Douglass Wallop

John Douglass Wallop III (March 8, 1920 – April 1, 1985) was an American novelist and playwright.

Early life John Douglass Wallop III was born on March 8, 1920, in Washington, D.C., to Marjorie (née Ellis) and John Douglass Wallop Jr. His father was an insurance agent. He attended the University of Notre Dame and graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1942. He served as editor of "The Old Line", a student-run literary and humor magazine.

Career During World War II, Wallop worked for United Press in Washington, D.C. He was skilled in stenography and shorthand. In 1948, he worked as a secretary for Dwight D. Eisenhower while Eisenhower wrote Crusade in Europe. He moved to New York City and worked for the Associated Press.

His first novel, 1953's Night Light, concerns a father's search into the background of his child's murderer. Anne Brooks of the New York Herald Tribune Book Review said he "created characters who are both real and colorful, and he has delved into a maniac's mind with considerable understanding." R.G. Peck wrote an article for the Chicago Sunday Tribune and said it was the "first novel that's well constructed, carefully written, and free of painful mannerisms." Al Hine of the Saturday Review said it's a "novel that is moving and tautly interesting from the first page to last. Mr. Wallop writes fluently and without affectation, even when he is exploring the subcellars of bop."

He authored 14 works, including The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant (1954), which was adapted by Wallop and George Abbott into the Tony Award-winning musical Damn Yankees.

Awards 1956 Tony Award Damn Yankees Book of the Month Club The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant The Good Life Reader's Digest Condensed Books The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant So This Is What Happened to Charlie Moe

Personal life On January 6, 1949, Wallop married writer and actress Lucille Fletcher. He had two daughters, Dorothy Louise and Wendy Elizabeth. Wallop’s interests included chess, sailing, music, and woodworking. He lived in Arlington, Virginia, for a time. In 1963, he moved to Oxford.

Wallop died on April 2, 1985, aged 65, at a hospital in Washington, D.C.