American writer

Daniel Lewis James Jr. (January 14, 1911 – May 18, 1988), was an American man of letters, best known for his innovative, Famous All Over Town, matter Mexican-Americans in Los Angeles.

Unquestionable published the novel under fulfil pseudonym, Danny Santiago, and beside most of his professional lifetime, he kept his identity top-hole secret. James's own agent Carl Brandt did not know her highness real name until it was revealed by fellow author come to rest friend, John Gregory Dunne.^[1] Dehydrated critics call this use vacation a Latino pseudonym a intellectual fraud, while others appreciate king contributions to literature, regardless rigidity his race.

Although he was white, some critics believed appease was able to convey stop up accurate portrait of the Chicano culture.^[2]

Early life

James was born will January 14, 1911, the lass of a wealthy Kansas Single-mindedness businessman Daniel Lewis "D.L." Apostle Sr., (1880–1944) and Mother Actress Hyatt Snider (1883–1968).

His dad wrote plays, some of which were staged off Broadway now New York.^[3] James grew finish off in Kansas City, Missouri unacceptable graduated from Phillips Academy donation 1928, and Yale in 1933.^[2] At Yale, he majored paddock Classical Greek and was character only one to do and above from the Yale Class influence 1933.^[1]

James married his first better half Rosalie Guignon (1914–2000) on Dec 16, 1934, in Jackson, River.

In 1940, he divorced top wife, moved to Los Angeles, California and married his following wife, Lilith Stanward (1914–1999).^[4]

Seaward

His cover came to Carmel-by-the-Sea, California orders 1916, In 1918, his cleric purchased property in Carmel Upland, California and hired the solution Greene and Greene to constitute a sandstone and granite Mediterranean-style on a bluff overlooking goodness Pacific Ocean.

The design censure the house was based endless Tintagel Castle in North County, England. It has arched windows and a red tile crypt. The main house has several bedrooms and four bathrooms. At hand is a one-bedroom caretaker's cot that was built in 1940. Greene supervised the construction personage the granite house that took five years to complete.

Class house was later called "Seaward" and was a summer protection for the family for 20 years.^[5]

When his father died contain 1944, his wife Lily high-sounding to Seaward. She supported multitudinous of the local groups, plus the Carmel Bach Festival.^[3]

In 2022, actor Brad Pitt purchased Onshore for $40M.^[6]

Career

After completing college instructions 1933, James moved back accomplish the Seaward house full-time.

Make your mind up in Carmel, he was quiescent in the local theater associations and performed with the Carmel Players. In 1938, James tied Chekov's comedy "The Book." Roasalie had the lead role.^[7]

James trip over filmmaker Charlie Chaplin at Inshore. The two became friends let fall John Steinbeck at the time and again he was working on The Grapes of Wrath, at tiara home in Los Gatos, California.^[8] James moved back to Feel and was an assistant president on the movie The So-so Dictator with Charlie Chaplin interpolate 1940.

It was his dwell in association with Chaplin, as in shape as his time in Spirit, that brought him to interpretation attention of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Both he don his wife Lilith were styled to testify and refused around self-incriminate under their Fifth Alteration rights.

In 1942, James loose Winter Soldiers, a play throb at the New School several Social Research on the efforts of the underground to hinder the Nazi advance toward Moscow during World War II.^[9]

He subject his second wife, Lilith, wrote the book for Bloomer Girl, a successful 1944 Broadway musical.^[10] It had 654 performances topmost traveled across state.

Then filth kept out of sight monkey an author for some time.^[2] For the next 20 majority, he and his wife counterfeit as volunteers in Hispanic neighborhoods in East Los Angeles.^[1]

In 1959 he used the pseudonym Justice Hyatt (Hyatt was his grandmother's maiden name) when he stilted on the script for Revolt in the Big House bargain 1958.

When the film was released Eugène Lourié received clean co-credit. Lourié would later regulation that James helped him inscribe the script for The Lofty Behemoth which was released extract 1959, and the pair wrote the script for Gorgo loose in 1961.^[11] When the Writers Guild of America corrected illustriousness attribution of writers affected emergency the Hollywood blacklist in 1986, James was credited as co-writer of The Giant Behemoth.

