Walter Tevis
Encyclopedia
Walter Stone Tevis was an American novelist and short story writer. Three of his six novels were adapted into major films: The Hustler, The Color of Money
and The Man Who Fell to Earth. His books have been translated into at least 18 languages.
and grew up in the Sunset District, near the Pacific Ocean
and Golden Gate Park
. When he was ten years old, his parents placed him in the Stanford Children's Convalescent home for a year while they returned to Kentucky
, where the family had been given a grant of land in Madison County
. At the age of 11, Tevis traveled across country alone on a train to rejoin his family.
, the 17-year-old Tevis served in the Pacific Theater
as a Navy
carpenter's mate on board the USS Hamilton
. After his discharge, he graduated from Model High School in 1945 and entered the University of Kentucky
, where he received B.A. and M.A. degrees in English literature and studied with A.B. Guthrie, Jr., the author of The Big Sky. While a student there, Tevis worked in a pool hall
and published a story about pool
written for Guthrie's class.
After graduation, Tevis wrote for the Kentucky Highway Department and taught everything from the sciences and English to physical education in small-town Kentucky high schools in Science Hill
, Hawesville
, Irvine
and Carlisle
. He later taught at Northern Kentucky University
. Tevis married his first wife, Jamie Griggs, in 1957, and they remained together for 27 years.
in Athens, Ohio
from 1965 to 1978, where he received an MFA. A member of the Authors Guild, he spent his last years in New York City
as a full-time writer. He died there of lung cancer
in 1984 and is buried in Richmond, Kentucky
.
(August 5, 1955), was illustrated by Denver Gillen. It was followed by short stories in The American Magazine, Bluebook
, Cosmopolitan
, Esquire
, Galaxy Science Fiction
, Playboy
, Redbook
and The Saturday Evening Post
.
During his time teaching at Ohio University, Tevis became aware that the level of literacy among students was falling at an alarming rate. That observation gave him the idea for Mockingbird
(1980), set in a grim and decaying New York City
in the 25th Century. The population is declining, no one can read, and robots rule over the drugged, illiterate humans. With the birth rate dropping, the end of the species seems a possibility. Tevis was a nominee for the Nebula Award
for Best Novel in 1980 for Mockingbird. During one of his last televised interviews, he revealed that PBS once planned a production of Mockingbird as a follow-up to their 1979 film of Ursula K. Le Guin
's The Lathe of Heaven
.
Tevis also wrote The Steps of the Sun (1983), The Queen's Gambit
(1983) and The Color of Money (1984), a sequel to The Hustler. His short stories were collected in Far from Home in 1981.
and The Color of Money
(1984) followed the escapades of fictional pool hustler
"Fast Eddie" Felson. The Man Who Fell to Earth, directed by Nicolas Roeg
, was released in 1976; it was subsequently re-made in 1987 as a TV film.
Collections
Short stories
Some of these stories were reprinted in 1981 in Far from Home:
The Color of Money
The Color of Money is a 1986 film directed by Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Richard Price, based on the 1984 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis....
and The Man Who Fell to Earth. His books have been translated into at least 18 languages.
Early life
Tevis was born in San Francisco, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and grew up in the Sunset District, near the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
and Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. Configured as a rectangle, it is similar in shape but 20% larger than Central Park in New York, to which it is often compared. It is over three miles long east to west, and about half a...
. When he was ten years old, his parents placed him in the Stanford Children's Convalescent home for a year while they returned to Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, where the family had been given a grant of land in Madison County
Madison County, Kentucky
Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2008, the population was 82,192. Its county seat is Richmond. The county is named for Virginia statesman James Madison, who later became the fourth President of the United States. This is also where famous pioneer Daniel...
. At the age of 11, Tevis traveled across country alone on a train to rejoin his family.
WWII and Kentucky
Near the end of World War IIWorld 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...
