History Creator / JamesThurber

A personal favorite writer of one [[Series/CountdownWithKeithOlbermann Keith Olbermann]], who single-handedly sparked enough popular demand to put Thurber's anthologies back into print in the late '00s, when he revealed that he would read from a book of Thurber's stories to his terminally-ill father, who suggested he read some of them on his TV show.

* MassiveMultiplayerScam: "The Great Quillow" involves some townspeople who pull one of these on a giant to get him to leave their village alone.

* PutMeInCoach: The short story "You Could Look It Up" features a baseball team in a slump putting a midget in as a pinch hitter to walk in the tying run. After verifying that yes, his contract is valid and no, there AintNoRule that says he can't play, he's allowed to bat... and promptly hits the ball and is thrown out at first, losing the game. In a DoubleSubversion, however, the incident is so ridiculous that it snaps the team out of their slump and they go on to win the pennant.

* SoulfulPlantStory: The graphic novel ''The Last Flower'' tells a parable of human society recovering after the devastation of a future world war after a young woman realizes the importance of caring for the last surviving flower.

* "Literature/TheMacbethMurderMystery"
* "Literature/TheSecretLifeOfWalterMitty"

* "WesternAnimation/TheUnicornInTheGarden"

James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American humor writer and cartoonist. Among his well-known works are the short story "Literature/TheSecretLifeOfWalterMitty" and the children's fantasy novels ''Literature/The13Clocks'' and ''The Wonderful O''.

* BalefulPolymorph: A central dilemma of ''The White Deer'' is whether the deer maiden is an example of this or of [[PinocchioSyndrome benevolent]] [[AWizardDidIt polymorph]].

* SdrawkcabName: The villain of ''The White Deer'' is named [[Myth/KingArthur Nagrom Yaf]].

* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon: What the Big Bad in ''The Wonderful O'' threatens Littlejohn's parrot with: "I'll squck its thrug till all it can whupple is geep!" [[spoiler:He later carries out the threat:]]
-->[[spoiler:"Geep," whuppled the parrot.]]

* MassiveMultiplayerScam: "The Great Quillow" involves some townspeople who pull one of these on a giant to get him to leave their village alone.

A personal favorite writer of one [[Series/CountdownWithKeithOlbermann Keith Olbermann]], who single-handedly sparked enough popular demand to put Thurber's anthologies back into print in the late '00s, when he revealed that he would read from a book of Thurber's stories to his=terminally ill father, who suggested he read some of them on his TV show.

[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/James_Thurber_5941.jpg]]

In his own time his writing and art were often associated with ''Magazine/TheNewYorker'' magazine where many of his short stories first appeared. Many of Thurber's fictions, such as "Walter Mitty," "A Couple of Hamburgers," and "The War Between Men and Women," deal with the fundamental [[MarsAndVenusGenderContrast conflict between men and women]], and the romantic vs. practical mindset represented by each, respectively. His works are also colored by his liberal individualist views, in a time when creeping nationalism was threatening personal freedom in many parts of the world -- some not entirely remote -- and are also characterized by a deep sympathy for animals, particularly dogs.

A personal favorite writer of one [[Series/CountdownWithKeithOlbermann Keith Olbermann]] who single-handedly sparked enough popular demand to put Thurber's anthologies back into print in the late '00s, when he revealed that he would read from a book of Thurber's stories to his terminally ill father, who suggested he read some of them on his TV show.

* InspiredBy: In TheFifties, writer-director Melville Shavelson came up with a TV series concept based around Thurber's work, with the recurring Thurber character John Monroe turned into a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed version of Thurber himself. Thurber's stories would be incorporated as Monroe's daydreams and other flights of fancy, depicted with animation based on Thurber's drawings. After two failed pilots in 1959 in 1961, Creator/{{NBC}} picked up the show, now titled ''My World...and Welcome to It'', for the 1969-70 season. Despite great reviews, it was placed in the same timeslot as ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'' and struggled in the ratings, before finally getting canceled after one season. However, it ended up winning an UsefulNotes/EmmyAward for Outstanding Comedy Series, with William Windom winning Best Actor as John Monroe, cementing it as one of American television's all-time great [[AcclaimedFlop Acclaimed Flops]]. In 1972, Shavelson and ''My World'' showrunner Danny Arnold (future creator of ''Series/BarneyMiller'') made the similarly-styled film ''The War Between Men and Women'', with Creator/JackLemmon as the Thurber stand-in, Peter Wilson. The film interestingly incorporates Thurber's vision problems as a subplot for Lemmon's character.

''My World...and Welcome to It'', a TV series starring William Windom as a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed version of Thurber, whose flights of fancy were represented by animated versions of Thurber's stories and cartoons, ran for just one season on Creator/{{NBC}} in 1969-70, but won an UsefulNotes/EmmyAward for Outstanding Comedy Series. The show's creators went on to make the similarly-styled 1972 film ''The War Between Men and Women'', with Creator/JackLemmon as the Thurber stand-in.

''My World and Welcome to It'', a TV series starring William Windom as a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed version of Thurber, whose flights of fancy were represented by animated versions of Thurber's stories and cartoons, ran for just one season on Creator/{{NBC}} in 1969-70, but won an UsefulNotes/EmmyAward for Outstanding Comedy Series. The show's creators went on to make the similarly-styled 1972 film ''The War Between Men and Women'', with Creator/JackLemmon as the Thurber stand-in.