Lennie Lower
Encyclopedia
Leonard Waldermar Lower (24 September 1903 - 19 July 1947) was an Australian humourist who is still considered by many to be the comic genius of Australian journalism
.
. His father was a pharmacist and his mother was Florence McInerney. Educated in Sydney, Lower joined the army for a brief time before turning to journalism
, where his talents as a humorist soon gained him a legion of dedicated fans and a place in Australian history. He wrote up to eight columns each week for a variety of newspapers in Sydney
during the Depression and World War II
.
Lennie Lower wrote the novel
Here's Luck in 1929. This novel deals with the twists and turns of fate befalling Jack Gudgeon and his feckless son Stanley. When Jack's wife Agatha suddenly leaves them, both go it alone on a wild rampage through Sydney's race courses, gambling dens, pubs and cafes. Cyril Pearl, a noted Sydney journalist and Lower's editor, described Here's Luck in the following terms: "It remains pre-eminently Australia's funniest book, as ageless as Pickwick
or Tom Sawyer
, a work of 'weird genius', as one reviewer put it, written by a 'Chaplin
of words'".
Lower's drinking
was 'legendary' hence the titles of his two best-known works. 'Here's luck!' is a well-known Australian drinking toast
, as is also 'Here's another!'. Lower's piece 'Must Drink Beer' announces that the 'perfect job has been found' - beer tasting for a research institute. Lower's description of the domestic consequences of drunkenness and hangover
, have the ring of long experience about them.
Lennie Lower wrote for many Australian newspapers and magazines, including The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
, The Sunday Telegraph, The Labor Daily
and Smith's Weekly
, until his death from cancer
in 1947 at the age of 43.
Other publications were collections of Lower's articles, selected by others, e.g. "Lennie Lower’s Annual: a Side-Splitter", published by Smith's Weekly.
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
.
Life and career
Lower was born in Dubbo, New South WalesNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. His father was a pharmacist and his mother was Florence McInerney. Educated in Sydney, Lower joined the army for a brief time before turning to journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
, where his talents as a humorist soon gained him a legion of dedicated fans and a place in Australian history. He wrote up to eight columns each week for a variety of newspapers in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
during the Depression and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Lennie Lower wrote the novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Here's Luck in 1929. This novel deals with the twists and turns of fate befalling Jack Gudgeon and his feckless son Stanley. When Jack's wife Agatha suddenly leaves them, both go it alone on a wild rampage through Sydney's race courses, gambling dens, pubs and cafes. Cyril Pearl, a noted Sydney journalist and Lower's editor, described Here's Luck in the following terms: "It remains pre-eminently Australia's funniest book, as ageless as Pickwick
Pickwick
Pickwick may refer to:*The Pickwick Papers, a novel by Charles Dickens, or its main character, Mr Pickwick**The Pickwick Papers , a british 1952-film**The Pickwick Papers ....
or Tom Sawyer
Tom Sawyer
Thomas "Tom" Sawyer is the title character of the Mark Twain novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer . He appears in three other novels by Twain: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , Tom Sawyer Abroad , and Tom Sawyer, Detective .Sawyer also appears in at least three unfinished Twain works, Huck and Tom...
, a work of 'weird genius', as one reviewer put it, written by a '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...
of words'".
Lower's drinking
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
was 'legendary' hence the titles of his two best-known works. 'Here's luck!' is a well-known Australian drinking toast
Toast (honor)
A toast is a ritual in which a drink is taken as an expression of honor or goodwill. The term may be applied to the person or thing so honored, the drink taken, or the verbal expression accompanying the drink. Thus, a person could be "the toast of the evening," for whom someone "proposes a toast"...
, as is also 'Here's another!'. Lower's piece 'Must Drink Beer' announces that the 'perfect job has been found' - beer tasting for a research institute. Lower's description of the domestic consequences of drunkenness and hangover
Hangover
A hangover describes the sum of unpleasant physiological effects following heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages. The most commonly reported characteristics of a hangover include headache, nausea, sensitivity to light and noise, lethargy, dysphoria, diarrhea and thirst, typically after the...
, have the ring of long experience about them.
Lennie Lower wrote for many Australian newspapers and magazines, including The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
The Daily Telegraph is an Australian tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, by Nationwide News, part of News Corporation.The Tele, as it is also known, was founded in 1879. From 1936 to 1972, it was owned by Frank Packer's Australian Consolidated Press. That year it was sold to...
, The Sunday Telegraph, The Labor Daily
Labor daily
The Labor Daily was a Sydney-based journal/newspaper of the early to mid 20th century. An organ of the Australian Labor Party, it was published in Sydney by Stanley Roy Wasson after the ailing Daily Mail was absorbed by Labor Papers Ltd, who began publication under that name on 6 January 1922 with...
and Smith's Weekly
Smith's Weekly
Smith's Weekly was an Australian tabloid newspaper published from 1919 to 1950. An independent weekly published in Sydney, but read all over Australia, Smith’s Weekly was one of Australia’s most patriotic newspaper-style magazines....
, until his death from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in 1947 at the age of 43.
Books by Lennie Lower
- Here's Luck (1930)
- Here's Another (1932)
Other publications were collections of Lower's articles, selected by others, e.g. "Lennie Lower’s Annual: a Side-Splitter", published by Smith's Weekly.
External links
- Perry Middlemiss Home Page
- Here's Luck - e-text
- Here's Another - e-text