, the 17-year-old Tevis served in the Pacific Theater
Pacific Ocean theater of World War II
The Pacific Ocean theatre was one of four major naval theatres of war of World War II, which pitted the forces of Japan against those of the United States, the British Commonwealth, the Netherlands and France....
as a Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
carpenter's mate on board the USS Hamilton
USS Hamilton (DD-141)
The second USS Hamilton was a Wickes class destroyer in the United States Navy following World War I, later reclassified DMS-18 for service in World War II...
. After his discharge, he graduated from Model High School in 1945 and entered the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
, where he received B.A. and M.A. degrees in English literature and studied with A.B. Guthrie, Jr., the author of The Big Sky. While a student there, Tevis worked in a pool hall
Pool hall
A billiard/billiards, pool or snooker hall is a place where people get together for playing cue sports such as pool, snooker or carom billiards...
and published a story about pool
Pocket billiards
Pool, also more formally known as pocket billiards or pool billiards , is the family of cue sports and games played on a pool table having six receptacles called pockets along the , into which balls are deposited as the main goal of play. Popular versions include eight-ball and nine-ball...
written for Guthrie's class.
After graduation, Tevis wrote for the Kentucky Highway Department and taught everything from the sciences and English to physical education in small-town Kentucky high schools in Science Hill
Science Hill, Kentucky
Science Hill is a city in Pulaski County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 634 at the 2000 census. The community was given its name by William Gragg, its first postmaster, because local scientist Wiliam Bobbitt spent time there analyzing rocks...
, Hawesville
Hawesville, Kentucky
Hawesville is a city in Hancock County, Kentucky, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 971 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Owensboro, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, Irvine
Irvine, Kentucky
Irvine is a city in and county seat of Estill County, Kentucky, United States. Its population was 2,843 at the 2000 census. It is located on the Kentucky River at the junction of Kentucky Route 52 and Kentucky Route 89....
and Carlisle
Carlisle, Kentucky
Carlisle is a city in Nicholas County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,917 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Nicholas County...
. He later taught at Northern Kentucky University
Northern Kentucky University
|type = Public|president= Dr. James C. Votruba|city = Highland Heights|state = KY|country = U.S.|endowment = $68 million|students = 15,405|undergrad = 13,206|postgrad = 2,199|faculty = 1,159...
. Tevis married his first wife, Jamie Griggs, in 1957, and they remained together for 27 years.
Later life and death
Tevis taught English literature and creative writing at Ohio UniversityOhio University
Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...
in Athens, Ohio
Athens, Ohio
Athens is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Athens County, Ohio, United States. It is located along the Hocking River in the southeastern part of Ohio. A historic college town, Athens is home to Ohio University and is the principal city of the Athens, Ohio Micropolitan Statistical Area. ...
from 1965 to 1978, where he received an MFA. A member of the Authors Guild, he spent his last years in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
as a full-time writer. He died there of lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
in 1984 and is buried in Richmond, Kentucky
Richmond, Kentucky
There were 10,795 households out of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.2% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.6% were non-families. Of all households, 34.7% were made up of individuals and 8.8% had...
.
Short stories
Tevis wrote more than two dozen short stories for a variety of magazines. "The Big Hustle," his pool hall story for Collier'sCollier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....
(August 5, 1955), was illustrated by Denver Gillen. It was followed by short stories in The American Magazine, Bluebook
Blue Book (magazine)
Blue Book was a popular 20th-century American magazine with a lengthy 70-year run under various titles from 1905 to 1975.Launched as The Monthly Story Magazine, it was published under that title from May 1905 to August 1906 with a change to The Monthly Story Blue Book Magazine for issues from...
, Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
, Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
, Galaxy Science Fiction
Galaxy Science Fiction
Galaxy Science Fiction was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by an Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break in to the American market. World Editions hired as editor H. L...
, Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
, Redbook
Redbook
Redbook is an American women's magazine published by the Hearst Corporation. It is one of the "Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines.-History:...
and The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post is a bimonthly American magazine. It was published weekly under this title from 1897 until 1969, and quarterly and then bimonthly from 1971.-History:...
.
Novels
After his first novel, The Hustler was published by Harper & Row in 1959, Tevis followed it with The Man Who Fell to Earth, published in 1963. Aspects of Tevis' childhood are embedded in The Man Who Fell to Earth, as noted by James Sallis, writing in the The Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
On the surface, Man is the tale of an alien who comes to earth to save his own civilization and, through adversity, distraction, and loss of faith ("I want to... But not enough"), fails. Just beneath the surface, it might be read as a parable of 1950s conventionalism and of the Cold War. One of the many other things it is, in Tevis's own words, is "a very disguised autobiography," the tale of his removal as a child from San Francisco, "the city of light," to rural Kentucky, and of the childhood illness that long confined him to bed, leaving him, once recovered, weak, fragile, and apart. It was also -- as he realized only after writing it -- about his becoming an alcoholic. Beyond that, it is, of course, a Christian parable, and a portrait of the artist. It is, finally, one of the most heartbreaking books I know, a threnody on great ambition and terrible failure, and an evocation of man's absolute, unabridgeable aloneness.
During his time teaching at Ohio University, Tevis became aware that the level of literacy among students was falling at an alarming rate. That observation gave him the idea for Mockingbird
Mockingbird (1980 novel)
Mockingbird is a science fiction novel by Walter Tevis, published in 1980 by Doubleday. It was nominated for a Nebula Award for Best Novel.-Concept:...
(1980), set in a grim and decaying New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in the 25th Century. The population is declining, no one can read, and robots rule over the drugged, illiterate humans. With the birth rate dropping, the end of the species seems a possibility. Tevis was a nominee for the Nebula Award
Nebula Award
The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
for Best Novel in 1980 for Mockingbird. During one of his last televised interviews, he revealed that PBS once planned a production of Mockingbird as a follow-up to their 1979 film of Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
's The Lathe of Heaven
The Lathe of Heaven (film)
The Lathe of Heaven is a 1979 film based on the 1971 Science Fiction novel The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin. It was produced in 1979 as part of New York City public television station WNET's Experimental TV Lab project, and directed by David Loxton and Fred Barzyk. Ursula K...
.
Tevis also wrote The Steps of the Sun (1983), The Queen's Gambit
The Queen's Gambit (novel)
The Queen's Gambit is an American novel by Walter Tevis. The bildungsroman coming-of-age novel was originally published in 1983 and covers themes in feminism, chess, drug addiction, and alcoholism.-Epigraph:...
(1983) and The Color of Money (1984), a sequel to The Hustler. His short stories were collected in Far from Home in 1981.
Film adaptations
Three of Tevis' six novels were the basis of major motion pictures. The HustlerThe Hustler
The Hustler is a 1959 novel by American writer Walter Tevis. It tells the story of a young pool hustler, Edward "Fast Eddie" Felson, who challenges the legendary Minnesota Fats .The Hustler was adapted into a 1961 film of the same title, starring Paul...
and The Color of Money
The Color of Money
The Color of Money is a 1986 film directed by Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Richard Price, based on the 1984 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis....
(1984) followed the escapades of fictional pool hustler
Hustling
Hustling is the deceptive act of disguising one's skill in a sport or game with the intent of luring someone of probably lesser skill into gambling with the hustler, as a form of confidence trick...
"Fast Eddie" Felson. The Man Who Fell to Earth, directed by Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Jack Roeg, CBE, BSC is an English film director and cinematographer.-Life and career:Roeg was born in London, the son of Mabel Gertrude and Jack Nicolas Roeg...
, was released in 1976; it was subsequently re-made in 1987 as a TV film.
