Edward Streeter (August 1, 1891 – March 31, 1976), sometimes credited as E. Streeter, was an American novelist and journalist, best known for '' Father of the Bride'' and his ''Dere Mable'' series.

Biography

Streeter was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, and educated at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

where he edited ''

The Harvard Lampoon ''The Harvard Lampoon'' is an undergraduate Humor magazine, humor publication founded in 1876 by seven undergraduates at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Overview The ''Harvard Lampoon'' publication was founded in 1876 by seve ...

''. He began his career as a reporter for the Buffalo newspaper the ''

Buffalo Express The ''Buffalo Courier-Express'' was a morning newspaper in Buffalo, New York. It ceased publication on September 19, 1982. History The ''Courier-Express'' was created in 1926 by a merger of the ''Buffalo Daily Courier'' and the ''Buffalo Morni ...

'' as a war correspondent and travel writer. He enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in March 1916 as a private and was promoted to 2nd lieutenant in December 1917 in field artillery."Buffalo Soldiers Get Promotion"
''The Buffalo Commercial'', Buffalo, New York, volume LXXXVI, number 29,099, December 5, 1917, page 7. "Streeter Edward", Officer-NA and USA, Form No. 84d–1, A.G.O. (''New York, U.S., Abstracts of World War I Military Service, 1917-1919'' database available on Ancestry.com. He was promoted to 1st lieutenant in December 1918 and was discharged in May 1919 after serving a year overseas with the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He grew in notoriety with his "Dere Mable" letters, a humorous column from an undereducated soldier writing home. Serialized between 1917 and 1919 in the 27th Division's magazine ''Gas Attack'', they were inspired by Streeter's time spent on an army base (

Camp Wadsworth Camp Wadsworth was a World War I-era training facility for the United States Army. Located near Spartanburg, South Carolina, the post was in operation from its opening in July 1917 until it was inactivated in March 1919, following the Armistice ...

, near Spartanburg, South Carolina). The humorous letters were compiled in 1919 in Streeter's full-length books ''"Dere Mable"'', ''"Thats me all over, Mable"'', and ''"Same old Bill, eh Mable"''. After returning home from the war, Streeter pursued writing casually, deciding to focus on his work as a businessman. For eight years he served as assistant

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

, before transitioning to the Fifth Avenue Bank (later, The Bank of New York) in New York City, where he served as vice president for twenty-five years. While serving as VP of the bank, Streeter published short stories and articles in magazines such as the ''

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'' and ''

McCall's ''McCall's'' was a monthly United States, American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. The publication ...

''. In 1938, he published his first novel, ''Daily Except Sundays''. In 1944 he was elected to The

Century Association The Century Association is a private social, arts, and dining club in New York City, founded in 1847. Its clubhouse is located at 7 West 43rd Street near Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. It is primarily a club for men and women with distinctio ...

, and remained a member for 32 years. His next novel, the

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

comic satire '' Father of the Bride'', became an instant bestseller and was listed among ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' list of bestselling novels for the year. The following year's successful

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

starring

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the ...

and

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...

spawned multiple remakes, sequels, and a television series. After his breakthrough success, Streeter continued to write successful novels. Of the most notable of his subsequent works are '' Mr. Hobbs' Vacation'' (1954, filmed in 1962), '' Merry Christmas, Mr. Baxter'' (1956), ''Mr. Robbins Rides Again'' (1958), and ''Chairman of the Bored'' (1961). He also wrote two non-fiction books about his European travels: ''Skoal Scandinavia'' (1952) and ''Along the Ridge'' (1964). He finished his writing career with 1969's grim semi-autobiographical ''Ham Martin, Class of '17''. Streeter died on March 31, 1976, in New York City and was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, New York.

Bibliography

*''"Dere Mable"'' (1918) *''"Thats me all over, Mable"'' (1919) *''"Same old Bill, eh Mable"'' (1919) *''Daily Except Sunday'' (1938) *'' Father of the Bride'' (1949) *''Skoal Scandinavia'' (1952) *'' Mr. Hobbs' Vacation'' (1954) *'' Merry Christmas, Mr. Baxter (1956) *''Mr. Robbins Rides Again'' (1957) *''Window on America'' (1957) *''Chairman of the Bored'' (1961) *''Along the Ridge'' (1964) *''Ham Martin, Class of '17'' (1969)

References

External links

* * *
Guide to The Edward Streeter Papers
in the

Fales Library New York University's Fales Library and Special Collections is located on the third floor of the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library at 70 Washington Square South (off of Washington Square Park) between LaGuardia Place and the Schwartz Plaza, in the Greenwi ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Streeter, Edward 1891 births 1976 deaths 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists Military personnel from New York (state) American male novelists American male journalists Writers from Buffalo, New York Journalists from Buffalo, New York The Harvard Lampoon alumni Novelists from New York (state) United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War I New York National Guard personnel Burials at Forest Lawn Cemetery (Buffalo)