Roger Carroll Garis (1901– 1967) was an American writer. He wrote for magazines and also writer ''The Outboard Boys'' series of books. In addition to his writing of books for children and adults, he contributed to the

Waterbury, Connecticut Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Waterbury had a population of 114,403 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census. The city is southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury i ...

'' Republican'' and wrote for the stage and for television.

Early life and education

Roger Carroll Garis was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

on September 10, 1901, to Howard R. and Lilian Garis, both of whom were established writers. Garis attended

St. Benedict's Preparatory School St. Benedict's Preparatory School is a Catholic college preparatory school in Newark, New Jersey run by the Benedictine monks of Newark Abbey. The school serves boys and girls in kindergarten through twelfth grade on a urban campus. The scho ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, ultimately earning a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from New Jersey Law School.

Career

Garis briefly worked in law before beginning his writing career working for the

Stratemeyer Syndicate The Stratemeyer Syndicate was an American publishing company that produced a number of mystery book series for children, including Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, the various Tom Swift series, the Bobbsey Twins, the Rover Boys, and others. It pu ...

. From 1930 to 1935, he wrote for the ''Evening News'' in Newark and occasionally wrote for ''Republican'' in Waterbury, Connecticut, as well as ''The New York Times Magazine''. Garis published his ''Outboard Boys'' series in the 1930s and later published ''Never Take Candy From A Stranger'' and ''My Father Was Uncle Wiggily'' (1966). He also wrote the play ''The Pony Cart'', which ran in London and New York in the late 1950s. Garis' sister, Cleo F., also wrote a three-book series concurrently with his series.

Personal life

Garis married Adine Haviland in 1937, though the couple later divorced. In 1941, he married Mabel Robinson Burns, with whom he had three children. The Garises' daughter, Leslie Garis, wrote a memoir about her family, ''House of Happy Endings'', published by

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer P ...

in 2007. Garis dealt with mental health issues throughout his life. He died in

Amherst, Massachusetts Amherst () is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. Amherst has a council–manager form of government, and is considered a city under Massachusetts state law. Amherst is one of several Massach ...

on October 3, 1967.

Publications

Books

* ''The Outboard Boys At Mystery Island''

1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...

* ''The Outboard Boys At Shadow Lake''

* ''The Outboard Boys At Pirate Beach''

* ''The Outboard Boys At Shark River''

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

* ''Amusement Park'' (D. Appleton-Century, New York/London)

* ''Never Take Candy From A Stranger''

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

* ''My Father Was Uncle Wiggily'' 1966

Movies

* Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (1960) at imdb.com

References

External links

*
The Outboard Boys at Shark River
full text

at Syracuse University * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garis, Roger 1901 births 1967 deaths American children's writers