Jim Tully
Encyclopedia
Jim Tully was a vagabond, pugilist, and American
writer. His critical and commercial success in the 1920s and 30s may qualify him as the greatest long shot in American literature
.
Born near St. Marys, Ohio
to James Dennis and Bridget Marie Lawler Tully, an Irish immigrant ditch-digger and his wife, Tully enjoyed a relatively happy but impoverished childhood until the death of his mother in 1892. Unable to care for him, his father sent him to an orphanage in Cincinnati. He remained there for six years. What further education he acquired came in the hobo camps, boxcars, railroad yards, and public libraries scattered across the country. Finally, weary of the road, he arrived in Kent, Ohio
, where he worked as a chain maker, professional boxer, and tree surgeon. He also began to write, mostly poetry published in the local newspapers. He moved to Hollywood in 1912, when he began writing in earnest. His literary career took two distinct paths. He became one of the first reporters to cover Hollywood. As a free-lancer he was not constrained by the studios and wrote about Hollywood celebrities (including Charlie Chaplin
, for whom he had worked) in ways that they did not always find agreeable. For these pieces, rather tame by current standards, he became known as the most-hated man in Hollywood—a title he relished. Less lucrative but closer to his heart were the books he wrote about his life on the road and the American underclass. He also wrote an affectionate memoir of his childhood with his extended Irish family, as well as novels on prostitution, boxing, Hollywood, and a travel book. While some of the more graphic books ran afoul of the censors, they also garnered both commercial success and critical acclaim from, among others, H.L. Mencken, George Jean Nathan
, and Rupert Hughes
, who wrote that Tully "has fathered the school of hard-boiled writing so zealously cultivated by Ernest Hemingway
and lesser luminaries."
. They had two children together: T. Alton Tully, born August 3, 1911 in Kent and daughter Trilby Jean Tully born November 13, 1918 in California. Tully later had two additional marriages, to a woman named Marna, Margaret Rider Myers in 1925, and finally to Myrtle Zwetow on June 28, 1933 in Ventura, California
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer. His critical and commercial success in the 1920s and 30s may qualify him as the greatest long shot in American literature
American literature
American literature is the written or literary work produced in the area of the United States and its preceding colonies. For more specific discussions of poetry and theater, see Poetry of the United States and Theater in the United States. During its early history, America was a series of British...
.
Born near St. Marys, Ohio
St. Marys, Ohio
St. Marys is a city in Auglaize County, Ohio, United States. The population was 8,342 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Wapakoneta, Ohio, Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
to James Dennis and Bridget Marie Lawler Tully, an Irish immigrant ditch-digger and his wife, Tully enjoyed a relatively happy but impoverished childhood until the death of his mother in 1892. Unable to care for him, his father sent him to an orphanage in Cincinnati. He remained there for six years. What further education he acquired came in the hobo camps, boxcars, railroad yards, and public libraries scattered across the country. Finally, weary of the road, he arrived in Kent, Ohio
Kent, Ohio
Kent is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the largest city in Portage County. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in Northeastern Ohio on the western edge of the county. The population was 27,906 at the 2000 United States Census and 28,904 in the 2010 Census...
, where he worked as a chain maker, professional boxer, and tree surgeon. He also began to write, mostly poetry published in the local newspapers. He moved to Hollywood in 1912, when he began writing in earnest. His literary career took two distinct paths. He became one of the first reporters to cover Hollywood. As a free-lancer he was not constrained by the studios and wrote about Hollywood celebrities (including Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
, for whom he had worked) in ways that they did not always find agreeable. For these pieces, rather tame by current standards, he became known as the most-hated man in Hollywood—a title he relished. Less lucrative but closer to his heart were the books he wrote about his life on the road and the American underclass. He also wrote an affectionate memoir of his childhood with his extended Irish family, as well as novels on prostitution, boxing, Hollywood, and a travel book. While some of the more graphic books ran afoul of the censors, they also garnered both commercial success and critical acclaim from, among others, H.L. Mencken, George Jean Nathan
George Jean Nathan
George Jean Nathan was an American drama critic and editor.-Early life:Nathan was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana...
, and Rupert Hughes
Rupert Hughes
Rupert Hughes was an American historian, novelist, film director and composer based in Hollywood. Hughes was born in Lancaster, Missouri. His parents were Felix Turner Hughes and Jean Amelia Summerlin, who were married in 1865. His brother Howard R. Hughes, Sr., co-founded the Hughes Tool Company....
, who wrote that Tully "has fathered the school of hard-boiled writing so zealously cultivated by Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
and lesser luminaries."
Family
Tully married Florence May Bushnell on October 14, 1910 in Kent, OhioKent, Ohio
Kent is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the largest city in Portage County. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in Northeastern Ohio on the western edge of the county. The population was 27,906 at the 2000 United States Census and 28,904 in the 2010 Census...
. They had two children together: T. Alton Tully, born August 3, 1911 in Kent and daughter Trilby Jean Tully born November 13, 1918 in California. Tully later had two additional marriages, to a woman named Marna, Margaret Rider Myers in 1925, and finally to Myrtle Zwetow on June 28, 1933 in Ventura, California
Ventura, California
Ventura is the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States, incorporated in 1866. The population was 106,433 at the 2010 census, up from 100,916 at the 2000 census. Ventura is accessible via U.S...
.
Autobiography
- Beggars of Life (1924) (New York: Albert & Charles Boni)
- Circus Parade (1927) (New York: Albert & Charles Boni)
- A Man of the New School (1931) (Cincinnati: Greater Hotel Gibson in Cincinnati)
Novels
- Emmett Lawler (1922) (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, Inc.)
- Jarnegan (1926) (New York: Albert & Charles Boni)
- Shanty Irish (1928) (New York: Albert & Charles Boni)
- Shadows of Men (1930) (New York: Doubleday, Doran and Company)
- Beggars Abroad (1930) (New York: Doubleday, Doran and Company)
- Blood on the Moon (1931) (New York: Coward-McCann, Inc.)
- Laughter in Hell (1932) (New York: Albert & Charles Boni)
- Ladies in the Parlor (1935) (New York: Greenberg: Publisher)
- The Bruiser (1936) (New York: Greenberg: Publisher)
- Biddy Brogan’s Boy (1942) (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons)
External links
- JimTully.net - Website dedicated to his work
- UCLA Library's inventory of The Jim Tully papers