Lloyd Cassel Douglas (August 27, 1877 – February 13, 1951) was an American minister and author. Although Douglas was one of the most popular American authors of his time, he did not write his first novel until the age of 50.

Biography

Douglas was born in Columbia City, Indiana. His father was a minister and the family lived for part of Douglas's boyhood in Monroeville and Wilmot, Indiana and Florence, Kentucky. In Florence, his father was the pastor of the Hopeful Lutheran Church. After receiving a degree from Wittenberg College in Springfield, Ohio in 1903, Douglas was ordained in the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

ministry. He served in pastorates in North Manchester, Indiana,

Lancaster, Ohio Lancaster ( ) is a city in Fairfield County, Ohio, and its county seat. The population was 40,552 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Ohio, Ohio's 30th largest city, having surpassed Warren, Ohio, Warren and Fin ...

and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

1910 U.S. Census; Douglas was listed as a Lutheran clergyman. After his ordainment, Douglas married Bessie I. Porch. They had two daughters together: Bessie J. Douglas, born about 1899, and Virginia V. Douglas, born about 1901. From 1911 to 1915, Douglas was director of religious work at the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

. For the next six years, he was minister of the First Congregational Church in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

. In 1920, he moved to

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

, to serve as the senior minister of the First Congregational Church of Akron until 1926. Later that year, he moved to Los Angeles for a pastorate. Douglas served as pastor at St. James United Church in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

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before retiring from the pastorate to write full time. His biographer Louis Sheaffer comments that "he never stated publicly why he changed denominations." Douglas's first novel, '' Magnificent Obsession'', published in 1929, was an immediate success. Critics held that his type of fiction was in the tradition of the great religious writings of an earlier generation, such as '' Ben-Hur'' and '' Quo Vadis''. Douglas followed this with his novels ''Forgive Us Our Trespasses'', ''Precious Jeopardy'', ''

Green Light Green Light, green light, green-light or greenlight may refer to: * Green-colored light, part of the visible spectrum * Greenlight, formal approval of a project to move forward Arts, entertainment, and media Films and television * Green Light ( ...

'', ''White Banners'', ''Disputed Passage'', ''Invitation to Live'', '' Doctor Hudson's Secret Journal'', '' The Robe'' and '' The Big Fisherman''.

Adaptations

''Magnificent Obsession'' was adapted twice for the screen, first as a 1935 film starring Robert Taylor and

Irene Dunne Irene Dunne (born Irene Marie Dunn; December 20, 1898 – September 4, 1990) was an American actress who appeared in films during Classical Hollywood cinema, the Golden Age of Hollywood. She is best known for her comedic roles, though she perf ...

, and in 1954, with Rock Hudson and

Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007). was an American actress. A star of both movies and television, she received an Academy Award for Best Actress, four Golden Globe Awards and nominations for two Pr ...

. In 1937, the book ''

'' was adapted for the screen in a film starring

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian and American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Oliv ...

. '' White Banners'', starring Claude Raines and Fay Bainter, came to the screen in 1938. The film version of '' Disputed Passage'' was released in 1939. '' Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal'', a prequel to ''The Magnificent Obsession'', aired on syndicated television in 1955–1957.

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...

starred as Dr. Wayne Hudson in 78 episodes. ''The Robe'' sold more than two million copies without any reprint edition. Douglas sold the motion picture rights to ''The Robe'', although the film, starring

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and gave a memor ...

, was not released until 1953, after Douglas's death. Douglas was generally unhappy with the film adaptations of his works, so when he wrote ''The Big Fisherman'' as the sequel to ''The Robe'', he raised certain stipulations related to its publication. He said that it would be his final novel and that he would not permit it to be adapted as a motion picture, used in any radio broadcast, condensed or serialized. However, '' The Big Fisherman'' was filmed in 1959, starring

Howard Keel Harold Clifford Keel (April 13, 1919November 7, 2004), professionally Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer known for his rich bass-baritone singing voice. He starred in a number of MGM musicals in the 1950s, including ''Show Boat'' (195 ...

