W. E. B. Griffin
W. E. B. Griffin | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Edmund Butterworth III November 10, 1929 Newark, New Jersey,U.S. |
| Died | February 12, 2019(aged 89) Daphne, Alabama,U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | American |
| Notable works | |
| Spouse |
Emma Josefa Macalik
(m.1950; died 2003)Maria del Pilar Menendez (died 2018) |
| Children | 3 |
| Website | |
Official website | |
William Edmund Butterworth III(November 10, 1929 – February 12, 2019),[1]better known by his pen nameW. E. B. Griffin,was an American writer of military and detective fiction with 59 novels in seven series published under that name. Twenty-one of those books were co-written with his son, William E Butterworth IV. He also published under 11 otherpseudonymsand three versions of his real name (W. E. Butterworth, William E. Butterworth, and William E. Butterworth III).[2]
Early life
[edit]Griffin grew up inNew York CityandPhiladelphia.He joined theUnited States Armyin 1946. Hismilitary occupationwascounterintelligenceand in this capacity he served in theConstabularyin Germany, thus earning theArmy of Occupation Medal.One of Griffin's duties was delivering food to German general officers and their families, including the widow of would-be Hitler assassinClaus von Stauffenberg.His exposure to German military and civilian aristocracy supplied much of the inspiration for such Griffin creations asOberstGraf von Greiffenberg, who appears in several of theBrotherhood of Warnovels.
After completing his active duty military service, Griffin attendedPhilipps-Universität MarburgatMarburg-an-der-Lahn.His college days were cut short in 1951 when he was recalled to serve in theKorean War.[1]
In Korea he first served as an official Army war correspondent with the223rd Infantry Regiment,then as public information officer forU.S. X Corps,which included the1st Marine Division.[3]Griffin received theCombat Infantryman Badgefor service at the front lines.[4]His knowledge of combat and garrison life and his friendships with military personnel from different services would well serve his writing. Many of his books are dedicated to fallen comrades who died inKoreaor later on inVietnamor while serving with the international peacekeeping force dispatched during theLebanese Civil War.Griffin was modest about his own service. He once told aBarnes & Nobleinterviewer:
My own military background is wholly undistinguished. I was a sergeant. What happened was that I was incredibly lucky in getting to be around some truly distinguished senior officers, sergeants, and spooks.[5]
Writing career
[edit]After the end of the Korean War, Griffin continued to work for the military in a civilian capacity as Chief of the Publications Division of the U.S. Army Signal Aviation Test & Support Activity atFort Rucker,Alabama.After his first three novels proved successful, he left this job to pursue writing full-time. To date, he has 160 fiction and nonfiction works to his credit. He was well known and respected in the literary world for his thrillers and crime novels.[6]
His son William E. Butterworth IV (previously editor ofBoys' Life,the magazine of theBoy Scouts of America) co-authored some of his books. Butterworthfilswas a long-time editor who moved from assisting in editing his father's work to collaborator. As of July 2015, he has been co-author of sixteen Griffin books in five different novel series. He was the keynote speaker at the 2014 Mystery Writers Key West Fest.[7]
Griffin's knowledge of military jargon and administrative writing style shows when fictional orders and dispatches are incorporated in his novels. Many of his characters must battle red tape andbureaucraticmix-ups, sometimes making humorous end-runs around the system.
Griffin was the co-founder of theWilliam E. ColbySeminar on Intelligence, Military, and Diplomatic Affairs atNorwich Universityin Vermont, along with his friend, historian andPattonbiographer ColonelCarlo D'Este.Griffin was a member of the Colby Circle, having participated in the William E. Colby Writers Symposium at Norwich University.[8]
Personal life
[edit]In 1950, Griffin married Emma Macalik, a ballet dancer and the author ofAs the Waltz Was Ending,a memoir of her life growing up as a dancer in Vienna during World War II. They had a daughter, Patricia, and two sons, John S. II and William E. IV. The marriage ended in divorce in the 1990s.[9]Emma died from lung cancer in 2003.[10]
Griffin later married Maria del Pilar Menendez, whom he had met in Argentina. She died in 2018.[11]
Griffin died in February 2019 from colorectal cancer at the age of 89.[11]
Bibliography
[edit]The following is the list of books written by W.E.B. Griffin:[12]
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Written as W.E.B. Griffin
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References
[edit]- ^ab"W.E.B. Griffin, Military Man and Writer, Dies at 89".Publishers Weekly.February 15, 2019.
- ^"W.E.B. Griffin:: Tour Info & Book Signings".webgriffin.
- ^Blankenship, Janie. "Vets of WWI Through Vietnam Became Famous in the Literary World",VFW Magazine(April 2015), p. 48.
- ^"W.E.B. Griffin:: The Authors".webgriffin.
- ^LeCount, Andrew (2000).Meet the Authors: W.E.B. Griffin (interview).Barnes and Noble website. Retrieved 2008-07-05
- ^"The Last Witness: A Badge of Honor Novel | Bookreporter"– via bookreporter.
- ^Poster, Mystery Writers Key West Fest, June 2014
- ^"The Colby Circle – The William E. Colby Military Writers' Symposium".
- ^Slotnik, Daniel E. (22 February 2019)."W.E.B. Griffin, 89, Dies; a Best-Selling Novelist Dozens of Times".The New York Times.
- ^"E.M. Butterworth - In Remembrance".January 6, 2013. Archived fromthe originalon January 6, 2013.
- ^abSlotnik, Daniel E. (February 22, 2019)."W.E.B. Griffin, 89, Dies; a Best-Selling Novelist Dozens of Times".The New York Times.
- ^"W.E.B. Griffin:: The Authors".webgriffin.
External links
[edit]- 1929 births
- Military personnel from Newark, New Jersey
- Writers from Newark, New Jersey
- 20th-century American novelists
- 21st-century American novelists
- American military writers
- American historical novelists
- American male novelists
- American thriller writers
- United States Army soldiers
- United States Army personnel of the Korean War
- American people of Dutch descent
- 20th-century American male writers
- 21st-century American male writers
- 20th-century American non-fiction writers
- 21st-century American non-fiction writers
- American male non-fiction writers
- 2019 deaths