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Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.
John Arthur Chapman was an American journalist, drama critic, and author.
Background
John Arthur Chapman was born on June 25, 1900 in Denver, Colorado, United States. He was the son of Arthur Chapman and Lillian Mathewson Eddy. He was the oldest child. Two brothers survived to adulthood and a sister died in childhood. His father was a journalist, managing editor of the Denver Times, and author of the popular poem "Out Where the West Begins" as well as histories of the pony express and the state of Colorado.
Education
Chapman attended public schools and graduated in 1916 from East Denver High School, where he was editor of the yearbook. He studied at the University of Colorado for a year and from 1917 to 1919 worked as a reporter for the Denver Times. In 1919, he moved with his family to New York City and attended Columbia University. While he did not earn a college degree, Chapman taught a course on the theater at New York University in 1956-1957 and received an honorary doctor of humanities degree from the University of Denver in 1963.
Career
He joined the fledgling tabloid newspaper, the New York Daily News, in 1920. Joseph Medill Patterson, founder and publisher of the paper, hired him on the strength of his striking photograph of the funeral of William Frederick Cody, the frontiersman known as "Buffalo Bill. " The Daily News called Chapman a "jack-of-all-newspaper trades and a master of all of them. " From 1924 to 1926, he managed Pacific and Atlantic Photos, a bureau that transported photographic plates from Europe to the United States. Returning to the Daily News as a reporter, he became drama editor in 1929. During the 1930's he wrote a daily column, "Mainly about Manhattan, " which combined shrewd observations and witty commentary on various aspects of life in New York City. In 1940 he succeeded Ed Sullivan as the paper's Hollywood columnist, but he disdained writing gossip and returned to New York in 1942. With the resignation of Burns Mantle as drama critic in 1943, Chapman succeeded him and spent the next twenty-eight years "on the aisle. " During these years he wrote candid reviews for the New York Daily News as well as the Saturday Evening Post. He also contributed to the magazine Theater Arts, using the pseudonym George Spelvin. These theatrical columns won him wide renown. His writing was characterized by straightforward prose, polished phrases, and witty epigrams. His reviews consistently reflected a basic fairness, integrity, and droll sense of humor. When Mae West appeared in the Broadway play Catherine Was Great, Chapman wrote, "I'm afraid Catherine Was Great will be a bust, which is one more than Mae West needs. " He was affectionately called "Old Frost Face, " "The Curmudgeon, " and "Mr. Theater" by colleagues and friends. During his career with the Daily News the paper's circulation increased to over 2 million, but Chapman always insisted that he wrote to a small audience, "a tough one: me. " He held himself to high and exacting standards and was especially proud of his spelling and correct grammar. His reviews were composed very rapidly and went straight to the printer without clearing the copy desk. An editor at the newspaper recalled a permanent wager requiring the drama critic to pay a certain sum of money if he made an orthographic error. Chapman never lost the wager. He edited the annual Best Plays and Year Book of Drama in America from 1947 to 1953 and Broadway's Best from 1957 to 1960. He also wrote Tell It to Sweeney: An Informal History of the New York Daily News (1961), which covered the story of the newspaper from its inception through the 1950's. "Tell It to Sweeney" was an advertising slogan of the Daily News and suggested Chapman's theme of the consistent appeal of the paper to the "man in the street. " He was devoted to talented professionals and promoted hitherto unknown actors and actresses, such as Helen Hayes and Mary Martin. His editions of Best Plays and Year Book of Drama in America are essential reference works, invaluable to theater lovers and scholars. Chapman lived in Westport, Connecticut, with his family although he maintained close ties with his native Colorado. He retired from the Daily News in August 1973 and died the following January in Westport. His body was cremated and his ashes scattered in the mountains of Colorado.