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Damon Runyon

Now one time it comes on Christmas, and in fact it is the evening before Christmas, and I am in Good Time Charley Bernstein's little speakeasy in West Forty-seventh Street, wishing Charley a Merry Christmas and having a few hot Tom and Jerrys with him.

Damon Runyon (1880 – 1946) is an American journalist and author, best known for his short stories about the colorful gamblers, gangsters and hustlers of New York in the early part of the twentieth century. His stories are narrated in the first person by an anonymous narrator with a distinctive slang-laced style that avoids past and future tense.

Notable adaptations of Runyon stories include:

Guys and Dolls
Lady For A Day
Little Miss Marker, an early hit for Shirley Temple.

Damon Runyon's stories provide examples of:

Big Eater: Nicely-Nicely Jones in "A Piece of Pie".
He is a horse player by trade, and eating is really just a hobby, but he is undoubtedly a wonderful eater even when he is not hungry.
The Butler Did It: Parodied in "What, No Butler?"
Delusions of Eloquence: The theme of mooks talking over their heads is a mainstay.
The Ishmael: The anonymous narrator (or narrators — when he is so anonymous, who can tell?).
Laser-Guided Karma: In "Dancing Dan's Christmas", Dancing Dan decides on a whim to borrow a drunken Mall Santa's outfit and deliver Christmas cheer to some poverty-stricken persons of his acquaintence. This whim saves his life.
Load-Bearing Hero: The title character in "Earthquake".
Present Tense Narrative
Princess for a Day: Apple Annie in "Madame La Gimp".