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Davis Grubb

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Author

The Resume

    (July 23, 1919-July 24, 1980)
    Born in Moundsville, West Virginia
    Birth name was Davis Alexander Grubb
    Novelist and short story writer
    Best known as the Author of 'Night of the Hunter' (1953)
    Served as a consultant on the film version of 'Night of the Hunter,' in 1955, starring Robert Mitchum and Lillian Gish
    Also wrote 'A Dream of Kings,' 'The Watchman,' 'The Voices of Glory,' 'A Tree Full of Stars,' 'Shadow of My Brother,' 'The Golden Sickle,' 'Fools' Parade,' 'The Barefoot Man,' and 'Ancient Lights'

Why he might be annoying:

    He was color blind.
    His last name is used to refer to insect larva (or lousily prepared food).
    He studied painting at the Carnegie Institute, but dropped out to focus on fiction writing.
    He dredged up Moundsville's uncomfortable past concerning Harry Powers, 'The Lonely Hearts Killer' for his first novel.
    He took his pet Lhaso Apso everywhere with him, including to restaurants where they shared steak tartar.
    He had an unnatural fear of cars, preferring to travel by either train or bicycle.
    He also maintained that he could only write manuscripts while riding on the train, which cost him at least one screenwriting job (he was considered for the 'Night of the Hunter' gig but was ruled out in favor of James Agee).
    Producer Paul Gregory described him as 'an odd man to say the least' and 'very troubled,' explaining 'He never spoke much. Only thing I remember is he asked Do You Know Tennessee? I said, Tennessee? Well I know a few things through a friend of mine. He said Oh Tell Me About It! He was curious about Tennessee...'

Why he might not be annoying:

    His first novel became a bestseller.
    His family was evicted from their home during the Great Depression.
    He worked as a page at NBC Radio, writing radio plays for their New York and Philadelphia stations, into the late '40s.
    His short stories were adapted for episodes of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' and 'Night Gallery.'
    He was ostracized in his hometown for tackling backyard social issues (racism, corruption, inequality) in his fiction.
    The same year it was made into a movie, 'Night of the Hunter' was voted a a finalist for the 1955 National Book Award.
    Although he lost out on the screenwriting job, Charles Laughton made him a quasi consultant after seeing several sketches he had done related to the book.
    Laughton was so impressed that he even called Grubb up begging for him to send more drawings, sometimes requesting that he draw the facial expression of a character exactly as described in the script (he produced over 100 pen-and-ink drawings ultimately).
    'Night of the Hunter' was deemed 'culturally significant' by the Library of Congress, and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry (1992).
    He never regarded 'Hunter' as his best work, rather he considered his next work, 'Shadow of My Brother,' which focused on the case of a lynching in the Appalachia, to be his finest work.
    He had a keen feel for lyrical prose (his writing had an almost musical flow to it).

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 87.50% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 20 Votes: 5.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying