Background
Wilder was born in Richmond, Virginia, the son of a minister-turned-lawyer-turned-doctor-turned-dentist who was still going to college when his son was born.
(They said of Stoddard Lathrop throughout the state in whi...)
They said of Stoddard Lathrop throughout the state in which he had become a legend that he was "an island of money completely surrounded by Florida." In a way it was true, yet only in part. For Stoddard Lathrop and Florida were almost indistinguishable from each other. Builder of the fabulous Copa de Cora Club (he claimed he intended it as a club "for rich millionaires"), owner of hundreds of thousands of acres of land, and with interests in almost numberless business ventures, Stoddard Lathrop was as much a living legend as Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth was a fabled one.
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Wilder was born in Richmond, Virginia, the son of a minister-turned-lawyer-turned-doctor-turned-dentist who was still going to college when his son was born.
Following a stint in the United States. Army during World War I, he was educated at Stetson University and Columbia University.
Wilder"s childhood was spent at Daytona Beach, Florida. At various times in his life, Mr. Wilder was a soda jerk, a ship fitter, a theater usher, a shipping clerk, a newspaper copyboy, leader of a criminal gang "a publicity agent" (Claudette Colbert was among his clients), a radio executive, and a journalist (for The New York Sun).
Wilder traveled widely and contributed stories to The New Yorker, among other magazines.
Two of his plays were Sweet Chariot, based on the life and career of African-American activist Marcus Garvey, and Stardust, both produced on Broadway, at a time when Wilder was living in Bayside, New New York Probably Wilder"s best-known book is the 1942 novel "Flamingo Road".
He then wrote the screenplay for the 1949 film version, starring Joan Crawford. (In the early 1980s, several years after his death, "Flamingo Road" became a television series with Morgan Fairchild) Wind from the Carolinas is Wilder"s only book currently in print.
Wilder wrote the screenplay for the epic Western The Big Country in 1958.
His papers are at the Gottlieb Library at Boston University.
(They said of Stoddard Lathrop throughout the state in whi...)
Served in the United States Army, 1918. Member Theta Xi.
Married Sarah Adams Peters, 1928.