Thorne Smith 1914
Mode of exit; Dropped out to join the navy
Career: Wrote extravagantly funny books
Notable achievement: The Topper novels
Quote: "So far as I am concerned, there is only one word to use in reply when a man asks you to have a drink."
The press called Smith the 'American Rabelais" for his slightly bawdy, humorous novels. Writer Harry Hansen described Smith as looking "like a man reconciled to the discovery of green liquor in his cocktails' which may be one reason why people mistook him for his close friend John Barrymore. Smith's first big publishing success was his second novel, Topper Takes a Trip, the story of a stodgy banker troubled by mischievous ghosts. Eleven other books followed, along with Hollywood movie scripts. For inspiration, Smith said, he would talk to his guppies. "When I got those fish roundly cursed, I'd go back and write."
