Walter R. Brooks facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Walter R. Brooks
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | Walter Rollin Brooks January 9, 1886 Rome, New York, USA |
| Died | August 17, 1958 (aged 72) Roxbury, New York |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Genre | Short stories, children's novels |
Walter Rollin Brooks (born January 9, 1886 – died August 17, 1958) was an American writer. He is best known for his fun short stories about a talking horse named Mister Ed. He also wrote many popular children's books. These books were mostly about Freddy the Pig and his animal friends who lived on the "Bean farm" in upstate New York.
About Walter R. Brooks
Walter Brooks was born in Rome, New York. He went to college at the University of Rochester. Later, he studied medicine in New York City for two years, but he decided to stop. In 1909, he married Anne Shepard and moved back to Rochester.
He worked for an advertising company for a while. In 1911, he stopped working because he received a large amount of money. However, he didn't stay retired forever! In 1917, he started working for the American Red Cross. He also worked as an editor for several magazines, including The New Yorker from 1932 to 1933. By 1940, writing became his full-time job. After Anne passed away in 1952, he married Dorothy Collins.
Walter Brooks first published poems and short stories. Some of these stories were about a talking horse. These stories later inspired the popular 1960s TV show Mister Ed. But his most famous works are the 26 books he wrote about Freddy the Pig and his animal pals. People loved his Freddy books because they were clever, well-written, and full of funny characters.
Walter Brooks passed away from a heart attack at his home in Roxbury, New York. He was 72 years old. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Hamilton, New York.
In 2009, a book about his life was published. It is called Talking Animals and Others: The Life and Work of Walter R. Brooks, Creator of Freddy the Pig by Michael Cart.
Mister Ed's Adventures
Walter Brooks wrote many short stories about Mister Ed, the talking horse. The very first story was called "The Talking Horse." It appeared in Liberty magazine on September 18, 1937. The last story in the series was "With Teeth and Tail," published in Argosy magazine in August 1945.
One story, "Ed Signs the Pledge," was very important. It was published in Argosy in June 1944. This story helped Arthur Lubin convince TV companies to create the Mister Ed comedy series. The TV show first started in 1961 and ran on CBS until 1966.
In January 1963, a collection of Mister Ed stories was published. It was a paperback book called The Original Mr. Ed.
Here are some of the short stories featuring Mister Ed:
- "The Talking Horse" (1937)
- "Horse Sense" (1938)
- "Mr. Pope’s Thoroughbred" (1939)
- "Ed Has His Mind Improved" (1939)
- "Ed Shoots It Out" (1940)
- "The Midnight Ride of Mr. Pope" (1940)
- "Just a Song at Twilight" (1940)
- "Ed Holds a Séance" (1941)
- "Ed Likes to Be Beside the Seaside" (1941)
- "Ed Takes the Cockeyed Initiative" (1941)
- "Ed Gets a Mother Complex" (1941)
- "Mr. Pope Rides Again" (1942)
- "Bird in the Bush" (1942)
- "Dr. Atwood and Mr. Ed" (1943)
- "Do Ye Ken Wilbur Pope?" (1943)
- "Ed Quenches an Old Flame" (1944)
- "Ed Signs the Pledge" (1944)
- "Ed Makes Like a Horse" (1944)
- "Well, Really, Mr. Pope!" (1944)
- "Ed the Were Horse" (1945)
- "Ed Goes Psychic" (1945)
- "Ed Divides and Conquers" (1945)
- "With Teeth and Tail" (1945)
- "His Royal Harness" (only in The Original Mr. Ed book)
- "Medium Rare" (only in The Original Mr. Ed book)
See also
In Spanish: Walter R. Brooks para niños