in one of his few non-singing screen roles. Douglas's last book was the autobiographical ''Time to Remember'', which described his life up to his childhood and education for the ministry. He died before he was able to write the intended second volume. His daughters, Virginia Douglas Dawson and Betty Douglas Wilson, completed the volume, published posthumously as ''The Shape of Sunday''. Douglas died in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Works

Novels

''Magnificent Obsession'' series: # ''Magnificent Obsession'' (1929), # ''Doctor Hudson's Secret Journal'' (1939), , prequel ''The Robe'' series: # '' The Robe'' (1942), # '' The Big Fisherman'' (1948), Stand-alones: * ''More Than a Prophet'' (1905), * ''Forgive Us Our Trespasses'' (1932), * ''Precious Jeopardy: A Christmas Story'' (1933), * ''Green Light'' (1935), * ''White Banners'' (1936), * ''Home for Christmas'' (1937), * ''Disputed Passage'' (1939), * ''Invitation to Live'' (1940),

Non-fiction

* ''Wanted–A Congregation'' (1920), , religion * ''An Affair of the Heart'' (1922), , religion * ''The Minister's Everyday Life'' (1924), , religion * ''These Sayings of Mine: An Interpretation of the Teachings of Jesus'' (1926), , religion * ''Those Disturbing Miracles'' (1927), , religion * ''The College Student Facing a Muddled World'' (1933), sociology * ''Time to Remember'' (1951), , autobiography * ''The Living Faith: Selected Sermons'' (1955), , religion

Other

* ''The Fate of the Limited'' (1919)

Adaptations

* '' Magnificent Obsession'' (1935), film directed by John M. Stahl, based on novel '' Magnificent Obsession'' * ''

'' (1937), film directed by

Frank Borzage Frank Borzage ( né Borzaga; April 23, 1894 – June 19, 1962) was an American film director and actor. He was the first person to win the Academy Awards, Academy Award for Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director for his film ''7th Heaven ...

, based on novel ''Green Light'' * '' White Banners'' (1938), film directed by

Edmund Goulding Edmund Goulding (20 March 1891 – 24 December 1959) was a British screenwriter and film director. As an actor early in his career he was one of the 'Ghosts' in the 1922 silent film '' Three Live Ghosts'' alongside Norman Kerry and Cyril Chadwic ...

, based on novel ''White Banners'' * '' Disputed Passage'' (1939), film directed by Frank Borzage, based on novel ''Disputed Passage'' * '' The Robe'' (1953), film directed by

Henry Koster Henry Koster (born Hermann Kosterlitz, May 1, 1905 – September 21, 1988) was a German-born film director. He was the husband of actress Peggy Moran. Early life Koster was born to Jewish parents in Berlin, Germany. He was introduced to cin ...

, based on novel '' The Robe'' * '' Demetrius and the Gladiators'' (1954), film directed by

Delmer Daves Delmer Lawrence Daves (July 24, 1904 – August 17, 1977) was an American screenwriter, film director and film producer. He worked in many Film genre, genres, including film noir and war film, warfare, but he is best known for his Western (genre ...

, based on novel ''The Robe'' * '' Magnificent Obsession'' (1954), film directed by

Douglas Sirk Douglas Sirk (born Hans Detlef Sierck; 26 April 1897 – 14 January 1987) was a German film director best known for his work in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s. However, he also directed comedies, westerns, and war f ...

, based on novel ''Magnificent Obsession'' * '' Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal'' (1955–1957), series directed by Peter Godfrey and Harry R. Sherman, based on novel ''Doctor Hudson's Secret Journal'' * ''Luz da Esperança'' (1956), series based on novel ''Green Light'' * ''Sublime Obsessão'' (1958), series directed by Dionísio Azevedo, based on novel ''Magnificent Obsession'' * '' The Big Fisherman'' (1959), film directed by Frank Borzage, based on novel ''The Big Fisherman''

Biography

Adaptations

Works

Novels

Non-fiction

Other

Adaptations

References

Further reading

External links