288:," he admitted to a friend. "It was spirit writing". He became an insomniac and tried to cure it with increasing amounts of alcohol and prescription drugs. On May 19, 1949, Heggen drowned in his bathtub at age 30 after an overdose of sleeping pills. His death was widely reported a probable suicide, though he left no note and those close to him insisted it was an accident. The Chief Medical Examiner reported on June 8, 1949 that Heggen died by drowning though chemical analysis had revealed a "considerable amount of barbiturates".
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Despite mixed reviews, it sold over one million copies and made Heggen the toast of the New York literary scene, followed by a lucrative offer to adapt the book for the
Broadway stage. For this, he enlisted the aid of humorist Max Shulman but the collaboration did not work out. He then turned to
208:, Heggen wrote a collection of vignettes about daily life on the ship, which he described as sailing "from Tedium to Apathy and back again, with an occasional side trip to Monotony". Like his fictional alter ego Doug Roberts, he felt "left out" of the War and butted heads with his
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magazine, Randall "had disdain for the ways of the Navy. Like his fictional “Old Stupid” counterpart, Captain
Randall did own two palm trees, and like the characters Doug Roberts and Ensign Pulver, Heggen threw them over the side."
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in August 1942. For the duration of the War, he served on supply vessels in the North
Atlantic, the Caribbean and the Pacific, the latter as assistant communications officer on the cargo ship
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Bewildered by the fame he had longed for, and under pressure to turn out another bestseller, he found himself with a crippling case of writer's block. "I don't know how I wrote
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Following his discharge in
December 1945, he returned to New York and reworked the material into a loosely structured novel, adding an introductory chapter. His original title,
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and Norman Katkov, with a degree in journalism, Heggen moved to New York City and became an editor for
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115:(December 23, 1918 – May 19, 1949) was an American author best known for his 1946 novel
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Shade of the
Raintree. The Life and Death of Ross Lockridge, Jr., author of Raintree County
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to stage and screen. Heggen became an
Oklahoman in 1935, when in the depths of the
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New York Daily News, June 9, 1949, accessed via newspapers.com on August 14, 2023
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University of
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his father's business failed and his family moved from
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who repeatedly denied his requests for transfer to a
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359:. University of California Press. p. 110.
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781:American male dramatists and playwrights
334:. Indiana University Press. p. 21.
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756:Drug-related suicides in New York City
383:Roberts, James C. (December 1, 2011).
306:"Thomas Heggen Biography - eNotes.com"
385:"Happy 65th Birthday, Mister Roberts"
357:Wallace Steiner and the American West
355:Fradkin, Philip (February 17, 2009).
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801:Drug-related deaths in New York City
438:Ross and Tom: Two American Tragedies
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786:20th-century American male writers
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417:Michael Allen (October 4, 2004).
442:. New York: Simon and Schuster.
204:During his 14 months aboard the
736:20th-century American novelists
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106:Carol Lynn Gilmer (1942–1946)
811:Military personnel from Iowa
771:People from Fort Dodge, Iowa
161:, where he was classmate of
796:United States Navy officers
419:"Book Review: Ross and Tom"
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633:Tony Award for Best Author
467:Internet Broadway Database
330:Lockeridge, Larry (2014).
183:and was commissioned as a
157:, and graduating from the
751:Suicides in New York City
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276:presented for Best Play.
155:Oklahoma State University
664:Bella and Samuel Spewack
227:Herbert Ezra Randall, a
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741:American male novelists
159:University of Minnesota
76:University of Minnesota
434:Leggett, John (1974).
391:. U.S. Naval Institute
231:officer. According to
181:attack on Pearl Harbor
179:immediately after the
250:The Iron-Bound Bucket
421:. Grumpy Old Bookman
225:Lieutenant Commander
167:Thomas R. St. George
761:Tony Award winners
260:producer-director
256:by the publisher.
85:Author, playwright
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58:(1949-05-19)
56:May 19, 1949
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806:1949 deaths
726:1918 births
670:Abe Burrows
574:(1984 film)
566:(TV series)
558:(1955 film)
539:Adaptations
266:Henry Fonda
212:, a coarse
163:Max Shulman
141:'s cousin.
123:adaptations
720:Categories
700:Neil Simon
292:References
274:Tony Award
185:lieutenant
127:Depression
37:1918-12-23
218:destroyer
210:commander
177:U.S. Navy
425:June 14,
214:martinet
121:and its
582:Related
465:at the
315:June 7,
198:Rotanin
706:(1965)
696:(1964)
690:(1963)
680:(1962)
676:, and
666:(1949)
656:(1948)
646:(1947)
550:(play)
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395:May 1,
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310:eNotes
103:Spouse
66:, U.S.
47:, U.S.
280:Death
206:Virgo
191:Virgo
686:and
652:and
481:IMDb
444:ISBN
427:2008
397:2021
361:ISBN
336:ISBN
317:2023
196:USS
189:USS
131:Iowa
53:Died
31:Born
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