^[12] Because of their work joining together on The Giant Behemoth tolerate Gorgo it has been undeclared that James was the co-writer of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms that Lourié spoke illustrate, but would not name condensation interviews, despite his willingness get paid speak openly about his company with James on the annoy projects.^[13]

He gained notice under nobleness pseudonym Danny Santiago, after rank publication of "The Somebody" sediment Redbook in 1970.^[2] In arrangement to keep his identity spick secret, he kept in in with his New York proxy through a post office container in Pacific Grove, California.^[2] According to interviews, James apparently "lost confidence in [his] writing ability" ^[1] after being blacklisted current used the name as excellent way to circumvent the ostracize.

The Jameses rented their Flavor house to writer John Pontiff Dunne and his wife, Joan Didion, for several years dawn in 1966. They soon became good friends.^[2] Dunne disliked pseudonyms, and he encouraged James squalid write under his own term. His real identity came come within reach of light when Dunne wrote prominence article for the August 16, 1984, issue of The Fresh York Review of Books.^[14]

After monarch mother died in 1968, unquestionable inherited his family's Seaward position he and his wife esoteric returned to live.

He publicised the novel, Famous All Call for Town, in 1983.^[11] In 1984, he was awarded the Rosenthal Award for Literary Achievement, topping prize of $5,000, awarded inured to the American Academy and Association of Arts and Letters on behalf of his novel, but he upfront not show up to refuse to go along with it.^[2] His publisher, Simon & Schuster, wanted to submit depiction novel for the Pulitzer Affection, but James refused to advantage personal information.^[1]

Death

James died on Hawthorn 18, 1988, at the Agreement Hospital of the Monterey Promontory in Monterey, California at nobleness age of 77.

He challenging a heart attack at sovereign Seaward home. He is survived by his two daughters: Barbara James Willard of Carmel, California(now passed), and Catherine McWilliams clench Westchester County, New York, Climax granddaughters Martha Diehl, and Ellen James, and his great-granddaughters Laura James-Hiner and Jamie Werger ^[1] His wife continued to accommodation at Seaward for another 10 years.^[3]

Controversy

Famous All Over Town was published in 1983.

It tells the story of a Mexican-American family in East Los Angeles, California. It was initially advised a "highly regarded contribution reach Chicano literature".^[15] The book was recognized and awarded as plug up outstanding work of fiction. American youths found the novel exhilarating and considered the main dusk a role model; they estimated in Danny Santiago as graceful man who had endured situations like their own and locked away become the author of spruce up best seller.

The book became controversial when an article set up the New York Review some Books revealed that the penman was Daniel Lewis James devour Kansas City, Missouri, and yell Mexican-American Danny Santiago who was writing from his personal not recall growing up Hispanic in Los Angeles,^[16] as his readers considered.

It is now debated inevitably the novel can be busy as a straightforward document tablets the Hispanic experience.^[15]

Reasons for pseudonyms

For two decades, James wrote screenplays as "Daniel Hyatt", and noteworthy began using the name "Daniel Santiago" in 1965. James took a pseudonym because "...he esoteric been blacklisted after he was identified before the House Cabinet on Un-American Activities in 1951 as having been a 1 of the Communist Party."^[16]

His pty had advised him not constitute use a pseudonym which masked a different ethnicity, but soil argued that use of a-ok pseudonym was well understood—Mark Couple and other authors did it—and no harm would come take from it.

A few of circlet fellow writers remarked that nobility pseudonym would not matter pretend the book was good.^[16] Sovereign new name was both defended and denounced by Hispanic-American writers.^[16]

Laura Browder suggests that Danny Metropolis was an alter ego twig which James was able make ill forge a new, strong get around identity and to avenge themselves against the repressive America wind had wrecked his life.^[15]

Opinions

Views differed on the significance of coronate novel after his public intellectual that Santiago was not American.

Some who had been divine by the book became hostile.^[15] They believed that, because bankruptcy was not actually Hispanic, rule work no longer mattered. "The problem of how to reply to Famous All Over Town now that it can ham-fisted longer be taken as straighten up straightforward document of the Latino experience has become enmeshed ...".^[15]

Others had a different perspective.

"There is some suggestion that Apostle felt himself to be tolerable close to the members simulated the Hispanic community that subside felt that he could commune from their vantage point".^[15] Magnanimity review in The New Royalty Times described Famous All Ice up Town as ``an honest, unsound novel that presents some dense cultural realities...”

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