The Resume

(August 31, 1885-June 16, 1940)
Born in Charleston, South Carolina
Birth name was Edwin DuBose Heyward
Best known for writing the novel 'Porgy' (1925), the play 'Porgy' (written with his wife Dorothy, 1927) and the opera 'Porgy and Bess' (written with George and Ira Gershwin, 1935)
Also wrote the poetry collection 'Skyline and Horizons' (1924), the novel 'Mamba's Daughter' (1929), the play 'Brass Ankle' (1931), the screenplay for 'The Emperor Jones' (1933) and the children's book 'The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes' (1939)

Why he might be annoying:

He was a self-described 'miserable student' who dropped out during his first year of high school.
As an editor of a poetry magazine, he urged restraint in the use of local color and African-American material -- two of the main features of his most famous work.
He doubted 'Porgy' could be made into a play until his wife secretly wrote a first draft (while telling him that she was working on a mystery novel).
His contribution to 'Porgy and Bess' is overshadowed by the Gershwins.

Why he might not be annoying:

When he was two, his father died in an industrial accident.
He co-founded a real estate and insurance business, discovered he had a talent for sales, then after becoming financially independent started pursuing an interest in literature.
'Porgy' was described as 'the first major southern novel to portray blacks without condescension.'
He insisted that the play 'Porgy' be cast with black actors instead of the then-standard practice of using whites in blackface.

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 32]
• Children's Book Authors
• I am Left Handed - Male [H-P]
• I Died in 1940 (Ranked: 54)
• I Have Polio
• I Recorded 'Summertime'
• Known By a Middle Name
• Opera Singers and Composers
• Playwrights
• Poets
• Porgy and Bess [1959]
• Profiles 30001-30250 (Ranked: 30227)
• The My Hero Project

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 14.29% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 58 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 17 Votes: 64.71% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 10 Votes: 90.0% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 17 Votes: 82.35% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 65 Votes: 56.92% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 32 Votes: 68.75% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 24 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 12 Votes: 58.33% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 48 Votes: 68.75% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 23 Votes: 56.52% Annoying