Joe David Brown (May 12, 1915 – April 22, 1976) was an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

from

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. He drew memorably from his own life to compose his fiction: his grandfather's role as a minister, his own knowledge of confidence games from his work as a reporter, his

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

experiences, and his residence on journalistic assignment in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He is particularly remembered for the title character of his novel '' Addie Pray'', the young "Mistress of the Con Game" during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

in the Deep South; an adaptation of the story later became the film '' Paper Moon''.

Biography

Brown was born in Birmingham, the son of William Samuel Brown, a

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

publisher, and Lucille Lokey Brown. At age 20, he became a police reporter for the '' Birmingham Post'' and in the same year (1935) married Mildred Harbour, with whom he had two sons, David (named Joe David Brown after his father, and also a journalist) and Ted. At age 21, Brown became city editor of the '' Dothan Eagle.'' From 1935 to 1939, he worked for newspapers in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

;

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

; and St. Louis, Missouri. In 1939, he began working for the ''

New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

'', but his time there was interrupted in 1942 by

, in which he served in the U.S. Army with the 460th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion (460th PFAB). Brown was one of the first men to parachute into

Southern France Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...

, in August 1944. He received a battlefield commission as second lieutenant and was awarded the Purple Heart and Croix de Guerre with Palm. His first marriage ended in 1943 while he was still in the service. In 1945, while recovering from combat injuries, he met and married his second wife, Frances O'Reilly, with whom he had one daughter, Gilbreth. Brown returned to the ''Daily News,'' then from 1949 to 1957 was a foreign correspondent for ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' and ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'', serving in

New Delhi, India New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

; Paris, France;

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. In 1957, he became a freelance writer. In the sixties he returned to work for ''Time'' as a contributing editor; he also edited several books for

Time-Life Time Life, Inc. (also habitually represented with a hyphen as Time-Life, Inc., even by the company itself) was an American multi-media conglomerate company formerly known as a prolific production/publishing company and Direct marketing, direct ...

Filmed novels

Three of Brown's better-known novels became the basis of movies. ''Stars in My Crown'' (1947) was based on his childhood experiences with his minister grandfather and was made into a movie by the same name in 1949. ''Kings Go Forth'' was made into a movie in 1958. His final novel, ''Addie Pray'' (1971), the story of 11-year-old con artist Addie and her older partner Long Boy, was made into the movie ''Paper Moon'' (1973), starring Ryan O'Neal and his daughter Tatum; the film then served as the basis for a TV series of the same name, starring Jodie Foster. Brown's other, earlier novels are less known. ''The Freeholder'' (1949) is about an indentured servant's quest for freedom in the American South. ''Kings Go Forth'' (1956) draws upon Brown's military experiences (and also was made into a movie released in 1958), and ''Glimpse of a Stranger'' (1968) highlights the contrast between the cultures of

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Brown died on April 26, 1976, at his home in Georgia.

Works

Novels *''Stars In My Crown'' (1947) *'' The Freeholder'' (1949) *'' Kings Go Forth'' (1956) *'' Glimpse of a Stranger'' (1968) *'' Addie Pray'' (aka ''Paper Moon'') (1971) Short stories *"Grandpa and the Miracle Grindstone" (1956; Curtis Publishing Company)

External links

*
Joe David Brown Papers
a
Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, & Rare Book Library, Emory University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Joe David 1915 births 1976 deaths 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American novelists American expatriates in India American male journalists American male novelists American recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Military personnel from Alabama Military personnel from Birmingham, Alabama Novelists from Alabama United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War II Writers from Birmingham, Alabama Journalists from Birmingham, Alabama