Lardner Connections
Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Leyner, McMillan, Newman
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 F. Scott Fitzgerald |
F. Scott Fitzgerald was certainly one of
Lardner's most significant literary friends. The two met
and became friends (drinking buddies) in Great Neck, NY,
where they were neighbors. Fitzgerald urged Lardner to
have his stories collected in a book worthy of serious
critical attention; How to Write Short
Stories is the result. I include here a
couple things Ring said about Scott in print, and then a
few comments of Scott's from the article he wrote for The
New Republic shortly after Ring's death..
From "In Regards to Geniuses" in What of It?, originally published in Hearst's International (May 1923).
From "The Other Side" in What of It?, originally published in Liberty (14 Feb 1925).
Both the above are from "Ring" in THE NEW REPUBLIC 11 Oct 1933.
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 Ernest Hemingway |
Hemingway wrote some pieces for his high
school newspaper under the pseudonym Ring Lardner, Jr.,
but that was about the last time he admitted any
influence of or admiration of Lardner's writing. I
excerpt here a few statements he made about Lardner in
his letters. All can be found in Ernest Hemingway:
Selected Letters 1917-1961, edited by Carlos Baker
(Scribner's, 1981).
Click
Here to go to the Hemingway WEB Page,
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 Dorothy Parker |
Ring and Dorothy (whom he once referred to as "Spark Plug") Parker seem to have
been good friends and party companions during the 1920s. He refers to her
in his letters, mostly in terms of wild nights out on the town. She also
stayed at his home for a week or so. Ring Jr. worked with her on A Star
is Born and seemed to have a soft spot for her as well.
Some have speculated that Ring and Dottie had an affair. Ring Jr. says in two memoirs that the idea is preposterous. Neither of the accused are available for comment. Click here to go to the Dorothy Parker Society page.
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 Bert Williams |
From an early age, Ring was a fan of vaudeville, musical theater, and Bert
Williams (of Williams & Walker and solo fame). He admired Williams all of
his life and aspired to be his collaborator, writing music for him in the 1910s.
Evidence exists in letters of ideas being exchanged and songs of Ring's being worked on by Williams, but the only known published collaboration is "Home Sweet Home," a song written by Lardner and performed by Williams in the 1917 Follies. When Williams died, Ring didn't think some of his tributes got it right; in particular, he objected to his friend Heywood Broun's words "It did not seem to us that Williams was a great comedian and certainly not a great clown." Ring wrote a rebuttal which Broun published in his column. In it, he declared that Williams was a great comedian, clown, and musician. He recalled the earlier days of the Williams and Walker shows, noting many great songs the two performed. A fine overview of Williams' career can be found on Jass.com.
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 Mark Leyner
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"An author who makes me laugh . . .
Nathaniel West, Ring Lardner, Terry Southern, John
Lydon." In an interview (13 MAR 95) on Club
Wired.
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 Terry McMillan |
"What pleases me about the praise is
the fact that they, they say my work is conversational,
that it's accessible. And, and basically, I think I like
the conversational tone. You know, Ring Lardner was one
of my biggest influences, I think,. . .." From an
interview with Charlie Rose (PBS 29 APR 96). "'I take myself seriously, but not too seriously,' she rasps during a recent book tour. 'But because I'm a pop fiction writer and because it has mass market appeal, people are constantly trying to compare me to Danielle Steel and Judith Krantz. They can't figure out where to put me. I'm not imitating anyone. I do have a writing style; I liken myself more to a black female Ring Lardner.'" From "Full Exposure: A Boom in Fiction by Black Woman Writers Has Brought a Wealth of Voices Telling Tales That Defy Stereotypes," by George Lynell (LA Times 17 JUL 96).
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 Edwin Newman |
"There was a great deal of emphasis
on humor in newspapers in those days [1941, when he was
starting]. The principal influences on me were humorist
writers like H.L. Mencken, P.G. Wodehouse and especially
Ring Lardner, so I had an ambition to emulate what they
had done." From "Have Aliens Taken Over His
Brain?" by Susan King (LA Times 13 JAN 96).
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