George Thurman Bye (né George Thurman Bindbeutel, October 21, 1887 - November 24, 1957) was the literary agent of Frank Buck and

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

. A prominent figure in the literary world before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Bye rose to fame as the agent of people in the news and amateur authors with something timely or sensational to say, so called "stunt books".

Early life and career

Bye was educated in public schools. He went to work as a reporter on ''

The Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...

'', later becoming the paper's drama critic. In 1912, he joined the staff of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

''. While in

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he edited the magazine ''Motor Age'' and promoted automobile races. In 1916, after a brief period in

government service A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...

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, Bye went to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

as correspondent for ''The Kansas City Star'' and other papers. He was a reporter for the '' Stars and Stripes'' during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Returning to the United States in 1921, Bye joined the ''

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under pub ...

''. In 1922 he accompanied Walter Hinton and Euclides Pinto Martins, aviators, on a "friendship flight" to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

, published in newspapers at the time in the USA and Brazil and which became known as "Raid New York-Rio". Their plane (nicknamed "Sampaio Correa I") was wrecked in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, but they found another plane (nicknamed "Sampaio Correa II") at Pensacola, Florida, and reached the

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian capital on February 8, 1923, six months after their departure. On his return to New York, Bye set up his literary agency at 535 Fifth Avenue.

Agent

Bye's writers included Frank Buck,

Charles A. Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

Alexander Woollcott Alexander Humphreys Woollcott (January 19, 1887 – January 23, 1943) was an American drama critic and commentator for ''The New Yorker'' magazine, a member of the Algonquin Round Table, an occasional actor and playwright, and a prominent radio ...

Rebecca West Dame Cicily Isabel Fairfield (21 December 1892 – 15 March 1983), known as Rebecca West, or Dame Rebecca West, was a British author, journalist, literary critic and travel writer. An author who wrote in many genres, West reviewed books ...

Westbrook Pegler Francis James Westbrook Pegler (August 2, 1894 – June 24, 1969) was an American journalist and writer. He was a popular columnist in the 1930s and 1940s famed for his opposition to the New Deal and labor unions. Pegler aimed his pen at president ...

, John Erskine,

Rose Wilder Lane Rose Wilder Lane (December 5, 1886 – October 30, 1968) was an American journalist, travel writer, novelist, political theorist and daughter of American writer Laura Ingalls Wilder. Along with two other female writers, Ayn Rand and Isabel Pa ...

Laura Ingalls Wilder Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) was an American writer, mostly known for the '' Little House on the Prairie'' series of children's books, published between 1932 and 1943, which were based on her childhood ...

, Richard and Frances Lockridge (who wrote the

Mr. and Mrs. North ''Mr. and Mrs. North'' are fictional American amateur detectives. Created by Frances and Richard Lockridge, the couple was featured in a series of 26 Mr. and Mrs. North novels, a Broadway play, a motion picture and several radio and television ...

mystery novels), Alfred E. Smith, Franklin P. Adams,

Frederick Hazlitt Brennan Frederick Hazlitt Brennan (September 23, 1901 – June 30, 1962) was an American screenwriter of more than thirty films between 1929 and 1953 and the director of the ABC/Desilu western television series, ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Ear ...

Wilbur Daniel Steele Wilbur Daniel Steele (17 March 1886, Greensboro, North Carolina – 26 May 1970, Stamford, Connecticut) was a U.S. author and playwright. He has been called "America's recognised master of the popular short story" between World War I and the Gr ...

, Heywood Broun,

Deems Taylor Joseph Deems Taylor (December 22, 1885 – July 3, 1966) was an American music critic, composer, and promoter of classical music. Nat Benchley, co-editor of ''The Lost Algonquin Roundtable'', referred to him as "the dean of American music." Earl ...

, Donald C. Peattie and General of the Armies John J. Pershing. Bye liked to describe himself as "guide, philosopher and wet nurse." On one occasion, he commented: "We arrange marriages and divorces for them and rush obstetricians to their doorsteps when they're having babies. The only time I ever failed was when a client came to me with a valuable dog who refused to have pups. I couldn't do a thing." Bye had a particular fondness for newspaper reporters, having been one himself. "The newspaper lads are all old cronies," he once remarked. He was also close to President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

and encouraged

to write a syndicated column, ''

My Day ''My Day'' was a newspaper column written by First Lady of the United States Eleanor Roosevelt (ER) six days a week from December 31, 1935, to September 26, 1962. In her column, Roosevelt discussed issues including civil rights, women's rights, an ...

''. Bye ranked the Abbe children among his most amusing clients. Patience Abbe, 12 years old; Richard, 10, and Johnny, 8, were the children of Jim Abbe, an itinerant photographer, and his wife, the former Polly Platt, once a

Ziegfeld girl Ziegfeld Girls were the chorus girls and showgirls from Florenz Ziegfeld's theatrical Broadway revue spectaculars known as the '' Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), in New York City, which were based on the Folies Bergère of Paris. Desc ...

. Prodded by their mother, the children dictated their memoirs, which Bye sold as ''Around the World in Eleven Years''. According to the Abbe family, Patience Abbe was the primary author.Patience Abbe, Chronicler of Her Childhood Travels, Dies at 87" ''New York Times'', 31 Mar 201

/ref> The book was a surprise hit. In 1954, Bye arranged the sale to Hollywood of Lindbergh's best-selling autobiography, '' The Spirit of St. Louis (book), The Spirit of St. Louis'', for more than $1,000,000. But Bye was initially unenthusiastic about

, commenting that the manuscript of her unpublished memoir, '' Pioneer Girl'', lacked drama. Wilder's daughter,

, herself a client of Bye's, ultimately convinced him to take on her mother's series of children's novels, drawn from the earlier memoir, which ultimately became some of the agency's most profitable titles.John E. Miller. Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder Lane: authorship, place, time, and culture. University of Missouri Press 2008 p 24 Another agency, James Brown Associates, took over George T. Bye & Co in 1949. Bye died in 1957.

References

External links

James O. Brown Associates Records 1927-1992, Columbia University Library, Special Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bye, George T. 1887 births 1957 deaths Writers from Kansas City, Missouri Literary agents Deaths from cancer in Connecticut American newspaper reporters and correspondents