
602:off-Broadway
589:
583:
566:John McGiver
538:
530:
517:Kathryn Hahn
501:Kristen Wiig
491:
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391:onomatopoeia
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329:firing squad
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250:Walter Mitty
247:
226:
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186:
184:
140:(magazine),
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82:Published in
915:Archive.org
712:19 February
594:Earl Shuman
497:Ben Stiller
440:Technicolor
341:protagonist
323:to bomb an
292:flying boat
273:Errol Flynn
77:Publication
71:short story
39:Short story
1191:Categories
1138:2008-03-02
1107:2008-07-14
1077:2016-10-06
1039:2008-03-01
978:2022-07-03
945:2013-08-13
920:2022-06-29
890:2008-03-02
857:2016-10-06
745:2008-07-14
661:2008-07-14
633:References
548:Peggy Cass
513:Adam Scott
420:Danny Kaye
254:Mittyesque
239:Danny Kaye
227:New Yorker
149:Chronology
119:Periodical
114:Media type
598:Leon Carr
560:Paul Ford
554:Tom Ewell
521:Sean Penn
482:2013 film
418:starring
401:1947 film
395:coreopsis
353:anecdotes
304:courtroom
289:U.S. Navy
258:daydreams
248:The name
243:2013 film
127:paperback
104:Publisher
1101:Archived
1071:Archived
1033:Archived
995:(1962).
972:Archived
939:Archived
884:Archived
851:Archived
816:(1988).
739:Archived
706:Archived
655:Archived
619:See also
609:magazine
432:directed
335:Analysis
300:assassin
123:hardback
98:Magazine
67:Genre(s)
59:Language
950:YouTube
474:, with
428:adapted
349:unicorn
309:Liberty
296:surgeon
237:, with
168:
117:Print (
62:English
49:Country
1063:
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843:
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766:
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519:, and
383:jargon
366:
221:
163:
144:(book)
1157:from
911:(MP3)
536:revue
317:pilot
1127:Time
1061:ISBN
1005:ISBN
841:ISBN
790:ISBN
764:ISBN
714:2020
680:ISBN
607:Time
452:Life
416:film
413:1947
364:ISBN
279:Plot
219:ISBN
211:1942
142:1942
138:1939
125:and
434:by
41:by
1193::
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1095:.
1069:.
1027:.
970:.
966:.
913:.
899:^
878:.
874:.
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784:.
733:.
722:^
704:.
700:.
649:.
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362:(
205:(
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27:.
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