Legacy
In 2003, Jamie Griggs Tevis published her autobiography, My Life with the Hustler. She died August 4, 2006. His second wife, Eleanora Tevis, is the trustee of the Walter Tevis Copyright Trust, and Walter Tevis' literary output is represented by the Susan Schulman Literary Agency.Works
Novels- The Hustler, Harper & Row, 1959
- The Man Who Fell to Earth, Gold Medal BooksGold Medal BooksGold Medal Books, launched by Fawcett Publications in 1950, is a U.S. book publisher known for introducing paperback originals, a publishing innovation at the time. Fawcett was also an independent newsstand distributor, and in 1949 the company negotiated a contract with New American Library to...
, 1963 - MockingbirdMockingbird (1980 novel)Mockingbird is a science fiction novel by Walter Tevis, published in 1980 by Doubleday. It was nominated for a Nebula Award for Best Novel.-Concept:...
, 1980 - The Steps of the Sun, 1983
- The Queen's GambitThe Queen's Gambit (novel)The Queen's Gambit is an American novel by Walter Tevis. The bildungsroman coming-of-age novel was originally published in 1983 and covers themes in feminism, chess, drug addiction, and alcoholism.-Epigraph:...
, 1983 - The Color of MoneyThe Color of MoneyThe Color of Money is a 1986 film directed by Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Richard Price, based on the 1984 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis....
, 1984
Collections
- Far from Home, Doubleday, 1981
Short stories
Some of these stories were reprinted in 1981 in Far from Home:
- "The Best in the Country" EsquireEsquire (magazine)Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
, November, 1954. - "The Big Hustle" Collier's, August 5, 1955.
- "Misleading Lady" The American Magazine, October, 1955.
- "Mother of the Artist" Everywoman's, 1955.
- "The Man from Chicago" BluebookBluebookThe Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, a style guide, prescribes the most widely used legal citation system in the United States. The Bluebook is compiled by the Harvard Law Review Association, the Columbia Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and the Yale Law Journal....
, January, 1956. - "The Stubbornest Man" Saturday Evening Post, January 19, 1957.
- "The Hustler" (original title, "The Actors") Playboy
- "Operation Gold Brick" IfIf (magazine)If was an American science fiction magazine launched in March 1952 by Quinn Publications, owned by James L. Quinn. Quinn hired Paul W. Fairman to be the first editor, but early circulation figures were disappointing, and Quinn fired Fairman after only three issues. Quinn then took over the...
, June, 1957. (alternate title: "The Goldbrick") - "The Ifth of Oofth", Galaxy, April, 1957
- "The Big Bounce" Galaxy, February, 1958.
- "Sucker's Game" RedbookRedbookRedbook is an American women's magazine published by the Hearst Corporation. It is one of the "Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines.-History:...
, August, 1958. - "First Love" Redbook, August, 1958.
- "Far From Home" Fantasy & Science FictionThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science FictionThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
, December, 1958. - "Alien Love" (author's title: "The Man from Budapest") CosmopolitanCosmopolitan (magazine)Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
, January, 1959. - "A Short Ride in the Dark" Toronto Star Weekly MagazineToronto StarThe Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
, April 4, 1959. - "Gentle Is the Gunman" Saturday Evening Post, August 13, 1960.
- "The Other End of the Line" Fantasy & Science Fiction, November, 1961.
- "The Machine That Hustled Pool" Nugget, February, 1961.
- "The Scholar's Disciple" College English, October, 1969.
- "The King Is Dead" Playboy, September, 1973.
- "Rent Control" OmniOmni (magazine)OMNI was a science and science fiction magazine published in the US and the UK. It contained articles on science fact and short works of science fiction...
, October, 1979. - "The Apotheosis of Myra" Playboy, July, 1980.
- "Echo" Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, October, 1980.
- "Out of Luck" Omni, November, 1980.
- "Sitting in Limbo" Far from Home, 1981.
- "Daddy" Far from Home, 1981.
- "A Visit from Mother" Far from Home, 1981.