Ray Long

William Ray Long, (March 23, 1878 – July 9, 1935) was an American newspaper, magazine, film, writer, and editor He is said to have had "a colorful career"

Life and career Long was born into poverty in 1878 in Lebanon, Indiana, a small, rural town in the Midwestern United States. He was educated in public schools in Indianapolis, a much larger city and the capital of Indiana. Long was the Chicago manager for the United Press at one point in time, and he was the managing editor of The Red Book in Chicago in 1912, a position that he received due to his good ability to understand people's tastes and likes. Time Magazine considered Long's greatest publication at the time to be The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge. Long retired from Cosmopolitan and went into the book publishing business, which had been his lifelong ambition. however, this first publishing enterprise with Smith failed, and caused Long to become bankrupt in 1933. Finally, in 1922, Long married Lucy Virginia Bovie, who was originally from Gallipolis, Ohio. in the bedroom of his California home, he apparently attempted suicide by shooting himself in the mouth with a small caliber rifle. Long died half an hour after being taken to the hospital.

In a bibliographic study of Somerset Maugham, Raymond Toole Stott writes: "Oddly enough, Ray Long lost his life because of his association with Maugham. He was sent the typescript of The Moon and Sixpence and after reading it decided he, too, wanted to paint. He was over 50 but he threw up his job and went to live in one of the islands in the Pacific. He painted for a number of years, then decided he had no aptitude for it, and killed himself."

Funeral Many of Long's friends, including some prominent writers, attended his funeral, including novelist Rupert Hughes (uncle of famous aviator and philanthropist Howard Hughes), humorist Irvin S. Cobb, and stage actor George Jessel. However, his wife Lucy did not attend his funeral since she said that she was too ill. His funeral service lasted only eight minutes. Rupert Hughes was the individual who was chosen to deliver the eulogy. Hughes said that "[Ray Long had] spent his life putting flowers into the hearts of others", and Long's friends all over the world compensated Long by sending him flowers for his funeral.

Works Books An Editor Looks at Russia: One Unprejudiced View of the Land of the Soviets (NY: Ray Long & Richard R. Smith, 1931) 20 Best Short Stories in Ray Long's 20 Years as an Editor (NY: Crown, 1932)

Articles by "James Oliver Curwood and His Far North," The Bookman, February 1921. "I'm Drinking More Than I Ever Did Before–Aren't You?," Hearst's International, August 1924. "The Good New Days," American Legion Monthly, December 1926. "A Letter to a Young Man with an Urge to Edit a Popular Magazine," The Bookman, January 1927. "Bring Him Back Alive," Writer's Digest, August 1932.

Articles about Thornton Lewis, "Ray Long Tells How," Writer's Digest, October 1925. Mildred Temple, "Editors You Want To Know," The Author & Journalist, February 1930.