Shel Silverstein

Shel Silverstein was born in Chicago, Illinois on September 25, 1930 to Nathan and Helen Silverstein. He started to draw at an early age of twelve and graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1948. Following his artistic aspirations, he went to study at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts (presently known as Art Institute of Chicago) then later to Roosevelt University. However, he soon dropped out from the course and joined the Army in September 1953, where he served at several American military bases, including Japan and Korea. During his military services, his cartoons were published in ‘Pacific Stars and Stripes’ magazine. His drawn cartoons started appearing three times a week and were instant success for their universal element of soldierhood. Silverstein’s first book, “Take Ten”, was published in 1955 and was a compilation of his military Take Ten cartoon series.

 

Coming back to Chicago, Silverstein started submitting his cartoons to various magazines. Consequently, his cartoons started appearing in magazines like ‘Look’, ‘Sports Illustrated’ and ‘This Week’. He became known to common people when his successful book, “Take Ten” was reprinted by Ballantine Books as “Grab Your Socks!” in 1956. He was hired by ‘Playboy’ as one of the leading cartoonist and was sent around the world to create an illustrated travel journal. During the 50s and 60s, Playboy featured 23 installments of “Shel Silverstein Visits”. His documented experiences included descriptions of locations like New Jersey nudist colony, the Chicago White Sox training camp, Fire Island, Mexico, London, Paris, Spain and Africa. Silverstein’s best known cartoon of 1950s, “Now Here’s My Plan” became the cover of his next cartoon collection, “Now Here's My Plan: A Book of Futilities” which was published in 1960 by Simon & Schuster.

 

Three years later, in 1963, Silverstein started his stint at writing children books, the first book published being, “Uncle Shelby's Story of Lafcadio: the Lion Who Shot Back”. This book was well accepted by the readers and achieved moderate success. However, it was “The Giving Tree” that brought instant stardom and recognition to Silverstein as an author of children’s book. Interestingly, this marvelous book was rejected at first by Editor William Cole, who considered it falling between adult and children literature. Eventually, it was published by Harper Collins and became a huge hit among both adult and children. Despite having a slow start, its sales picked up later so much so that the book became a bestseller.  

 

In the year 1974, Silverstein came up with his first collection of poems for children, “Where the Sidewalk Ends”. His poetry for children was considered silly, but was humorous. Accompanied by black and white illustrations, his poems were amusing and used to interpret the meaning itself. Silverstein brought a new picture book, “The Missing Piece” in year 1976 which described the adventures of a circle with a wedge of itself missing. This circle searched for the missing part and finally found it but then it realized that the search for the missing part was more joyful than actually having it. Three years later, he came up with the book “Different Dances”, but it was the 1981 release “The Light in the Attic” that upscaled Silverstein popularity and appeal as a poet. This book continued to sell in many copies and was considered as a treasure for the devotees and fans of Silverstein. The same year, he came up with the sequel of the “The Missing Pieces”, “The Missing Piece Meets the Big O” which was presented through the missing piece’s point of view.

 

Silverstein was always passionate about music and he even studied it for a brief period in Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. He wrote a number of hit songs, many of them for other artists like Dr. Hook, Johnny Cashand others. Some of his famous hits include, "A Boy Named Sue" (sung by Johnny Cash, 1969), "One's On The Way", "The Unicorn" (sung by the Irish Rovers), "Boa Constrictor", "So Good To So Bad", "Sylvia's Mother" (sung by Dr. Hook, 1972), "The Great Conch Train Robbery", and "Yes, Mr. Rogers". Albums of his songs recorded by others include, Freakin' at the Freaker's Ball (Columbia, 1972); Sloppy Seconds (Columbia, 1972); and Bobby Bare Sings Lullabys, Legends, and Lies: The Songs of Shel Silverstein (RCA Victor, 1972). Apart from albums Silverstein also wrote for various movies such as Ned Kelly  (1970), Who Is Harry Kellerman And Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?(1971), Thieves (1977) and Postcards from the Edge (1996). He had penned more than 100 one act plays during his lifetime. Few of his famous plays are “The Lady or the Tiger Show “, "One Tennis Shoe" "Bus Stop", "Going Once",  "The Best Daddy", "The Lifeboat is Sinking", "Thinking Up a New Name for the Act", "Buy One, Get One Free" and "Blind Willie and the Talking Dog".

 

Silverstein tied the nuptial knot with Susan Hastings. The couple was blessed with a daughter named Shoshanna, on June 30, 1970. However, five years later, Susan Hastings passed away on June 29, 1975 in Baltimore, Maryland. At a tender age of eleven, Shoshanna too died in Baltimore on April 24, 1982 due to cerebral aneurysm. Silverstein, though never married again, had a son named Matthew with a woman named Sarah Spencer. Matthew was born in 1983.

 

Won a Grammy Award for "A Boy Named Sue" in 1970

Nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his song "I'm Checkin' Out", in the film “Postcards from the Edge”

Posthumously inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002

 

Silverstein continued to create plays, songs, poems, stories and drawings even in his last years. He died in Key West, Florida on May 9, 1999 due to heart failure.

1930: Born in Chicago, Illinois.

1948: graduated from Roosevelt High School

1953: Joined the Army and served in Korea and Japan.

1955: “Take Ten” was published

1956: “Take Ten” was reprinted by Ballantine Books as “Grab Your Socks!”; Started working for Playboy as a cartoonist.

1960: “Now Here's My Plan: A Book of Futilities” was published by Simon & Schuster.

1963: Started writing children books, the first book published being, “Uncle Shelby's Story of Lafcadio: the Lion Who Shot Back”.

1964: "The Giving Tree” was published

1969: Wrote the lyrics for the famous song "A Boy Named Sue", which was sung by Johnny Cash

1970: Won Grammy for the song "A Boy Named Sue".

1974: Came up with his first collection of poems for children, “Where the Sidewalk Ends”.

1975: His wife died.

1976: Published a new picture book, “The Missing Piece”

1981: Released “The Light in the Attic” and the sequel of “the Missing Piece” as “The Missing Piece Meets the Big O”

1982: His daughter Shoshanna died.

1983: His son Matthew born of Sarah Spencer.

1999: Died due to heart attack in Key West, Florida.